Just replaced 2 EVGA GTX670FTWs in SLI with Single GTX 970

[guskline]

Just replaced my 2 EVGA GTX 670 FTWs in SLI (will be selling shortly on this forum) with a single Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Windforce gamer. What a powerful card. In Firestrike Std the 2 670s edge out the single 970 by a 10647 score to a 10265 score. In Extreme the 6760s score @ 5800 while the single 970 scores @ 5280 but the 970 in Ultra scores @2750 while the 670s (probably starved for Vram) score 423.

The single 970 is buttery smooth and gives glorious color with the Achieva Shimian 27" 2560 x 1440 monitor. Glad I got those newegg gift cards for Christmas.:awe:

 

[cmdrdredd]

Cool, I have two MSI Gamer GTX 970s coming tomorrow to replace my 670 FTW SLI setup.

 

[guskline]

Cool, I have two MSI Gamer GTX 970s coming tomorrow to replace my 670 FTW SLI setup.

WOW!

 

[digitaldurandal]

What do you get with 290 CF rig in Firestrike?

 

[Whitestar127]

Cool, I have two MSI Gamer GTX 970s coming tomorrow to replace my 670 FTW SLI setup.

I've been thinking about an upgrade like this as well. My impression is that a single 970 is about on par performance wise to two 670s, is that correct?

If so then two 970s should really be a nice and not too expensive upgrade.

If you can be bothered then please share any benchmarks after your upgrade.

 

[guskline]

What do you get with 290 CF rig in Firestrike?

For my 290s in CF in rig 1 below at stock speeds in Fire Strike
Standard 16,673
Extreme 8,691
Ultra 4,751

 

[guskline]

I've been thinking about an upgrade like this as well. My impression is that a single 970 is about on par performance wise to two 670s, is that correct?

If so then two 970s should really be a nice and not too expensive upgrade.

If you can be bothered then please share any benchmarks after your upgrade.

Gosh, there are so many Benchmarks out there if you ask for specific ones, I'll try.

 

[Whitestar127]

Gosh, there are so many Benchmarks out there if you ask for specific ones, I'll try.

No I was thinking more of 670 SLI vs 970 SLI, but I'll see if I can find them in the wild, no problem.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I've been thinking about an upgrade like this as well. My impression is that a single 970 is about on par performance wise to two 670s, is that correct?

If so then two 970s should really be a nice and not too expensive upgrade.

If you can be bothered then please share any benchmarks after your upgrade.

I have a whole slew of benchmarks written down at home. They are at 1080p though as I was hooked up to the tv at the time. I will post them here when I get to the house.

 

[ocre]

Gusklin,

U tryed overclocking the 970?
Never have i had a gpu like it. Overclocked mine +225 on the core with the powertune @106%. Thing is, it sounds exactly the same and runs just as cool. It needed no voltage. I am simply locked at 1475mhz boost clocks with zero drawbacks or issues. As a matter of fact, this was my first overclock on it. I just pushed up the slider, just for kicks. U expected a crash or something. Left the fan as it was. But it didnt act up. It sounda and acts like its completely normal.....except its running at just under 1500mhz. The performance was actually needed for DA with DSR.

Just saying, these cards were meant for higher speeds. Think nvidia chose low clocks for lower tdp. My card is very happy ro run at these high high clocks

 

[tential]

Gusklin,

U tryed overclocking the 970?
Never have i had a gpu like it. Overclocked mine +225 on the core with the powertune @106%. Thing is, it sounds exactly the same and runs just as cool. It needed no voltage. I am simply locked at 1475mhz boost clocks with zero drawbacks or issues. As a matter of fact, this was my first overclock on it. I just pushed up the slider, just for kicks. U expected a crash or something. Left the fan as it was. But it didnt act up. It sounda and acts like its completely normal.....except its running at just under 1500mhz. The performance was actually needed for DA with DSR.

Just saying, these cards were meant for higher speeds. Think nvidia chose low clocks for lower tdp. My card is very happy ro run at these high high clocks

Sorry I'm a little obsessive with DSR. How did you like using DSR compared to increasing other settings and what resolution/level of DSR are you using? How much did it boost IQ?

 

[Leyawiin]

Think about selling my R9 290, heading to a Coinstar with my big loose-change jar and get some gift certificates to use at Bestbuy for one of the Nvidia branded GTX 970s. It'll be like getting it for free since that change has gone in unnoticed for several years.

 

[cmdrdredd]

GTX 670 SLI vs 970 SLI

All benchmarks at 1080p and max details in game unless noted.

