Help with purchasing a GTX 970

[Aazo5]

I'm going to return my new EVGA SC 970 (blower style fan), because it's just running to hot and loud, but I don't know which 970 to replace it with. I've heard too many bad things about the EVGA ACX 2.0 coolers on thier 970s, so I've been looking at MSI's 970 and ASUS's Strix 970.
I'm planning on doing a bit of overclocking, and i'd like a card with decent room for future overclocking, but at the same time I want a card that's not massive like the Gigabyte models, and one that is very quiet. So out of these 3, MSI, ASUS, or EVGA?

[Joshepm]

i've Asus gtx 970 atrix and im running all game's in ULTRA (i7 4970i; 16 gb ram dd4 2000 ghz, etc)

[Aazo5]

I know that the 970 is good, lol. I have one right now. But i'm asking which brand is the best that I described in terms of noise and overclocking.

[˜lokkandload˜™]

Hmm must be related to the 970 only, 960 in my son's pc and my 980FTW are quiet as black holes...

[_I_]

depends on yoru case
with few fans or low airflow, blower style (reference) will run cooler than dual/tri fans
evga acx, msi tf or asus strix cooler are very good for cases with a few more fans
their peformance will be very close, which card can you get for the cheapest

[Aazo5]

MSI seems to be the cheapest.

I'm not sure about airflow. :/ That's the thing. I have an Alienware Aurora case and really dont want to have to buy a new one, but would this case be okay? It only has a few fans though, but the entire top of the case is open vents. https://www.google.com/search?q=alienware+aurora+case&hl=en&biw=1920&bih=955&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIr_Wop8bZxgIVR0GSCh3eagYB

[Azza ☠]

Depends on your PC case...

Firstly ensure you have enough airflow, plus a large enough gap behind the PC case for the hot exhaust to escape. You don't want air to hot pocket (inside or at the rear of the case), if this occurs, the hot air re-enters the back, and the graphic card(s) have to cycle it around and around... increasing fans, increasing noise levels, and getting little to no results in cooling.

---

Custom duel fan models, such as:
ASUS STRIX DirectCUII
or
EVGA with ACX 2.0 Cooler (ensure it's at least version 3, if not 4, as they have been redesigned improving each time, old version had coil whine and other issues - check product code: 3XXX-KR or 4XXX-KR)

Are extremely good, great warranty, cooler, quieter, and high quality components built to last. They will also be completely silent in the right case with enough airflow. They turn off their own fans completely, if below 60 degrees temperature. Ideal if your just light gaming, browsing the web, playing music or watching a movie.

Note: If your PC case however restricts airflow from low area, it will heat up due to surrounding components, they will then full blast the fans and sound loud. Depending on how the fan curve is setup, this can be extremely bad for some. As the fans don't run, it heats up, then they blast but struggle to keep the system cool. Compared to an always on fan which helps cool the lower area of the case, not just the graphic card itself.

---

Consider liquid cooling on your graphics card. ASUS ROG POSEIDON will be a lot quieter in a water cooled setup - however I don't believe there's one available for GTX 970? Custom water blocks on graphic cards are a lot harder to setup. If you don't know much about water cooling, perhaps not the best/easiest option.

[Aegis Maelstrom]

I own a pair of Asus 970 Strix. http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00NJ9BJ8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436846796&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+970


The fans do tend to get loud, once the 970s reach at a certain temparature. How the fan functions can be easily over written with Asus's GPU Tweak Utility.

IMO, recommend the Asus graphics cards over MSI... I have an easier time and successfully o.c.'ing Asus cards.

Also, after looking at the case you just linked... I have a feeling, it's going to get real hot in there.

You stated earlier that you don't want to buy a new case... but just incase. You may want to look into something like the Cooler Master HAF XB with mesh top and optional 200mm top fan (which I own), or the Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 (basically the HAF XB, placed on it's side). Probably ebay your older case.

[Aazo5]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย PockySticks:

I own a pair of Asus 970 Strix. http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00NJ9BJ8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436846796&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+970


The fans do tend to get loud, once the 970s reach at a certain temparature. How the fan functions can be easily over written with Asus's GPU Tweak Utility.

