• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 review [DIGITAL FOUNDRY]

Seanspeed said:
Its like with the 670 vs the 680. I have a 670 and I really doubt 680 owners are really doing much of anything that I'm unable to. Maybe turn up a setting or two more than me? Its not a big difference.

I mean, if you want the absolute best and you're prepared to pay for it, a 980 is a fine option, sure. Its just not nearly as good a value as the 970, which matters to most of the rest of us.
Click to expand...

It matters to me too. The 970 looks to be a fantastic value. I was just setting back money for an x80 line and was expecting at least to pay $500 so why not if I have already saved that much.
 
Branson said:
It matters to me too. The 970 looks to be a fantastic value. I was just setting back money for an x80 line and was expecting at least to pay $500 so why not if I have already saved that much.
Click to expand...

Well you could save that $200 or so and spend it on games that you'll be playing to make use of your new video card.
 
I'm on the verge of moving from consoles to PC - but I would first like to see what AMD have lined up. That 970 looks tremendous, it's certainly the one to beat with regards to £perFPS.
 
I've been waiting for a sign to finally replace my HD 5770. I think its just about time to take the ol girl out behind the barn.

I had about $350 set aside toward a new console anyhow. Looks like I've got a decision to make.
 
Toki767 said:
Well you could save that $200 or so and spend it on games that you'll be playing to make use of your new video card.
Click to expand...

I think the GTX 970 is so far ahead of the current consoles, you probably won't need a GTX 980 for most games coming out within the next few years. Unless of course you want to play all your games at ridiculous resolutions and the like.
 
Quick dumb question since I haven't had time to look into it since reading this review: Would this mobo work with the 970? I built my system in 2011 and running an i5-2500K OC'd to 4.2, would it be dumb to not upgrade the CPU along with the GPU?
 
The reaction to this card reminds me of the reaction to the 670 (of which I bit and love mine). Super high performance to price ratio.

Hnnngh. Must resist.
 
darth_infamous said:
Quick dumb question since I haven't had time to look into it since reading this review: Would this mobo work with the 970? I built my system in 2011 and running an i5-2500K OC'd to 4.2, would it be dumb to not upgrade the CPU along with the GPU?
Click to expand...

Well, in CPU intensive games, the CPU would probably bottleneck the GPU.
 
Branson said:
It matters to me too. The 970 looks to be a fantastic value. I was just setting back money for an x80 line and was expecting at least to pay $500 so why not if I have already saved that much.
Click to expand...
Save that extra 200 bucks as the first tranche for your future Gsync/120hz monitor or something like that.

When it comes to gaming, do you know what's the only thing better than playing games with a powerful GPU and a 120+ hz monitor?
I'M SORRY, I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE ONE.
 
leadbelly said:
Well, in CPU intensive games, the CPU would probably bottleneck the GPU.
Click to expand...

Having had look around the internet it seems like it will probably be enough. A number of modern games seem to have an i7 as recommended spec though. That's the way I am thinking about it.
 
leadbelly said:
Well, in CPU intensive games, the CPU would probably bottleneck the GPU.
Click to expand...

Remmeber that new API's just around the corner are going to have a huge impact on CPU performance. I doubt upgrading his CPU now will be of value. Those new API's should carry that CPU for a while yet. By the time games that really take advantage of more powerful CPU's start hitting, a better CPU than what he has can be had for cheap.

On the other hand,UNTIL those API's start being used more, some games might indeed be a bit bottlenecked.
 
Kinthalis said:
Remmeber that new API's just around the corner are going to have a huge impact on CPU performance. I doubt upgrading his CPU now will be of value. Those new API's should carry that CPU for a while yet. By the time games that really take advantage of more powerful CPU's start hitting, a better CPU than what he has can be had for cheap.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Looking around the internet it seems to be okay for a number of games anyway.

But as I was saying, there are some next-gen games that seem to have i7 as recommended or in some cases minimum specs. That's how I was thinking about it.
 
Mister D said:
What settings are you running stuff at to get 1080p 60+fps in everything. I have a highly overclocked 4GB GTX 680 that should be about the same as a GTX 770 and although I do run most things at 1080p 60fps there are several games like Planetside 2, and Ubisoft's shit output like ACIV and Watch Dogs that require me to turn down several settings to get 60fps and in the case of Ubisoft stuff I'm still not getting 60fps. I feel this will only get worse as cross-gen stuff dies out and we are playing PC ports built solely to run on PS4 or Xbone.

I don't expect to run everything fully maxed out since I know devs like putting in really demanding settings that aren't really that noticeable but I've had to turn down things like AO and shadows in a couple of games since I like using higher quality AA as I play on a 70inch screen at 1080p. I fear how GTAV and The Witcher 3 will run depending on the settings I find myself satisfied with.
.
Click to expand...
AC4 and planetside 2 are two heavily cpu reliant games, if you can't maintain 60 fps it's your cpu not your gpu.
In the case of planetside 2 if I remember right it also has an ingame supersampling resolution slider that will murder your framerate because you won't be playing at 1080p but at a much higher resolution downsampled to 1080p. But really planetside 2 requires a powerful cpu even after the performance patch.
As for watchdogs, shitport is gona shitport... it's pointless to buy more powerful hardware for disaster ports

5 years ago saint's row 2 was a shitport that would run poorly on the biggest monster pcs, even 3 years after release it would not hit 60 fps on a monster pc of that time. That doesn't mean people should buy a faster pc based on that game... it was pointless
Idk if you can even hit 60 fps steady on it on today's high end pcs... and it looks like a fucking ps2 game

You just have to accept that no matter what hardware you have , a bad broken game is a bad broken game, there is no escaping it. The only escape is not buy the shitty game of the shitty dev who never deserved your money to begin with.
When your toast gets burnt you throw it away.
 
