Which brand should I get? (GTX 970)

[It's Not Lupus]

Which brand has the most reliability and best warranty? Or is it more about the model than the brand? What are your experiences?

 

[Eric1987]

MSI Twin Frozr 5 970.

 

[RussianSensation]

1. Gigabyte Gaming G1 970 best cooler and one of the highest 1329 Boost clocks.
2. MSI Gaming 970 2nd best cooler with the ability to turn off 2 fans at 60C and below and great components such as 6+2 power phases
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/14

If Warranty is your primary reason for purchasing, EVGA.

 

[Cerb]

Both MSI's and Asus' are fairly available, and are semi-passive.

So far, MSI's and GB's seem to be better OCers than Asus.

MSI > GB > Asus, in terms of after-sale support, if you ever need it.

So, all things considered, another vote for MSI.

 

[toyota]

MSI Gaming or even the MSI 4GD5T.

 

[weevilone]

My MSI Gaming R9 280 is built like a tank. I'd be giving that a hard look if I was in the market for a 970.

 

[Cerb]

MSI Gaming or even the MSI 4GD5T.

Why specifically the 4GD5T?

 

[abcodi]

MSI Twin Frozr 5 970 is a good card!

 

[Carfax83]

I have two Gigabyte G1 GTX 970s and the max boost clock is 1380mhz, which makes overclocking really unnecessary unless you're into benchmarking..

 

[Dribble]

Avoid anything without up-rated power circuitry if you want to avoid buzz.

 

[toyota]

Why specifically the 4GD5T?

I was saying either MSI card is fine.

 

[Rhezuss]

Nothing is in stock here in Canada. NCIX and Newegg.ca are starting to show some models in stock but i'm waiting for either Gigabyte or MSI to come back in stock.

There's some EVGA that are available though.

 

[Jurge92]

For me it's between the MSI and Gigabyte. Whichever overclocks best will be my choice...

 

[toyota]

For me it's between the MSI and Gigabyte. Whichever overclocks best will be my choice...

I am hitting 1528 on stock voltage with my MSI 970.

 

[Kenmitch]

For me it's between the MSI and Gigabyte. Whichever overclocks best will be my choice...

I've passed on the MSI Gaming 3 times so far. Thinking Gigabyte is the one I'll get....Unless something better pops up that'll suit my needs.

 

[f1sherman]

Both MSI's and Asus' are fairly available, and are semi-passive.

So far, MSI's and GB's seem to be better OCers than Asus.

MSI > GB > Asus, in terms of after-sale support, if you ever need it.

So, all things considered, another vote for MSI.

No backplate on MSI -> worse overall thermals:

Gigabyte for superior thermals:

 

[Rhezuss]

The ASUS Strix is available at Newegg.ca...damn tempting.

I've had many Asus cards and they all were solid except for a 8800GT back in the days that had it's heatsinks falling down lol.

The 970 Strix look freaking cool...but I think I will wait for more models to come back in stock like the MSI which is a bit cheaper.

 

[Mondozei]

Gigabyte. It has a higher boost clock, better thermals.

The after-sale service depends on where you live. In Sweden, Asus has been great, at least to me. Gigabyte has typically been horrible, EVGA seems to be awesome no matter where you live.

But I'm assuming you're 'Murican or at least in the Anglophone world, so Gigabyte would seem like the best choice this time 'round.

 

[Jurge92]

I am hitting 1528 on stock voltage with my MSI 970.

Damn. Must've gotten quite a chip then!

 

[Rhezuss]

Well looks like i'm gonna wait for either Gigabyte or MSI which I hope will be in stock next week!?!?

I have the upgrade itch again...

 

[Cerb]

No backplate on MSI -> worse overall thermals:

Gigabyte for superior thermals:

No, that's just the backplate messing with the camera. Look at the "frontal" images (3rd pic in each review), and you can see that the Asus, like the MSI, is toasty inside, and it's just not all making it to the camera, though it has a backplate. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte card is all blue between the shroud and backplate the whole time, even with low chip temps.

The Gigabyte card has a beefier cooler, and clearly doesn't use the PCB as much for cooling, either. Probably has more efficient voltage regs under heavy load, too.

 

[Subyman]

Can't tell whats going on below that backplate.

 

[Teizo]

Thanks for the heads up on the back plate fooling the camera. I would have presumed that it was sealing off the heat which would be good for SLI set ups.

Single card set ups I doubt it would really make that much difference, though the back plate does make the card more rigid and less prone to droop.

 

[Cerb]

Can't tell whats going on below that backplate.

They are from the Guru3D reviews. They have other angles, too, which shed a bit of light on things.

 

[Fastx]

Fwiw on the Gigabyte 970 you see from the image below the camera can see the GPU and VRMs (VRM area per Guru pics) to a degree though the blackplate which have vent holes. Also in the video with the Gigabyte 970 overclocked to 1807 (unstable/1807 but he says stable at 1680 in comments) he says the GPU didn't exceed over 64C in his UV BM and you see the temp on his monitor screen in the vid.

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cxCn_7MZZE&list=UU9Tn-atYOt8qZP-oqui7bhw



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