GTX 970/980 owners thread

[Kronvict]

redacted

[redacted]


Keep it clean.

-Elfear

 

[Baasha]

Switched to X99 / Haswell-E on the very day of release, Aug. 29th.

Sold the 4960X, AE11, DDR3, and all 8 SSDs.

Just snapped this shot of the 980s installed.

This is the system pre-980s.

Sick!

YGPM.

 

[Kronvict]

Is anyone able to get DSR to work? I'm running on the latest beta 344.16 drivers and GFE 2.1.2 but have no options to enable DSR either by GFE custom settings or in NCP.

 

[Keysplayr]

Is anyone able to get DSR to work? I'm running on the latest beta 344.16 drivers and GFE 2.1.2 but have no options to enable DSR either by GFE custom settings or in NCP.

The option isn't there under "Manage 3D Settings" in NCP?
It should be right under "CUDA-GPUs" in the options list.
It is also supposed to be auto enabled through GFE.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Finally got the EVGA GTX980 SC today.

Replaced the GTX680 with the GTX980. Moved the GTX680 to my GFs gaming PC to replace the GTX670.

The GTX980 is quite significantly more quiet than the GTX680.

Forgot to take more pictures and check picture quality.

MiniITX.

 

[CakeMonster]

I swore I would never get another reference design card. I currently have the Asus 780 vanilla DC2 OC. I've never had a more quiet card. I can not notice any noise difference even while pushing it. I realize that the chip is also quite cool and especially at the vanilla clock speeds, but I am very wary of upgrading to any of the current 980's. Looking forward to reading more reviews though, especially about noise.

 

[Tweak155]

Switched to X99 / Haswell-E on the very day of release, Aug. 29th.

Sold the 4960X, AE11, DDR3, and all 8 SSDs.

Just snapped this shot of the 980s installed.

This is the system pre-980s.

What case is that?

 

[weevilone]

I swore I would never get another reference design card. I currently have the Asus 780 vanilla DC2 OC. I've never had a more quiet card. I can not notice any noise difference even while pushing it. I realize that the chip is also quite cool and especially at the vanilla clock speeds, but I am very wary of upgrading to any of the current 980's. Looking forward to reading more reviews though, especially about noise.

I can't hear my 980 SLI setup under load and they are reference EVGA. It's quieter than my Crossfire R9 280 setup was, and it was MSI Gaming. I'm splitting hairs though, neither is really audible.

 

[AdamK47]

What case is that?

In sig, 750D.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

My buddy had to return his EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Acx for a MSI 970. Apparently it was causing errors and weird artifacts and it might have something to do with the way the cooler was mounted though he's not sure. Apparently there's been issues with it? Anyone hear about this?

 

[Franzi]

My buddy had to return his EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Acx for a MSI 970. Apparently it was causing errors and weird artifacts and it might have something to do with the way the cooler was mounted though he's not sure. Apparently there's been issues with it? Anyone hear about this?

I read on several other forums there are issues with that new ACX cooler. Not sure about the artifacts though personally I would always stay away from factory overclocked cards, they often turn out not to be stable once more refined drivers are out.

I put my 780ti on eBay and ordered 2 980's. Had no SLI config since my GTX 580's in 2011, lets see how that turns out, the microstuttering annoyed me in the past but I read its much much better since Kepler.

 

[Rvenger]

Finally got the EVGA GTX980 SC today.

Replaced the GTX680 with the GTX980. Moved the GTX680 to my GFs gaming PC to replace the GTX670.

The GTX980 is quite significantly more quiet than the GTX680.

Forgot to take more pictures and check picture quality.

MiniITX.

Nice, tie those wires!

My 980 will be here Thursday. My GTX 970 is at a local UPS warehouse and it will not be picked up in time. :sneaky:

 

[DirkGently1]

I can't hear my 980 SLI setup under load and they are reference EVGA.

Same here. I'm absolutely stunned how quiet these cards are under load!

