MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB Worth it?

Pow0001

Junior Member
Apr 6, 2015
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Hi guys I was just wondering if the MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB is the best option or is there a better one for around this price $519 AUD
 

DustinBrowder

Member
Jul 22, 2015
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The GTX 970 does NOT have 4GB memory, contrary to the still fake advertisement and scam by Nvidia. The GTX 970 has 3.5GB of ram, then a 512mb part that operates as a separate memory, sort of like system memory at only 28gb bandwidth.

The 290x or 390 as already suggested are better value, so unless you really want it to be an Nvidia and have 3.5GB of ram, I'd suggest you go for an AMD R9 390 or 290x which can be found for as little as $250 US dollars.
 
Dec 30, 2004
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being that he's in Australia I think the 390/390x are a lot more expensive (VAT or Import tax), but the 290/x might be affordably on sale.
 

Goatsecks

Senior member
May 7, 2012
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The GTX 970 does NOT have 4GB memory, contrary to the still fake advertisement and scam by Nvidia. The GTX 970 has 3.5GB of ram, then a 512mb part that operates as a separate memory, sort of like system memory at only 28gb bandwidth.

The 290x or 390 as already suggested are better value, so unless you really want it to be an Nvidia and have 3.5GB of ram, I'd suggest you go for an AMD R9 390 or 290x which can be found for as little as $250 US dollars.

Technically, it does have 4gb of memory otherwise they would be obliged to advertise it as a 3.5gb card, which they do not. :awe:

For 1080 gaming I agree that the 290x is better value but not the 390.
 

ArchAngel777

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
5,223
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I just picked up a 970... Unfortunately, it was DOA. That said, I should be getting my replacement from EVGA in a few weeks. I believe the 970 is the best bang for the buck card out there right now, for that performance point.

As for the 3.5GB vs 4GB bandwidth debacle - who cares? No, really, I mean who actually cares other than someone wanting to petty and trivial? They admitted their blunder. It is still the performance king, even after this 'defect' so to speak.

970 is a great card.
 
Dec 30, 2004
12,554
2
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I just picked up a 970... Unfortunately, it was DOA. That said, I should be getting my replacement from EVGA in a few weeks. I believe the 970 is the best bang for the buck card out there right now, for that performance point.

As for the 3.5GB vs 4GB bandwidth debacle - who cares? No, really, I mean who actually cares other than someone wanting to petty and trivial? They admitted their blunder. It is still the performance king, even after this 'defect' so to speak.

970 is a great card.

because the card becomes worthless any time a game uses > 3.5GB

also, it's not good to support a company with such disregard for their users. many individuals choose to support more ethical companies like AMD
 

ShintaiDK

Lifer
Apr 22, 2012
20,378
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because the card becomes worthless any time a game uses > 3.5GB

also, it's not good to support a company with such disregard for their users. many individuals choose to support more ethical companies like AMD

Stop the FUD and BS please. We know you are really a diehard AMD fan but this is way over the top.
 

96Firebird

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 2010
5,709
316
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Yup, the 970 is a great card. I haven't gamed in a while, but back when I did it handled everything just fine at 1920x1200.

As far as which card to go for, most 970s will overclock to around the same boost clock, usually settling around 1450-1500MHz depending on how hard you push it. I pushed my first 970 past 1500MHz for gaming, but haven't overclocked my FTW card from it's stock settings.

ArchAngel777, what was wrong with your card? Did you try updating motherboard BIOS? Hope you don't have any problems with your replacement card.
 

tential

Diamond Member
May 13, 2008
7,355
642
121
I just picked up a 970... Unfortunately, it was DOA. That said, I should be getting my replacement from EVGA in a few weeks. I believe the 970 is the best bang for the buck card out there right now, for that performance point.

As for the 3.5GB vs 4GB bandwidth debacle - who cares? No, really, I mean who actually cares other than someone wanting to petty and trivial? They admitted their blunder. It is still the performance king, even after this 'defect' so to speak.

