GTX 970/980 owners thread

[Rhezuss]

I think I might step-up to the FTW edition, but have to play with mine a little more before I decide. I'm glad they gave us the option though...

Which one you got?

 

[Face2Face]

There is a likelihood custom BIOS on 970/980 & upcoming Maxwell cards may not be possible. :|

ftp://download.nvidia.com/open-gpu-doc/Falcon-Security/1/Falcon-Security.html

Custom BIOS is usually available right from the get go, but there is still no nvflash available that is able to write to the BIOS on the new gm204 cards.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1513920/official-nvidia-gtx-980-owners-club/0_80

There seems to be a DOS based NVFlash that should work. Skyn3t is working on the 980, I just pinged him to see if a 970 BIOS was in the works as well.

 

[Grooveriding]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1513920/official-nvidia-gtx-980-owners-club/0_80

There seems to be a DOS based NVFlash that should work. Skyn3t is working on the 980, I just pinged him to see if a 970 BIOS was in the works as well.

Yeah the first post is a placeholder and has been there since the launch. The flash linked there doesn't work though. They've been able to dump the bios and edit it since launch, but still no one has been able to flash it. They've gone quiet for a while now as well, no updates from them on any sort of progress.

Normally I wouldn't think much of it, but between that nvidia link describing ROM protection on Maxwell and the fact that in the past flashing the BIOS was a non-issue and could be done from day one.. I'm more inclined to think it's not going to happen and the flash ROM on GM204 Maxwell has some sort of protection on it to prevent it being altered.

 

[paperfist]

Nice! Congrats on the card and the house :thumbsup:



If I had to choose right now, I would pick this card - http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-970-g1-gaming-review,1.html

From what I read the Gigabyte, MSI and EVGA are your best bets. Gigabyte has a freaking nice, quiet and effective fan, MSI and EVGA are top too.

Dunno about coil whine though...

Thanks guys!

 

[Rhezuss]

Paperfist, after doing some research and unfortunately for me, after ordering an EVGA 970 SSC ACX 2.0, i'd keep clear of them for the time being. There's reports of coil whine and loud fans on the SSC and lower versions of the EVGA cards. The thing is that they put the "ACX 2.0" stamp on the SSC and lower models that use parts of the older ACX 1.0 fan unlike the FTW edition (not yet released) that use the real ACX 2.0 fan.

I don't know if it's simply because all the bad luckers are posting on the forums and those who have perfectly good cards don't but on the EVGA forums it looks like it's a little mess.

EVGA will release a new BIOS soon that will replace the fan curve to be at 0% on idle and will lower the fan speed under load. They also have their Precision X program that let you modify the fan curve manually.

So for the time being i'd go for MSI, Gigabyte or ASUS.

 

[CakeMonster]

Are the three fans on the Gigabyte noticably louder than the two fans on the Asus? I realize there are a ton of variables here, but I'm just curious about theoretical/practical considerations with a 3-fan design.

My #1 concern with graphics cards is always noise (low noise at stock usually translate to low(er) noise when OC'ing too), but it seems that noise levels is just an afterthought in most reviews. They'll sometimes just throw in a half-sentence about coil whine or spin up issues like they care at all.

 

[Rhezuss]

I currently run my "old" Gigabyte HD 7950 with the Windforce 3 fan. It's really quiet and my guess for that is 3 fans need to run slower to produce the same airflow as 2 fans, so it make the card cooler and silent.

My CPU fan, the 212 EVO, is the loudest thing in my case.

 

[Face2Face]

Yeah the first post is a placeholder and has been there since the launch. The flash linked there doesn't work though. They've been able to dump the bios and edit it since launch, but still no one has been able to flash it. They've gone quiet for a while now as well, no updates from them on any sort of progress.

Normally I wouldn't think much of it, but between that nvidia link describing ROM protection on Maxwell and the fact that in the past flashing the BIOS was a non-issue and could be done from day one.. I'm more inclined to think it's not going to happen and the flash ROM on GM204 Maxwell has some sort of protection on it to prevent it being altered.

Good to know. I really hope someone can come up with this, as these cards really need a unlocked power limit.

 

[Grooveriding]

Good to know. I really hope someone can come up with this, as these cards really need a unlocked power limit.

If this post is legit : http://www.overclock.net/t/1513920/official-nvidia-gtx-980-owners-club/1310#post_22935461

Then a BIOS flash should be available today.

 

[Face2Face]

If this post is legit : http://www.overclock.net/t/1513920/official-nvidia-gtx-980-owners-club/1310#post_22935461

Then a BIOS flash should be available today.

It's hard to tell, I would wait until more users chime in, especially Skyn3t. If it's true, then this is very good news.

 

[poohbear]

Gigabytes windforce coolers are the quietest ive ever own & keep the gpus always under 75c. I cant hear them over my case fans. I used to buy aftermarket coolers & do all kinds of crazy installations. Thoae days are DONE! I only buy gigabyte windforce cards now. Ultra silent & keep the cards much cooler.

The 3 fan ones run cooler btw. But we're talking 7~8c here.

 

[Cerb]

That implies that you can hear your case fans. I'll accept a little noise under full load, for nothing under most conditions, instead.

 

[96Firebird]

Which one you got?

SC AXC1.0. Still haven't sent the rebate or anything in yet, need to play with it some more.

