Weird EVGA GTX970 Problem?

[buklau]

I just received my EVGA GTX970 blower style card today in the mail. I took off the factory heatsink and put on my arctic cooling mono plus cooler, turned on my PC and everything worked fine. As soon as I installed the Nvidia driver I immediately notice artifacts showing on my screen. So I make sure all my cable and connectors are tighten, still showing the same issue. Then I went into the BIOS and change my PCI Express bus link from auto to gen3 which is PCI-E 3.0 mode and that fixed the artifact problem. Is it possible that the maxwell series aren't compatible with PCI express 2.0 or 1.1 mode??

During gaming I noticed a coil whine noise especially during really high frame rate places, is that normal?

With the arctic cooling mono plus cooler on, furmark never break 51C with fan set to auto. I gave a mild overclock +150mhz core 1200mhz base and 1328mhz boost, memory at 7000mhz stock and still stable. Should I push it further? I currently have a 400 watt FSP aurum gold power supply.

Thanks

 

[XiandreX]

I would be extremely nervous overclocking too much on a 400W power supply. I am surprised you are running your current setup on it.

 

[Kenmitch]

Did you test it with the stock cooler before swapping?

Power supply should be upgraded also.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I would be extremely nervous overclocking too much on a 400W power supply. I am surprised you are running your current setup on it.

Power supply should be upgraded also.

I'm running a 3770non-K@4.3GHz, P8Z77-V Deluxe, 16GB RAM, an ASUS GTX970, 1x SSD+2x HDD on a 450W Antec Earthwatts EA450.

The highest I've ever seen it draw is 250W at the wall. Actually with my older HD7870, the system used more then that (~270W). I think you're both seriously overestimating how much power a "normal" desktop system uses, even overclocked...

 

[XiandreX]

I'm running a 3770non-K@4.3GHz, P8Z77-V Deluxe, 16GB RAM, an ASUS GTX970, 1x SSD+2x HDD on a 450W Antec Earthwatts EA450.

The highest I've ever seen it draw is 250W at the wall. Actually with my older HD7870, the system used more then that (~270W). I think you're both seriously overestimating how much power a "normal" desktop system uses, even overclocked...

Are you running your video card at stock or overclocked?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Are you running your video card at stock or overclocked?

Other then the factory 1114/1253MHz (stock 1050/1178)? No. I do believe the 970 Strix's have an unofficial TDP of 160-165W, compared to the stock 145W.

The 970 is an incredibly efficient chip.

 

[XiandreX]

Other then the factory 1114/1253MHz (stock 1050/1178)? No. I do believe the 970 Strix's have an unofficial TDP of 160-165W, compared to the stock 145W.

The 970 is an incredibly efficient chip.

Makes me want one even more. :biggrin:
I am still very surprised at the low power draw from your system.
I need to get a Kill a watt equivalent here in South Africa to test my own system.

 

[buklau]

Did you test it with the stock cooler before swapping?

Power supply should be upgraded also.

http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-1970-KR

I did not get a chance to test the stock cooler because I bought the cheapest GTX970 there is. It's much smaller compared to the arctic cooling mono plus cooler I have.

Before I think I had it running at PCI Exress 2.0/1.1 mode and it was causing some artifact problem. Last night I ran several short gaming benchmark and it was fine so I will try to run it for more extended time tonight to see if there are problems.

I applied a very thin layer of MX-2 on the GPU die and it's non-conductive, and the arctic cooling mono plus cooler works perfectly on my video card.

I don't think power supply is an issue since mine is can be overloaded to 500W but just can't have the 80+ gold efficiency rating.

This card run alot cooler than my old radeon 7870 and below are the benchmark I ran so far.

7870 o/c 1165/5500 @ 1.25v max I can apply, 1.3v still show as 1.25v
970 o/c 1200/*1328 boost/7000 @ 1.2v stock

Street Fighter IV 1080P AA/AF Off, rest max
7870 = 364.72
970 = 542.63

Tomb Raider IV 1080P AA/AF Off, Normal Hair
7870 = 69.9
970 = 132.7

Idle / Load *Both with arctic cooling mono plus cooler with furmark
7870 = 27/69
970 = 26/51

 

[ocre]

remove your card and blow out the PCIe slot then try remounting it as carefully as possible..
Make sure your card isnt pulling up any when you tighten the screws that secure the GPU.

PCIe pins are extremely tiny and seating issues are easily over looked. I know most people dont realize this but it is a common issue.

So i would try reseating the GPU a time or two. Or if that doesnt help, put it in a different PCIe slot if you have one.

See if that helps.

 

[buklau]

remove your card and blow out the PCIe slot then try remounting it as carefully as possible..
Make sure your card isnt pulling up any when you tighten the screws that secure the GPU.

PCIe pins are extremely tiny and seating issues are easily over looked. I know most people dont realize this but it is a common issue.

So i would try reseating the GPU a time or two. Or if that doesnt help, put it in a different PCIe slot if you have one.

See if that helps.

Good call, I will try to re-seat my GPU when I get home. :thumbsup:

 

[toyota]

I'm running a 3770non-K@4.3GHz, P8Z77-V Deluxe, 16GB RAM, an ASUS GTX970, 1x SSD+2x HDD on a 450W Antec Earthwatts EA450.

The highest I've ever seen it draw is 250W at the wall. Actually with my older HD7870, the system used more then that (~270W). I think you're both seriously overestimating how much power a "normal" desktop system uses, even overclocked...

I really doubt that as I went well over 300 watts with my system and mildly oced 970 in a few games.

 

[toyota]

Other then the factory 1114/1253MHz (stock 1050/1178)? No. I do believe the 970 Strix's have an unofficial TDP of 160-165W, compared to the stock 145W.

The 970 is an incredibly efficient chip.

there is no such thing as stock 145 watt 970 though. nearly every 970 uses as much power as the 195 watt reference 680 and some even surpass the reference 780. Maxwell is not as efficient as they claim. no where near it.

 

[dazelord]

That 400W aurum is a very high quality psu. Actually it can withstand loads up to 539W.
https://translate.google.se/transla....de/wbb2/thread.php?threadid=31516&edit-text=

Although now updated to a 550W Cooler Master psu, I ran a Radeon 280 with a OC'd 4770K without any problems on the aurum.

As for coil whine, I've had several GPUs doing that, especially under heavy load. I wouldn't be too worried about it...

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I really doubt that as I went well over 300 watts with my system and mildly oced 970 in a few games.

A "normal" gaming load is actually closer to 200W with dips to ~180W. 250W is everything (including the kitchen sink) fully loaded. Keep in mind these are at-the-wall-socket measurements, so actual power consumption will be even lower.

If you're ever in Denmark, drop by and I'll show you...

there is no such thing as stock 145 watt 970 though. nearly every 970 uses as much power as the 195 watt reference 680 and some even surpass the reference 780. Maxwell is not as efficient as they claim. no where near it.

First of, the official TDP is 145W and second how do you explain that mine actually uses less power then my old 175W(190W) rated HD7870? Of course there is no such thing as a reference 970, so each board partners cards will have different characteristics.

Your PSU might not be as efficient at low loads, its only rated 80+ Bronze. And a 650W unit to boot. Let me give an example: At f.x. 200W DC load, your PSU (assuming 85% efficiency) would use 235W, while mine (93%) uses only 215W at the wall. A difference of 20W already. For every extra watt in DC load your PSU will be using 9% more power at the wall socket...

-------------

OP; I'm sorry for "hijacking" your thread. I'll just stop now...

 

[toyota]

well it doesn't really matter what you claim because I've looked at enough reviews to know dang well that your system will use well over 250 watts at the wall in demanding games. There is no ifs ands or buts about that and that's just a fact. I'm guessing you were playing with vsync on or some other frame rate cap so let's not be silly here.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Coil whine is fine. It's the sound of performance.

Do yourself a favor and change that PSU. Do you have a Kill-a-watt?

