Non-reference 6970s?

[ikachu]

Does anyone have any opinions / reviews regarding the non-reference 6970 cards?

Are they quieter / cooler / overclock higher enough to justify the additional cost? Quieter is probably the most important to me.

MSI Lightning - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127581
Gigabyte w/ Windforce 3x - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125371
Powercolor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131391
Another Powercolor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131394

Thanks

 

[alcoholbob]

The non-reference designs usually cool the card better at the cost of blowing hot air in the case, thereby increasing the temps for the rest of your components.

 

[Grooveriding]

http://www.chiphell.com/en/graphics/msi-n580gtx-lightning-r6970-lightning-review/

Review of the 6970 lightning there. Does 940 at stock voltages, 1Ghz with a voltage bump. Quiet as well.

 

[mosox]

If you're not much of an overclocker you can get the XFX dual fan - cool, quiet and lifetime warranty (to activate that you need to register the card on the XFX site after purchase).

 

[RussianSensation]

Does anyone have any opinions / reviews regarding the non-reference 6970 cards?

You are likely considering an aftermarket card because you plan to overclock for maximum performance? HD6970 doesn't make a lot of sense at such high prices (for non-reference designs). At this level you can get an aftermarket GTX570 such as this one or factory pre-overclocked one with lifetime warranty.

When compared head-to-head, an overclocked GTX570 walks all over the 6970. I suggest grabbing a reference HD6950 2GB and unlocking it into a 6970 instead. If you still decided to go with the aftermarket 6970, that Gigabyte card looks very nice.

 

[(sic)Klown12]

I have the Gigabyte Windforce 3X 6970 and it's a nice card. The cooler works great(temps never over 65c with the cooler staying silent), and at least with my case and airflow, hasn't raised the temps of my other components.

But it does have two downsides, first is no dual-BIOS and the second is no voltage control through software. I haven't tried RBE to see if it was adjustable there.