Looking to get a new videocard

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
nirrtix

nirrtix

Distinguished
Oct 4, 2012
348
1
18,795
I have been told that a Nvidia GTX 970 was the best way to go... I am looking to spend around $300 to $400 on the card I guess my questions given my current set up is that the best bang for the buck or a waste of my money based on my current system.

I know some have mentioned I overclock my CPU, while I do have a good fan etc to do it I would rather not bother overclocking my CPU or RAM at this time. IF any burn out I do not have the money to replace them.

I guess the other question is these days what brand and specific card is best for a 970? I currently have a gigabyte, but read mixed reviews on their newer cards.
 
Solution
Leaps-from-Shadows
You'll get mixed reviews on every single card there is. Even the best manufacturers produce defective cards once in a while.

I personally prefer EVGA as I've never had a bad one and I like their ACX 2.0+ coolers. I would go with either the EVGA FTW+ GAMING ACX 2.0+ (04G-P4-3978) or SSC GAMING ACX 2.0+ (04G-P4-3975).
Sort by date Sort by votes
Leaps-from-Shadows

Leaps-from-Shadows

Splendid
Jan 10, 2011
2,941
2
21,460
You'll get mixed reviews on every single card there is. Even the best manufacturers produce defective cards once in a while.

I personally prefer EVGA as I've never had a bad one and I like their ACX 2.0+ coolers. I would go with either the EVGA FTW+ GAMING ACX 2.0+ (04G-P4-3978) or SSC GAMING ACX 2.0+ (04G-P4-3975).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
DustinV

DustinV

Honorable
Dec 22, 2015
1,620
2
12,465
I've always had trouble with EVGA, and they are usuallly very loud.
Personally I like the Asus 970, Its the quietest by far, and still runs very cool, as well as having great clock speeds, Mine boosts to about 1320 Mhz out of the box, no overclocking.

I think the MSI and ASUS are the best 970s, quiet, cool, and perform great. Get whichever is cheaper

If you can overclock then maybe you want the gigabyte but the gigabyte is very long and loud

That EVGA 970 may have higher clock speeds but it also costs $40 more than other ones
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Leaps-from-Shadows

Leaps-from-Shadows

Splendid
Jan 10, 2011
2,941
2
21,460
Didn't I tell you that there are mixed reviews of every card?

My experience with EVGA was the exact opposite. None of them have added any noise to my systems. I even used custom fan profiles that ramped the fans up faster to control the temps better when I was overclocking. And I've had zero problems with the three EVGA cards I've owned -- 680, 780, and 980 Ti Hydro Copper. I would have gotten the EVGA 980 as well, but nobody had stock for the longest time -- I had to settle for a Zotac 980 instead.

...and yes, I upgrade a lot. I build a new gaming system every two years typically, though this last cycle was only 14 months.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,150
411
131,790
Leaps-from-shadows nailed it. Everyone has different experiences with different cards. In my case, my Asus R9-290X was the noisiest card I ever owned. So noisy in fact, it prompted me to buy the 970. The super quiet Evga GTX 960 FTW+ w/ACX cooling is one of the quietest cards I have ever owned. And Evga has one of (if not the) best warranty in the business.
But to each his own.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nirrtix

nirrtix

Distinguished
Oct 4, 2012
348
1
18,795
well you answered my question well... I have a gigabyte 670 GTX it works well but I think it is time to upgrade. As one of you said the 970s are apparently loud. My 670 is quite quiet... (shrugs) Ill look into it more once I am sure I have the money I guess. Thank you.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DustinV

DustinV

Honorable
Dec 22, 2015
1,620
2
12,465


No, not all 970s are loud, The MSI and ASUS 970s are known to be very quiet
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DustinV

DustinV

Honorable
Dec 22, 2015
1,620
2
12,465
EVGA is not always loud, but they have more reports of loud cards than msi or asus. If you choose to get an evga card it could be quiet and perform great, but why not going with the cards that are known to be quiet most of the time.

The evga isnt really known to get REALLY loud, just loud to where when under load it will annoy you through your headphones even
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom