Need a GTX 970 recommendation.

[LazyBoy]

There are too many models and too much marketing speak for me.
Which ones are the quiet ones? What do you recommend?

The reason for this machine is Oculus Rift games.
It will be squeezed into a Fractal Design Node 304 (mini-ITX),
which can take up to 310mm cards.
I'm shopping in the U.S.

Thanks!

[Abula]

MSI GeForce GTX 970 DirectX 12 GTX 970 GAMING 4G 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support G-SYNC Support Video Card

In case you want read more check Techpowerup MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4 GB

The cooler not only looks good, but also delivers excellent temperatures that are better than with other GTX 970s we have tested. Not only temperatures are good as noise levels are, more importantly, outstanding. The fans will completely stop in idle and light gaming, which results in a perfectly noise-less experience. Once a more demanding game is launched, the fans will spin up, but they will always be extremely quiet, barely audible. Very impressive work here, MSI.

[gqdgqiugig]

There are too many models and too much marketing speak for me.
Which ones are the quiet ones? What do you recommend?

The reason for this machine is Oculus Rift games.
It will be squeezed into a Fractal Design Node 304 (mini-ITX),
which can take up to 310mm cards.
I'm shopping in the U.S.

Thanks!

Hello!

I recommend you the awesome Palit gtx 970 Jetstream. This card is easily overclockable and quiet. Like Asus there is a 0db system under the gpu reach hight temperatures.

Check this : http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/pa ... iew,1.html

[CA_Steve]

ht4u has a nice review of the Palit with comparisons to Asus and MSI.

tl;dr: Palit is slightly quieter than MSI and uses slightly less power at idle and load, better VRM temps, poorer at overclocking.

[quest_for_silence]

It will be squeezed into a Fractal Design Node 304 (mini-ITX)

Maybe a Fractal Design Core 500 might be better suited (as it can handle quieter PSUs than 140mm ones).

[~El~Jefe~]

ht4u has a nice review of the Palit with comparisons to Asus and MSI.

tl;dr: Palit is slightly quieter than MSI and uses slightly less power at idle and load, better VRM temps, poorer at overclocking.

I never seen Palit stuff in USA. Like ever. Seem to do be good buys for silent computing throughout the years but alas, nay

[wayner]

There are too many models and too much marketing speak for me.
Which ones are the quiet ones? What do you recommend?

The reason for this machine is Oculus Rift games.
It will be squeezed into a Fractal Design Node 304 (mini-ITX),
which can take up to 310mm cards.
I'm shopping in the U.S.

What did you decide to go with? I am looking for a video card for an OR as well. Any idea on whether it is worth moving up to a 980 to future proof yourself?

[Wild Penguin]

I got the EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC GAMING ACX 2.0+, and I've been mainly satisfied with it (also quieteness-wise).

I'm folding quite a bit (20-24/7) on it, and doing also some gaming every now and then. I have not noticed the coil whine I've been seen complaints about elsewhere; but then again, somewhere else someone said there's coil whine on all GTX970's, more or less to a same degree - it's just that some individual users may be more sensitive to noticing it and there may be individual cards which will whine more than others (even the exact same product).

I've had the card for 8 months now (that equals ~60M points at FAH!), and the fan has started to make a little bit more sound than it did as new - but only when folding (i.e. when it has high RPM), and the change is not large. Also, it may have something to do with the fact I didn't remove the protective plastic sheets glued on the fans and the head spreader... you know, the ones that say in large letters "REMOVE BEFORE USE - RISK FIRE IF NOT REMOVED" or similar

(I was thinking I will be doing things inside the case soon, being forced to remove the card, and thought I don't want to scratch it, but that hasn't happened to date....)

EDIT: Now that I've checked the GTX fan speed, I'm not sure that is causing the noice... it may be the PSU fan instead. The FAN ramps up very rarely, and the card BIOS will let it run quite hot before it will ramp up, and my case fans circulate the air quite wll, it seems; most probably it was running at low speed when I heard something, assuming it was the card.

EDIT2: Here's a thread about coild whine. My card is mentioned - as a bad one! - but I have never noticed any coil whine personally.... maybe I'm just lucky (as in - bad hearing, or a good card).