Best GTX 970 (and why)?

[Michael Hagood]

So I've just sold my EVGA GTX 650 ti BOOST 2GB. It was a fantastic card but its time for an upgrade. It was my first GPU so I have very limited experience with the different manufacturers. I was very pleased with this GPU but while looking at the the EVGA 970 I see a lot of complaints about the fan noise and coil whine that's plaguing them. I am also quite confused with EVGA's current marketing with the large number of 970's they offer ie the FTW and the FTW+. Currently I am looking at the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming, the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G, and the EVGA GTX 970 FTW ACX 2.0 (links below). So a coule of questions. Which GTX 970 is the best value. What's EVGA's game with all their cards? Does the minor clock speed really affect FPS that much? I'll be running things like GTA V, MGSV, and BF4 @ 1080p as high as I can. The 650 did a pretty good job but that 2GB of VRAM was its Achilles heel.

TL: DR
Best value GTX 970?

GPUs:

http://EVGA

http://MSI

http://Gigabyte

 

[rcald2000]

I previously owned the MSI GTX 970 4G Gaming card and loved it. For 1080p @ 60 Hz, it's a great card. Personally I experienced zero coil whine. You can overclock any card yourself. One caveat that I'd mention is to avoid EVGA GTX 970 SC and opt for the Super SC or FTW. Even though you can apply the overclock yourself, EVGA upgraded the heat pipes and other design elements on the Super SC and later cards.

 

[Michael Hagood]

I previously owned the MSI GTX 970 4G Gaming card and loved it. For 1080p @ 60 Hz, it's a great card. Personally I experienced zero coil whine. You can overclock any card yourself. One caveat that I'd mention is to avoid EVGA GTX 970 SC and opt for the Super SC or FTW. Even though you can apply the overclock yourself, EVGA upgraded the heat pipes and other design elements on the Super SC and later cards.

Yeah I noticed the change in heat-sink. But a lot of people with the SSC and FTW still talk about coil whine. Some people said a firmware update fixed it and others said a long burn-in also solved it. But in overall quality and value how do they compare? And how's the cooling solution on the MSI card. Does it have a good ability of overclock?

 

[rcald2000]

The MSI card is excellent. I didn't hear any coil whine. If I build a 2nd computer in my household, I'll definitely be buying another one. It's a great overclocker as well.

 

[wh3resmycar]

get the cheapest one. fact of the matter is, all of them will become obsolete at the same time (when new cards come out). case in point, the top of the line 670 cannot hold a candle against the cheapest 970.

 

[RababNoor]

So I've just sold my EVGA GTX 650 ti BOOST 2GB. It was a fantastic card but its time for an upgrade. It was my first GPU so I have very limited experience with the different manufacturers. I was very pleased with this GPU but while looking at the the EVGA 970 I see a lot of complaints about the fan noise and coil whine that's plaguing them. I am also quite confused with EVGA's current marketing with the large number of 970's they offer ie the FTW and the FTW+. Currently I am looking at the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming, the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G, and the EVGA GTX 970 FTW ACX 2.0 (links below). So a coule of questions. Which GTX 970 is the best value. What's EVGA's game with all their cards? Does the minor clock speed really affect FPS that much? I'll be running things like GTA V, MGSV, and BF4 @ 1080p as high as I can. The 650 did a pretty good job but that 2GB of VRAM was its Achilles heel.

TL: DR
Best value GTX 970?

GPUs:

http://EVGA

http://MSI

http://Gigabyte

See the temperature difference in the below link
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/31.html

Other than that nothing really matter if you consider the Clock Speed.
Just buy the cheapest one among them

 

[harboym]

I own an MSI 970 4G and have been very happy with it. I do support wh3resmycar and RababNoor's opinions that you should just get the cheapest one you can find as they all run the same GPU just with different coolers, and the prices change almost weekly between makes. Only pay attention to load temps as idle temps are effected by the fan curve being used. On some of the 970 models, including MSI, the fans do not even run until a certain temp is reached.