 

[Subyman]

My buddy had to return his EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Acx for a MSI 970. Apparently it was causing errors and weird artifacts and it might have something to do with the way the cooler was mounted though he's not sure. Apparently there's been issues with it? Anyone hear about this?

There are some issues with the ACX. I have one. They've been discussed extensively on EVGA forums and OCN. As of this post, the EVGA card is the lowest ranking card. I feel like a broken record, but if it helps some people not have to return their card then I'll continue posting some of the problems. They are: Nvidia reference VRM replaced with very cheap alternatives, higher noise than competition, higher temps than competition, nonfunctional third heat pipe (the pipe is not sealed), backplate offer is in limbo (advertisement was shown on EVGA website and mentioned in reviews but then the advertisement was taken down, rep said they are discussing the deal internally), and overall lower build quality.

They could make right on the backplate and they said they are releasing a new firmware update to allow more control of the fan speed (fan minimum locked at a noisy 35%.) Other things such as cheap VRM and a subpar cooler aren't rectifiable, so there is really no reason to buy the EVGA card over another card with higher quality components other than a possibly better RMA process with EVGA if that is needed in the future. I believe I read somewhere that EK is making a water block for the ACX models, so that's something.

Hope that helps.

 

[RussianSensation]

There are some issues with the ACX. I have one. They've been discussed extensively on EVGA forums and OCN. As of this post, the EVGA card is the lowest ranking card. I feel like a broken record, but if it helps some people not have to return their card then I'll continue posting some of the problems. They are: Nvidia reference VRM replaced with very cheap alternatives, higher noise than competition, higher temps than competition, nonfunctional third heat pipe (the pipe is not sealed), backplate offer is in limbo (advertisement was shown on EVGA website and mentioned in reviews but then the advertisement was taken down, rep said they are discussing the deal internally), and overall lower build quality.

Excellent summary. Don't forget those cheaper VRM components result in coil whine. Besides Classified and the reference 980 Titan cooler card made to exact NV specs, EVGA GPU division is all brand name hype and has been for many generations now. RMA & Classified series are the only 2 things they have going for them. And frankly the MSI Lightning has been a better card since GTX580 but MSI tends to release it later than EVGA and often has issues with inventory/availability and pricing.

MSI Gaming 970, Asus Strix and Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970 are superior from the product's point of view: higher quality PCB, higher VRM/power circuitry/mosfets, and of course the heatsinks are far superior in noise levels and temperatures, with MSI and Asus turning off the fans completely at 60*C and lower.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/14

EVGA's much hyped ACX 2.0 is 10dB louder than Asus Strix's cooler, while also managing to provide inferior cooling performance. :thumbsdown:

But until EVGA's fans stop supporting EVGA, forcing EVGA to invest in quality components and heatsinks, EVGA will continue to save $$$ on components and use its excellent RMA as a trump card.

I put my 780ti on eBay and ordered 2 980's. Had no SLI config since my GTX 580's in 2011, lets see how that turns out, the microstuttering annoyed me in the past but I read its much much better since Kepler.

Congrats! Let us know about your experience. SLI at fast fps is very good. Things get dicey with SLI/CF when you start getting into the 40-50 fps range where in some games micro-stutter makes it feel worse than a single GPU operating at 40-50 fps. But 980 SLI should blast through most games at 60+ fps.

 

[96Firebird]

I'm going to give my EVGA 970 SC ACX1.0 a try and see if it suits me. My computer sits on the floor, with 5 case fans, so I probably won't be able to tell the difference in noise. I had slight coil whine on my 770 SC ACX, but it went away after a couple of days.

I'm definitely going to wait until the last possible moment before sending the rebate it though, just to make sure the card is worth keeping.

BTW, for 780 owners wondering if they should go to 970/980... Rumor has it the EVGA 780 Classified will go on sale for $339 at 1PM PDT today. Pretty cheap way to SLI your current setup.

