Help me spend money!

[Samfisher]

Time for me to ask the inevitable!  970 or 980, reference or aftermarket.  First some background.  I just got the AT-2020 mic and that thing can be sensitive to ambient noise.  My current 2x 7950 Boost Vapor-X cards put out a considerable amount of noise when gaming and the mic picks it all up.

 

I'm in the market for 1, possibly 2 GPUs to replace my 7950's and obviously the choices are either the 970 or 980 (I only went AMD when I was mining LTC more than a year ago).  Prices between the 2 here in Singapore is alright, and I can afford either one, and should I need another, I can do that too.  However, when it comes to sound, I'm pretty picky seeing that the mic is so sensitive even when I turn down the gain.

 

 

So onwards!  My choices are either the Zotac 980 reference blower, Gigabyte 970 G1 Gaming WindForce, Gigabyte 980 G1 Gaming WindForce (for about SGD$90 more than reference blower) .  No MSI as the card is freaking huge and would rather not have any GPU that takes up more than 2 slots.  The 7950 Vapor-X already takes up 2.5 slots each, making all my other PCI/PCIE slots inaccessible.  I also have the option to go with the Zotac 970 TwinFan one but that looks hella ugly lol.  Also no Asus cos they are selling the reference one at $989...wat the actual heck.

 

My case can fit any 2 of the above cards.  Case is about 2.5-3 feet away from the mic to the right.

[AlwaysFSX]

970 G1 is the best bang for your buck and pretty darn quiet too.

[Sandvich]

Get the ASUS Strix GTX 970 if noise is your main concern Linus has a video about it.

[Samfisher]

970 G1 is the best bang for your buck and pretty darn quiet too.

 

 

I took a look at many reviews but the 980 blower seems pretty darn quiet too. ):

[Samfisher]

Get the ASUS Strix GTX 970 if noise is your main concern Linus has a video about it.

 

No Asus cos firstly it's overpriced here, almost 150-200 more than reference + they changed the IO's... I want more DPs and less HDMI.

[AlwaysFSX]

I took a look at many reviews but the 980 blower seems pretty darn quiet too. ):

Yeah but what's the price between the two? The 970 has pretty darn good performance and usually costs a few hundred less than the 980.

[Samfisher]

Yeah but what's the price between the two? The 970 has pretty darn good performance and usually costs a few hundred less than the 980.

 

Price difference between the Gigabyte 970 and reference 980 from Zotac is about SGD$184.  That's 145 american dollars.

[EcoBoost]

I took a look at many reviews but the 980 blower seems pretty darn quiet too. ):

Because it's a 780 cooler slapped on a 980 chip, which produces nowhere near as much heat, so the fan simply runs at lower speeds.

 

It's actually a very livable cooler. Unless you overclock heaps, reference cooler is perfectly fine for 980 IMO

 

7950 Vapor X CF still kicks ass though

[AlwaysFSX]

Price difference between the Gigabyte 970 and reference 980 from Zotac is about SGD$184.  That's 145 american dollars.

Yeah I would get the 970.. That's just me.

[Samfisher]

Because it's a 780 cooler slapped on a 980 chip, which produces nowhere near as much heat, so the fan simply runs at lower speeds.

 

It's actually a very livable cooler. Unless you overclock heaps, reference cooler is perfectly fine for 980 IMO

 

7950 Vapor X CF still kicks ass though

 

 

Actually I believe the 980 cooler is different as it does not have the vapour chamber from previous iterations.  I do plan on OCing the heck out of it though.  Might just get the 970 and maybe get another if Witcher 3 proves GPU-melting once again.

[PerfectTemplar]

Get the ASUS Strix GTX 970 if noise is your main concern Linus has a video about it.

+1 If noise is a big problem. 

 

I think ASUS are probs bringing a STRIX 980 too if you can wait.

[Samfisher]

Just went and got the Gigabyte 970 during lunch time