 

[guskline]

I used Extreme PSU calculator (have a licensed version) and at 90% load was up over 350 Watts. I'm sure with other things added it would climb. With all the mods you are doing, invest in a new psu. I also own a Kill-a-watt meter and it is a GREAT tool.

BTW, I jumped onto the Newegg webpage, found the slowest EVGA GTX 970 blower type gpu and guess what the Minimum PSU specs were? 500W!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814487069

 

[Insert_Nickname]

well it doesn't really matter what you claim because I've looked at enough reviews to know dang well that your system will use well over 250 watts at the wall in demanding games. There is no ifs ands or buts about that and that's just a fact. I'm guessing you were playing with vsync on or some other frame rate cap so let's not be silly here.

You're of course welcome to believe whatever you like. Its no use trying to convince you otherwise, because all the evidence I can come up with, you'll dismiss as faked.

Though I'd advise you to not take reviews too seriously and try using the hardware in question before you make that kind of claim...

 

[toyota]

You're of course welcome to believe whatever you like. Its no use trying to convince you otherwise, because all the evidence I can come up with, you'll dismiss as faked.

Though I'd advise you to not take reviews too seriously and try using the hardware in question before you make that kind of claim...

no you are just using vsync I guess as your numbers do NOT represent real word power usage at the wall in demanding games. saying 175 watts or so being typical in demanding games is 100% horsecrap. you are completely misrepresenting what a 970 does and its ridiculous. you are delusional or what you are measuring power with is broken. the fact that you are vague about actual games and settings and dismiss all actual reviews tells me that your claims are useless anyway. if you want to be ignorant on the subject then fine but dont post your crap here as fact where it can confuse others that dont know any better.

Infraction issued for personal attack.
-- stahlhart

 

[Insert_Nickname]

no you are just using vsync I guess as your numbers do NOT represent real word power usage at the wall in demanding games. saying 175 watts or so being typical in demanding games is 100% horsecrap. you are completely misrepresenting what a 970 does and its ridiculous. you are delusional or what you are measuring power with is broken. the fact that you are vague about actual games and settings and dismiss all actual reviews tells me that your claims are useless anyway. if you want to be ignorant on the subject then fine but dont post your crap here as fact where it can confuse others that dont know any better.

I think we're done here. :whiste:

 

[buklau]

I reseated my video card last night, played archeage online 3 hours and starcraft II 1 hours last night, no crash, no artifacts and temperature are in the mid 40s. I'm very happy and amazed by this GTX970 and have to say it's one of the best video card I ever owned.

Maybe I should go to the store and grab a kill-a-watt to see how much power I'm using from the AC outlet. If it's pulling more than 375 watt from the AC, then I will definitely looking forward to getting a better power supply.

 

[toyota]

I reseated my video card last night, played archeage online 3 hours and starcraft II 1 hours last night, no crash, no artifacts and temperature are in the mid 40s. I'm very happy and amazed by this GTX970 and have to say it's one of the best video card I ever owned.

Maybe I should go to the store and grab a kill-a-watt to see how much power I'm using from the AC outlet. If it's pulling more than 375 watt from the AC, then I will definitely looking forward to getting a better power supply.

no chance you are pulling that much power with a 4690k @ 4.6 with mildly oced 970. you will probably be at or just over 300 watts peak at wall with your exact setup in demanding games. of course power consumption can shoot way up with more ocing on the card.

 

[KaRLiToS]

I reseated my video card last night, played archeage online 3 hours and starcraft II 1 hours last night, no crash, no artifacts and temperature are in the mid 40s. I'm very happy and amazed by this GTX970 and have to say it's one of the best video card I ever owned.

Maybe I should go to the store and grab a kill-a-watt to see how much power I'm using from the AC outlet. If it's pulling more than 375 watt from the AC, then I will definitely looking forward to getting a better power supply.

Don't forget, if it is pulling 375watts from the wall, it means your are pulling actualy 337watts if your PSU has a 90% efficiency at full load.

To calculate:
Watts from the wall: 375w
Efficiency: 90%

375 * 0.9 = 337.5 watts is being pulled from the PSU.