Looking into the 970 need advice

[Calranthe]

Hello,
I am parting ways with my AMD 290x, while it is a good card I need to prioritize power efficiency and noise levels over raw power.

I can afford any of the 970's it comes down noise levels, my system is almost silent except for the 290x.

I am looking for a long term warranty as well, so which is the best 970 for my situation?

Will have the money on the 20th

 

[Calranthe]

I would have gone for EVGA in a second because of there excellent service record looks like it will be MSI unless EVGA can convince me the card can be quiet.
The 290 is going to a friend and as for extended warranty, how it usually goes is this (working to a budget) 970 will stay in my machine for a year then I buy the next iteration and 970 goes into my wife's pc a year later that 970 will go into the media pc and stays there until it can not handle games+media.

 

[Calranthe]

Actually I have another question.
Looks like I may be able to get £400+ to spend on this so my question is, would a 980 be a better replacement for the 290x and which is the quietest 980 ?

 

[Calranthe]

Hi, for our ACX 2.0 models we have a BIOS update for 0% fanspeed in idle up to about 60 degree, if silent is important for you I would suggest to go for this model.
For the ACX 1.0 models we will also launch an improved BIOS for fanspeed but they can not stop spinning in idle.

I was thinking about the EVGA GeForce GTX 970 FTW ACX 2.0 even if I have to wait till the end of the month. if I do not go for a 980

 

[Calranthe]

I will be going over to the shop on Monday to buy a 970, EVGA ACX 2.0 is my first choice if any are in stock
Will report back here when it is all setup and working.

 

[Calranthe]

Emm,by the time you sold the R9 290X and paid for a new GTX970 its unlikely the lower power costs will actually add up - how many hours of games do you play each week OP?? If it is a reference R9 290X card,wouldn't getting a better cooler solve any noise problems??

If you sell the game code,your friend could get a GTX780 for under £180 delivered and that is one with a UK RMA base.

How many hours of gaming a week minimum 84 hours it adds up, going from a 300w card to a 145w card will make a difference, especially with the other changes plus funds to do this has come from selling old hardware I had so no real cost to me.

84 hours a week may seem a lot but remember we are stuck in the house 23/7 due to wife's disability and me being her primary carer, I wake up at 6 go to bed at 12 only so many books and films you can watch over 15 years games are a great release from all of that.

With all the changes factoring in the new psu's cards and systems, removal of items we are actually saving £40-50 per month in electricity.

 

[Calranthe]

Back when I got the 290x money was not a problem, streamlining was not a focus, now it is thus switching to a 970gtx.

 

[Calranthe]

My problem is that when I started this project to refine the computers make them more efficient and reduce the number (from 7 to 4) it all adds up.

Tomorrow I travel to overclockers and pick up which ever 970 is in stock.

 

[Calranthe]

Well I grabbed a Galax 970 from the shop, installed and it works perfectly no coil whine.
Setting up dual display was so much easier than on the AMD and the picture from HDMI was much clearer.

Tested a few games, most intensive was space engineers mod I have with 70 ships and 4 stations, no slow down.

Will not be overclocking until I see a game that slows my system down, same goes for the 4970k I have, yes I could overclock this whole system but until a game comes along that slows the system no point.