Support NeoGAF

[Brandon F]

I know most people like to have two cards of the same model for sli, but they can be different ones as long as they're 970s. So you could get a shorter 2nd card and sli in your case, if you wanted.

I've had mine for over a month and still haven't played any games on it... FML

Didn't realize that about SLI, then again I see no real reason right now to even bother. The 970 alone is pretty much capable of handling anything I throw at it anyway. Kind of waiting for the next 'tentpole' PC release that will justify this card also as most of the intensive PC releases I already either own on PS4 or just aren't very interesting despite the taxing visuals(Ryse, DR3, AC Unity).

It is nice being able to see a lot of my 360 library(and games I missed) running at 1080p60, but even they are starting to look a bit dated(FC3, Dishonored, Borderlands 2, Saints Row 3/4) though I am gearing up to give some Skyrim mods a shot soon. Oh and PhysX in Borderlands 2 is pretty damn impressive, my first taste of the tech.

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

Didn't realize that about SLI, then again I see no real reason right now to even bother. The 970 alone is pretty much capable of handling anything I throw at it anyway. Kind of waiting for the next 'tentpole' PC release that will justify this card also as most of the intensive PC releases I already either own on PS4 or just aren't very interesting despite the taxing visuals(Ryse, DR3, AC Unity).

It is nice being able to see a lot of my 360 library(and games I missed) running at 1080p60, but even they are starting to look a bit dated(FC3, Dishonored, Borderlands 2, Saints Row 3/4) though I am gearing up to give some Skyrim mods a shot soon. Oh and PhysX in Borderlands 2 is pretty damn impressive, my first taste of the tech.

May God have mercy on your soul.

 

[TAJ]

Didn't realize that about SLI, then again I see no real reason right now to even bother. The 970 alone is pretty much capable of handling anything I throw at it anyway. Kind of waiting for the next 'tentpole' PC release that will justify this card also as most of the intensive PC releases I already either own on PS4 or just aren't very interesting despite the taxing visuals(Ryse, DR3, AC Unity).

It is nice being able to see a lot of my 360 library(and games I missed) running at 1080p60, but even they are starting to look a bit dated(FC3, Dishonored, Borderlands 2, Saints Row 3/4) though I am gearing up to give some Skyrim mods a shot soon. Oh and PhysX in Borderlands 2 is pretty damn impressive, my first taste of the tech.

Silly rabbit. There's no such thing as enough power. Downsampling made sure of that.

 

[GearDraxon]

Let's see, I got mine earlier in the week and did the firestrike benchmark. Here's the stats

Windows 8.1 (I wiped my machine and did a fresh install since Win7 was acting up badly.)

CPU I5-3570(Yes I know most people get the 3570k, I wasn't expecting to overclock
Zotac 970 no overclock.

Score 8641

Graphics Score10883

Physics Score6757

Combined Score4063

That's pretty much typical given my setup, right? (Definitely a step up from my 7850.)

A-yup! When I had an i5-3350P oc'd to 3.8Ghz, my physics score was nearly identical to yours (to be expected, as they're basically the same chip at that speed). My graphics score with an oc'd 970 was about 2k higher than yours, which also makes sense.

Your scores look totally fine for that range.

 

[TC McQueen]

For anyone looking for a good EVGA 970 card that isn't the FTW, there's a new Super Superclocked card with a better cooler, starting at $345 with free shipping on Newegg.

This is actually tempting for me, but the lack of reviews and the terrible prices for EVGA backplates is making me lean more towards sticking with the G1.

 

[Naked Snake]

For anyone looking for a good EVGA 970 card that isn't the FTW, there's a new Super Superclocked card with a better cooler, starting at $345 with free shipping on Newegg.

This is actually tempting for me, but the lack of reviews and the terrible prices for EVGA backplates is making me lean more towards sticking with the G1.

That looks like the ACX2.0 cooler to me, which isn't new.

 

[TC McQueen]

That looks like the ACX2.0 cooler to me, which isn't new.

Of course the ACX 2.0 cooler isn't new, but the fact that it's on a 970 that isn't the FTW is. The old Superclocked/Super Superclocked Cards had that one heat pipe that didn't even make contact with the GPU, so people complained about it being lousy at cooling the card.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

Hmm, thanks for the info. Might be a hassle to rearrange stuff so I got some contemplating to do lol. My backup plan was the MSI.