IMO, recommend the Asus graphics cards over MSI... I have an easier time and successfully o.c.'ing Asus cards.

Also, after looking at the case you just linked... I have a feeling, it's going to get real hot in there.

You stated earlier that you don't want to buy a new case... but just incase. You may want to look into something like the Cooler Master HAF XB with mesh top and optional 200mm top fan (which I own), or the Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 (basically the HAF XB, placed on it's side). Probably ebay your older case.

The case I have does have some airflow though.
Just not sure if it's enough. The entire top is open vents, and there is a fan in the bottom pushing cold air through the bottom right under the GPU (you can feel the cold air) and then it pushes it through the vent in the back of the case, and I would assume out the top as well since heat rises.
I'm not very good at knowing what kind of airflow is good airflow, so based off of what I said, does that sound decent?

[_I_]

dell likes to use tiny cases with poor airflow
get a reference cooler for the dell case
or replace the case

[Aazo5]

I asked someone on the forums for Alienware, and they told me this: https://na.alienwarearena.com/forums/thread/101107/technical-support-1/question-about-alienware-aurora-r4-s-airflow

He said that the top vents are good enough for airflow. Don't know if I should trust or not. The case itself is not tiny. Its fairly large.

[Andrius227]

Blower fans are actually the best. Much better than the open air coolers thats for sure. If you think your temps are too high right now with blower cooler then with open air it will be much higher, and not just the graphics card, but the entire pc will run hotter. Because instead of going out of the case, hot air will spread inside. You need like 4-5 case fans for a gpu with open air cooler. Otherwise a blower is just better.

I myself have 2x Evga gtx980's superclocked (blowers). Gpu temps maxes out at 83 degrees. And they are not that loud either, highest fan speed is set to 68% at max temps. They exhaust so much heat that my room gets so hot i have to keep my window and door open otherwise the heat becomes unbearable. And i can't imagine how my pc would perform if all that heat stayed inside the case.

[Aazo5]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Andrius227:

Blower fans are actually the best. Much better than the open air coolers thats for sure. If you think your temps are too high right now with blower cooler then with open air it will be much higher, and not just the graphics card, but the entire pc will run hotter. Because instead of going out of the case, hot air will spread inside. You need like 4-5 case fans for a gpu with open air cooler. Otherwise a blower is just better.

I myself have 2x Evga gtx980's superclocked (blowers). Gpu temps maxes out at 83 degrees. And they are not that loud either, highest fan speed is set to 68% at max temps. They exhaust so much heat that my room gets so hot i have to keep my window and door open otherwise the heat becomes unbearable. And i can't imagine how my pc would perform if all that heat stayed inside the case.

I currently have the EVGA 970 SC, also a blower style, but I don't like it. It uses the fan from the old 600 series GPUs which means that it gets hotter and louder. Should I return it and pick up the reference 970 with the titan cooler from my local Best Buy?

[EsotericEgo]

I've got the MSI GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr, it's quiet, cool, relieable and packs a punch, what more can you ask?

[Andrius227]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย aazo5:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Andrius227:

Blower fans are actually the best. Much better than the open air coolers thats for sure. If you think your temps are too high right now with blower cooler then with open air it will be much higher, and not just the graphics card, but the entire pc will run hotter. Because instead of going out of the case, hot air will spread inside. You need like 4-5 case fans for a gpu with open air cooler. Otherwise a blower is just better.

I myself have 2x Evga gtx980's superclocked (blowers). Gpu temps maxes out at 83 degrees. And they are not that loud either, highest fan speed is set to 68% at max temps. They exhaust so much heat that my room gets so hot i have to keep my window and door open otherwise the heat becomes unbearable. And i can't imagine how my pc would perform if all that heat stayed inside the case.

I currently have the EVGA 970 SC, also a blower style, but I don't like it. It uses the fan from the old 600 series GPUs which means that it gets hotter and louder. Should I return it and pick up the reference 970 with the titan cooler from my local Best Buy?

Oh yeah mine also look like titans.
Does yours look like this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61W5PBPuR0L._SL1500_.jpg
If so, then yeah replace it.

[Aazo5]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Ciderfects:

I've got the MSI GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr, it's quiet, cool, relieable and packs a punch, what more can you ask?

A case with good airflow.