Caseking/OcUK selling GTX970's with 980pcb, reference cooler and cherry picked components -> no coil whine guarantee

[FatalityDiablo]

Wanted to share this with you guys, because I have mixed feelings about this card.

On one side I love how their "CWR Edition" (-> Coil Whine Reduction) is basically an uber 970 that has top notch components(i.a. samsung vram only) on a 980 pcb with the 980's reference cooler and just glorious geforce everything.

BUT - isn't it just a business-move along the current sales figures? I mean it is basically nothing new, a cut down 980 that costs more than the ASUS Strix 970 and probably performs worse than that.

 

Still I am kind of drawn to buy one, because of how solid it looks, how ever I will have a this feeling being ripped off:D what do you guys think about this "pay more and it works like it supposed to" 970 reference edition?

 

http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/Grafikkarten/Alle-Grafikkarten/Caseking-GeForce-GTX-970-CWR-Edition-4096-MB-GDDR5::30071.html

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1524613/kg-ocuk-begin-selling-gtx-970s-with-reference-style-cooler

 

 

[DeViLzzz]

I will always pay the lowest I can on a video card so how I feel about this card is no I will not pay more for a guarantee of no coil whine.

[Archangel1994]

I will always pay the lowest I can on a video card so how I feel about this card is no I will not pay more for a guarantee of no coil whine.

You will pay the lowest you can for the most important component when it comes to getting all them sweet frames? O_O

[DeViLzzz]

You will pay the lowest you can for the most important component when it comes to getting all them sweet frames? O_O

Yes I will because the cards generally are within 1 or 2 FPS of each other and that usually is just because of things randomly happening a certain way at the time.  

[Archangel1994]

Yes I will because the cards generally are within 1 or 2 FPS of each other and that usually is just because of things randomly happening a certain way at the time.  

You do not prefer better cooling solutions, custom PCB, better VRM control? You do not want longevity and lower temps?

[FatalityDiablo]

You do not prefer better cooling solutions, custom PCB, better VRM control? You do not want longevity and lower temps?

Thing is "better cooling solutions, custom PCB, better VRM control" is the "only" profit you get from spending 80-100bucks more than the lowest priced 970.. Still it kinda makes you feel good when you know you have a high end 970 with badass components^^

[NeatSquidYT]

You do not prefer better cooling solutions, custom PCB, better VRM control? You do not want longevity and lower temps?

I agree, but I try and get one from a reasonable brand at the lowest price. Usually, it's MSI.

[Archangel1994]

Thing is "better cooling solutions, custom PCB, better VRM control" is the "only" profit you get from spending 80-100bucks more than the lowest priced 970.. Still it kinda makes you feel good when you know you have a high end 970 with badass components^^

80-100? More like 30-40 more O_o

[Hatsune Miku 「 」]

80-100? More like 30-40 more O_o

Archangel has a point.

[Da'Argo]

Going to try and get 2 of em for Holidays.

[That Norwegian Guy]

I will always pay the lowest I can on a video card so how I feel about this card is no I will not pay more for a guarantee of no coil whine.

 

 

Thing is "better cooling solutions, custom PCB, better VRM control" is the "only" profit you get from spending 80-100bucks more than the lowest priced 970.. Still it kinda makes you feel good when you know you have a high end 970 with badass components^^

 

Not at all, longevity and risk of DOA is the biggest problem with the lowest end cards, many of them (especially PowerColor and Sapphire on AMD) have power delivieries that have a life forecast of 2-3 years, longer only if you're lucky. Or coil whine problems that especially XFX have specialized in in the past. On Nvidia it's a bit different, because Nvidia doesn't even allow board partners (just like Intel doesn't allow partners) to use those extra-low SKU caps on the PCBs, BUT they find other way to cut corners. MSi, ASUS and Gigabyte all had some temporary problems on the 7xx generation of cards on their entry level. On a certain percentage of cards, MSi had leaking fan bearings for a while, ASUS kicked off the generation with some cards that had corrupted VRAM (lowest quality ELPIDA chips available) and Gigabyte advertised a 780Ti Gigahertz edition of which almost half the cards shipped had to be underclocked by the end user due to underbinned chips.

 

You shouldn't buy entry-level unless you're prepared to RMA at a 5%~20% likelihood, even one step up to mid-range and the risk is down to 1%.