What is the Difference between EVGA's 970 line up?

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

Hello,

I have been doing some research into getting a new GPU as my current one is under powered for my setup.

I have decided to go with the GTX 970 from EVGA but now I have the problem of which one to get.

It's between the SSC or the FTW+ but I can't figure out which is better. I know that the FTW+ is at a higher clock speed out of the box and comes with a backplate included but what I can't figure out is if there is any other difference between the two. I have read somewhere that the FTW+ has a different cooling system on it (the heat sync I mean, I know both run off of the ACX 2.0) but I have also seen that it doesn't and it's just a SSC clocked a little bit higher and if that is the case then I can just overclock it when I get it.

My question to all of you is, is the FTW+ worth the extra money and does it come with a different cooling system than the SSC? If it does that might just throw it over the top for me.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

opio · Jan 26, 2015

EVGA is a great brand, don't get me wrong, I have an EVGA PSU myself and have had multiple EVGA GPU's, you should check out what MSI has to offer as well as GIGABYTE.

Also,

Look into getting an aftermarket GPU cooler, it's a night and day difference temperaturewise

geofelt · Jan 26, 2015

GTX970 is not a particularly hot card.
The fancy coolers sell, so they are provided at extra cost.
In the end, any differences among the various versions are relatively minor. Look at the boost clocks to compare performance differences.
Actually, I like the blower type coolers that get hot air out of your case more directly.

I do think you get fair value from a factory overclocked superclock or FTW version.
You get a better binned chip and a factory warranty. I would not bother trying a higher overclock.

If you want highest performance and your budget permits, buy a GTX980.

zAustin · Jan 26, 2015

The FTW I believe is basically just a beefed up ACX 2.0 cooler, the SC/SSC is how far the card has been overclocked by the manufacturer. I had a FTW SC 760 and I think it is bigger than my SC 970 by a little bit. Thoroughly impressed with the 900 series cards though, one card for each audience - low, mid and high tier.

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

opio :

I have had a bad time with Giga and while I know that they are a good company I just can't bring myself to get something else from them again. As for MSI, I have considered them for a while but they seem to price their items higher than EVGA's and get about the same performance with an exception to their lower end cards, those are actually a pretty decent price.

I don't know, I kinda had my mind set on EVGA but I suppose I should do some more research into other brands.

A aftermarket cooler is something I haven't thought about. I think I would want to run the warranty out on the card before I do that thought, right? As putting on a aftermarket cooler voids the warranty, I think.

Thank you for your help!

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

new cooler new internal parts look at to old cards vrm's and look at the new ones -- the new ones got a whit part in them ?? maybe to help control the coil whine issue with the 970 ??? or just a beter part overall ??

look at the old kind
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_970_SC_ACX_Cooler/images/front.jpg

new kind now used on evga cards
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_960_SSC_ACX_Cooler/images/front.jpg

blow up the exploded view and see what changed rom the old rev 2&1 cards the rev 3 cards look to be improved

http://www.evga.com/articles/00892/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-970-SSC/

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

geofelt :

Oh no! I hit best answer by accident.... Ah well.... I wish I could undo that as I wanted to keep this unanswered for a while.

So it doesn't really matter what cooler is put on it then? I could just get a reference cooler on it and be happy then? I always thought the reference stuff was the worst of the batch but if that is not the case then I really need to rethink things.

I definitely wouldn't start overclocking out of the box but as time moves on I would like one that is capable of good overclocks, although I hear that can be about as iffy as overclocking a CPU... My last CPU clocked in at 3.5 Ghz and a could never get it past what it boosted at without problems. I don't know if I was just doing it wrong though, I was not as knowledgeable about things as I am now.

My budget kinda throws the 980's out of the window for me, too pricey for my tastes, I do wish I could get one though....

Thanks for the help!

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

best answer = wow

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

zAustin :

Oh, ok, that would make some sense, a bigger cooler means better heat dissipation. I do understand the difference between the SC and SSC but they are at the same price and therefore I would get the SSC just because I can. The way EVGA labels their 970's makes it look like the FTW are completely separate from the SC series but I could be mistaken there and the FTW's are just Super-Super-Superclocked. Actually that would make sense given that they are just slightly better than the SSC. Something tells me I am going to be happy with this GPU no matter which one I end up getting.

Thank you for your help!

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

Oh I get it, so they came out with another line of 970's with a improved cooler. I have heard of people having problems with coil whine on this series so that would make a lot of sense if that is what they did. So it sounds like I should get one of the ACX 2.0+'s since they have (hopefully) fix more of the problems that were happening with that cooler.

Thanks for the help!

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

Yeah I know.... I have done that before, so many times before... My brain is like "Hey a big green button! Press it, press it now!" and I press it without thinking and then the answer is chosen without me ever realizing.

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

not to say its the best out there but evga made a few changes to the overall cards but this is on the 3ed release cards so the cards with the part number 04g-p4 -3xxx the 3 is 3ed release pn-2xxx 2ed -- pn- 1xxx reference

04G-P4-3975 the 3 in 3975 = 3ed release

opio · Jan 26, 2015

I'm tellin you man, get the Arctic Accelero Twin Turbo II

http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/accelero-twin-turbo-ii.html

You won't be disappointed. That way you can do all the overclocking yourself (and beyond) and not have to worry about temps

MSI is just as good as EVGA, other than a hackintosh I built for my mom (had to use GIGABYTE for a lot of parts) I always go with EVGA and MSI.
Also: an aftermarket GPU cooler helps turbulence in your case helping keep everything else a bit cooler. But seriously, get an aftermarket GPU cooler, cooler overall temps = longer GPU life. Not just that but your computer will be a HELL of a lot more quiet with an aftermarket GPU cooler.

