# Well guys, GTX 970 or 770?



## satindemon4u (Sep 24, 2014)

About to buy my friends gaming desktop but he is keeping a few of the parts from it. One of them being the video card which of course means that I will need one. I was pretty set on the GTX 770 as it is near my price range. However, now the 970 and 980 are out. I don't have the funds for the 980 so that one is sadly out of the question.

So, should I go with the 970 over the 770 for the new architecture that it seems to be sporting? According to GPUBoss they match up about the same. However, I would think with these cards being so new they probably haven't had the chance to fully test them...especially in gaming instances.

Your guys' thoughts?


EDIT: Going with the GTX 970. Thoughts on PNY as a brand for it?

EDIT EDIT: May go with Zotac because my last card was a Zotac and worked great. That and they have a two year warranty versus PNY's 1 year.


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## Durvelle27 (Sep 24, 2014)




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## Jstn7477 (Sep 24, 2014)

GTX 970 is much better than GTX 770 without a doubt.


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 24, 2014)

I give a hearty vote for 970. A 970 beats a 780 in most tests, and users so far have been saying it's a beast!


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## Sempron Guy (Sep 24, 2014)

This is not even debatable unless you got an option to get the 770 dirt cheap. 970 hands down.


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## Nordic (Sep 24, 2014)

This thread just shows the weakness of sites like gpuboss, and in turn passmark because that is what gpuboss used for 2/4 metrics.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-970-vs-GeForce-GTX-770


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## WhiteNoise (Sep 24, 2014)

My 970 in _most_ bench marks does not beat out my GTX 780. I would say it competes with the 770 well though. And of those two I would buy the 970 every time.


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## Nordic (Sep 24, 2014)

WhiteNoise said:


> My 970 in _most_ bench marks does not beat out my GTX 780. I would say it competes with the 770 well though. And of those two I would buy the 970 every time.


The 770 has 22% less performance with 85w higher tdp and it is a competition?


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## WhiteNoise (Sep 24, 2014)

Well I keep reading how the GTX 970 competes with the GTX 780 even out performing it but I am not getting those results.

I agree that it out performs the 770. But at this point I can't say the same against it and the 780.


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## Nordic (Sep 24, 2014)

WhiteNoise said:


> Well I keep reading how the GTX 970 competes with the GTX 780 even out performing it but I am not getting those results.


I am using w1zzards results. He shows a 22% higher performance at 1080p.  His results even show it beats the 780 by 11%. I haven't personally tested and won't but I trust his reviews. I guess if your own testing shows different that is a separate matter entirely.


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## WhiteNoise (Sep 24, 2014)

Well I bought the same card he reviewed because I read his review and so far I am not getting the results he did. I also own a GTX 780 and I'm comparing the two. My 780 out performs my 970 in the following benchmarks: Valley, Metro 2033 and heaven. The 970 out-performs the 780 in 3dmark Fire Strike.

Of course I'm on an older mobo and cpu but I still expected to compete with the 780 and actually out perform it. I'm wondering if new drivers will help down the road...

The TWO reasons I bought the 970 is his review showed it not only out performed the GTX 780 but it did it at $329.


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## Liviu Cojocaru (Sep 24, 2014)

970 FTW!


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## El_Mayo (Sep 24, 2014)

How is a GTX 970 only getting 7.7!!?!? GPUBoss is terrible!


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## W1zzard (Sep 24, 2014)

WhiteNoise said:


> Well I bought the same card he reviewed because I read his review and so far I am not getting the results he did. I also own a GTX 780 and I'm comparing the two. My 780 out performs my 970 in the following benchmarks: Valley, Metro 2033 and heaven. The 970 out-performs the 780 in 3dmark Fire Strike.
> 
> Of course I'm on an older mobo and cpu but I still expected to compete with the 780 and actually out perform it. I'm wondering if new drivers will help down the road...
> 
> The TWO reasons I bought the 970 is his review showed it not only out performed the GTX 780 but it did it at $329.


Is your GTX 780 overclocked ? I'm using the original GTX NVIDIA reference design.

We are using the Metro Last Light benchmark, which should make it relatively easy for you to replicate the results. Other benchmarks use custom scenes etc, so I doubt you'll be able to replicate scores.



