MSI 960 or MSI 970?

[MoInSTL]

I have a pretty quiet system and the last thing to add to recent May build is the GPU. So far, it appears MSI is the quietest.

I currently game on my Xbox One. Last PC game was Skyrim.

The only thing holding me back on a MSI 970 is possibly introducing coil whine. My system is very quiet so this is a big consideration. The only thing holding me back on the 960 or the 2GB 960 is the 128 memory bus. Can someone please help clarify if this is a big deal?

Budget is open and $100 price difference does not matter. Will be getting at local Microcenter store so I can easily exchange.

I want start doing some video editing later this summer as a new project. So don't know what software I will be using yet.

i7-5820K
Asus X99-A
16GB DDR4
EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2
27" 2560X1440
Fractal R5
Windows 10 Pro

My EVGA 560 ti is the last to be upgraded.

 

[ShintaiDK]

You are just as likely or unlikely to get coil whine from the 960 as the 970.

In terms of video editing. The GTX960 got full encode and decode of HEVC (Only GPU there is at all). While GTX970 uses hybrid.

 

[nvgpu]

Wait until August 17 and see how the GTX 950 benches.

GTX 950 is the same GM206 GPU as GTX 960, so you get all the same feature set as GTX 960, fixed function HEVC 8/10bit hardware decoding.

If it's not much slower than the GTX 960, you might be able to save $50 if the GTX 950 is $149 launch price.

 

[MoInSTL]

I need something available now. Who knows what the 950 will do. But thanks.

So what about the 128 vs 256 bus? Even my old 560 has 256.

I thought the 960 had less coil whine than the 970 so thanks for that info.

An I correct in that the MSI GTX are the quietest?

 

[shady28]

Depends on what you want to do.

If your main focus is playing games, then 970 is clearly superior to the 960.

If your main focus is decoding / encoding video, then the 960 is superior.

If you are streaming game video from your PC, the 970 is probably a better option today but if/when h.265 gains greater adoption then the 960 will again become the better option.

If you're not aware, h.265 cuts about 30-40% off the file size / bandwidth needs of a given video / video stream vs h.264. This makes it possible to stream more and/or higher res video on a given internet connection. It also shrinks the size required for a given video collection.

If your intention is to stream XBOX games to your PC then you don't need a powerful GPU. A 750 or 750 Ti would be a quiet and cool solution.

 

[MoInSTL]

Thanks and there is the dilemma. I'd like to do both.

I've already streamed an Xbox game to my PC. Wired on gigabit and 560 easily dealt with it.

But realistically, playing on a professionally calibrated 60" TV on my reclining couch is hard to beat.

Ack! Hard decision to make.

Edit: How are you liking your GPU? Are you running it stock?

 

[shady28]

Mine is GPU OC above reference by about 10% out of the box. I have MSI Afterburninger setup for another 50Mhz on GPU and 50Mhz on memory. I've had it up to +150 on GPU and memory but toned it down after I had a driver hitch and restart, a common issue with OC.

I play a lot of games but only a couple are AAA titles, Battlefield 4 and Dragon Age Inquisition. If you turn AA down to 2x or off, they play quite well at 1440p with everything else max. Quite well to me is 40+fps, meaning I can vsync at 30fps and never get stutters.

Some folks demand 60fps all the time, but at 1440p you would really need a 980 or better and I'm not spending $500+ on a video card, I'd rather just buy a console and half a dozen games.

Also helps that I picked this one up as an open box at Microcenter for $197.

The video encode / decode is impressive if you have software to use it. Doing a test encoding a 1 minute 720p h.264 file to h.265 using MediaCoder x64 (which supports the Nvidia encoder aka Nvenc). Hardware encode was 6.2s, software encode was over 60s. File size was reduced from 13MB to 8MB.

On the decode side, I tried using hybrid (hardware assisted) mode with a 750Ti and the best I got (after much codec fiddling and using different software pacakges) was around 20% CPU utilization avg with spikes to 35 or 40% trying to play 4k HEVC files. With the HW decode on the 960 I get ~1% CPU usage, doesn't matter what size / bitrate / resolution.

The card also has low heat dissipation / power use and runs silent. I don't like my GPU / PC heating up my office and this one fits that need.

So basically yeah, I'm pretty happy with what I got for the money I spent. With Win 10 console streaming and HEVC coming built-in with Skylake, I have a feeling that this may be my last dGPU. BTW, I had a 560 Ti as well, it's still here in my desk. This card completely destroys it on PC games and doesn't radiate anywhere near the amount of heat or noise.

 

[RussianSensation]

I have a pretty quiet system and the last thing to add to recent May build is the GPU. So far, it appears MSI is the quietest.

I currently game on my Xbox One. Last PC game was Skyrim.

The only thing holding me back on a MSI 970 is possibly introducing coil whine. My system is very quiet so this is a big consideration. The only thing holding me back on the 960 or the 2GB 960 is the 128 memory bus. Can someone please help clarify if this is a big deal?

Budget is open and $100 price difference does not matter. Will be getting at local Microcenter store so I can easily exchange.

At those prices, it hardly makes sense to get the 960. $245 + tax for a 960 2GB is a major rip off imo.

Newegg has Asus DCUII 960 for $170 after $10 off coupon code EMCAVNW94 and $20 MIR. Shipping is free. The MSI 960 you linked is $245 + tax which is going to be at least $257 if your tax is just 5%. That's a difference of $87 just to be able to return it locally?

I guess you should decide if you are going to be gaming or not. If you are mostly gaming on your Xbox, what's the point of upgrading the 560Ti? If you want lower power usage, you could get a 750Ti for $100.

I'll you think of your upgrade cost in other terms:

GTX470 ~ GTX560Ti = 100%
GTX970 = 315%

970 is 50% faster than a 960. Which means the 960 will be about 2X faster than your 560ti but the 970 is 3X faster.

You can get a very quiet Asus Strix for $340 + tax - $20 MIR. The price-to-performance ratio actually turns out to be far better than the 960 you linked (50% more performance on average for about 32-35% higher cost).

The other problem with the 960 for gaming is that its performance falls apart at 1440P resolution. A single 970 actually beats 960 SLI at your resolution.

Finally, as you already noted as well, 2GB kills the 960 too.

970 is nearly 2X faster in modern games that use > 2GB of VRAM against a 960 2GB.

Therefore, I think if you are gaming, pick up a 970 or the MSI Gaming 390 8GB. Here is a comparison of one of the best 970s vs. the MSI Gaming 390. If you aren't gaming much, might as well get a 750/750Ti or keep the 560Ti. 960 only makes sense for $140-170 or so (and it has already fallen to $135-145). As you start to approach the $200 mark, its value starts diminishing greatly against 290/290X/970 for someone coming off the 560Ti.

 

[MoInSTL]

Thanks for the detailed info! I'm sold. The extra $100 can go towards something else.

They know me pretty well at local MC, so they will easily price match the measly $5 difference which will help with the tax. No open box 960. They have one open box 970.

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks for the detailed info! I'm sold. The extra $100 can go towards something else.

They know me pretty well at local MC, so they will easily price match the measly $5 difference which will help with the tax. No open box 960. They have one open box 970.

Ya, price matching would be a smart option. For example.

Asus 960 at MC = $245 and $20 rebate + tax
Newegg Asus 960 = $207 and $20 rebate

Don't pay $245+ tax for a 960. Also, you could try selling off the 560Ti to recoup some of the cost of your upgrade.

 

[MoInSTL]

Ya, price matching would be a smart option. For example.

Asus 960 at MC = $245 and $20 rebate + tax
Newegg Asus 960 = $207 and $20 rebate

Don't pay $245+ tax for a 960. Also, you could try selling off the 560Ti to recoup some of the cost of your upgrade.

Don't want an Asus. The 560 will go into idle Sandy Bridge. And I don't order from NE anymore. Amazon IMO packs things much, much better.

I'm paying for the ease of a possible exchange. Btw, the 4GB version, not the 2GB you posted graphs of.

It comes with a back plate (maybe the Strix does too) and a game. NE price is only $5 less.

Edit: The Strix comes with a game & backplate.

Update: Picked up the MSI 960 4GB. Very impressed with the quality of the packaging. The backplate is quite nice. Was great to remove a video cable. Was a little difficult getting the 2 pin next to the 6 pin. It would have been tough to do it if the pins needed to go in from the side. Having it in front is nice. Turned off the LED lighting as I don't have a window. The look and feel of the card is great. The MSI apps are intuitive and more intuitive IMO than EVGA apps.

Haven't had a chance to do much with it yet. Thanks for the replies. It was a hard decision to make. If I decide to switch it out in a year, I can afford to. Oh, and I did get the $5 price match...lol.

 

[shady28]

Congrats! The MSI is a nice card with really great build quality, I was very surprised at how substantial the card was coming from using EVGA and PNY in the past. It's also super quiet, just as quiet as my old 750 ti. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[RussianSensation]

Congrats! The MSI is a nice card with really great build quality, I was very surprised at how substantial the card was coming from using EVGA and PNY in the past. It's also super quiet, just as quiet as my old 750 ti. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

MSI Gaming series (Twin Frozr V) have taken it to another level imo. Once we start comparing 250W TDP cards like 390X or 980Ti, their implementation really starts to shine.

Max overclocked, the MSI Gaming 980Ti is as quiet as EVGA SC+ 980Ti at stock. Incredible.

 

[MoInSTL]

They added little nice touches like a red plastic PCIe, DVI, display port, HDMI and SLI protectors. That will keep the dust out of the ports I am not using and no exposed SLI connector. In fact, many reviews pointed out that the backplate, Twin Frozr V and overall build quality is the same as its bigger sisters.

FWIW, the red matches my RAM. I changed my X61 block to red. My motherboard is black and the white LED complements my R5. The black and red color scheme was an added bonus. No Nvida green. I may have to get a window for my R5.

I need to pick up a game for it just to see how well or not it works on my 2560X1440 display. Is Heaven still the go to for testing?

 

[shady28]

Steam has Bioshock / Bioshock 2 / Bioshock Infinite triple pack on sale for $10.49 this weekend, or just Infinite for $7.49 (I picked up the triple pack). Many sites use Bioshock Infinite as a benchmark as it uses a modified Unreal Engine 3, probably more true to life than the synthetic.

There's also 3dmark which has Fire Strike and a bunch of other synthetics that are pretty common, but that's $25.

 

[Leyawiin]

I have an MSI GTX 960 100 ME (same cooler and backplate as the one you bought). I have it in a secondary PC paired with an i5 4590 and a 1680x1050 monitor. Its perfect for what I use it for (light gaming - WoW and Skyrim, general internet stuff). Its whisper quiet. The fans rarely come on and when they do they ramp up so slowly the quiet case and CPU fans make more noise (Scythe case fans and Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU cooler).

I bought and returned an MSI GTX 970 Golden Edition (same cooler and backplate) and it wasn't nearly as quiet. Fans ramped up much louder while gaming and had pronounced coil whine. The GTX 960 does neither.

 

[lehtv]

Coil whine can occur in any card. If your 970 has coil whine ,that's just bad luck... you could've got a whiny 960 and a quiet 970 instead.

However the 970 will always be louder when comparing to a 960 using the same cooler, this is directly resulting from the higher power consumption. Comparing MSI Gaming to other coolers, it is one of the quietest you can get for a 970. Asus Strix and Gigabyte Windforce are also very good.

 

[Leyawiin]

I do think coil whine/buzz tends to plague certain chipsets more than others. I have an HD 7950 with coil buzz that's completely off the hook. So loud I can hear it through headphones. Plus the GTX 970 I sent back. From just anecdotal observation I don't think that's unusual for those two GPUs. I've never read about a GTX 960 having coil whine in all my forum prowling or reading of professional or user reviews. Not to say it can't happen, but I don't think its common like those other two I mentioned.

 

[MoInSTL]

I have an MSI GTX 960 100 ME (same cooler and backplate as the one you bought). I have it in a secondary PC paired with an i5 4590 and a 1680x1050 monitor. Its perfect for what I use it for (light gaming - WoW and Skyrim, general internet stuff). Its whisper quiet. The fans rarely come on and when they do they ramp up so slowly the quiet case and CPU fans make more noise (Scythe case fans and Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU cooler).