SneakyStephan said:
AC4 and planetside 2 are two heavily cpu reliant games, if you can't maintain 60 fps it's your cpu not your gpu.
In the case of planetside 2 if I remember right it also has an ingame supersampling resolution slider that will murder your framerate because you won't be playing at 1080p but at a much higher resolution downsampled to 1080p. But really planetside 2 requires a powerful cpu even after the performance patch.
As for watchdogs, shitport is gona shitport... it's pointless to buy more powerful hardware for disaster ports

5 years ago saint's row 2 was a shitport that would run poorly on the biggest monster pcs, even 3 years after release it would not hit 60 fps on a monster pc of that time. That doesn't mean people should buy a faster pc based on that game... it was pointless
Idk if you can even hit 60 fps steady on it on today's high end pcs... and it looks like a fucking ps2 game

You just have to accept that no matter what hardware you have , a bad broken game is a bad broken game, there is no escaping it. The only escape is not buy the shitty game of the shitty dev who never deserved your money to begin with.
When your toast gets burnt you throw it away.
Click to expand...

I have an I7 3770k with boost set to 4.3Ghz. I tried overclocking it but my temps were over 90 degrees Celcius when running Prime 95 since I have a smaller Silverstone HTPC case so I just went back to stock and changed the boost setting. Outside of Planetside 2, the only games that really give my 680 problems are Ubisoft's ports. I got most of them free with graphics card purchases and a couple really cheap during Steam sales.

The only one I paid over $15 for was Watch Dogs and that will be my first and last time doing that. With the next crop of games coming out I'll see how the card fares especially when it comes to AA since I hate having to turn that down from max due to the size of the screen I'm playing on at only 1080p. If I'm still getting between 45 and 60fps with just turning down shit like AO and shadows then I'll stick it out until the 10 series and hope for a massive jump in performance hopefully without the same size jump in price. Although the upgrade bug has burrowed a little beneath my skin with the value proposition of getting basically a Titan for under $400 after overclocking a 970.
 
Really surprised at just how attractive this product seems to be among the enthusiast crowd. Really considering it when it gets released; it would be awesome to see a performance upgrade in some of the games I already own while gearing up for 2014.
 
Crazy question but with Shadows of Modor ultimate textures wanting 6GB of ram reccomendation, I would assume that two GTX 970s would do the job no issues in 1080p for 60 fps at its current optimization?
 
ZombieFred said:
Crazy question but with Shadows of Modor ultimate textures wanting 6GB of ram reccomendation, I would assume that two GTX 970s would do the job no issues in 1080p for 60 fps at its current optimization?
Click to expand...

Not how it works. Both cards load in the same textures. It's not a shared pool of memory.

When ever bus speeds increase enough that may be probable in the future. It is not now.
 
pixlexic said:
Not how it works. Both cards load in the same textures. It's not a shared pool of memory.

When ever bus speeds increase enough that may be probable in the future. It is not now.
Click to expand...

Dang so I suppose I might as well wait for the potential 8 GB version of a single card solution, yes?
 
£260!? Suddenly my 670 Windforce edition is sweating. Will be many months until I can afford this card but I needed a good excuse to upgrade.

Color me excited, would pairing this with a stock i5 3750K bottleneck this card? If not I'll just wait for the next generation of i5 chips.
 
Very tempted to upgrade from my GTX 670 FTW. I'd like to sell the 670 though to make back some money. Where is the best place to do that?

I don't even know what used ones normally go for.
 
Dave_6 said:
Pretty much what I did (except I'm coming from a 7970). Just need to find one of those G-Sync modules now.
Click to expand...

Microcenter just called to confirm my cc and shipping info,dear lord I hope that means they are shipping the ROG out.

4OowbIsmYHbpu.gif
 
icwQSzN12fSEF.jpg


680 switched out, 970 popped in over the weekend. Getting some great results, latest Project Cars (Steam) build firing on all cylinders. Nice and quiet, delighted with it.
 
Got a new gaming rig a year ago with GTX 760. This might just be the upgrade I'm looking for. I shouldn't. But I will.

Damn...
 
I have 470 sli never really had a need to upgrade. Mainly played lol and civ. But with up and coming games, it's about damn time I upgrade lol.
 
TucoBenedictoPacifico said:
Save that extra 200 bucks as the first tranche for your future Gsync/120hz monitor or something like that.

When it comes to gaming, do you know what's the only thing better than playing games with a powerful GPU and a 120+ hz monitor?
I'M SORRY, I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE ONE.
Click to expand...
Having the power to actually run games at 120fps is always nice :P
 
I kept fighting with myself about upgrading to the Twinfrozr 970 and Black Friday I think I will. Maybe there'll be like $20 off or something :P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

[Digital Foundry] Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 Pro Review: All New Modes & Features Tested!
Analysis Review  2 3 4
159
1K
Lagspike_exe replied
Digital Foundry: Starfield PS5/PS5 Pro Review - A Good Game... But There Are Issues
2
60
1K
Flabagast replied
[Digital Foundry] Crimson Desert - The Big PS5/PS5 Pro Tech Review - Every Graphics Mode Tested!
Analysis Review  2
67
2K
Bojji replied
  • Locked
Is Digital foundry going blind?
24
526
Hadoukens replied
Digital Foundry: Pragmata Switch 2 Review vs PS5/Xbox Series S - Another Ambitious Capcom Port
2
91
1K
Ryseer replied
Top Bottom