I had an Accelero mono on a GTX 650 ti and it rocked. Arctic makes quality products.

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

True, and they could come out with another revision next week that might be better than this one, they seem to be doing a new revision every month, at least that's what it feels like. Make me wonder if I should just wait and see if EVGA is going to push any more revisions out so I can get the final product.

Thanks for letting me know about the part numbers, I was having some difficulties figuring out which was which on Newegg, they don't seem to label them with the title that EVGA gives the cards but instead go by part #.

Thanks again for the help!

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

for me it would be between evga newest card or msi , msi for being there first non reference card gets the least amount of complaints that I see but then with evga they evolve there cards you now get what seems to be a better card from there line up with a higher clock rate at the same price point as the msi

tough call

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

opio :

I have done some research into the Arctic coolers before. I was going to place one on my current GPU so I could get the noise down and start doing some overclocking ( it runs really hot by default.) but ended up not getting it since my card was already starting to go out of date. I have read a lot about Arctic though and I do think that they are probably one of the best aftermarket coolers out there.

I suppose that means I could just get a reference card and then remove the cooler and replace it with the Arctic cooler.

As for noise, I'm not to worried about that, my CPU cooler almost always seems to be noisier than my GPU and when it's louder I usually just put on some headphones. But the quieter the better I suppose, as long as it cools well that is. If I'm just going to switch the cooler I could get one of MSI's cheaper cards then OC to the spec that I want, correct?

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

Yeah, I am starting to see the light with MSI, but EVGA they do evolve, and they seem to get better and better as time passes, you just have to wait for that time to pass. I really don't know what I am going to do now, especially now that aftermarket coolers have been brought (back) to my attention. All I know is that I am going to get a 970 (it's perfect for my budget), which one is a whole different story though. I came in here thinking the best out there right now is EVGA's line up and was trying to figure out which would be best for the money, I come out with the conclusion that I have to do more research before I make up my mind.

I do wish, however, that EVGA would tell you when they are coming out or just working on a new revision so you know to just wait for the new one.

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

I don't understand ?? spend money on a reference card that for the same price or less you can get a aftermarket card with a custom cooler on it that should work great but you then will disassemble the reference card and risk damage and spend more money on a cooler in the hopes you don't screw something up with it and in the hopes it does a better job ??? plus the reference card is slower clocked with first release parts that's now been improved upon ???

I don't get it

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

I forgot that the ref cards are clocked lower than the others now. So I suppose if I wanted a higher base clock I would have to go with one that already has another cooler on it.

In that case, its not worth the extra $ for the other aftermarket cooler until I actually need it because I know that I won't be doing much, if any overclocking for a while.

So many options! lol, it's hard to find which one is best. I still think EVGA might be the best, for now at least. MSI seems to have cards that are under powered that are the same price as the EVGA cards, I am still going to look around before making my final decision though.

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

vid cards are tough ... the more you look t the harder it is to choose -- the 980 is the way to go its the full 900 card where the 970 is a cut back and uses the parts the did not cut it for a 980 [salvage/hand me down ]

that's why 980 is 550 bucks and the 970 is 350 bucks -- I just going to hold out to see if the newer AMD cards are any good or what ther deal will be heck if they compete with NVidia and cause a price war all these cards may drop in price from where there at now .. but they got to get here first ..

even by then there maybe new releases of the 900 cards that will be improved over the ones out now ????

but I think for what I see the msi or the new evga card would be the way I'd go [opinion]

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

That is a good point, AMD could come up with some good stuff and force that price war, AMD has always been cheaper, so I do wonder how that would go and I wonder how they would compare... Who knows when that is going to happen though.

I suppose there could be a upgrade on the 900 series too, I mean the 960's just came out so what's to stop them from going the other direction and making a more powerful gpu than the 980's, which in turn would drive down the price of the 980's.

Who knows, but for now I think I am going to have to settle for a 970 as I am a streamer and my 7950 is starting to show its age, although it'll do most things, just not at the highest settings. It also runs hotter than I think it should but I think that is just how AMD works, every piece of AMD tech I have had has run hotter than I would like which makes me want to avoid overclocking it.

Thank you again for all of your help.

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

ya, that's where I'm at with a 7850 -- I guess its all your call on what you want to do or how bad you want a card ?? all you can do is what you feel is best for you in the end ..

good luck

Oshimoto · Jan 26, 2015

junkeymonkey :

Yeah, true, I kinda want it but could wait. it's very up in the air for me right now. Especially after reading a article about the 970's only using 3.5 gb of its 4 gb, the .5 is put to the side and used at a much lower speed apparently, which is a shame because more and more games are starting to use a lot of memory, especially at recommend specs.

I just realized that I can choose a best answer again for some reason, maybe a mod came around and saw that I hit it by accident. You get it for sure. You have been truly helpful in helping me.

Thanks and Good luck to you too.

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

ya, this 7850 is in the same boat as you and I'm looking at things the same way its not hurting me any but its getting time for a updated card and all the 970 things just keep me from jumping on it right away for now ... I'm kinda waiting for what evga will do in the 980 line like they did for the 970 line with the newer parts for them but I guess the 970 is the one that sells best so they will get things for them first ??? seems theres a pre order for there kingpin 980 but that thing will cost .. but you know what they say ''good things may come to those who wait '' ???

junkeymonkey · Jan 26, 2015

http://www.evga.com/articles/00896/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-980-KINGPIN-Classified-Coming-Soon/

What is the Difference between EVGA's 970 line up?

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