Which 970?

[bpw87]

Looking at a GTX 970. Can't decide weather to go the EVGA FTW or SSC. Both are on special and pretty much the same price once delivered to Australia. 

 

Only real difference I can tell about the cards is the SSC has 6+2 power phase, a cooling plate for the VRM, updated I/O, ACX 2.0+ cooler, lower boost clock and overall higher max power drain.

The FTW  has 4+2 power phase, the old 700 series style I/O, the ACX 2.0 cooler, higher boost clock with less max power drain.

 

Normally the FTW is the more expensive card but the SSC seems like it has more features and the only down side being the lower boost clock and EVGA performance scale marking it at great versus the FTW's extreme.

 

Any input would be appreciated. 

 

Also I'm planning on putting it into a Ncase M1 and OC'ing it

 

[Bazilias]

Looking at a GTX 970. Can't decide weather to go the EVGA FTW or SSC. Both are on special and pretty much the same price once delivered to Australia. 

 

Only real difference I can tell about the cards is the SSC has 6+2 power phase, a cooling plate for the VRM, updated I/O, ACX 2.0+ cooler, lower boost clock and overall higher max power drain.

The FTW  has 4+2 power phase, the old 700 series style I/O, the ACX 2.0 cooler, higher boost clock with less max power drain.

 

Normally the FTW is the more expensive card but the SSC seems like it has more features and the only down side being the lower boost clock and EVGA performance scale marking it at great versus the FTW's extreme.

 

Any input would be appreciated. 

 

Also I'm planning on putting it into a Ncase M1 and OC'ing it

If you aren't a Nvidia fanboy try to get the R9 390.

[DannyRyu]

If you aren't a Nvidia fanboy try to get the R9 390.

it doesn't have to do with being a fan boy. it could be lower heat, Lower power consumption etc many other needs.

Jayz Did a video but his 970 only went to 1442 core clock. which is a really low overclock for the 970 and still got really close to the R9 390 so you should be able to get a 1500 mhz overclock easy and well most Maxwell chips can get to 1500 easily. but the extra 6 GB's of memory is really helpful

[Bazilias]

it doesn't have to do with being a fan boy. it could be lower heat, Lower power consumption etc many other needs.

Jayz Did a video but his 970 only went to 1442 core clock. which is a really low overclock for the 970 and still got really close to the R9 390 so you should be able to get a 1500 mhz overclock easy and well most Maxwell chips can get to 1500 easily. but the extra 6 GB's of memory is really helpful

AMD R9 390: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,26.html

GTX 970: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,26.html

[kameshss]

I would say an R9 390 will do good. Little bit better performance and extra Vram (you may require this in future).

 

But a 970 will do good! It's a nice card. Get the FTW one.

 

See the latest LTT's Vessel video "Are Factory Overclocked Video Cards Worth It?" 

 

They did some benchmarking on all the EVGA cards (but for 980). FTW won (But without overclocking).

 

But your mileage may vary if you plan to overclock.

[bpw87]

If you aren't a Nvidia fanboy try to get the R9 390.

I'm actually going back to Nvidia after running AMD for fair while. Last Nvidia card I had was a 9800GX2 so it's been a while. Really what I want is something that runs fairly cool as the Ncase is really, really small and I want a powerful card that won't heat the whole case to crazy temps.

 

 

it doesn't have to do with being a fan boy. it could be lower heat, Lower power consumption etc many other needs.

Jayz Did a video but his 970 only went to 1442 core clock. which is a really low overclock for the 970 and still got really close to the R9 390 so you should be able to get a 1500 mhz overclock easy and well most Maxwell chips can get to 1500 easily. but the extra 6 GB's of memory is really helpful

Yeah pretty much hit the nail on the head. The 3.5gb of the 970 should be plenty for me as I'm getting a 144hz 1080p screen eventually.

[Bazilias]

I'm actually going back to Nvidia after running AMD for fair while. Last Nvidia card I had was a 9800GX2 so it's been a while. Really what I want is something that runs fairly cool as the Ncase is really, really small and I want a powerful card that won't heat the whole case to crazy temps.

 

 

Yeah pretty much hit the nail on the head. The 3.5gb of the 970 should be plenty for me as I'm getting a 144hz 1080p screen eventually.

In about 2 years or so the R9 390 will have the advantage over the GTX 970.

[bpw87]

This is the size of the case so a 390 will be way too hot for my liking in such a small and restricted environment .

[DannyRyu]

AMD R9 390: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,26.html

GTX 970: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,26.html

thats the same link.....

[bpw87]

In about 2 years or so the R9 390 will have the advantage over the GTX 970.

I'm hoping to upgrade to pascal once that launches anyway. My 270X I was using died from a power surge and I'm borrowing a 660 till I get another card

[paradigm249]

i have seen alots of good reviews on the MSI 970

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

This is the size of the case so a 390 will be way too hot for my liking in such a small and restricted environment .

