GTX 970 Gigabyte vs MSI vs Asus.

[Hemanse]

Im gonna buy myself a 970, thought about the 980 but it just feels like the 970 hits the right spot when it comes to performance vs price, i currently own a 770 from msi (lightning model) that i will be using in another build, i have been fairly happy with the MSI card, dno if i got a "bad" sample, but the overclocking potential on mine was quite minimal, then again the lightning is already a overclocked card, but i did expect a bit more out of it.

 

Now im wondering wich brand to go with, i have read as many reviews that have come out yet and alot of them point towards the Gigabyte being a really solid choice, great speeds, great overclocking potential and really nice load temps, but i would love some feedback from people that might own either, im not really sold on the asus strix models, but the cards i have been looking at are:

 

• MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4GB - 482$
• Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 4GB - 516$
• Asus GTX 970 Strix 4GB - 516$

Would love some user feedback on either of the cards in regards to problems, overclocking, heat output, noise etc 

[Phllips]

msi 

[Toddwjp]

msi, its cheaper, will probably over clock just as well

[brownninja97]

they are good, apart from asus as they keep messing up the launches for gpus.

 

Just get the cheapest one without a blower cooler.

[ItxCrow]

I would go with Asus because I prefer Asus and I've never had problems with Asus

[ilikemacandpc]

MSI. Cheaper and has better power delivery. 

 

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/1

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-970-maxwell,3941.html

[H4X3R]

MSI, cheapest.

[TheMcSame]

Asus or MSI. Ideally MSI unless Asus comes out with a normal DCU II cooler that isn't part of the strix series. Out of those 3 go for MSI.

 

I'd recommend giving Zotac a look as well. Zotac is Sapphire's Nvidia brand so you're getting a quality card which is (usually) cheaper than other brands. 

[Hemanse]

Seems like MSI is the way to go, i left out Zotac since i find their cards look kinda cheap, might just be me, but looking at their new lineup it just looks flimsy and cheap in my eyes.

Im still a bit torn tho, MSI or Gigabyte, i hear really good things about both of them.

 

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-970-g1-gaming-review,1.html

 

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-970-gaming-review,1.html

 

Quite impressed with the Gigabyte temperatures, but then again, always hard to judge since im guessing they always end out the best performing cards for testing and reviews.

[BloodWithIce]

Gigabyte is also a huge one. It measures 15 inches according to Newegg, but I am not sure about it..

[i_build_nanosuits]

MSI gaming is flawless i'll buy nothing else than twin frozr from now on...I'm done with experimenting stuff this one is perfect.

[Hemanse]

Unsure why MSI went without a backplade, or maybe its only the lightning line that had that.

[Hemanse]

MSI gaming is flawless i'll buy nothing else than twin frozr from now on...I'm done with experimenting stuff this one is perfect.

 

yeah im pretty sold on the msi, cheaper, good reviews and it even matches my motherboard (even tho i dont have a window in my case   )

[i_build_nanosuits]

yeah im pretty sold on the msi, cheaper, good reviews and it even matches my motherboard (even tho i dont have a window in my case   )

you need a windowed case, look at that, she's dead sexy!

[ACatWithThumbs]

The Gigabyte is the best for overclocking it has 2x 8pin power connectors.
The MSI has 1x 6pin and 1x8pin.
And the Asus version has only 1x 8pin so don't buy this one if you want to push high overclocks.

[Hemanse]

you need a windowed case, look at that, she's dead sexy!

 

Yeah i would love a window case, but so far i am stuck with my CM Trooper case, then again with all my noctua fans im okay with it being closed so far  http://imgur.com/a/26vCx

 

 

The Gigabyte is the best for overclocking it has 2x 8pin power connectors.

The MSI has 1x 6pin and 1x8pin.

And the Asus version has only 1x 8pin so don't buy this one if you want to push high overclocks.

 

Think im gonna get the MSI still, whats mostly in stock here anyway, gonna be 3-4 weeks before the gigabyte comes in.

[Hemanse]

The Gigabyte is the best for overclocking it has 2x 8pin power connectors.

The MSI has 1x 6pin and 1x8pin.

And the Asus version has only 1x 8pin so don't buy this one if you want to push high overclocks.

 

You sure about the 2x 8 pin btw? http://media.bestofmicro.com/J/Q/454310/original/Gigabyte-GTX-970-Windforce-OC-View-ISO.jpg looks like the same as the msi, the 980 have 2x 8pin tho.

[KamiKatze]

Asus and afaik also the MSI are semi passive. Another bonus when idleing.

I am a big fan of the TF4 for its low humming noise and good cooling. The TF5 looks a bit over the top and has too many fan blades imo. I could imagine that it's a bit louder.

The Asus looks better imo and has a backplate + i heard good things about the noise that it makes. Also very humble and low.

Now that noise is out of the way i would just get the one you like better.

[mattyo1228]

Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 4GB

[Hemanse]

Asus and afaik also the MSI are semi passive. Another bonus when idleing.

I am a big fan of the TF4 for its low humming noise and good cooling. The TF5 looks a bit over the top and has too many fan blades imo. I could imagine that it's a bit louder.

The Asus looks better imo and has a backplate + i heard good things about the noise that it makes. Also very humble and low.

Now that noise is out of the way i would just get the one you like better.

 

Im not a big fan of the Strix models i gotta admit, think ill stick with MSI, the TF5 design looks fine to me, also quite rare that the fans spin up that high unless you run benchmarks, I dont like the whole passive until 60+ degrees thing, i would rather the fans spin at a lower speed like it does on the MSI and keep it cooler, MSI and other cards run at around 30 degrees idle while the asus run at 50+, atleast according to the reviews i have read.

[TechSilver13]

I love MSI cards and Asus cards. This is the first time I went with Gigabyte, mainly because the OC is so high out of the box and it looks the best IMO.

[Zauski]

I don't know if this is valid, but the Gigabyte one lights up...

[Hemanse]

I love MSI cards and Asus cards. This is the first time I went with Gigabyte, mainly because the OC is so high out of the box and it looks the best IMO.

 

I would love to know how it runs, how it sounds, how hot it runs and how much you can OC it?

[TechSilver13]

I would love to know how it runs, how it sounds, how hot it runs and how much you can OC it?

here is a good video that will answer most of your questions. I am goint to get my two 970's on Tuesday so I will be testing from about 9:30 at night till 2am.

[ACatWithThumbs]

You sure about the 2x 8 pin btw? http://media.bestofmicro.com/J/Q/454310/original/Gigabyte-GTX-970-Windforce-OC-View-ISO.jpg looks like the same as the msi, the 980 have 2x 8pin tho.

My mistake it was the Zotac version that has 2x 8pin connectors.