Yeah I've been using Gigabyte for a few years now. Had a 460 and currently a 670. Guess I gotta go back under the hood and see if I have the patience to make room for the card.

I was going to get the G1 but it wouldn't fit so I got the MSI and I couldn't be happier, it overclocks well while being almost silent and super cool (under 60c under full load while overclocked to +140/+500). I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Naked Snake]

Of course the ACX 2.0 cooler isn't new, but the fact that it's on a 970 that isn't the FTW is. The old Superclocked/Super Superclocked Cards had that one heat pipe that didn't even make contact with the GPU, so people complained about it being lousy at cooling the card.

Nope. These existed for months (I've seen them on shelves with my own eyes, not mention there are numerous reviews and videos about them). These have the same thing with the heat pipes if I'm not mistaken, they're just a little more efficient and not as loud as the ACX1.0

The FTW has a different cooler.

 

[Kayant]

That looks like the ACX2.0 cooler to me, which isn't new.

Some of the design has changed -

JayzTwoCents walkthrough of the card - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd4SIKdIWCo

 

[LiquidNarwhal]

I was going to get the G1 but it wouldn't fit so I got the MSI and I couldn't be happier, it overclocks well while being almost silent and super cool (under 60c under full load while overclocked to +140/+500). I can't recommend it enough.

Honestly the MSI is probably the best 970 on the market right now.

 

[Naked Snake]

Some of the design has changed -

JayzTwoCents walkthrough of the card - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd4SIKdIWCo

Ok so it looks exactly the same as the standard ACX2 on the outside, which is what I was saying. And I'm almost sure I've seen this SSC EVGA on sale at least a few weeks ago, which wouldn't make it that new.

It's good to know that it has an improved cooler though.

 

[TC McQueen]

Ok so it looks exactly the same as the standard ACX2 on the outside, which is what I was saying. And I'm almost sure I've seen this SSC EVGA on sale at least a few weeks ago, which wouldn't make it that new.

It's good to know that it has an improved cooler though.

They might have sold a 970 Super Superclocked with the old Superclocked cooler, which wouldn't surprise me, given the amount of EVGA 970 SKUs on Amazon. The only way to know for sure is checking the model numbers - the new one is 04G-P4-3975-KR and Hexus claims that it's the second Super Superclocked model, so that might be what happened.

 

[jgwhiteus]

I decided to get the ASUS STRIX GTX 970 last night, but it was a real pain finding a site that had it in stock for even the MSRP of $349.99 - my main go-to sites are Amazon and Newegg, and the card kept jumping in and out of stock.

I'd try to add it to the cart on Amazon, only to find the shopping cart was empty because it'd gone out of stock in the few minutes I'd taken to comparison shop, leaving a third-party seller listing as the only one available. It'd be on Newegg at MSRP, then it'd go out of stock a few minutes later to be replaced by a listing at $489.

I ended up using one of those tracker websites and jumped on it on Amazon for a brief window when it was available, and was able to place an order. It said it wouldn't be back in stock until next week, but they just moved up the shipping date.

In any case, is there a general shortage of GTX 970 models, or is it just the time of year when everyone's buying new graphic cards or something?

 

[Naked Snake]

I decided to get the ASUS STRIX GTX 970 last night, but it was a real pain finding a site that had it in stock for even the MSRP of $349.99 - my main go-to sites are Amazon and Newegg, and the card kept jumping in and out of stock.

I'd try to add it to the cart on Amazon, only to find the shopping cart was empty because it'd gone out of stock in the few minutes I'd taken to comparison shop, leaving a third-party seller listing as the only one available. It'd be on Newegg at MSRP, then it'd go out of stock a few minutes later to be replaced by a listing at $489.

I ended up using one of those tracker websites and jumped on it on Amazon for a brief window when it was available, and was able to place an order. It said it wouldn't be back in stock until next week, but they just moved up the shipping date.

In any case, is there a general shortage of GTX 970 models, or is it just the time of year when everyone's buying new graphic cards or something?

That's been pretty much the case since launch, at least for the gaming-tier cards. Also prices were marked up above MSRP across the board. A lot of people settled for whatever they could find in stock because waiting to snag a particular model was hard as fuck. I wanted the MSI Gaming but after weeks of waiting went with the G1 as soon as one came into stock locally (had to setup an alarm and drive to the store the next morning to ensure I didn't miss that one too).

