yup, now I think the cheapest is the Gainward reference gtx 970

Eh,even GBA can play Pacman.

Now,the lowest is Gainward GTX970 4GB GDDR5 RM1099 from IdealTech.

+ 100 for phantom edition

Been using it. Too bad it doesn't disable the stupid nvidia gpu boost nonsense. Higher clocks sure, but so what?

You see the problem is that in every game, there will be a time where you either alt-tab out to check on something or pause into the menu for a bit. During these times, the GPU downclocks itself and upon resuming the game, you get horrible stutters and framerate dips simply because the GPU is at a downclocked state. Doesn't matter if you have "Prefer Maximum Performance" enabled in Nvidia's CP either.

Now, it wouldn't be an issue if the GPU would instantly boost back up to near its power limit and stay there, problem is... often times as I've encountered, it doesn't.

Auto GPU boost is a truly stupid feature that no one asked for yet both Nvidia and AMD forced it down people's throats. You 2 monkey companies either make the boost seem natural OR allow users to completely disable it and run the GPU at 100% performance. Extra $2 in the electric bill every month is trivial.

*EDIT*
Of course I know, the fix is just to settle for a lower boost clock and deal with as minimal throttling and downclocking as possible. But jeez, pay so much for a 970/980 and knowing that they overclock like lunatics just not to ACTUALLY be able to use them? For what then?

This post has been edited by SSJBen: Oct 26 2014, 06:48 PM

Wow that is cheap. 2 years warranty? Or 3?

Not much reviews available on Phantom GTX 970. Is their coolers any good?

This post has been edited by Skidd Chung: Oct 26 2014, 06:47 PM

If they are the same like the ones on the 7xx cards, they're not too bad. Being able to pull out the fans is a nice touch for cleaning I guess, but IMO it does make the card look ugly from the top.

Hmmm thinking of buying the Palit Jetstream GTX 970 actually. Card is shorter, fan is idle below 60°C. But seems common complaint is the coil whine issue of these cards. But got 3 years warranty.

Well, coil whine can happen to any card from any manufacturer anyways. Even premium ones like the MSI Lightning or Asus Poseidon/Striker/Mars/whatever other names they have. Luck of the draw.

Totally agree. My gtx 970 coil whine too but at least it does not sound loud with the closed case. I hv to go very near to only be audible.

Here're 2 reviews on the Gainward card if you are interested in...

http://www.eteknix.com/gainward-phantom-ge...cs-card-review/
http://www.techspot.com/review/898-geforce...-sli-4k-gaming/

Considered it before I bought the Asus Strix variant. The design and the lack of back-plate is a put off for me.

Ordered the Palit GTX 970 Jetstream.

To be honest I think I was happy enough with the GTX 760 but I think I've been poisoned and just want more FPS

the design make look different with other when c btm
and also easy to clean then fan too

Well unless you have a case where the mobo orientation is horizontal, otherwise I think the biggest turn off is looking at this in a normal F-ATX/ATX/M-ATX case...





Personal preference of course.
For me though, ugh...

Also another pet peeve I have with the Gainward is the I/O:




I understand and get what Gainward is trying to do here. Use a Flex I/O to have 4 display outs. It's not a bad idea, in fact it's a great one. But once again personally, I hate mini-HDMI. It breaks so easily it's not even funny.
Also Flex I/Os usually incur higher input lag as well, not significantly of course but it's something to keep in mind.

This post has been edited by SSJBen: Oct 27 2014, 04:22 PM

That. It's like a huge matchbox.

Using zotac 970 amp omega, so far no issues but temp is definitely on the higher side compared to other brands but nothing to worry about. (not aircond room)

Noise is quiet during idle and does fairly well under load. (the card under load is quiet compared to sapphire 6870 on idle)

No coil whines in any games i've played so far except for when i'm exiting unigine heaven 4.0.

I'm interested in how zotac will honour its 2 years extended warranty after the 3 years local warranty expires.

This post has been edited by DreamScars: Oct 28 2014, 12:04 PM

ok, have you tried skyrim? interested to know the fps average when running enb and heavily modded skyrim. youtubers fail to mention their fps

This post has been edited by ssxcool: Oct 28 2014, 02:22 PM

Oh man... that was ugly... i wont get it also based on the look.

BTW, I found this :
http://www.galax.net/US/970exoc_black.html

Gonna check who bringing in if there is any...

i dont think that brand available in msia, never heard bout this brand also

This post has been edited by ssxcool: Oct 28 2014, 03:05 PM

Oops, spotted something.

I think previously the brand known as Galaxy, wonder why changed to Galax.