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One more Which card thead.

Seb5009

Seb5009

Seb5009

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One more Which card thread.

Time for a new card got it down to 4 cards and wanted some help, to pick the right one for me.

1. Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X 2048MB
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-095-GI
I know this one, is one of the better 670, but I don't like the sound of having to flash it with new bios (never done it before)

2. MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-170-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2294

3. KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 EX OC 2048MB
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-018-KF&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2294

4.Sapphire HD 7970 VAPOR-X GHZ 3072MB

And the last one sounds like a great card but its AMD. My last card is a 6970 and I have had a few problems with the drivers.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-303-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=938

I will be playing at 1080p and play all sorts of games.

Thanks for looking and any help is welcome.
 
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If I was to consider a 7970, I wouldn't bother with the ghz edition, I'd just go for either the regular 7970 or a 7950 and overclock it. Out of the 670's, although I like all of them (for RMA purposes in particular), I don't think the extra is worth it for the MSI. Here, I'd probably opt for the Gigabyte version.
 
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The vapor-x is a brilliant cooler. Some of the most glowing reviews I've read. Quiet, cool, well made, overall quality is absolutely brilliant. The KFA2 cooler is quiet but not very cool, the windforce is cool and quiet to a point, 60% fan and I found it too loud. Coolers and warranty/customer service are the most important things with performance being so close at the top end. I would ignore clockspeeds.

People are recommending AMD left right and centre just now, myself included. But at over £300 it swings back in nvidia's favour. You can argue that none of the 670/7970 range are worth the price increase, that the 660 and 7950 are very close and generally a lot cheaper, but that's another thread.

Spending over £300 I would probably go with the 670 windforce, if you have good airflow and good ambient temps, it should be doable. It's not as quiet as the kfa2, but with the 70c "ceiling" on Kepler, I would eat some noise for a couple of degrees. 3 years warranty and great UK based customer service. MSI TF in second place, 3 years warranty but I think it's handled in the Netherlands? KFA2 in third because even though it's nice and quiet and with a excellent(best?) RMA service in the UK, it's just not cool enough and a year less on the warranty.
 
keithfa26 said:
The msi is clocked a tiny bit higher and really that all you get stick with the cheapest 670 there and just overclock
Click to expand...

The MSI card is a fully custom PCB with upgraded PWM, Military class components (IE. caps/chokes etc. so pretty much guaranteed no "coil while") and out of the box runs as fast as a stock 680. Plus it's one of the few cards where voltage control is unlocked in Afterburner (should you wish to try and OC it further), so should "in theory" (depending on how good the GPU chip is obviously) be able to push it a bit further than other cards. Though not tried it yet myself. And then there's the "dust removal technology"... maybe a bit of a gimmick but might prevent dust build up.

But I suppose that I would bang it's drum (so to speak), as I've just bought one and a very nice card it is :D

Though not much wrong with any of the others that you point to either.

PS. Idle temp 20C and not yet seen it go over 60C yet in games. Even OCCT 1 hour run only hit 65C. And at these temps the fan does not go above 45% and that is inaudible over my pretty quiet Gentle typhoon case fans.
 
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670 windforce does sound the best, its just if it needs the bios updating. Guess I will just have to get it done if need be
 
Seb5009 said:
670 windforce does sound the best, its just if it needs the bios updating. Guess I will just have to get it done if need be
Click to expand...

This is what put me off the Gigabyte card when I was looking. That and the fact that my first 580 GTX was a Gigabyte WF and that would not run stable at stock volts and suffered slight coil whine. Maybe a bit unfair I know and I'm obviously aware that many others have had no issues with their 670 Windforce cards. But in the end decided to stick to MSI. My previous two cards were MSI 460 HAWK and MSI 580 TF and these had been faultless. Plus the unlocked voltage control in Afterburner for the MSI card swung it for me.

I'm sure you will have fun which ever you choose :):):)
 
mikeo said:
coil whine.
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that my 7970 Windforce had very audible coil whine, it might be a totally different case with the 670 but if I'm recalling correctly, I've heard coil whine and gigabyte used in the same sentence quiet a bit.

It's maybe best to take that with a pinch of salt.
 
I'm facing a similar dilemma (sorry to hi-jack your thread OP!) but I'm caught between getting a MSI 670 Power Edition, 670 WFx3 or going that little bit extra and getting the 680 Lightning. I'm in a position where I can afford the Lightning, but wondering if it'll have more of a shelf life than the 670's and if it's worth the extra £100.

I also plan to get a BenQ XL2420T at the same time.
 
i think that £100 difference would be far more effective if it was saved now and used on another card when the 6xx series starts to struggle. I don't think there is enough between them for the difference to be playable and unplayable. If the 670 is struggling, the 680 wont be far behind it.

I understand the warm and glowy feeling you get from owning something expensive and high end, but the honeymoon period is fleeting. Spending far more than you have to now, will not save you money in the long run either.

That £100 will still be £100 pounds in 12-18 months. When there will be faster and cheaper cards available.
 
Coil whine is a funny thing. Especially on graphics cards (at least in my experience). You could take a card that sufferers from it and stick it in a different PC (especially mobo/psu combo) and it could vanish! Hence why an RMA for this can (not always though) be fraught with danger (IE. it gets the dreaded "returned fault not found ... been there done that!). Pretty much a matter of luck sometimes if you get a perfect card.

If you want to hear coil whine, listen to the sound coming from the KFA2 670 on the review on Toms Hardware:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217-14.html
Though it obviously (I'm assuming) does not mean that all KFA2 670's will be blighted with it.
Just a shame that the MSI card is not included in the review. Though got to say (being totally honest here), if you can hear the fans on the MSI 670 PE, then you must have very sensitive hearing! As I've played around with manual fan speeds via Afterburner and below 50% (even with case side off) and PC sits on the desk next to me at ear height and only some 3ft away. I'll be damned if I can hear it over the case fans. I just can't abide noisy graphics cards

I had originally thought of an ASUS 670 TOP, till all the reported stability issues!

Sometimes it's a matter of "toss a coin" and hope lady luck shines on you :)

PS. Totally agree with cutshaw's comments regarding top tier graphics cards. Again, been there done it (IE. lost huge wedges of cash:o).
 
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That was the plan, I was going to get a 2nd 6970 when the time come. But my 6970 has been dead for a few weeks now. And I have been spending way too much time with the wife and not the pc :)
 
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