EVGA GTX 970 versions

[Masherbrum]

I run a stock 4770K (maybe OC might be needed in a few years?), stock 780ti across three monitors and get 60 frames regardless of the game.   There should be no need to overclock on a single monitor with the eyecandy turned up.  I believe the OC thing is being played a bit too much here, when the OP might not even need it.

[MADe]

What makes it different? _{I'M STUPID}Only better overclocking? I'm not really into overclocking just yet.

The G1 has 3 cooling fans. Its about 12" long. These are 2 physical differences.
As far as Gigabyte vs EVGA. I have several EVGA cards, all work as advertised. The 1 time I had to do an RMA, it was done.
I started using Gigabyte mobos, I like them a lot. So when I went for a newer vid card......................... ............I doubt there would be that much difference performance wise between manufacturers.
Gigabyte uses dual bios as well.
The 4GB of ram is untrue, the 970 has a 3.5GB ram block and a .5GB ram block...................googl e this
some say it will not be good for the 4K monitors of future...........

For AH3 and my purposes, this card rocks for the dollar amount.

Pudgie could prolly give you chapter and verse of the different variants as well. He is quite good with the intel and specs.
 

[Masherbrum]

If someone is using a 4K monitor, you are not looking into 970's.   Let's keep the train on the rails here.

[Spikes]

The 4GB of ram is untrue, the 970 has a 3.5GB ram block and a .5GB ram block

That does not mean it is untrue. It does indeed have 4GB of ram unless 3.5+.5 ≠ 4, but that would be news to me.

[Masherbrum]

That does not mean it is untrue. It does indeed have 4GB of ram unless 3.5+.5 ≠ 4, but that would be news to me.

Agree with this.   As far as I have read, they are 4gb cards.

[BaldEagl]

This is/was the issue:

Although the 970 has 4GB of VRAM, not all of that memory is created equal. The 970 has two different segments of memory it can access, as Nvidia recently explained to PC Perspective: a primary segment with 3.5GB and a secondary, slower one with another 512MB.

Under normal conditions (and the vast majority of gaming scenarios), the card relies on the 3.5GB segment alone, turning to the supplementary segment only when necessary. But when a game needs more than 3.5GB of memory, tapping into the secondary segment drags down performance. Some are reporting stutters and frame rate drops as the card uses between 3.5GB and 4GB of memory.

From:  http://www.pcworld.com/article/2875740/nvidia-explains-geforce-gtx-970s-memory-performance-issues-admits-error-in-specs.html

It didn't stop me from buying a 970.  It's still a very good card for the price.

[Spikes]

This is/was the issue:

Although the 970 has 4GB of VRAM, not all of that memory is created equal. The 970 has two different segments of memory it can access, as Nvidia recently explained to PC Perspective: a primary segment with 3.5GB and a secondary, slower one with another 512MB.

Under normal conditions (and the vast majority of gaming scenarios), the card relies on the 3.5GB segment alone, turning to the supplementary segment only when necessary. But when a game needs more than 3.5GB of memory, tapping into the secondary segment drags down performance. Some are reporting stutters and frame rate drops as the card uses between 3.5GB and 4GB of memory.

From:  http://www.pcworld.com/article/2875740/nvidia-explains-geforce-gtx-970s-memory-performance-issues-admits-error-in-specs.html

It didn't stop me from buying a 970.  It's still a very good card for the price.

Correct. However the poster said that the card having 4GB was untrue, which is false. It does have 4GB as advertised.

I agree, it is one of the best bang for the buck cards out there.

[MADe]

Correct. However the poster said that the card having 4GB was untrue, which is false. It does have 4GB as advertised.

I agree, it is one of the best bang for the buck cards out there.

just trying to get OP to research the subject so he knows. Yeah the 2 blocks total 4GB, but in practice it does not work that way. as per BE's post.

[caldera]

I have the EVGA 970 SSC, which is somewhere between the SC and the FTW.   Runs AH3 fine so far.   

[Gman]

That whole 3.5/4gb fiasco was more of a PR mistake than a real crisis IMO.  I had purchased 2 970 eVGA cards they day they released, and never saw a problem until I'd read about the issue here, and only with one game I never played could I recreate any performance issues that brought the whole thing up.  I did return them, but only because nVidia offered my company I deal with great terms for returns over the whole thing, not because I was unsatisfied with the 970s.  The price went up on the cards dramatically here in Canada, plus the dollar plummeted vs the USD at the time too, so I made about 85$ per card, and switched to 2 980s for only a bit more money.

The 970 IMO has been a very impressive piece of kit, the Gigabyte variant like Spikes has especially so, being probably the best option out of a lot of great companies.  It's incredible how long the 970 has been such a "go to" card for so many gamers/PC builders out there IMO. 

[Skuzzy]

That does not mean it is untrue. It does indeed have 4GB of ram unless 3.5+.5 ≠ 4, but that would be news to me.

They are 4GB cards, but the last 512MB is ultra slow RAM (cheaper) meant to be used for scratchpad work for the GPU.  If your application actually needs 4GB of video RAM, the application WILL slow down and manifest many unsightly features (stutters, erratic motion, texture loading issues...).

As long as the application stays in the confines of the 3.5GB space, then everything is great.  This is why I will say the 970 is the best bang-for-the-buck 1080 video card on the market.  If you get beyond 1080 resolution, then you could run into the 3.5GB limit with several games.

[MADe]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-487-088&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=GD012516&cm_mmc=EMC-GD012516-_-index-_-Item-_-14-487-088


good sales price........................ ....

[popeye]

They are 4GB cards, but the last 512MB is ultra slow RAM (cheaper) meant to be used for scratchpad work for the GPU.  If your application actually needs 4GB of video RAM, the application WILL slow down and manifest many unsightly features (stutters, erratic motion, texture loading issues...).

As long as the application stays in the confines of the 3.5GB space, then everything is great.  This is why I will say the 970 is the best bang-for-the-buck 1080 video card on the market.  If you get beyond 1080 resolution, then you could run into the 3.5GB limit with several games.

Does the 3.5GB limit affect AH3 at 2560 x 1440?  Anyone compared AH3 performance with the 970 at 1080 v 1440?

TIA

[Skuzzy]

Does the 3.5GB limit affect AH3 at 2560 x 1440?  Anyone compared AH3 performance with the 970 at 1080 v 1440?

TIA

Right now, I would say AH3 will not be impacted.

[Hajo]

I am now running an NVidia 970.  Everything up max frame rates at 60  (naturally vid sync on)  Great card for the price.

When you install, you will be directed through NVidia software to download the driver.  Do so, it works great.