El_Mayo said:


> How is a GTX 970 only getting 7.7!!?!? GPUBoss is terrible!


because they use an automated system to generate everything, using numbers downloaded from our gpu database (www.techpowerup.com/gpudb)


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## RejZoR (Sep 24, 2014)

It all depends on what you have now. In certain cases you can skip GTX 900 series altogether because apart from low power usage they don't really provide all that much grunt to justify full price again...


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## Vario (Sep 24, 2014)

770 isn't all that bad, if you can get one around $200 its a good price.  However we haven't seen the 960 yet.  If buying new, the 970 is the sweet spot for price and performance.

The 770 is enough for my 1080p needs, I am sure in the next few years the limit of 2gb vram will start to be more of a problem, it isn't now though.


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## RCoon (Sep 24, 2014)

WhiteNoise said:


> Well I bought the same card he reviewed because I read his review and so far I am not getting the results he did. I also own a GTX 780 and I'm comparing the two. My 780 out performs my 970 in the following benchmarks: Valley, Metro 2033 and heaven. The 970 out-performs the 780 in 3dmark Fire Strike.
> 
> Of course I'm on an older mobo and cpu but I still expected to compete with the 780 and actually out perform it. I'm wondering if new drivers will help down the road...
> 
> The TWO reasons I bought the 970 is his review showed it not only out performed the GTX 780 but it did it at $329.



My MSI 970 is spanking my Gigabyte 780 windforce without a doubt, then again slightly newer processor and board.


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## Fluffmeister (Sep 24, 2014)

The 970 is bascially a no brainer at the moment, but if you want to save a few more quid it might be worth waiting to see what the 960 has to offer.


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## RejZoR (Sep 24, 2014)

The above replacing of GTX 780 with GTX 970 makes no sense unless you have too much money. It just doens't provide any extra grunt. And i coudln't care any less about power consumption. Just give me more frames per second. When you're going 300km/h with a Ferrari, consumption is the least of your concerns. Same with graphic cards. You don't buy them to make planet more green. You buy them to churn out more frames per second.


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## THE_EGG (Sep 24, 2014)

RejZoR said:


> The above replacing of GTX 780 with GTX 970 makes no sense unless you have too much money. It just doens't provide any extra grunt. And i coudln't care any less about power consumption. Just give me more frames per second. When you're going 300km/h with a Ferrari, consumption is the least of your concerns. Same with graphic cards. You don't buy them to make planet more green. You buy them to churn out more frames per second.


Lower power consumption also means less heat generated and thus lower noise levels as well (and can mean higher overclocks too). This can be extremely important in SLI setups and also SFF cases. I'm considering moving to 2 970s as a sidegrade to my 2 780s for this reason as my case struggles to dissipate all the heat from the 780s. It will 'only' cost me about $50-$100 for the sidegrade which to me is worth it. The 970 also has an extra gig of vram too.

---

To answer the OP's question, without a doubt I would buy a 970 over a 770. If I'd buy a 970 over a 780 then this goes without question.


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## RejZoR (Sep 24, 2014)

What noise? I'm pushing my HD7950 as far as i can go and in idle it makes pretty much no noise (i could tweak the fan profile further to run at even lower speed but i see no need for that) and at heavy loads it's hardly audible. Sure i hear it a bit but when you're gaming, the speakers are usually louder anyway and if i have headphones, then it doesn't even matter if i have a jet engine next to me.


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## WhiteNoise (Sep 24, 2014)

W1zzard said:


> Is your GTX 780 overclocked ? I'm using the original GTX NVIDIA reference design.
> 
> We are using the Metro Last Light benchmark, which should make it relatively easy for you to replicate the results. Other benchmarks use custom scenes etc, so I doubt you'll be able to replicate scores.
> 
> ...



My GTX 780 is the PNY Enthusiast edition GTX 780 OC. It competes fairly well with the GTX 780Ti but I thought the GTX 970 would beat it.

I'm actually trying to decide if I should return the 970 and buy the 980 or if I should wait a bit and pick up another 970 for SLI. Not sure what I want to do yet.