 

[Faith]

Saturday will be the best day ever. My internet bandwidth will go up to 300Mbits (from 150Mbits) and I will receive 2 GTX970 Manli Reference

 

[Naked Snake]

Saturday will be the best day ever. My internet bandwidth will go up to 300Mbits (from 150Mbits) and I will receive 2 GTX970 Manli Reference

And here am I happy with my single 970 and a lousy 4Mbits internet. Thanks for shitting on my life

Spoiler

 

[TC McQueen]

Just put in my order for a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970. Newegg randomly dropped the price back down to $360, so that killed any price benefit for the new EVGA 970 SSC once it bumped up to $350.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

just wanted to stop in and say again, 970 FTW has been great to me. no coil whine, and I have yet to even hear the thing while gaming.

 

[dave_d]

A-yup! When I had an i5-3350P oc'd to 3.8Ghz, my physics score was nearly identical to yours (to be expected, as they're basically the same chip at that speed). My graphics score with an oc'd 970 was about 2k higher than yours, which also makes sense.

Your scores look totally fine for that range.

Cool, glad to hear that. I guess I probably should install the overclocking software they gave me but I'll probably wait on that for a bit. Thanks for the info.

 

[dave_d]

There is no best 970 model, each has slightly different features that appeal to different people. It depends on what features matter to you, your current/future setup/needs, budget, availability, etc. MSI and Asus are good, they're the quietest of the bunch.

And of course most important factor, will it fit in your case. (My case could only take a card that was less than 275mm long which ruled out quite a few of the more popular ones. I went with the one I did simply because I knew it'd fit.)

 

[Pancakes]

I feel like such an idiot.

Remember back a couple pages when I was bitching about my GTX970s firestrike scroes? Well apparently I tried to play Wolfenstein and was getting piss poor framerates like in the low 20s. Upon researching the issue on Steam forums people were finding that their cards were locked at PCI-E 1x speeds for whatever reason or another.

I take a look at my mobo manual and realize that like a complete dope, I inserted my card into a PCI express 2.0 slot because it was the most convenient slot. My card supports 3.0 and now upon switching the slots my firestrike score went up by 1200 points. And now Wolfenstein is running at a smooth 60fps.

Check your slots guys!

 

[Naked Snake]

I feel like such an idiot.

Remember back a couple pages when I was bitching about my GTX970s firestrike scroes? Well apparently I tried to play Wolfenstein and was getting piss poor framerates like in the low 20s. Upon researching the issue on Steam forums people were finding that their cards were locked at PCI-E 1x speeds for whatever reason or another.

I take a look at my mobo manual and realize that like a complete dope, I inserted my card into a PCI express 2.0 slot because it was the most convenient slot. My card supports 3.0 and now upon switching the slots my firestrike score went up by 1200 points. And now Wolfenstein is running at a smooth 60fps.

Check your slots guys!

My mobo only has one full size slot, it's 2.0 16x

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I still love my Zotac 970, I have to say that Nvidia blasted this price/performance home run out of orbit and into deep space. Amazing card for an amazing price.

 

[The Llama]

I feel like such an idiot.

Remember back a couple pages when I was bitching about my GTX970s firestrike scroes? Well apparently I tried to play Wolfenstein and was getting piss poor framerates like in the low 20s. Upon researching the issue on Steam forums people were finding that their cards were locked at PCI-E 1x speeds for whatever reason or another.

I take a look at my mobo manual and realize that like a complete dope, I inserted my card into a PCI express 2.0 slot because it was the most convenient slot. My card supports 3.0 and now upon switching the slots my firestrike score went up by 1200 points. And now Wolfenstein is running at a smooth 60fps.

Check your slots guys!

I don't know, sounds like something else was going on. There's virtually no difference between PCI 2.0 and 3.0

See: http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Impact-of-PCI-E-Speed-on-Gaming-Performance-518/

 

[Naked Snake]

I don't know, sounds like something else was going on. There's virtually no difference between PCI 2.0 and 3.0

See: http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Impact-of-PCI-E-Speed-on-Gaming-Performance-518/

He said his 2.0 slot operates in 1x mode (while the card supports 16x), that would definitely affect performance.

My 2.0 slot is 16x, so it's not an issue.

 

[The Llama]

He said his 2.0 slot operates in 1x mode (while the card supports 16x), that would definitely affect performance.

My 2.0 slot is 16x, so it's not an issue.

