Which brand should I get? (GTX 970)

[Pandora's Box]

Gigabyte is fine for single card but if you are going sli go with the MSI card as the heatsink is not as tall as the gigabyte card.

 

[Jurge92]

Does the MSI one have better components then the Gigabyte? Like if you looked away from the cooling.

 

[RussianSensation]

Does the MSI one have better components then the Gigabyte? Like if you looked away from the cooling.

It's tough to say since they focus on different things. Gigabyte has their Ultra Durable components, which means solid state caps like MSI and it made a completely custom PCB too with 2oz of copper. MSI though has their Military 4 chokes and Hi-C caps which are the same parts used on their Lightning cards.

I wouldn't disregard the cooling as a trivial factor. This reviewer got his G1 970 to 1524mhz and the max temperature was 63C while you can't hear the card in the background with his side case panel open while he is looping Valley!

Computerbase got a ridiculously low load noise levels on the G1 970 too, below that of the already awesome Asus Strix 970 cooler. The main advantage of the MSI card is that the fans turn off at 65C or lower so for movie watching and 2D desktop work it is preferred. For gaming and overclocking, I'd take the G1 970.

 

[Fastx]

It's tough to say since they focus on different things. Gigabyte has their Ultra Durable components, which means solid state caps like MSI and it made a completely custom PCB too with 2oz of copper. MSI though has their Military 4 chokes and Hi-C caps which are the same parts used on their Lightning cards.

I wouldn't disregard the cooling as a trivial factor. This reviewer got his G1 970 to 1524mhz and the max temperature was 63C while you can't hear the card in the background with his side case panel open while he is looping Valley!

Computerbase got a ridiculously low load noise levels on the G1 970 too, below that of the already awesome Asus Strix 970 cooler. The main advantage of the MSI card is that the fans turn off at 65C or lower so for movie watching and 2D desktop work it is preferred. For gaming and overclocking, I'd take the G1 970.

Just for the record he reached 1550 on his core clock with his in game boost is 1680 (in replies) which is kind of hard to believe. There is also a guy at OCUK forum claiming in game boost of 1600 on his oc 970.

 

[Cerb]

Does the MSI one have better components then the Gigabyte? Like if you looked away from the cooling.

No. The Gigabyte clearly has a better design for running efficiently under high loads, though. The counter being idle noise that the MSI won't have. TANSTAAFL. MSI's military class marketing and GB's ultra durable marketing are basically for the same thing. What minor differences there may be, if someone goes and splits hairs about datasheet specs of a couple parts, are not going to have any effect on performance or longevity.

 

[Jurge92]

It's tough to say since they focus on different things. Gigabyte has their Ultra Durable components, which means solid state caps like MSI and it made a completely custom PCB too with 2oz of copper. MSI though has their Military 4 chokes and Hi-C caps which are the same parts used on their Lightning cards.

I wouldn't disregard the cooling as a trivial factor. This reviewer got his G1 970 to 1524mhz and the max temperature was 63C while you can't hear the card in the background with his side case panel open while he is looping Valley!

Computerbase got a ridiculously low load noise levels on the G1 970 too, below that of the already awesome Asus Strix 970 cooler. The main advantage of the MSI card is that the fans turn off at 65C or lower so for movie watching and 2D desktop work it is preferred. For gaming and overclocking, I'd take the G1 970.

No. The Gigabyte clearly has a better design for running efficiently under high loads, though. The counter being idle noise that the MSI won't have. TANSTAAFL. MSI's military class marketing and GB's ultra durable marketing are basically for the same thing. What minor differences there may be, if someone goes and splits hairs about datasheet specs of a couple parts, are not going to have any effect on performance or longevity.

Thanks for sorting that out. I went with the Gigabyte today, seems to be the slightly better card overall.

Looking forward to see the OC results.

 

[janii]

Currently, of all cards out in the market, the gigabyte 970 is the best overall.
From cooling to performance.

The only drawback is the length of the card. Its (I think?) 31cm.
If it fits in your case you should get a gigabyte.

 

[Freddy1765]

Idle noise of the Gigabyte is also a major drawback for those of us who require silence while not gaming. The RPMs are just way too high at low temps; that's the only reason I went MSI instead, which is a real bummer as I prefer the Gigabyte in every other aspect..

 

[mikk]

Currently, of all cards out in the market, the gigabyte 970 is the best overall.
From cooling to performance.

Gigabyte is much louder than the Asus and MSI. I wouldn't call it best cooling.

 

[wand3r3r]

Here's a list I compiled quite a while ago about GPU warranties.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArCtGVODPUTtdEdEUjRiSFdyckZ1Q1dGNUI3bkd5R1E#gid=0

Ordered by best warranty:
MSI/EVGA
Gigabyte
XFX

Everyone else (Diamond,Galax,PNY,Powercolor,Sapphire,Zotac)

And to the end of the list:
Asus

(The original thread http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2225815)

 

[notty22]

I chose the MSI gaming 970, the only thing I find enviable in the Gigabyte is the backplate. Life is usually peppered with compromises.

 

[Kenmitch]

I chose the MSI gaming 970, the only thing I find enviable in the Gigabyte is the backplate. Life is usually peppered with compromises.

Well I guess if a person isn't careful they could wind up ordering the Gigabyte without the backplate.

Looks like they released a non G1 gaming version with the windforce cooler.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5212#ov

 

[amenx]

Have an Asus Strix on pre-order. Dont mind any of the brands as I've tried all three (twin frozr, DCU2, windforce) and dont have any specific preference. On paper the MSI gaming looks best as far as components is concerned, but dont care. I wont be aggressively OC'ing if at all.