 

 

Hmm then you won't want either of the 970s, they're using open air designs and spew warm air inside of your tiny case. The ref 970 should suit you the best. 

[bpw87]

i have seen alots of good reviews on the MSI 970

Yeah so have I and I really like the cooler design but the biggest issue for me is the size. The EVGA cards are a lot smaller and will fit in without any worry. Also I can get the EVGA cards for under $300USD were as the MSI card is about $350

[bpw87]

Hmm then you won't want either of the 970s, they're using open air designs and spew warm air inside of your tiny case. The ref 970 should suit you the best. 

The max TDP for an open air flow design cooler is 150 and the 970 just scraps in at 145 so I'm willing to risk it. Plus I have air con so my room is always at a decent ambeint temp

[bpw87]

Here is a 970 FTW+ in it and I want to do the same thing with some really quiet low rpm fans 

 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

The max TDP for an open air flow design cooler is 150 and the 970 just scraps in at 145 so I'm willing to risk it. Plus I have air con so my room is always at a decent ambeint temp

 

Max TDP for an open air flow design is 150w? What? Where'd you get that? Also, TDP ain't equal to power consumption. Meaning, it doesn't only dissipate 145w of heat all the time. Most of the time it'll be higher, thanks to GPU boost.   

 

Its also not ideal to be restricting the airflow of a open air design like that. If the aircon works wonders, you could already put a 390 inside that tiny case. The 970 and the 390 with open air design will both spew warm inside your case. The difference is that because of the lower power consumption on the 970 that reference (blower style) coolers on it works really nicely. Where as it wouldn't on the 390.

[bpw87]

Max TDP for an open air flow design is 150w? What? Where'd you get that? Also, TDP ain't equal to power consumption. Meaning, it doesn't only dissipate 145w of heat all the time. Most of the time it'll be higher, thanks to GPU boost.   

 

Its also not ideal to be restricting the airflow of a open air design like that. If the aircon works wonders, you could already put a 390 inside that tiny case. The 970 and the 390 with open air design will both spew warm inside your case. The difference is that because of the lower power consumption on the 970 that reference (blower style) coolers on it works really nicely. Where as it wouldn't on the 390.

 

970 TDP 145 by Anand and 148 by Tech Power Up

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga/2

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2620/geforce-gtx-970.html

 

Ncase M1 recommended TDP 150 in the capability menu

https://www.ncases.com/

 

While I like AMD and have been using their cards for years I'm not really interested in one for this PC and I don't like reference blower style coolers, they are ugly and loud

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

970 TDP 145 by Anand and 148 by Tech Power Up

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga/2

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2620/geforce-gtx-970.html

 

Ncase M1 recommended TDP 150 in the capability menu

https://www.ncases.com/

 

While I like AMD and have been using their cards for years I'm not really interested in one for this PC and I don't like reference blower style coolers, they are ugly and loud

 

Ah... You meant for the case... 

 

Even though the case manufacturer themselves recommend a blower style cooler on all cards. If you're bent on an open air style gpu, there ain't no stopping you. 

 

And look carefully again, ncase recommends rear exhaust cards for ALL cards. Even more so on cards with higher than 150w tdp. They did not say that they do not recommend you getting a rear exhaust gpu if you're below that threshold. In all cases, a rear exhaust card is still preffered.  

Rear exhaust cards recommended, especially for cards with TDP greater than 150W.

[bpw87]

Ah... You meant for the case... 

 

Even though the case manufacturer themselves recommend a blower style cooler on all cards. If you're bent on an open air style gpu, there ain't no stopping you. 

 

And look carefully again, ncase recommends rear exhaust cards for ALL cards. Even more so on cards with higher than 150w tdp. They did not say that they do not recommend you getting a rear exhaust gpu if you're below that threshold. In all cases, a rear exhaust card is still preffered.  

I pretty much have decided that it will be an open air style cooler. Yeah I didn't really see it as all cards are recommended to have a blower style but at least it is under the limit and not an oper air 980Ti or something crazy. I'm planning on running 1450rpm EK Vardar pwm fans as well like the picture above in the sub 1000rpm range at idle to keep it quiet

[SaladFingers]

I don't get these "if you aren't an Nvidia fanboy get AMD" comments. Maybe those people posting them are actually AMD fanboys? The Op clearly is set about his chipset, and simply asked for opinions on two different versions of the card. It's like asking which red accent is better for my car, and getting replies saying "fuck red, get blue". It's irrelevant to the question in hand. The R9 390 is a great card with great value for its price, but that is not what the OP asked about. I get tired of the fanboy wars, get over them already guys.

 

Now that I got that out of my system, I'd say go with the SSC version as it appears to support better overclocking, even if the default clocks are lower. I haven't researched about it though, so I could be completely wrong.