which 970?

[Nines11]

Im looking to buy a 970 graphics card but which one? How are the Evga cards?

I was looking at the 290s but they dropped the civ game off them which was basically the main reason to buy a 290...

Im looking at the Evga or the Galax black edition?

Evga points are looks nice, has 3 years warranty and should be easy to sell on.

Galax points are back plate and still looks nice.

I would prefer the quietest card but also dont see the point in spending 40 quid more for the asus card.

The Gigabyte oc looks ok but it doesnt have a back plate like the G1 but what are the other differences?

Looking to buy asap so help me please

 

[drhax]

Be careful, the GB G1 is quite long about 12".BTW I have the asus, I can run bf4 maxed while OC@ 1400 @ 1080p. Get MSI/ASUS can't go wrong.

 

[Nines11]

Tbh they are all the same card so will perform within 5% of each other i just want a reliable quiet card but dont wanna pay the 40 quid extra for the Asus.

The MSI seems ok but the Evga is cheaper and supposed to have better support? Main thing that puts me off galax is the 2 year warranty and its kind of a budget brand?

 

[MoonBoots]

The EVGA 970 has a bit of a bad name. Apparently a lot of them have a manufacturing defect which results in the heat pipes being misaligned, I'd avoid personally: http://www.eteknix.com/evga-gtx-970-feature-manufacturing-defect/

 

[Amatsubu]

I'd pick between Asus and MSI. Asus has better build quality (and might be less likely to develop fan problems) but MSI is supposed to clock a wee bit higher due to increased power limit. You can't go wrong with either one, it's more about preference than anything. I went with the Asus for the backplate and because I don't like plastic fan shrouds.

 

[Nines11]

I read the heatsink problems too but EVGA reported they didnt make a difference if all 3 touched? I have a feeling this is why its so cheap though.

The asus is 40 quid more and i dont think its worth it at all. Galax has a backplate but 1 year less warranty. MSI is my next choice as its only 13 quid more.

Is the EVGA really so bad? Can gibbo or an owner comment on this please? I can change my order but need to do it today for the sale prices!!

 

[Amatsubu]

The MSI should be a good choice. I got the Asus cheaper so it was a no-brainer. As for the EVGA card, wasn't ACX 2.0 supposed to fix the misaligned heatpipes mishap? Not really sure about the extent of the problem but I decided to steer clear of EVGA just in case.

 

[Nines11]

The MSI should be a good choice. I got the Asus cheaper so it was a no-brainer. As for the EVGA card, wasn't ACX 2.0 supposed to fix the misaligned heatpipes mishap? Not really sure about the extent of the problem but I decided to steer clear of EVGA just in case.

Yeah 2.0 has fixed the heat pipe thing so thats good news! Just gotta hope its not noisy and doesnt have coilwhine now. 5 year warranty is nice too so they obv expect them to last!

2 year is cutting it a bit short for the Galax imo but i do like the backplate if i have any problems with the EVGA ill switch to the MSI or Galax. Weird how they stuck a back plate in the 290 but not the 970 for the MSI cards though :/

 

[Amatsubu]

Not sure about coil whine but I'm pretty positive the cooler on the MSI is more efficient and less noisy than ACX (same goes for the Asus). Each card has its own share of little quirks, you just have to decide what's the best for you.

 

[a66as]

I have a gigabyte g1 970, the design is awesome and the shroud is metal with a really awesome backplate, it boosts to 1400+mhz without even touching anything and i can get mine to do +1500mhz on stock speeds, it comes with 3 years warranty and a UK based RMA service

if your not bothered about colour scheme or have a black or blue theme then this is a no brainer

 

[Nines11]

I have a gigabyte g1 970, the design is awesome and the shroud is metal with a really awesome backplate, it boosts to 1400+mhz without even touching anything and i can get mine to do +1500mhz on stock speeds, it comes with 3 years warranty and a UK based RMA service

if your not bothered about colour scheme or have a black or blue theme then this is a no brainer

Thing is its 40 quid more the price im trying to stay at is under 270. 252 for the EVGA is pretty decent. I tried an old GTX 260 last night and couldnt hear it what so ever! It did get up to 72c but the fan was very quiet. The EVGA has to be just as quiet surely?

My main concern would be coil whine but ill send it back if it suffers from this.

I like the G1 as the backplate is nice but for 40 quid more its not really worth it imo. I game with headphones so as long as i cant hear it while gaming its all good. Coil whine however is like a white noise sound and you can always hear it!

 

[africanos23]

Thing is its 40 quid more the price im trying to stay at is under 270. 252 for the EVGA is pretty decent. I tried an old GTX 260 last night and couldnt hear it what so ever! It did get up to 72c but the fan was very quiet. The EVGA has to be just as quiet surely?

My main concern would be coil whine but ill send it back if it suffers from this.

I like the G1 as the backplate is nice but for 40 quid more its not really worth it imo. I game with headphones so as long as i cant hear it while gaming its all good. Coil whine however is like a white noise sound and you can always hear it!

I got the Galax EXOCs (Grey ones) 68c in SLI at 1405/7412, coil whine only when its over 1500fps (yes one thousand five hundred).

I can't hear the cards over my case fans and as you mentioned Galax it's a lot cheaper.