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

Nvidia Launches GTX 980 And GTX 970 "Maxwell" Graphics Cards ($549 & $329)

Just curious, is a reference card preferred to one that was altered by some place like EVGA, MSI, Asus, etc etc? I had thought that the different card types usually put in better coolers and stuff like that?
 
At 1080, with all settings to high and physx on normal, why am I getting 60 FPS in the Arkham Origins benchmark? Shouldnt I be seeing much higher scores here?

Edit: oh it's cause I had v sync on. Is it standard to have v sync off for benchmarks? It seems that vsync limits fps to 60 max

Yeah... that's what Vsync is for. It locks the framerate to your monitors refresh rate.
 
Is anyone having problems with shadow of mordor after updating to a 970? I am having horrible problems with tearing even with vsync enabled that were non existent with my 580. I have tried limiting the framerate and also turning the limit off, it tears to hell and back.
 
Is anyone having problems with shadow of mordor after updating to a 970? I am having horrible problems with tearing even with vsync enabled that were non existent with my 580. I have tried limiting the framerate and also turning the limit off, it tears to hell and back.

you've tried disabling in-game v-sync and enabling v-sync in nvidia?
 
Is anyone having problems with shadow of mordor after updating to a 970? I am having horrible problems with tearing even with vsync enabled that were non existent with my 580. I have tried limiting the framerate and also turning the limit off, it tears to hell and back.

I use nvidia adaptive sync and have no screen tearing. I am, however, still getting dips below 60fps in the second area w/ sli. Disappointing. =_=
 
So I am going to be grabbing this card sometime during the Holidays.

My CPU is a I5-2400 Quad Core @ 3.9 Ghz

Can I expect my CPU to be any sort of bottleneck for titles? Probably for things like Total War or Unity and stuff like that. But should I worry about it causing issues with any sort of majority of other products?
 
Yeah... that's what Vsync is for. It locks the framerate to your monitors refresh rate.

Ok so with that said, my monitor goes up to 144hz. What are good default settings for my monitor and my 970 to work well together with good IQ and good performance?
 
Looking like, after 1.5 weeks of use, I might have received a faulty MSI card. Seems to be a lot of issues floating around about the fans on this thing. Idle fan speeds abnormally high, fans not slowing when theyre supposed to. What a pain.

At least Im in Amazons return period. I just have to decide if I want to risk MSI again or go with another brand.
 
Looking like, after 1.5 weeks of use, I might have received a faulty MSI card. Seems to be a lot of issues floating around about the fans on this thing. Idle fan speeds abnormally high, fans not slowing when theyre supposed to. What a pain.

At least Im in Amazons return period. I just have to decide if I want to risk MSI again or go with another brand.

Yeah there are many reports of faulty fans on the MSI :
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=183618.0
 
Yeah there are many reports of faulty fans on the MSI :
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=183618.0

Yeah. I was made well aware of these threads over the past 12 hours lol.

Sad part is that I wanted this card before Dragon Age came out. I have it but now its faulty. If I return it to Amazon, They dont have the one I want in stock.

So now Im torn. Other than MSI Gaming GTX 970, which is the best card? Gigabyte G1? Asus Strix?
Im leaning Gigabyte.
 
I'm not sure what id did, but the the temps are normal now. when i run games i get max temps of mid to low 60s... and i idle at 29-33.

The buzzing is the volatility in frames. I tried locking frames at 60 and it doesn't work considering i still dip to like 40. I was playing gta 4 BOGT and in luis' room the framerate is a solid 59fps and the buzzing literately goes away... its only when i step outside that the buzzing comes back. Also, when you first launch a game the buzzing is loud, then after a while it settles down to a more bearable buzzing.

EDIT: I'll get to underclocking this card soon enough, but i'm convinced that this wont fix the issue.
 
Yeah. I was made well aware of these threads over the past 12 hours lol.

Sad part is that I wanted this card before Dragon Age came out. I have it but now its faulty. If I return it to Amazon, They dont have the one I want in stock.

So now Im torn. Other than MSI Gaming GTX 970, which is the best card? Gigabyte G1? Asus Strix?
Im leaning Gigabyte.
Both Gigabyte and ASUS Strix cards seem to be plagued with coil whine. MSI suffers from fans stopping or starting randomly, no idea about Zotac.

I'm not sure what id did, but the the temps are normal now. when i run games i get max temps of mid to low 60s... and i idle at 29-33.
The buzzing is the volatility in frames. I tried locking frames at 60 and it doesn't work considering i still dip to like 40. I was playing gta 4 BOGT and in luis' room the framerate is a solid 59fps and the buzzing literately goes away... its only when i step outside that the buzzing comes back. Also, when you first launch a game the buzzing is loud, then after a while it settles down to a more bearable buzzing.
What is the brand of your GPU, for reference ?
 
Is anyone having problems with shadow of mordor after updating to a 970? I am having horrible problems with tearing even with vsync enabled that were non existent with my 580. I have tried limiting the framerate and also turning the limit off, it tears to hell and back.

Are you playing in full screen or windowed FS? Also, is your fps limited in game? Because I found activating both the limit and vsync caused really bad tearing. Just vsync will limit at 60, and you can make the rate unlimited. That and switching to true full screen fixed tearing for me.
 
Is anyone having problems with shadow of mordor after updating to a 970? I am having horrible problems with tearing even with vsync enabled that were non existent with my 580. I have tried limiting the framerate and also turning the limit off, it tears to hell and back.

Have you tried setting the game to borderless in the game settings? I played today with no tearing issues with this setting.

Looking like, after 1.5 weeks of use, I might have received a faulty MSI card. Seems to be a lot of issues floating around about the fans on this thing. Idle fan speeds abnormally high, fans not slowing when theyre supposed to. What a pain.

