final gpu decision

[nerdshack888]

hi need some advice, need to get a gpu now before the end of black friday deals, dont want a 16 pin connector so looking at the 9070 xt, was looking at the pulse because its the cheapest but pure is also an option my question is because these cards use 2x8 pin connectors are they less safe than the cards that use 3x8 pin connectors because they can distribute the wattage over more cables. my only other option is downgrading my thoughts and getting a 5060 ti as its the highest nvidia card without the 16 pin connector. please help i need to decide and get this sorted.

current setup :
9700x
msi 850 edge ti
850w psu
64gb ram

 

[InkZ]

It’s only the Nitro+ with that connector, any of the others will be fine.

I bought the Nitro+ as I’m not bothered

 

[tamzzy]

because these cards use 2x8 pin connectors are they less safe than the cards that use 3x8 pin connectors because they can distribute the wattage over more cables

this totally is a non-issue as the old-school 8pin pcie connectors are big enough that power density is negligible (compared to the current 12vhpwr/12v2x6 connectors)
i would suggest you don't base your purchasing decision on this alone

 

[nerdshack888]

thanks for the advice, my choices are the pulse or the pure, people say there is not much difference except for colour and rgb but in benchmark tests the pure always does better, other choices are the asus prime oc or the hellhound or the mercury oc just stuck deciding as i built my pc but no gpu till i decide. also want to avoid coil whine, has anybody got any more advice on reasons to choose one model over another or things to look out for eg one model is the best at overclocking or the quietest etc.thanks

 

[tamzzy]

also want to avoid coil whine

this is luck of the draw, really

my choices are the pulse or the pure, people say there is not much difference except for colour and rgb but in benchmark tests the pure always does better

there are 3 stacks of 9070xt based on their silicon quality

the pulse is the base (boost clock 2970)
the pure is the middle (boost clock 3010)
the nitro is the top range (boost clock 3060)

so it is therefore not surprising that the pure does better, because it has better silicon
(ofc you can manually tune each card to get the best out of the chip)

 

[nerdshack888]

thanks for the reply, do you think the pure is worth the price difference or could i overclock the pulse myself to the pure speed, it just sounds a bit like pick one any one really it should be fine but i am the sort of people that hates uncertainty.i want to at least have the ability to try some games at 1440p with some ray tracing and i know that the nvidia is better at that but because of the 16 pin connector i would only be able to get a 5060 ti which definitively will not be able to do ray tracing so the choice is choose one of the 9070 xt ones at make do with the 5060 ti at medium settings and i really dont know what to do but i realize that if i did get the 5060 ti i would need to buy another gpu within in the next few years and i want to avoid that and yes i am hard work.

 

[tamzzy]

honestly pick any one you want. if you're getting a 9070xt then the sapphire pure is white, if you're going for that white aesthetic...or else get the pulse and save a few quid

the 12v2x6 issue is overblown, yes it's a poor design, but if you plug it in properly, it shouldn't cause an issue
realistically, it's only the 4090/5090 with it's 450-600w tdp where the 12v2x6 connector design (power density) flaw becomes apparent
you're not looking in that ball park so i'd just get on with life and stop worrying so much, and if the 5070ti fits your use case scenario better, then get that instead.

 

[Jimbo]

The pulse is an excellent card.

 

[nerdshack888]

thanks for the replies, i like the look of the pure card but realistically i wont be able to see it in my case as it will be under the desk so the look while good will is not really that important, so i suppose i just need to decide if paying the extra for the pure is worth it and to not take into account the look only the other differences like the faster clock speed and according to hardware unboxed the cooler temps or to pay the extra for a completely different one, i think if i get the card and it plays the games well enough with some ray tracing i will probably avoid overclocking it anymore.

 

[Tetras]

so the choice is choose one of the 9070 xt ones at make do with the 5060 ti at medium settings

The performance difference between these two cards is really big, they're in a different class/tier.

It wouldn't be worth considering the downgrade, even if ray tracing is a big deal, because the delta is so big in raster that the 5060 Ti can't make it up. RDNA4 is also a lot stronger in raytracing than previous AMD cards.

people say there is not much difference except for colour and rgb but in benchmark tests the pure always does better, other choices are the asus prime oc or the hellhound or the mercury oc just stuck deciding

Your overall gaming experience is going to be very similar for any of them. The benchmark differences are not significant and will shrink over time (as newer, faster cards come in and games get more demanding).

The temperatures in HUB's roundups vary a lot (between memory, GPU and hotspot), which might be linked to the individual sample and silicon as well, so hard to have a firm conclusion (about the better coolers). Need to factor in the power consumption/board power too.

 

[nerdshack888]

thanks for your reply, cannot find any official fan speed on the 2 cards but according to the HUB roundup the pure seems to be 1500rpm where the pulse is 1200rpm so that may be why the pure temps are less than the pulse but that may be the way i am reading the video.

 

[D1craig]

If a card advertises teduced coil whine id avoid it as that tells me they have had issues with coil whine and if it was so simple to reduce or remove it they wouldnt have it in the first place. Asfar as im aware the only way to reduce coil whine is to use a monster of a PSU like 1kw platinum because thats what the shops use when seeing if they should accept your RMA and they never do...

 

[D1craig]

thanks for your reply, cannot find any official fan speed on the 2 cards but according to the HUB roundup the pure seems to be 1500rpm where the pulse is 1200rpm so that may be why the pure temps are less than the pulse but that may be the way i am reading the video.

I dont think ive ever seen a gpu fan max at such low speeds. They normally hit 2.5 to 3k rpm.

 

[nerdshack888]

thanks for the replies again, maybe that wasn't the max speed but they were the speeds show on the benchmarks on the HUB roundup, i cannot find so far anywhere where there is mention of fan speeds on the cards, so not sure why the pure seems better at cooling than the pulse unless its the fans speed. seem to be further than ever on deciding what to do but need to decide and get on with it.