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Best GTX 970 for a noob

althoir88
By althoir88
in Graphics Cards
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Hi guys. I'm new here, so uh, be gentle lol.

I've been PC gaming for quite some time now, but I'm not what you call an expert in the intricacies of PC hardware. I know how to plug in some parts, here and there, but I'm still learning.

So now, I need help in upgrading my graphics card. I want to upgrade my aging HD6850 to that sexy GTX 970, but I'm not sure which brand that is the best for non-overclocker like me. I like the look of the Strix the best at the moment, though I'm not sure if it is the best option. 

Oh this is the rest of my humble rig.

i5 4460 3.2 ghz

8GB of RAM
Asus HD6850 1GB VRAM

Asus B85 Pro Gamer Mobo

Cooler Master Elite 430 
Corsair GS600 PSU

Thanks.  :)

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The least expensive one

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The least expensive one

This one. Also, what is your monitor? A 970 is beginning to be a bit overkill for  1080p 60hz monitor.

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Any GTX 970 is good, obviously don't go with a brand nobody knows so you don't get a cheaply made product

Planned I Hope Someday I Do First Build: CPU: Intel Core i7 5820k CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212 EVO Mobo: MSI X99S SLI PLUS RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4-2133Mhz Storage: Corsair Force LS 240GB SSD & 2TB WD Green Graphics Card: ASUS GTX 970 4GB Turbo Case: NZXT S340 White PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit OEM Monitor: AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22" Monitor

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This one. Also, what is your monitor? A 970 is beginning to be a bit overkill for  1080p 60hz monitor.

A small 20 inch 60hz Samsung monitor. Native 1600X900.  :P  But I will be upgrading this next year, so I thought a good card is essential for the future. Or is my logic flawed...?

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Any GTX 970 is good, obviously don't go with a brand nobody knows so you don't get a cheaply made product

Examples of the nobody brands? I am a little scared of Leadtek, Palit and Gainward, but they seem to be the cheaper options. 

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Examples of the nobody brands? I am a little scared of Leadtek, Palit and Gainward, but they seem to be the cheaper options. 

MSI GTX 970 OC is pretty good for you :D

 

Also, i'd upgrade that PSU, just to be on the safe side, since the lowest (recommended) for a MAXWELL 970 is 500W :D

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Examples of the nobody brands? I am a little scared of Leadtek, Palit and Gainward, but they seem to be the cheaper options. 

MSI, EVGA, and Zotac make decent cards.

 

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My Gigabyte G1 Gaming cards are great, but they are pretty expensive.

 

And a normal 970 can be overclocked to easily surpass them.

MY CURRENT PC

 CPU: Intel Core i7-4770k COOLER: Noctua NH-D14 MOBO: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ATX RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB DDR3-1600 STORAGE: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD and Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM HHD GPU: Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 SLI CASE: Fractal Design R4 PSU: EVGA 1000W 80+ Gold 
PERIPHERALS - KEYBOARD: Corsair Vengeance K70 w/ Cherry MX Browns MOUSE: Logitech G500/M100 MONITOR(S): Acer H236HLbid (I want an Asus PB278Q) SPEAKERS: Some Cyber Acoustics $10 speakers PICTURES AND FULL PARTS LIST @ PCPARTPICKER - http://pcpartpicker.com/b/z4Pscf  

"Don't get so caught up in trying to make a living that you forget to make a life."

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Let's see..

 

Gigabyte G1 if it can fit, EVGA cheaped out on power delivery this gen so avoid, everything else from respectable manufacturers seems solid, The white Galax GTX 970 is my personal fav if it's all about looks. :)

 

89ba9858_GALAX-GTX-900-HOF-7.jpeg

 

 

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MSI GTX 970 OC is pretty good for you :D

 

Also, i'd upgrade that PSU, just to be on the safe side, since the lowest (recommended) for a MAXWELL 970 is 500W :D

But I'm told that Maxwells are very power efficient? Surely a 600W psu would suffice? (please do excuse my reasoning if I sound naive or anything)

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Examples of the nobody brands? I am a little scared of Leadtek, Palit and Gainward, but they seem to be the cheaper options. 

oh those ones are a great example i have never heard of them. If you can get an EVGA, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte or Zotac.

Planned I Hope Someday I Do First Build: CPU: Intel Core i7 5820k CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212 EVO Mobo: MSI X99S SLI PLUS RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4-2133Mhz Storage: Corsair Force LS 240GB SSD & 2TB WD Green Graphics Card: ASUS GTX 970 4GB Turbo Case: NZXT S340 White PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit OEM Monitor: AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22" Monitor

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You should go for the MSI GTX 970 OC Edition. It's the cheapest one I can find, barring the Zotac, and it's from msi. It's look is also clean enough to fit ANY system, instead of the usual glaring red that might look ugly.

 

Oh, and btw, since you'll be getting anyway, you are gonna be benchmarking and reviewing this thing, and become a millionare selling the review (cuz you just can't find one in the net..)