970 is a great card.
Anyone who intends to use their card to its fullest extent would care...

Depends on the price but here the 390 and 970 are the same price. So 390 is by far the better choice as pointed out by many reviewers.

However if they're different prices, get the cheaper one.

The 970 is a no go for me when other products do the exact same thing but without such a hurdle.
 

ArchAngel777

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
5,223
61
91
ArchAngel777, what was wrong with your card? Did you try updating motherboard BIOS? Hope you don't have any problems with your replacement card.

I booted it up, smelled something strange. Shut it off, checked connections, still was fine. Booted it up, didn't smell anything, let it boot into Windows. Installed the drivers. Launch BF4. It started loading the map, then locked up. Tried again, same thing. After that, the computer stopped turning on. Removed the card, put in my Radeon 7970Ghz Edition, worked just fine. Tried my 970 is my Haswell based system next, wouldn't even turn on.

I have probably installed 40-50 video cards, never experienced this out of the gate. That said, something is burned up on the card, though no physical damage. I bet a capacitor fried or something like that. It was a real bummer.

That said, I did have my Zotac 460ti start on fire. But it ran fine for over year, then once day, it started on fire! Hah! The RMA experience with Zotac was great. So far the RMA process with EVGA is fine too. Interestingly, a guy on Newegg had the same thing happen to his card that he just purchased. Same story as mine. Card just fried.
 
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cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
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Anyone who intends to use their card to its fullest extent would care...

Depends on the price but here the 390 and 970 are the same price. So 390 is by far the better choice as pointed out by many reviewers.

However if they're different prices, get the cheaper one.

The 970 is a no go for me when other products do the exact same thing but without such a hurdle.

I use the hell out of my 970s. No regrets.

The MSi cards are IMO the best value out there really because of their cooling system and I've always found them to be fairly priced compared to Gigabyte and some Asus models when it comes to Nvidia cards.

I knew this would degrade instantly into an anti Nvidia/970 thread anyhow.
 
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Rvenger

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator <br> Video Cards
Apr 6, 2004
6,283
5
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The 970 is no issue at 1440p and below. I only had issues with mine because I had two in SLI with a 4k Monitor.

At this point in time you can find a used 980 for a price of a new 970 so I wouldn't even recommend the 970 at this point.
 
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cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
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The 970 is no issue at 1440p and below. I only had issues with mine because I had two in SLI with a 4k Monitor.

At this point in time you can find a used 980 for a price of a new 970 so I wouldn't even recommend the 970 at this point.

4k is tough on many setups. I'd need at least 3 980s or equivalent to be happy at 4k, ideally 4 of them though. I'm picky though.
 

Rvenger

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator <br> Video Cards
Apr 6, 2004
6,283
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4k is tough on many setups. I'd need at least 3 980s or equivalent to be happy at 4k, ideally 4 of them though. I'm picky though.


The 970 SLI drove 4k fairly well until you started cranking AA. VRAM exceed 3500mb immediately and took a game from 40fps straight to 1-2fps. I wouldn't recommend even 4gb of VRAM for 4k. I doubt the OP would have this issue since 4k is less than 1% of the gaming market.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
The 970 SLI drove 4k fairly well until you started cranking AA. VRAM exceed 3500mb immediately and took a game from 40fps straight to 1-2fps. I wouldn't recommend even 4gb of VRAM for 4k. I doubt the OP would have this issue since 4k is less than 1% of the gaming market.

Yep I've tried some games at 4k(via DSR) and older titles perform very well. Anything newer than a few years really tank. Unplayable
 

tg2708

Senior member
May 23, 2013
687
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The 970 is no issue at 1440p and below. I only had issues with mine because I had two in SLI with a 4k Monitor.

At this point in time you can find a used 980 for a price of a new 970 so I wouldn't even recommend the 970 at this point.

Any link to this?