 

[wand3r3r]

While the "690/titan" cooler is quiet at low RPMs, and likely quiet with a 980 since the tdp is so low, when you put it on higher tdp it's not all that quiet. My 690 was louder than my other cards like 79xx dcuii or 680 lightning etc. Granted they were single GPUs but the point remains, under a hot load it does make noise, a fair amount (I found it annoying at the time, until I tried reference 290x crossfire to test my new limits reference due to mining).

If you have a higher tdp it isn't quieter than custom coolers. Just an FYI if you are on the fence with it.

 

[RussianSensation]

BTW, for 780 owners wondering if they should go to 970/980... Rumor has it the EVGA 780 Classified will go on sale for $339 at 1PM PDT today. Pretty cheap way to SLI your current setup.

Nice price but almost all 780's are out of stock/Auto Notify on EVGA's site. Also, it would be better for a 780 owner to sell his 780 and go dual 970s instead of buying a 2nd 780 due to additional features of Maxwell, lower power usage and 4GB of VRAM. The resale value of 780 + grabbing 2x 970s vs. buying a 2nd 780 is going to be very close. To me a 780 would need to be $250 to make SLI with a 2nd 780 worthwhile today.

 

[96Firebird]

Sorry, I should have specified the deal is on Newegg. Probably their way to clear stock.

This will probably also tank the used value of the 780, for what its worth.

 

[poohbear]

how much are u guys buying the GTX 970 for? their MSRP is supposed to be 330, but i hardly see any under $400! most are $400+, re they price gouging?

 

[96Firebird]

For some reason Newegg Canada is price gouging. They are still around MSRP at Newegg America.

 

[Grooveriding]

how much are u guys buying the GTX 970 for? their MSRP is supposed to be 330, but i hardly see any under $400! most are $400+, re they price gouging?

You have to account for the exchange rate of US to CAN which will never be at the going rate if you were to buy some US currency, so you'll pay even more in Canada than a straight $330 US to CAN currency would work out to. Plus, retailers are indeed gouging on the 970 now. I paid $379 for an MSI Gaming 970 on the launch day from newegg, today they are listing that card for $439. So the gouging has begun as supplies look to be tight with every 970 showing out of stock.

 

[RussianSensation]

You have to account for the exchange rate of US to CAN which will never be at the going rate if you were to buy some US currency, so you'll pay even more in Canada than a straight $330 US to CAN currency would work out to. Plus, retailers are indeed gouging on the 970 now. I paid $379 for an MSI Gaming 970 on the launch day from newegg, today they are listing that card for $439. So the gouging has begun as supplies look to be tight with every 970 showing out of stock.

You don't know price gouging until you are buying iPhones and Xboxes overseas.

iPhone 6+ 128GB = $949 USD + tax
vs.
iPhone 6+ 128GB = $2,540 USD

Xbox One ~ $1000 USD

:biggrin:

 

[Eymar]

I'm going to give my EVGA 970 SC ACX1.0 a try and see if it suits me. My computer sits on the floor, with 5 case fans, so I probably won't be able to tell the difference in noise. I had slight coil whine on my 770 SC ACX, but it went away after a couple of days.

I'm definitely going to wait until the last possible moment before sending the rebate it though, just to make sure the card is worth keeping.

I have 3x of the EVGA 970 SC ACX1.0 and they seem fine as the two main heatpipes make full contact. Using a single card with modest core boost oc to 1400 temps were below 75 so didn't see any throttling. And from the looks of the cut fins at the end of the third pipe, the third pipe is probably sealed inwards (will find out myself when I get home). Though if I had done better homework, probably got 2x MSI versions (wary of Asus warranty for resell) and one blower type (the top card in tri sli will go above 80 in Crysis 3 benchmark).

 

[96Firebird]

Got my 970 SC card installed. Slight coil whine under load, but I can only hear it if I am listening for it. Card runs great, max temp. after a run of the Heaven benchmark was 62°C. Max boost was 1342MHz, held for the entire time. I'll play some games later on with it, and finish up my comparison between my 460, 770 SC, and this 970 SC.

Eymar, what was your stock max boost clock?

Edit - GPU-Z says I have Samsung memory, wonder how it'll overclock... :hmm: