Thoughts on the short 970s?

[maniacalpha1-1]

I've seen three short 970s:

Zotac
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500362

Asus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121912

Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125706

I'm interested in the short ones because it will uncover the SATA ports on my MB. Are those really short ones a risky buy; should I just do the Zotac one? Getting down to the 6.70" ones would be nice, but the Zotac's 8.03" would still cut out 1.27" from my current 7970.

Note: I have read about the 3.5GB/.5GB at low bandwidth, I am just going by benchmarks compared to my 7970 in considering this purchase. I am not dedicated to Nvidia and don't have an immediate need to upgrade - is there any chance any of AMD's products coming in the next 6 months will be short versions like this?

 

[Magic Carpet]

The only significant drawback would lie in the cooling department. The cards are likely to run hotter and louder, alongside the turbo tech not kicking in as often, sacrificing performance. It's a compromise. If I had to get one, I'd mod the cooling.

If you don't have the need, then do not upgrade. No idea when and what sizes next/round AMD cards will have.

 

[Termie]

AMD's high-end cards haven't come in at under 10.5" in about 5 years, so I wouldn't count on that happening this year with the 300W 380X. Even the GTX 980 isn't available in a model under 10.6".

There are somewhat short 285 models, like the 8.5" XFX, but it seems you're looking for an upgrade.

Of the 970 cards available, I'd probably go with the Asus if I had a compact PC, because it's designed to push some air out the rear exhaust, unlike the Zotac, which is a standard dual-fan cooler, and the Gigabyte, which has no rear exhaust. Of course, the Asus is the most expensive, so that comes into play as well. If this is for a standard ATX case, just get the Zotac.

 

[Leyawiin]

I tried the Gigabyte ITX. Great performance and it ran quite cool, but it was noisy as hell. I mean noisier than any card I've had since the mid 2000s and cards with tiny, loud fans. Sent it back.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

There are somewhat short 285 models, like the 8.5" XFX, but it seems you're looking for an upgrade.

There's actually a Sapphire R9 285 that's 6.69 inches:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100374itxocl

But yeah, I wouldn't expect short cards in the R9 300 series considering there are only two in the R9 200 series: that 285 and an MSI R9 270x that's about the same length. With the R9 380x rumored to be around 300W I would expect we'll still need to see pretty significant coolers on this next round of AMD cards.

 

[ocre]

OP, its a card by card basis.

find a model your interested in and google it. Some are louder than others, some cooler. I usually take warranties into consideration.

 

[Magic Carpet]

OP, its a card by card basis.

find a model your interested in and google it. Some are louder than others, some cooler. I usually take warranties into consideration.

They are either hot-running (which means low perf) or loud (which means say good bye to silence). Some laws of physics can't just be circumvented. 150 watts of heat is too much for such a small cards cooling system. Vendors are making shortcuts here in order to provide ITX/small chassis users a fast card in a very small package, but ultimately it will backfire on them. Unless you mod the cooling system, or don't mind the acoustics, I'd pass.

A random NewEgg user comment on the GB model:

Pros: The size is great. No coil whine and free game!

Cons: Runs to hot 85*c in a well ventilated case. The heat causes the fan to wind up and wow is it loud. Annoyingly so. Then the card will start to throttle so the max boost clock is always lower then advertised.

 

[dn7309]

I tried the Gigabyte ITX. Great performance and it ran quite cool, but it was noisy as hell. I mean noisier than any card I've had since the mid 2000s and cards with tiny, loud fans. Sent it back.

is it noisier than the stock reference 290s?

 

[Burner27]

I have the Gigabyte 970 card and it runs cool and quiet. Mine has the toshiba ram as well.

35c idle/65c under load. Fan is noisy but not louder than my case fans.

 

[Magic Carpet]

35c idle/65c under load. Fan is noisy but not louder than my case fans.

What fan settings you have 65c at? Ambient temp? Obviously, "noise" is very subjective. But that you come to expect if you get such a card. A compromise solution. Subjectively, video card stock fans only get moderately quiet at about ~1000 rpm +/-10%. And that card of yours must be pushing well over 2000 RPMs during intensive use.

@ OP

But anyway, if you are looking for silence, you have to change the stock fan on that compact card or have at least 2 stock fans but with the locked fan speed (at the expense of temps). And you could always reduce the power target of your card, so it doesn't dissipate as much heat, albeit, at the expense of speed. Combination of both may be best.

is it noisier than the stock reference 290s?

Doubt it.

On a second thought, by looking at the cooling properties, the Asus Mini card may be the "quietest" of the bunch.

 

[skipsneeky2]

With all the talk about efficiency with Maxwell,i would hope to be impressed with good temperatures out of either of those 3 cards in the op.

My giant zotac 770 with its dual 85mm fans can ramp up to 2040rpm or 65% but my gpu loads as high as 73cel.Willing to bet those 3 cards can all do better with less rpm.

Got a Asus Strix 970 incoming,going to be a blast comparing Kepler to Maxwell.

 

[Magic Carpet]

@skipsneeky2

Nice. When you get it, tell us how it works. Especially, the acoustics. Should consume a bit less power than your previous card.

Again, noise is very subjective. My card was supposed to be the quietest, Wiz has ever reviewed. Here are the details:

And while it wasn't certainly noisy, it wasn't exactly quiet according to my standards, nor the card did run cool enough. Only when I changed the fans, did it become cool and quiet.

 

[ocre]

They are either hot-running (which means low perf) or loud (which means say good bye to silence). Some laws of physics can't just be circumvented. 150 watts of heat is too much for such a small cards cooling system. Vendors are making shortcuts here in order to provide ITX/small chassis users a fast card in a very small package, but ultimately it will backfire on them. Unless you mod the cooling system, or don't mind the acoustics, I'd pass.

A random NewEgg user comment on the GB model:

Different models have different results. They are not all the same. This statement is not at helpful to the OP, not the least bit.

His specific situation, he has options. The best thing he can do is research the specific 970s he is interested in. As far as loud, that is subjective. Many of these 970s are loads quieter than the loudest GPUs of all time. I am not sure if you are trying to paint them as such but for what they are, they are not this terrible situation by any means.

OP, again find a model you interested in specifically and google it. Find some reviews for websites and users alike. You have several options and in the end u can get a powerful card in a tiny little package. That's not to say its gonna be as sophisticated as an MSI lightning or acx, but I am sure it will be okay

 

[Burner27]

What fan settings you have 65c at? Ambient temp? Obviously, "noise" is very subjective. But that you come to expect if you get such a card. A compromise solution. Subjectively, video card stock fans only get moderately quiet at about ~1000 rpm +/-10%. And that card of yours must be pushing well over 2000 RPMs during intensive use.

@ OP

But anyway, if you are looking for silence, you have to change the stock fan on that compact card or have at least 2 stock fans but with the locked fan speed (at the expense of temps). And you could always reduce the power target of your card, so it doesn't dissipate as much heat, albeit, at the expense of speed. Combination of both may be best.


Doubt it.

On a second thought, by looking at the cooling properties, the Asus Mini card may be the "quietest" of the bunch.

Ambient temp is 61F (machine located in basement)--i do not have any software controlling the fan.

 

[Magic Carpet]

His specific situation, he has options. The best thing he can do is research the specific 970s he is interested in. As far as loud, that is subjective. Many of these 970s are loads quieter than the loudest GPUs of all time. I am not sure if you are trying to paint them as such but for what they are, they are not this terrible situation by any means.

They are louder and/or hotter, compared to the regular full-size models, and that has to be mentioned. In this case, small means compromises, not better/smarter. It has to be said. Avoid if possible, if not, well, Asus Mini looks to have the better cooling of the bunch. It certainly won't be as loud as the 290 reference.

Ambient temp is 61F (machine located in basement)--i do not have any software controlling the fan.

That's low. See how it performs when ambient gets to 90-100F in the summer. But you're cool in the basement, I guess.

 

[Qwertilot]

Think the Zotac one should be plausibly OK? Its got 2 full fans rather than just the one the really short ones use after all, which should be a decent help.

Think I've seen (but can't easily find again) a formal review of the tiny Asus one but iirc it didn't measure noise, so not an awful lot of help! Hopefully will get one doing that soon.

The user reviews of the gigabyte on newegg seem to be really very mixed. Some reporting it as very quiet, some very loud. A bit like there's a batch with duff fans or some such, or maybe case airflow really does make that much difference.

 

[Elixer]

OP what motherboard you got ?
You might be able to use low profile right/left angle SATA connectors that wouldn't stick straight up...

 

[master_shake_]

i owned the 670 mini dcuii and it was very quiet.

and it looks like the 970 is identical, so i'd go with it.

 

[DekerBSB]

Hello...:thumbsup:
Old time reader...just registered because your post.
I had the Zotac model. Chose it because the 2 coolers, unlike the asus/gigabyte cards. :awe:
It's a great card...1300Mhz boost clock with 75º in GPU temp target - Zotac Firestorm software.
So far so good with the card...even at 70% fan speed it's not loud (IMO). My old 6870 TwinFroozer II was louder. Let me know if you have any question.

 

[Burner27]

They are louder and/or hotter, compared to the regular full-size models, and that has to be mentioned. In this case, small means compromises, not better/smarter. It has to be said. Avoid if possible, if not, well, Asus Mini looks to have the better cooling of the bunch. It certainly won't be as loud as the 290 reference.


That's low. See how it performs when ambient gets to 90-100F in the summer. But you're cool in the basement, I guess.

Even during the summer, the ambient temp doesn't go higher than 72F. If anyone wants numbers in July, i'd be happy to provide them.

Right now, ambient temp dropped to 58F. Card now idling at 29c. Perhaps I have good case airflow.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

OP what motherboard you got ?
You might be able to use low profile right/left angle SATA connectors that wouldn't stick straight up...

Hello...:thumbsup:
Old time reader...just registered because your post.
I had the Zotac model. Chose it because the 2 coolers, unlike the asus/gigabyte cards. :awe:
It's a great card...1300Mhz boost clock with 75º in GPU temp target - Zotac Firestorm software.
So far so good with the card...even at 70% fan speed it's not loud (IMO). My old 6870 TwinFroozer II was louder. Let me know if you have any question.

I have a Gigabyte GA-Z97x-sli, I think I'll be good with the Zotac; 1 inch improvement would be enough.

My real situation is this - my 7970 has been artifacting lately, so I am preparing for replacement options in the next few months. But also, if the 7970 will last long enough for the 6-9 months-out developments in 4k to become known, I'll make a decision about 4k or 1440p. If I upgrade to 1440p, I feel that a 970 will be sufficient for my needs for 2-3 years at least (just as a personal gut feeling based on how my 7970 handles 1080p). For 4k, obviously it won't cut it...so basically, if 7970 dies too soon I will just go with 1440p.

 

[skipsneeky2]

@skipsneeky2

Nice. When you get it, tell us how it works. Especially, the acoustics. Should consume a bit less power than your previous card.

Gonna do a strict rpm/fan curve comparison between the two when it arrives,post my results in the 970/980 thread.60cel is where the card goes from idle to 65% so will be doing the same on Strix.:thumbsup: If it loads lower temps at lower rpm i will obviously use that.

My card i know isn't as loud as my Antec GX500 with low fans,not till i get to 70% fanspeed.5 120mm fans in all.I only need 65% which works perfectly with my case noise wise,not noticeable at all.

 

[lixlax]

Here's a link for Sapphires R9 285 itx review:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sapphire-radeon-r9-285-itx-compact,3973-3.html

The cooler seems to be very potent taking its size into consideration.

 

[Leyawiin]

I have the Gigabyte 970 card and it runs cool and quiet. Mine has the toshiba ram as well.

35c idle/65c under load. Fan is noisy but not louder than my case fans.

I know noise is subjective, but you must have some loud case fans. In well ventilated case (Cooler Master Stacker 830) it would ramp up to 60-70% and sound like a vacuum cleaner. I submitted a ticket with Gigabyte asking if they had a BIOS with a quieter fan profile I could flash. They replied with one, but by then I'd sent it back. This was right after it was first released so subsequent cards might have had a different BIOS.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

About the gigabyte. My WFx3 (The full size on the 280x) was quite loud at stock. It took a lot of work to bring the overclocked tahiti to 63c. :awe:
Turning down the fan curve made it inaudible over my case fans, and I can't hear them when my HDD is under full access. Max temp is now 80c after slamming it, and then it gets a bit loud. I'd guess normal is 72-78c and quieter.