PNY GTX 970 vs SSC EVGA GTX 970...

[Dave_LeBoss]

There are some PNY GTX 970's left at my local TigerDirect store going for $310 USD as apart of a sale they're having right now. I was wondering if I should get the PNY 970 at my TigerDirect instead of the EVGA 970 SSC, the one I planned on getting. 

 

My Questions:

1. Would there be any benefits of getting one video card over the other, such as cooling or performance?

2. Should I save the $20 and just get the PNY card?

3: Do you guys recommend any other 970's that might be better than ones I talked about?

 

 

[Comessy]

Have you looked into Gigabyte G1 or Msi Gaming 4G?

[MountainDrew]

Out of those two I'd get the EVGA SSC 970.

 

The G1 Gaming 970 from Gigabyte is objectively the best 970 but it costs a bit more than the others.

[Vozella]

The PNY is a reference cooler. It works much worse than the cards with fans. Get the EVGA or some other non-reference brand.

[brokencross]

The PNY is a reference cooler. It works much worse than the cards with fans. Get the EVGA or some other non-reference brand.

Not if you plan on SLI'ing. Blower cards are better for that.

[mrswagbhinav]

The PNY one is reference unlike the other ones. In the EVGA, ASUS, Gigabyte, etc. models they change the graphics card and make it much better. So the obvious choice is SSC EVGA but the G1 is the best overall in my opinion.

[SeanAngelo]

between the two, i would get the EVGA.

[Dabasepc]

EVGA SSC has a backplate included

[Leonard]

@dave_LeBoss

 

Definitely the EVGA's SSC as the after market support is great and up until the 15th of May you are supposed to get a free backplate but take a look into Gigabyte's G1 too.

[Leonard]

EVGA SSC has a backplate included

This is until the 15th of May. http://www.evga.com/articles/00922/Spring-Forward-with-a-FREE-EVGA-Backplate/

[Joey2Sites]

Wow.. the responses in here are insane lol.

 

PNY is an Nvidia partner, who makes reference designs.  They're the only manufacture I know who is allowed to make Quadro cards.  The PNY is just fine, and even better if you plan on SLI in the future, or if you have bad airflow in your case due to the blower fan.

 

Non-reference designs are not inherently better.  They can be better, and they often are better, but not inherently.  It depends on the situation.  If you're worried about the performance of one mid-high end card, the reference is honestly just fine, and the difference between the EVGA is going to be negligible.

[Joey2Sites]

He asked about an EVGA and a PNY.  I don't know why people insist on constantly telling people to go with options outside of what they asked advice on.  Back plates don't help performance, they just look cool.  And they do help the card sag less, but again.. not really a performance issue, mainly cosmetic.  So if you want to spend an extra $20 on a back plate that looks cool, that's up to you. (and, I spent extra on a back plate, so I'm not hating on it lol, I'm just being honest.. it's like spending more on a black pcb).

[TheMcSame]

Do what you think is best...

 

I've heard some bad things about PNY but that was in forum posts from 5 years ago and as Joey mentioned, PNY is one of the few partners that can make Nvidia's workstation cards so I'd be more than happy to trust them.

 

Based on what I've seen over at hardforum PNY's card seems to be okay, at least that's what this post seems to say.

 

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041129765&postcount=25

 

It comes down to which one you like really.