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Started by 700mAdOg700 | | 10 answers
Which GTX 970?
I'm about one paycheck from building the gaming PC I always wanted, and I'm stuck on the graphics card. Here's my specs so far http://pcpartpicker.com/user/700mAdOg700/saved/JNkWGX I might get the ASUS gtx 970 strix or the MSI 970. I'm going to do a little overclocking (maybe) and I just want to play games on ultra at 1080p at 60+ fps.
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a b 4 Gaming
a b U Graphics card
October 9, 2014 5:53:04 PM

omnimodis78 said:
I've been going nuts over the 970 release, read all the popular site 970 reviews, and the one clear consensus seems to be that getting the Gigabyte incarnation is a no-brainer. It is long, so that alone might disqualify it as an option, but the OC potential is massive, and the cooling is top-tiered. It also doesn't have the zero-fan gimmick (I'm sorry...I want my $500 card to have airflow...) which cannot be adequately disabled/circumvented on ASUS and MSI (in fact, the ASUS card gets weird with the cooling if you try assigning a new fan profile via 3rd party software). Anyways, my vote goes to Gigabyte. The only one to avoid is the EVGA as they couldn't even manage to put the heatsink on right...


Gigabyte's card is good, but so is MSI's.

The zero dB fan isn't a "gimmick". Many, many enthusiasts want silence. The card is perfectly fine with the fan off at idle. My MSI 970 stays in the 30's or around 40C, and even if I don't want the temp that high, I can easily set the fan speed to the minimum of 25% and it is still silent.

As for a custom fan profile causing issues, I haven't heard of that yet.

October 9, 2014 5:46:31 PM

I've been going nuts over the 970 release, read all the popular site 970 reviews, and the one clear consensus seems to be that getting the Gigabyte incarnation is a no-brainer. It is long, so that alone might disqualify it as an option, but the OC potential is massive, and the cooling is top-tiered. It also doesn't have the zero-fan gimmick (I'm sorry...I want my $500 card to have airflow...) which cannot be adequately disabled/circumvented on ASUS and MSI (in fact, the ASUS card gets weird with the cooling if you try assigning a new fan profile via 3rd party software). Anyways, my vote goes to Gigabyte. The only one to avoid is the EVGA as they couldn't even manage to put the heatsink on right...
October 7, 2014 5:37:13 AM

There are acx 1 and 2.0 versions for the 970, I know the issues apply to the acx 1 but I don't know about the 2.0 version
a b U Graphics card
October 7, 2014 5:17:04 AM

The 970's are still using 1.0
a b U Graphics card
October 7, 2014 5:14:29 AM

smackers_12 said:
Both are good cards but the MSI one seems to be a good unit. Usually evga's acx cards are the ones to go for but the 970s have an issue with the cooler. There has to be at least 20 threads on this exact question, just search the forum before posting


well they released cards with a new cooler. so if he goes for 2.0 he should be good!

Best solution chosen by 700mAdOg700

a b U Graphics card
October 7, 2014 5:13:21 AM

I've used MSI for years, and without issues.

For the 970's however, I've heard nothing but complaints about the EVGAs and their poor coolers.

Personally, I went with the Gigabyte G1 970 because it had the fastest stock clock, excellent cooling, great reviews, etc. ASUS is also a great brand, and they have excellent reviews on their STRIX 970.

Either of them should be just fine, but you will want to stay away from EVGA this time around.
October 7, 2014 5:09:06 AM

There's nothing wrong with the MSI card, it looks cool too. So does the Asus strix. Which ever one you buy, you will pretty much get the same results. Buy one with your money in mind and whether or not the cooler designs are worth the extra bit.

I wouldn't recommend the EVGA card though, see here http://www.eteknix.com/evga-gtx-970-feature-manufacturi...
October 7, 2014 5:06:15 AM

Both are good cards but the MSI one seems to be a good unit. Usually evga's acx cards are the ones to go for but the 970s have an issue with the cooler. There has to be at least 20 threads on this exact question, just search the forum before posting
a b 4 Gaming
a c 83 U Graphics card
October 7, 2014 5:01:34 AM

Never touched MSI due to bad QC. However some people have had no problems with it, but I still recommend to stay away. Go with Asus (as mentioned) or Gigabyte or EVGA for Nvidia cards.

The GTX 970 is a great card and should be able to max out at least 60+FPS for most games.

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