Review: ASUS GeForce GTX 970 Strix
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mohiuddin
Performance not bad. But you can decide not to buy it , just by looking at it.
bigfutus
My old Gigabyte GTX560 Ti was super noisy after two years, so i try Asus now. Not so stellar performance doesn't matter for me, because overclocking. And this time it's cheap like the rest, which is nice too.
alanm
Hilbert, nice review. I had ordered this card yesterday but then cancelled after reading this from the bit-tech review:
Not sure if they missed something here, but they set the fans "manually" at 50% (using Asus GPU Tweak). Cant this card use fan profiles in MSI-AB to follow temps or is their something hard coded in the bios that interferes with that due to the cards unique cooling design? If it can work with profiles like all other cards, I'll reorder it (and make sure never to visit bit-tech ever again). Thanks.
Hilbert Hagedoorn
Administrator
As my charts show, perf is just a hint slower overall, but so little in the entire scope of things.
I'm running some SLI tests ATM so the test-system / bench is in use, but if you can wait a bit longer I'll pop in the ASUS card later today and check if fan profiles work with AB for you ok ?
alanm
Thanks! Much appreciated!
Pinstripe
Does the passive cooling has any negative impact on the longevity of the card? And what about the VRM temps and cooling?
If I can set fan profiles in Afterburner even in idle mode then all is good.
Hilbert Hagedoorn
Administrator
Alright Alanm, fully functional. You can start as low RPM 35% for IDLE and raise all the way up-to 100% fan RPM. That all works beautifully. The fan curve works fine, and if applied to startup at windows boot, it kicks in nicely.
So you should be good to go.
[spoiler]http://nl.guru3d.com/Image1555.png[/spoiler]
alanm
Thanks Hilbert, much appreciated. I will re-order this card. Will probably be using it in passive mode mostly (without fan profiles), but good to know that I have that option when I need it later on.
Segamon
much respect Hilbert for giving the time testing the card with profiles. much appreciated.
I'm going to get this little black beauty.
bigfutus
Thanks a lot!
alanm
The VRMs are designed to operate at 100c and above, so no issue there.
Mineria
Just wondering when the idle temperature was measured.
Cold boot or after some hours after powering the system up?
Idle temperatures should always be measured when the system has been up for some hours.
Seems like almost every single review measures cold boot temperatures, which gives a completely wrong impression.
Is it the general perception that idle means that Windows has to shut down the monitor or that idle means that Windows just sits their and display it's desktop without any 3D rendering going on?
It says IDLE (desktop) on the review.....
The ASUS STRIX GTX970 is around 50-60 Degrees C when it idles at the desktop too, nothing to be worried about though.
In SLI the card connected to the monitor will hit 50-60C, the second card will be around those 30C since it doesn't need to do any desktop composition.
alanm
Mine idles at around 38c after a few hours, cold boot around 29-30.
Mineria
I have the same at boot.
That 38C is with a custom fan profile, correct?
alanm
Nope, never saw a need for fan profile with this card. Prefer it as is.
Mineria
Do you live in a freezer? 😀
Can't get it below 50-60C without using MSI AfterBurner to have the fans spinning.
When you say idle, is that using a browser and none 3D programs or that your away from keyboard and power savings kick in?
Just pondering, since my case should have enough vents, even got a corsair water cooler on the CPU.
alanm
Temps for the Strix seems to vary more than other cards, yours is probably the highest idle I've seen. In browsing mine may go up a degree or 2, videos go up to 45c at most. Only gaming will push it above 60c and load temps 76-78 (though most reviews show around 68-70c and lower idle than mine). Not sure if inconsistent TIM application between cards, but suspect the strix may be more affected by case temps/air flow than other cards since its fans are off at idle. I have a 200mm side fan blowing on it but not sure that would account for the large difference vs yours. You can test this by taking off your side panel and put an electric fan to blow on it. Also what are your load temps? If not higher than 78c, I wouldnt worry about it.
Mineria
Not worried, just very curious.
Highest under gaming I have seen on it is 71C, even after some hours of gaming, which is weird since that is lower than yours.
I have this case http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/143-h440-performance-mid-tower.html
Only ssd's and radiator mounted on top, even if it isn't the most free flowing case it's not very restrictive either.
I did see several other people write that their ASUS STRIX GTX970 hit's 60C when it is idle, so took a check on my card after and saw it also was at 60C idle.
Then I quickly checked the Guru3D review again and started to wonder.
Side fan does help to some extend, my previous HAFX was generally colder, didn't try the 970 in it though.
-Tj-
Imho this no fan bellow 50-60C kinda sux, mine atm stays cool ~ 27C, even my old TF3 was ~ 35C :P 🙂
Dunno why they opt for this silly design and MSI is doing it also with TF4..
alanm
Why would it suck if temps under 60c are no issue whatsoever for a graphics card? If fans are off 90% of the time (as with me), it means they are not sucking in dust, and with little operation have greater longevity. Good design idea imo.