Ooooh, didn't see that. Yeah, if it was in 1x mode then it would definitely affect it. But 16x on 3.0 vs. 2.0 doesn't make a difference right now.

 

[Ryne]

In continuing with my recent computer upgrades, I wish to buy a new 970. I'm limited to a card that is 290 mm max in length (around 11 inches) so that eliminates the Gigabyte card. Would the MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G GeForce GTX 970 for 409 Canadian make a good pick?

Edit: or the EVGA 04G-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked for 399 CAD?

 

[Xyber]

Saturday will be the best day ever. My internet bandwidth will go up to 300Mbits (from 150Mbits) and I will receive 2 GTX970 Manli Reference

I "only" have 250Mbit and I don't think I will ever be able to go back to not downloading at 30MB/s. It's just so nice to be able to download the latest 40GB games in like 25 minutes.

 

[Undead Hero]

Hey guys... I just got a $150 Amazon gift card for Christmas, and I'm thinking about getting a 970. However, I'm hearing that the 8 gb model is coming in March. Is this worth waiting for? I'd like to stay current for at least two years, and I'm pretty heavy into VR gaming, but I don't know if the extra memory matters at this point. 4 gb has seemed like more than enough for a while now (I have a 680 with 4 gb), but I know the new consoles are pushing this forward finally.

 

[Kezen]

Hey guys... I just got a $150 Amazon gift card for Christmas, and I'm thinking about getting a 970. However, I'm hearing that the 8 gb model is coming in March

Where did you read that ? AFAIK there is no 8gb model planned.

 

[Undead Hero]

Where did you read that ? AFAIK there is no 8gb model planned.

I was googlin' the 980 ti to see if any news had come out, and saw reports of an 8 gb 970 and 980 coming in March, with the 980 ti getting pushed to 2016. Doesn't look too official but I haven't been keeping track of these things.

The info could be wrong, but my question stands about vram.

 

[kharma45]

I was googlin' the 980 ti to see if any news had come out, and saw reports of an 8 gb 970 and 980 coming in March, with the 980 ti getting pushed to 2016. Doesn't look too official but I haven't been keeping track of these things.

The info could be wrong, but my question stands about vram.

It's unlikely to happen. Noida have no need to make 8GB ones.

 

[Bubba77]

Silly rabbit. There's no such thing as enough power. Downsampling made sure of that.

I just tried DSR downsampling for the first time yesterday and Im in love. Ive had a strix 970 for a few months but just got my new ACER XB270HA GSYNC monitor. Its 1080p 144z at 27inches. I didnt want to go 1440p/1600p just yet since Id need multiple beast cards just to play todays game nevermind tomorrows.

I started playing around with downsampling with middle earth shadows of mordor. I really liked how it looked/ran downsampling to 1080p from 1440p. so +1 for downsampling, love it!

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

gonna get myself an MSI 970 to put in my first every custom pc! kinda excited and nervous about it.

 

[Bubba77]

gonna get myself an MSI 970 to put in my first every custom pc! kinda excited and nervous about it.

First one is always a little nerve racking but great fun. These days there are great youtube videos showing step by step how to set up your PC. It has become very plug and play so I doubt you will mess up anything.

What separates the newbies from the experienced guys is cable management. Watch some videos on that. I am not the greatest at making the inside of my case look pretty....

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

First one is always a little nerve racking but great fun. These days there are great youtube videos showing step by step how to set up your PC. It has become very plug and play so I doubt you will mess up anything.

What separates the newbies from the experienced guys is cable management. Watch some videos on that. I am not the greatest at making the inside of my case look pretty....

i've watched countless videos over the last few days. this time last week i only really knew how to install RAM and a hard drive cause that's all the experience i had dealing with the insides of a computer. now i'm fairly confident i know what everything is and where it goes.

i think i might be OK with this. i just can't have wires going in all directions. they need to be nice and tidy. anyway the case i'm getting has a lot of space behind the motherboard for the cables to go so not expecting too much trouble.

 

[vocab]

Just put in my order for a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970. Newegg randomly dropped the price back down to $360, so that killed any price benefit for the new EVGA 970 SSC once it bumped up to $350.

You can get them to refund you the price difference. They pulled that shit on me when I bought an sad.

 

[TC McQueen]

You can get them to refund you the price difference. They pulled that shit on me when I bought an sad.