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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Let's see..

 

Gigabyte G1 if it can fit, EVGA cheaped out on power delivery this gen so avoid, everything else from respectable manufacturers seems solid, The white Galax GTX 970 is my personal fav if it's all about looks. :)

 

89ba9858_GALAX-GTX-900-HOF-7.jpeg

OH SWEET. That looks awesome. But I've never of Galax. They good? Card looks huge. I don't live in the US btw. 

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But I'm told that Maxwells are very power efficient? Surely a 600W psu would suffice? (please do excuse my reasoning if I sound naive or anything)

Sorry my bad :heh: ... I misread 430 from the name of the case as wattage (it's over 2am here, so i'm pretty tired... :()

 

600W is definitely enough :D Just check to see if that PSU is 80+ or better :D

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Sorry my bad :heh: ... I misread 430 from the name of the case as wattage (it's over 2am here, so i'm pretty tired... :()

 

600W is definitely enough :D Just check to see if that PSU is 80+ or better :D

Ah I see. Will keep that in mind. Thanks!  :)  ;)

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Ah I see. Will keep that in mind. Thanks!  :)  ;)

Seriously, i'm way too tired (almost missed that Corsair part in the PSU name... <_< )...

 

Well, i just checked, and your PSU is 80+, which is enough, but i suggest that when you upgrade next (like a new CPU/Mobo..) you also upgrade that PSU :D

 

It's still a very nice PSU :D

 

Going to go sleeping in a few minutes (or tens of minutes, just to do some exercise :D)

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You should go for the MSI GTX 970 OC Edition. It's the cheapest one I can find, barring the Zotac, and it's from msi. It's look is also clean enough to fit ANY system, instead of the usual glaring red that might look ugly.

 

Oh, and btw, since you'll be getting anyway, you are gonna be benchmarking and reviewing this thing, and become a millionare selling the review (cuz you just can't find one in the net..)

Oh, I thought the red MSI one is better? 

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I would go with either the 970 FTW from EVGA because it is overclocked and almost hits 980 performance in some benchmarks I saw from Anandtech. It was really awesome.

 

I was going to get that one but eventually chose the G1 Gaming from Gigabyte because of the I/O. It has 3 DisplayPort, 1 HDMI and two dvi different. I was told it overclocks better because of the 8+6 pin connections. Since there was more power delivery, but I also know that there is a limitation on how much voltage you can put on the cards so it might not matter. Forgot where I read that.

Play the greatest game ever. TF2. http://www.teamfortress.com/

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Oh, I thought the red MSI one is better? 

Maybe. Costs 35~40$ more where I live. I can find the non red one much easier than the red version. I like the LOOKS of it better. And as I said, I can't find a damn review about it.....

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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OH SWEET. That looks awesome. But I've never of Galax. They good? Card looks huge. I don't live in the US btw. 

 

It's Galaxy with a new name, there's respectable. They also make some niche tiny cards like their 750 Ti.

 

 

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I would get MSI GTX 970. Has good cooler, and Gaming App.

i7-5820K | ASUS X99-A | Corsair DDR4 LPX 16 GB | MSI GTX 970 Gaming | Corsair 750D | WD Black 1 TB | MX100 256 GB | EVGA SuperNOVA 750 Watt | ASUS VG248QE | Corsair H105 | K70 MX blues non-RGB | M95 | H1500 | Windows 8.1 64-bit

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I would get MSI GTX 970. Has good cooler, and Gaming App.

The red/black one or the blue? Thanks

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Doesn't matter. Get the one you like the most.

I cannot be held responsible for any bad advice given.

I've no idea why the world is afraid of 3D-printed guns when clearly 3D-printed crossbows would be more practical for now.

My rig: The StealthRay. Plans for a newer, better version of its mufflers are already being made.

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Let's see..

 

Gigabyte G1 if it can fit, EVGA cheaped out on power delivery this gen so avoid, everything else from respectable manufacturers seems solid, The white Galax GTX 970 is my personal fav if it's all about looks. :)

 

89ba9858_GALAX-GTX-900-HOF-7.jpeg

jesus that looks sweet

 

Hi guys. I'm new here, so uh, be gentle lol.

I've been PC gaming for quite some time now, but I'm not what you call an expert in the intricacies of PC hardware. I know how to plug in some parts, here and there, but I'm still learning.

So now, I need help in upgrading my graphics card. I want to upgrade my aging HD6850 to that sexy GTX 970, but I'm not sure which brand that is the best for non-overclocker like me. I like the look of the Strix the best at the moment, though I'm not sure if it is the best option. 

Oh this is the rest of my humble rig.

i5 4460 3.2 ghz

8GB of RAM

Asus HD6850 1GB VRAM

Asus B85 Pro Gamer Mobo

Cooler Master Elite 430 

Corsair GS600 PSU

Thanks.  :)

if you are on a budget, I think any stocked 970 would do fine or MSI 970, but if You want performance I would definitely recommand gigabyte G1 970. It seriously kicks ass

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