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## TheMailMan78 (Sep 24, 2014)

What about two 670's in SLI running at 680 clocks? I play at 1080P.

I checked out the benches and it seems to be kinda a downgrade.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 24, 2014)

Glad to see this question exploded haha. I think I will probably end up going with the 970. As far as GpuBoss goes, does anyone have another site that is more accurate then? I know there are tons but I figure some good recommendations from you guys won't hurt. It seems I am not the only way debating these two cards haha.


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## Nordic (Sep 24, 2014)

RejZoR said:


> The above replacing of GTX 780 with GTX 970 makes no sense unless you have too much money. It just doens't provide any extra grunt. And i coudln't care any less about power consumption. Just give me more frames per second. When you're going 300km/h with a Ferrari, consumption is the least of your concerns. Same with graphic cards. You don't buy them to make planet more green. You buy them to churn out more frames per second.


What if I want a tesla?


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## TheMailMan78 (Sep 24, 2014)

satindemon4u said:


> Glad to see this question exploded haha. I think I will probably end up going with the 970. *As far as GpuBoss goes, does anyone have another site that is more accurate then?* I know there are tons but I figure some good recommendations from you guys won't hurt. It seems I am not the only way debating these two cards haha.


TPU?


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## RCoon (Sep 24, 2014)

TheMailMan78 said:


> TPU?



God man, you're such a TPU fanboi. Everybody knows their driver choices suck. *sarcasm*

Too simple an idea.


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## TheMailMan78 (Sep 24, 2014)

Been using TPU for 8 years.......W1zz has been pretty reliable. Jus sayin'


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## RCoon (Sep 24, 2014)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Been using TPU for 8 years.......W1zz has been pretty reliable. Jus sayin'



Also one of the few that does power consumption *properly* and provides performance overview charts, which I use to base most of my purchases on.


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## THE_EGG (Sep 24, 2014)

TPU's reviews are the main reason I decided to join the forum haha. I stayed here because of the friendly community.

I base most of my purchases off TPU reviews. If the item isn't reviewed here, I'll generally use Guru3d otherwise.


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## EarthDog (Sep 24, 2014)

LOL, GPU boss.. that site needs to die.

970 hands down homeslice.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 25, 2014)

Wow. Apparently I have been missing a lot on the site haha. I joined the forum a while back and never knew of the full review on cards. Can bet your asses that's where I am heading to now! haha


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## Scrizz (Sep 25, 2014)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Been using TPU for 8 years.......W1zz has been pretty reliable. Jus sayin'


This


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## satindemon4u (Sep 25, 2014)

Yeah, just looked up his reviews for the 970 and 770 both. It would be a total moron to not go with the 970. It's the same price and for more performance. Plus, his review are fantastic. So much info there.

EDIT: Have decided on the 970 so I am wondering now, has is PNY as a brand?
EDIT EDIT: May go with Zotac because my last card was a Zotac and worked great. That and they have a two year warranty versus PNY's 1 year.


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 25, 2014)

I thought PNY was the last remaining lifetime warranty? Or do i have them confused with another company?


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## Nordic (Sep 25, 2014)

rtwjunkie said:


> I thought PNY was the last remaining lifetime warranty? Or do i have them confused with another company?


EVGA does lifetime warranty if you register. I thought XFX did too.


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## Frag_Maniac (Sep 25, 2014)

james888 said:


> EVGA does lifetime warranty if you register. I thought XFX did too.



I don't think this is correct. EVGA didn't just change their warranty period, they changed it's structure.

The reason they say they dropped it to 3 yrs is so they could offer it as a transferable warranty, which it wasn't before.

Lots of EVGA customers upgrade frequently, and they requested a warranty that would allow them to do that easier.


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## The N (Sep 25, 2014)

970 will be your ultimate choice. low power consumption, better performance, 200% better than 770.  it will your future proof product.


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## Nordic (Sep 25, 2014)

Frag Maniac said:


> I don't think this is correct. EVGA didn't just change their warranty period, they changed it's structure.
> 
> The reason they say they dropped it to 3 yrs is so they could offer it as a transferable warranty, which it wasn't before.
> 
> Lots of EVGA customers upgrade frequently, and they requested a warranty that would allow them to do that easier.