I didn't order until it dropped to $360 - I didn't really make that clear in my earlier post.

 

[Digby]

I posted this in the widescreen gaming thread but didn't get a response...

Is anyone using the new 3440x1440 monitors? If so what card do you use? Will a gtx 970 be ok or do you need to use a 980?

 

[teiresias]

Does anyone know the latest Nvidia driver that DIDN'T break DSR over HDMI?

I just upgraded my 680 to a MSI 980 and upgraded from 344.48 to 347.09. I lost the ability to use DSR over my HDMI connection to my HDTV. I determined it was the driver and not the card because if I leave the 980 in the system and roll back to driver 344.48 I'm again able to use DSR over HDMI to my TV.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and maybe knows what's the latest driver where DSR still works as it should over HDMI? I'm starting to download all the interim drivers myself to test it, but though I'd ask in case someone can save me a bunch of driver swapping and testing by knowing the answer already.

 

[Wounded]

I posted this in the widescreen gaming thread but didn't get a response...

Is anyone using the new 3440x1440 monitors? If so what card do you use? Will a gtx 970 be ok or do you need to use a 980?

Depends what you classify as OK. It would be fine, but you wouldn't get maxed details + 60fps on everything.

 

[icecold1983]

I posted this in the widescreen gaming thread but didn't get a response...

Is anyone using the new 3440x1440 monitors? If so what card do you use? Will a gtx 970 be ok or do you need to use a 980?

at least 2 970s in sli

 

[toastyToast]

I was going to get the G1 but it wouldn't fit so I got the MSI and I couldn't be happier, it overclocks well while being almost silent and super cool (under 60c under full load while overclocked to +140/+500). I can't recommend it enough.

I started off with the MSI but it was faulty. Support was probably the worst I've ever had to deal with. No word at all for about 3 weeks. By that point I had already switched over to the G1 and it's pretty great. Beastly overclocker. Almost 100MHz more than what my ill fated MSI could do. Memory is a bit worse though but it's a lottery really.

 

[Ryne]

In continuing with my recent computer upgrades, I wish to buy a new 970. I'm limited to a card that is 290 mm max in length (around 11 inches) so that eliminates the Gigabyte card. Would the MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G GeForce GTX 970 for 409 Canadian make a good pick?

Edit: or the EVGA 04G-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked for 399 CAD?

So I'm going to go with the EVGA, read too many stories of MSI's bad customer service (including the above), so I will go with a company I know is good in case I have an issue. Ends up being a bit cheaper too.

 

[jfoul]

Some of the design has changed -

JayzTwoCents walkthrough of the card - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd4SIKdIWCo

The EVGA Reference 970 and 970 FTW are being updated also. I'm probably going to return my Gygabyte G1 970 and buy the EVGA 970 FTW+.

FTW+ (04G-P4-3978-KR) Summary:

• Includes backplate
• Full Coverage Memory and MOSFET Cooling Plate
• Dual BIOS
• Copper Heatpipes
• 6+2 Power Phase + Higher Power Target
• 6+8 Pin Power Connectors
• New Display Output Configuration (1 x Dual-link DVI-I - 1 x HDMI - 3 x DisplayPort)

HEXUS:
"The EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 is due to ship in the first week of January 2015, according to company representatives. EVGA is also releasing updated versions of the reference (04G-P4-3973-KR) and FTW+ (04G-P4-3978-KR) GTX 970 cards at the same time. The latter is significant because it features a full-length backplate as well as MMCP cooling."

EVGA:
"The new generation of EVGA GeForce GTX 970s have arrived with the SSC and FTW+. These enhanced models offer improved cooling, double BIOS support, new display output configuration and 6 power phases for robust overclocking support. The FTW+ model even has an included backplate."

 

[Faith]

So I got my cards today. They are kind of "wet" and feel really cold. How long should I wait till I put them into my computer?

 

[Rnr1224]

Got my 970 today found out that my PSU only has one 6 pin connector. welp i knew i needed one anyway. ordered from amazon and should arrive by tuesday. Just in time for my day off on wednesday!

 

[demosthenes]

So I got my cards today. They are kind of "wet" and feel really cold. How long should I wait till I put them into my computer?

It's already pretty late so I would just let them warm up over night.

 

[Jiraiza]

So had this video card for a couple weeks and I haven't had any issues with clicking, though maybe I just got lucky. Admittedly, I haven't played a game yet either, so there's that, too.