 

[Face2Face]

If anyone is curious, there is a great thread over at OCN that does a GTX 970 comparison -

http://www.overclock.net/t/1516121/gtx-970-comparison-strix-vs-msi-gaming-vs-gigabyte-g1/0_80

For overclockers, the big take away is this -



In the above picture the bios power tables shown from left to right are respectively ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte. The red box denotes the max allowable power draw/power limit on the stock bios (i.e. with the power limit slider set to its max in AB/PrecisionX/GPUtweak). The box just above the marked one is the max allowable power draw/power limit without modifying the power slider in any gpu tool programs (100%). The ASUS STRIX card allows for ~163w with the 100% power limit and ~196w with the power limit set to 120%. The MSI Gaming card allows for 200w with the 100% power limit and 220w with the power limit set to 110%. The Gigabyte G1 card allows for 250w with the 100% power limit and 280w with the power limit set to 112%. What can you draw from this? For both Kepler and Maxwell, the GPUs "Boost" feature will limit how high the core will clock itself for multiple reasons; one being the card exceeds it's power limit, two being the card exceeds it's temperature limit, and three being a voltage restriction. When only taking the power limit into consideration with these cards the first card to most likely downclock due to a power limit is the ASUS STRIX, followed by the MSI Gaming, and lastly the Gigabyte G1. Note that on the stock bios the Gigabyte G1 should experience no throttling due to the power limit. In conclusion the Gigabyte card theoretically will allow for the highest overclocks on the stock bios in regards to power limits strictly speaking; this does not include voltages or the fact that one chip may just be a better clocker than another. These power limits will help explain the following overclocked performance comparisons between these three cards.

 

[Fastx]

If anyone is curious, there is a great thread over at OCN that does a GTX 970 comparison -

http://www.overclock.net/t/1516121/gtx-970-comparison-strix-vs-msi-gaming-vs-gigabyte-g1/0_80

Thanks for this link good info, if I sell my 290 the Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 is the card I had plan to go with.

 

[rockstar]

The deed is done, just got this baby: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814487071

Express shipping so I can test it before moving

I got this card too yesterday from newegg (EVGA 04G-P4-2975-KR GeForce GTX 970). I don't notice any coil whine and it seems more quiet than my old XFX 7970. Its fast! I read some of the negative forum posts at evga and guru3d about the ACX fan. I'm still not sure if people are complaining about getting an ACX 1.0 fan or what. Either way, I'm happy with mine. I'm not overclocking and the temperatures were low under idle and load (sorry I don't have specific numbers right now).

 

[Rhezuss]

I got this card too yesterday from newegg (EVGA 04G-P4-2975-KR GeForce GTX 970). I don't notice any coil whine and it seems more quiet than my old XFX 7970. Its fast! I read some of the negative forum posts at evga and guru3d about the ACX fan. I'm still not sure if people are complaining about getting an ACX 1.0 fan or what. Either way, I'm happy with mine. I'm not overclocking and the temperatures were low under idle and load (sorry I don't have specific numbers right now).

Great thanks for the heads up! I hope i'll get a good card too!

Did you tried it in games and benchs?

 

[CakeMonster]

How does the Asus Strix differ from the regular DC2 (if there is any difference at all)? Will there be another version coming?

 

[toyota]

just ordered an ASUS reference 980. by far the most I have ever spent on a gpu but at this point I dont seem to care.

 

[Face2Face]

just ordered an ASUS reference 980. by far the most I have ever spent on a gpu but at this point I dont seem to care.

Should be a better upgrade coming from a GTX 780, plus the reference cooler is a work of art that doesn't get loud until +75% fan speed IMO.

 

[tviceman]

just ordered an ASUS reference 980. by far the most I have ever spent on a gpu but at this point I dont seem to care.

Why didn't you go with the MSI Gaming 980?

 

[toyota]

Why didn't you go with the MSI Gaming 980?

seeing how much of power hog the 970 gaming was I did not want to fool with it. a reference 980 will use probably 40-50 watts less even at the same clocks.

 

[Rhezuss]

The wait is driving me crazy. I ordered the card monday, it shipped the same day at 6pm...it is still "in transit".

The card departed from LAX (airmail confirmed by Puro today) monday 6pm and no lifesigns since then...it's a 6 hours plane trip from west coast to east coast.

I ordered it with express shipping since i'm moving out saturday...hope I get it by then.

 

[RockinZ28]

So what's the top free benchmark these days? Something to push my cards to see what overclock is stable. Has got to be like 4+ years since I've even run one.

Just got my SLI MSI 4G 970s installed, and they're looking for a workout. Did some game benchmarks with them at 1516mhz core without issue. Didn't even hear the fans either. My SLI 580s would be thrusting up their afterburners for take off at stock clocks lol. Loving the 970s so far.

 

[Grooveriding]

So what's the top free benchmark these days? Something to push my cards to see what overclock is stable. Has got to be like 4+ years since I've even run one.

Just got my SLI MSI 4G 970s installed, and they're looking for a workout. Did some game benchmarks with them at 1516mhz core without issue. Didn't even hear the fans either. My SLI 580s would be thrusting up their afterburners for take off at stock clocks lol. Loving the 970s so far.

The synthetics are pretty easy to pass with an otherwise unstable overclock. I find the built-in benchmarks for Tomb Raider and Metro Last Light to be really good at exposing an unstable overclock. Also, playing 15 minutes of Crysis 3 will crash an unstable GPU overclock pretty easily.