Heaven Benchmark
GTX 670 24.2 min/71 avg/159.5 max
GTX 970 33.9 min/107.3 avg/217.6 max

3DMark Firestrike(Not extreme as I didn't buy the package)
GTX 670 10,776
GTX 970 17,723

Metro Last Light(minimum fps is always reported low)
GTX 670 10.21 min/64.57 avg/145 max
GTX 970 10.39 min/94 avg/160.21 max

Bioshock Infinite(low reported minimums always)
GTX 670 14.10 min/154.06 avg/379.63 max
GTX 970 28.76 min/205.35 avg/407.24 max

Tomb Raider(FXAA not MSAA)
GTX 670 76 min/104.8 avg/134 max
GTX 970 126 min/169.6 avg/216 max

Dragon Age Inquisition(fade touched textures)
GTX 670 min 33.6/48.3 avg
GTX 970 62.3 min/83.8 avg

 

[ocre]

Think about selling my R9 290, heading to a Coinstar with my big loose-change jar and get some gift certificates to use at Bestbuy for one of the Nvidia branded GTX 970s. It'll be like getting it for free since that change has gone in unnoticed for several years.

That is exactly the 970 i got. I had credit i always liked the titan cooler. I knew i wanted a 970 with that cooler but what i didnt know was how much overclocking potential i might loose due to not having a custom bios. See vendor OC models have custom settings that is said to allow higher tdp which you would think means better overclocking

I thought i might flash it or something...
Turns out i was wrong to assume. Its actually locked in at almost 1500mhz boost. The temps are no different with a +225 overclock. I guess the titan cooler can handle a high watt 780ti then a 970 is no problem even overclocked.

I havent even tried for max overclock, there probably is even more headroom. +225 was just my first shot. So far locked the same high boost after several games and many hours. I couldnt be happier

 

[aigomorla]

guskline.. according to pics, your 670GTX blocks might fit on that 970, thats assuming u had waterblocks for the 670.

So you might be able to save yourself some money and watercool it on top.

 

[ocre]

Sorry I'm a little obsessive with DSR. How did you like using DSR compared to increasing other settings and what resolution/level of DSR are you using? How much did it boost IQ?

I had absolutely no interest in DSR when i decided i was gonna upgrade to the gtx 970. What did play a factor was 2 games, Dragon Age inquisition and AC Unity. I have openly expressed interest in both of these titles for some time now but once they came out, the reviews were a little scary. I mean, i loved the last 2 DA games (II & Origins). I also have greatly enjoyed most of the AC games.

So my upgrade had nothing to do with DSR. I thought it was a gimmick, fluff feature to tell you the truth. I wouldnt have ever even used DSR if it wasnt for the new Nvidia driver install. It wanted me to updated Geforce experience which i did. After it installed, it tells me my games arent optimized and i am like duh, just installed the 970, havent played any games. I normally ignored the suggestions but i just for kicks i figured i would peek at a few. I thought, lets see what it says about Watchdogs........it suggested insane settings. Ultra, MSAA, and a crasy high resolution......calling it DSR. I was like no way. But i let it iptimize and started playing it.

Now, i wasnt expecting DSR to do anything. I mean the pictures i have seen show an improvement.....zoomed in that is. But DSR is actually way better than a single picture shows. Everything becomes more crisp and you can see fine details in motion like never before. I was totally wrong about it. It does improve IQ and sometimes its pretty drastic. I dont know if its just something i have been avoiding to research or no one is making a big deal about it but the IQ is so significant I have turned down settings in some games because i simply cannot give up DSR.

Maybe its because a lot of people already have higher resolution montiors. I have been on 1080 for ever now. But a crazy thing happened after bought the 970 and before i installed it. My 1080 monitor just quit working. Its shot. I had dual monitors but the 2nd was an 22" LG at 1680x1050. My 1080 was older and the LG never appeared to look worse even though it was lower resolution. Actually, the 24" 1080 and 21.5" 1680x1050 shouldnt be too far apart when it comes to pixels per square inch. But the point is, my first impressions of DSR are on this LG and maybe this could be why i find the feature so impressive. I mean, its so much more than i ever thought.

I have turned down settings to be able to use DSR. I find that with DSR I dont need as much AA. But DSR is more than that. Its actually clears up details especially when there is a lot going on (such as chain link fence, etc).

As for which DSR setting. I think the max is 3360 x 2100 for this LG....I just know i have 2x and 4x enabled in the driver. I havent tried the middle settings yet, such as 1.5x, 3x, etc.
So i have been using either 2x or 4x, depends on the game. I would love to use 4x all the time, but games like Inquisition you end up having to turn down more settings than i want. So i have been using 2x on it. I have been seeing the difference and sometimes 2x is a great compromise. It makes me wonder what the other off settings can do but i only have so much time and when i check things out....i really like to spend time with them.

DSR turned out to be much more than i ever thought. Something i had no interest in, to something i really really am impressed with. I dont know how much i will enjoy it after i upgrade my monitor. But seriously, i now see so many more options now. Things i wouldnt even consider. Like SLI, I never once dreamed i would want multiple GPUs in my rig. But the IQ from DSR is so real, that might be worth it to me one day. Or, how bout a really great 144hz 1080 monitor.....i know i need a new one, and DSR really makes me think of options i wouldnt have thought of. I planned on 1600p minimum but now i dont think i would mind 1440p or maybe even 1080 again.

I have really been impacted by this feature i once thought was a gimmick. And maybe its my low resolution, idk. But i am now a believer. In most cases, it is way more than worth while. Some games have more of an impact on you than others. But if i said i was loving it......it would be an understatement

 

[cmdrdredd]

It seems like your usage is the exact benefit case for DSR. Lower resolution monitor but you can run the game at higher resolution since you have the horsepower available. I'm planning to run games on my 1080p TV at 1440p or higher DSR (depending on performance).

 

[guskline]

guskline.. according to pics, your 670GTX blocks might fit on that 970, thats assuming u had waterblocks for the 670.

So you might be able to save yourself some money and watercool it on top.

Sold the GTX 670 waterblocks some time ago except for an older XSPC block. No interest in watercooling it since I use a X60 Kraken for the cpu and it's fine.

The Windforce 3 fan air cooler is amazing.

 

[Whitestar127]

GTX 670 SLI vs 970 SLI

All benchmarks at 1080p and max details in game unless noted.

Nice, thanks! :thumbsup:

But DSR is actually way better than a single picture shows. Everything becomes more crisp and you can see fine details in motion like never before. I was totally wrong about it.

Interesting post. I think I have to look into this feature, especially if I upgrade.

 

[cmdrdredd]

In response to dsr being better in motion than screenshots I think it has to do with higher resolution simply being superior to removing jaggies than simply using AA alone. The crawling effect on fences for example doesn't appear in stills but when you have the game in motion you can see it. Many AA methods don't clean this up enough.

 

[guskline]

Did an overclock of the GTX this morning, +150 core and +300 memory and it jumped past the 2 670s in FireStrike and ran well. Played COD AW for @45 minutes and max gpu temp was 58C OC'd.

Really solid card.

 

[Lepton87]

People seem to forget that neither 980 nor 970 use the titan cooler, they use cheap version of it with heat-pipes instead of the vapor chamber and even the proper Titan cooler only ever makes sense over an open air cooler if you have multiple cards sandwiched together otherwise open-air coolers are way superior I'd never choose a blower if I only had one card. I have to set my titans at 70% fan speed in some games so they don't throttle at which point those coolers are very laud.

 

[Kenmitch]

Think about selling my R9 290, heading to a Coinstar with my big loose-change jar and get some gift certificates to use at Bestbuy for one of the Nvidia branded GTX 970s. It'll be like getting it for free since that change has gone in unnoticed for several years.

I have that one. Mine is a OC'ing beast. I did a little bios mod to mine, nothing crazy. I've had mine up to 1562/8102 during benching. Having issues upping the voltage but haven't really worried about figuring it out. Mine will crash to desktop around 1580 or so but voltage is only 1.208 at max The slider in afterburner doesn't take with my current bios.

If you want that card I suggest stopping by your post office and picking up a movers pack. There should be a 10% off 1 single item coupon for BestBuy included in it. Makes it price competitive with other 970 offerings.

 

[Pneumothorax]

People seem to forget that neither 980 nor 970 use the titan cooler, they use cheap version of it with heat-pipes instead of the vapor chamber and even the proper Titan cooler only ever makes sense over an open air cooler if you have multiple cards sandwiched together otherwise open-air coolers are way superior I'd never choose a blower if I only had one card. I have to set my titans at 70% fan speed in some games so they don't throttle at which point those coolers are very laud.

Yup, my reference 780Ti with the titan class cooler would get very loud at around 70% or so that it needed to run at as I would routinely peg mine at 83C when playing DAI. My MSI Gaming 970 SLI setup is much quieter and cooler.

 

[Leyawiin]

That is exactly the 970 i got. I had credit i always liked the titan cooler. I knew i wanted a 970 with that cooler but what i didnt know was how much overclocking potential i might loose due to not having a custom bios. See vendor OC models have custom settings that is said to allow higher tdp which you would think means better overclocking

I thought i might flash it or something...
Turns out i was wrong to assume. Its actually locked in at almost 1500mhz boost. The temps are no different with a +225 overclock. I guess the titan cooler can handle a high watt 780ti then a 970 is no problem even overclocked.

I havent even tried for max overclock, there probably is even more headroom. +225 was just my first shot. So far locked the same high boost after several games and many hours. I couldnt be happier

I have that one. Mine is a OC'ing beast. I did a little bios mod to mine, nothing crazy. I've had mine up to 1562/8102 during benching. Having issues upping the voltage but haven't really worried about figuring it out. Mine will crash to desktop around 1580 or so but voltage is only 1.208 at max The slider in afterburner doesn't take with my current bios.

If you want that card I suggest stopping by your post office and picking up a movers pack. There should be a 10% off 1 single item coupon for BestBuy included in it. Makes it price competitive with other 970 offerings.

Thanks for the good reports on the card guys, and the heads-up about the 10% coupon!