I bought and returned an MSI GTX 970 Golden Edition (same cooler and backplate) and it wasn't nearly as quiet. Fans ramped up much louder while gaming and had pronounced coil whine. The GTX 960 does neither.

Thanks for your observations. It got weird when I powered it on. The fans were running full bore. I rebooted and it was the same. They shut off in a few seconds and then a couple of times they would just crank up for no apparent reason. Ambient was quite cool and I still had one case side off. I was just browsing. No game and my AIO app reported it 42C. I downloaded Afterburner and MSI Gaming App and haven't heard a peep out of them since. I ran the render test on TechPowerUp GPU-Z. I watched as the fan RPM dropped to zero. I like zero RPMs.

 

[Leyawiin]

That is weird. Mine's in a tight old case with only two 120mm fans (not the greatest ventilation in other words) and the 100 ME's fans almost never spin up. It definitely never does it when I first start the PC.

 

[Headfoot]

ehhh the 960 4gb is a much worse buy than the 970 if you have the budget to move up. Wouldve gone 970 personally but w/e

 

[MoInSTL]

That is weird. Mine's in a tight old case with only two 120mm fans (not the greatest ventilation in other words) and the 100 ME's fans almost never spin up. It definitely never does it when I first start the PC.

I think it was just an anomaly. Maybe Windows 10 needed to figure it out. As I said, it hasn't happened since.

 

[MoInSTL]

ehhh the 960 4gb is a much worse buy than the 970 if you have the budget to move up. Wouldve gone 970 personally but w/e

I have the budget. Please read the whole thread.

 

[Headfoot]

I did. 960 4gb is a bad buy in comparison to 970 is what I'm saying. IMO you should have gotten the 970.

 

[shady28]

I did. 960 4gb is a bad buy in comparison to 970 is what I'm saying. IMO you should have gotten the 970.

In what way is a 970 superior to the 960 for streaming xbox games to PC and doing video encode / decode?

I think the choice was all summed up by this post :

Depends on what you want to do.

If your main focus is playing games, then 970 is clearly superior to the 960.

If your main focus is decoding / encoding video, then the 960 is superior.

If you are streaming game video from your PC, the 970 is probably a better option today but if/when h.265 gains greater adoption then the 960 will again become the better option.

If your intention is to stream XBOX games to your PC then you don't need a powerful GPU. A 750 or 750 Ti would be a quiet and cool solution.

Source :http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1706902#post1706902

"Evaluation of HEVC decoders (SW, Hybrid and HW)"

NVIDIA GTX 980 Benchmarks

SamsungNX1.Leaves.2160p@30fps-80Mbps using the hybrid decoder on a GTX 980:
LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Decode, 22 fps
LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Playback (scaling to 1080p), 17 fps

LAV x64 DXVA2 Native, Decode, 24 fps
LAV x64 DXVA2 Native, Playback (scaling to 1080p), 21 fps

NVIDIA GTX 960 Benchmarks

1.Beauty-2160p@30fps-12.3Mbps

LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Decode, 125 fps
LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Playback (scaling to 1080p), 125 fps

LAV x86 DXVA2 CopyBack, Decode, 118 fps

2.Fitness-2160p@30fps-8Mbps

LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Decode, 148 fps
LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Playback (scaling to 1080p), 145 fps

LAV x86 DXVA2 CopyBack, Decode, 140 fps

3.Ducks-2160p@50fps-4Mbps

LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Decode, 153 fps
LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Playback (scaling to 1080p), 152 fps

LAV x86 DXVA2 CopyBack, Decode, 143 fps

Because none of these samples posed any challenge to the decoder, I included the "Ultra HD Sample #1" from here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/news...ailable-for-do (the first video with the big leaves)
This video has a much higher bitrate as the others, at nearly 80Mbps.

SamsungNX1.Leaves.2160p@30fps-80Mbps

LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Decode, 118 fps
LAV x86 DXVA2 Native, Playback (scaling to 1080p), 116 fps

LAV x86 DXVA2 CopyBack, Decode, 115 fps