I was speaking that they have a lifetime warranty. I just looked it up and they do infact have a limited lifetime warranty. You must register after purchase of a new card to obtain it though, and is only for the original purchaser. http://www.evga.com/support/warranty/

I also looked up XFX. They no longer have a life time warranty.


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 25, 2014)

On a related note.  I predicted before the 970 went on sale there would be mass dumpings of 770's.  A visit to a certain auction site reveals page after page after page of used 770's, including 4GB models, fairly reasonably priced.  Before last Friday, you were lucky to find 4 or five....listings, not pages.


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## Nordic (Sep 25, 2014)

rtwjunkie said:


> On a related note.  I predicted before the 970 went on sale there would be mass dumpings of 770's.  A visit to a certain auction site reveals page after page after page of used 770's, including 4GB models, fairly reasonably priced.  Before last Friday, you were lucky to find 4 or five....listings, not pages.


Its pretty great. For those of us who don't mind having last gen performance, we can get a 770 for $200. Even better, a 290x for about $180 it seems.


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 25, 2014)

james888 said:


> Its pretty great. For those of us who don't mind having last gen performance, we can get a 770 for $200. Even better, a 290x for about $180 it seems.


 
Absolutely!  And the "last gen" upper Keplers (770, 780) are no slouches in performance by any means.  Just currently overmatched is all.


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## Tuna Yücer (Sep 25, 2014)

970's architecture is better than the 770's. There is a HUGE TDP difference.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 25, 2014)

I was unaware of any auction sites? Unless you are referring to like....Ebay lol. But anyway, I have a feeling I am going to be VERY pleased with the 970.


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## Nordic (Sep 25, 2014)

satindemon4u said:


> I was unaware of any auction sites? Unless you are referring to like....Ebay lol. But anyway, I have a feeling I am going to be VERY pleased with the 970.


We are indeed talking about used hardware prices on ebay. I don't know how much performance you want, but you can even find 7970's and 680's for about $100. I just sold mine 7970 early this year for $250 crazily enough. I almost want to buy another one to replace it for that price.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 25, 2014)

Ughhhh. Why did you have to tell me that? haha. Now I am looking into a 680... >.<


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## Nordic (Sep 25, 2014)

Whenever the 960 arrives it will probably push prices down further. The 960 might even be catching because it should have 770 performance at who knows how few watts. It would be silent.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 25, 2014)

Has there been any rumor or speculation on when the 960 MAY be released?


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## Nordic (Sep 25, 2014)

satindemon4u said:


> Has there been any rumor or speculation on when the 960 MAY be released?


http://www.techpowerup.com/205248/nvidia-readies-geforce-gtx-960.html


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## satindemon4u (Sep 25, 2014)

james888 said:


> http://www.techpowerup.com/205248/nvidia-readies-geforce-gtx-960.html



Hmmmm. Now to wait on that or scoop up a 680. I'm very tempted to grab a 680 with the insane price drops.


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## Nordic (Sep 26, 2014)

satindemon4u said:


> Hmmmm. Now to wait on that or scoop up a 680. I'm very tempted to grab a 680 with the insane price drops.


The 960 will no doubt be faster, more efficient, and more expensive. I don't know what you're upgrading from, but do you want more performance NOW or do you might waiting and paying more for better.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 26, 2014)

Well currently I have nothing. Friend of mine built a new rig and is selling me his old minus the video card and ram. So in need of a card I may just go with the 680 since people seem to be dumping them like mad.


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 26, 2014)

satindemon4u said:


> Well currently I have nothing. Friend of mine built a new rig and is selling me his old minus the video card and ram. So in need of a card I may just go with the 680 since people seem to be dumping them like mad.



I think there alot of older top of the line cards from the Kepler line that will be available in droves if the 770 dumping is any indication. I don't think a 680 would disappoint you...especially if you are without a card right now.


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## satindemon4u (Sep 26, 2014)

rtwjunkie said:


> I think there alot of older top of the line cards from the Kepler line that will be available in droves if the 770 dumping is any indication. I don't think a 680 would disappoint you...especially if you are without a card right now.



That's my thought exactly. A 970 would be nice but I can't ignore this mass dump.


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