At least Im in Amazons return period. I just have to decide if I want to risk MSI again or go with another brand.

I have the MSI and I have forced my own fan curve by installing MSI Afterburner (for overclocking too). The fans are always spinning rather than switching on and off. I posted my fan settings a page-or-so ago.

I think the latest and previous nVidia driver has been causing an issue with fans spinning up every 10-15 seconds and then stopping again. The user-defined fan curve has bypassed such issues for me.
 
Have you tried setting the game to borderless in the game settings? I played today with no tearing issues with this setting.



I have the MSI and I have forced my own fan curve by installing MSI Afterburner (for overclocking too). The fans are always spinning rather than switching on and off. I posted my fan settings a page-or-so ago.

I think the latest and previous nVidia driver has been causing an issue with fans spinning up every 10-15 seconds and then stopping again. The user-defined fan curve has bypassed such issues for me.

Do you need Afterburner in the background for your fan curve to be enabled ? Or do you simply need to set it once and the GPU will save it or something ?
 
Do you need Afterburner in the background for your fan curve to be enabled ? Or do you simply need to set it once and the GPU will save it or something ?

Afterburner needs to be running.

This is where an issue can occur with AB starting with Windows.

Although I had set Afterburner to load at startup, it was being stubborn and wouldn't load with Windows. I opened the Windows startup folder and chucked the shortcut for Afterburner into there and now it loads.

Afterburner was set in the Task Scheduler but still would not always start with Windows. So just a heads up there.
 
Both Gigabyte and ASUS Strix cards seem to be plagued with coil whine. MSI suffers from fans stopping or starting randomly, no idea about Zotac.


What is the brand of your GPU, for reference ?

EVGA 970 FTW...

I've been shitting on the card too much though. Let me give it some complements. The G-sync makes a massive difference. I doubt i'll be able to play games with tearing and stuttering ever again. For example in witcher 2, it feels like i have 1:1 control of geralt now no more sluggish pivots and the world around him feels more consistent. I've yet to try DSR but i'm pretty sure its going to be amazing. I also like the fact that its sitting at ~30C without any fans.
 
Have you tried setting the game to borderless in the game settings? I played today with no tearing issues with this setting.



I have the MSI and I have forced my own fan curve by installing MSI Afterburner (for overclocking too). The fans are always spinning rather than switching on and off. I posted my fan settings a page-or-so ago.

I think the latest and previous nVidia driver has been causing an issue with fans spinning up every 10-15 seconds and then stopping again. The user-defined fan curve has bypassed such issues for me.

This was my next test but I was doubting it would work. With one of my tests, I would manually crank the fan to 100% using MSI AB and then lower them back down. MSI AB would report them as lowered but the fan was still very loud and fast. It was odd.

However, I just set up a fan curve as you suggested and that worked. For whatever reason, my manual overrides to the fan speed still resulted in issues but, when I set up a fan curve in MSI AB, both fans are able to slow down and speed up as necessary. Very odd.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Now, if its a fixable driver issue (I hope it is), I wont RMA this thing and can carry on with the fan curve.
 
Ok so with that said, my monitor goes up to 144hz. What are good default settings for my monitor and my 970 to work well together with good IQ and good performance?

Use Vsync when you can keep a framerate above 60fps (I don't know how if Vsync locks it at 60fps for 144hz monitors) this way you'll get a smooth image but with added input lag. Don't use Vsync if you don't want to lock your framerate but you'll get screen tearing. Personally I hate both that's why I bought a Gsync monitor.
 
Have you checked the usage of your GPUs ? Two 970 should definitely run this at 1440p/60fps.

When running around, they sit at around 40-50% each and 60fps. When I get into a fight with two or more orcs utilization jumps to ~60% and frames start dropping. Saw it go as low as 51fps a couple times.
 
Ok, so here is something very interesting that i found regarding coil whine.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1094728/possible-fix-for-coil-whine

Overclock your card.

Overvolt it.

Do something that will change the amount of power the card draws.

Or replace your power supply with one of a different model.

The inductors in a graphics card are for the most part used in its VRM, or voltage regulation module. VRMs are a type of DC-DC switch-mode power supply, usually a synchronous multi-phase buck regulator. This means that it uses a bunch of "phases" in parallel, each consisting of a pair of transistors, an inductor, and a capacitor, to change the +12V input from your PSU to 1.xxV for your GPU to use.

In order to supply a different voltage or different current the transistors switch on and off at different frequencies. If the GPU demands more current, then that will cause a voltage drop across the inductor, which makes the transistors switch faster to keep the voltage where it needs to be. And the reverse. All this happens in microseconds.

An inductor stores electricity in a magnetic field. This magnetic field pushes and pulls on the ferrite core used in some inductors. When the voltage across the inductor changes, the magnetic field changes, and the inductor moves slightly. When the voltage changes very, very quickly (as is the case when switching transistors are changing its voltage thousands of times a second) the inductor vibrates. And that vibration, if it is between 20Hz and 20,000Hz, is audible to the human ear. Hence whine.

The frequency at which the switching transistors operates varies, but it's generally between 10,000Hz and 100,000Hz. If your GPU is whining, the transistors are switching at between 10,000 and 20,000Hz, or a primary harmonic of those frequencies. So if you want to stop the whining, you need to make the transistors operate at a different frequency.

So you change the amount of power drawn. Overclock and overvolt your GPU and the transistors will need to switch faster to provide power to the GPU, and if you're luck you'll bump them from 17,000Hz to 24,000Hz. Underclocking may work as well. And suddenly your GPU will whine no more.

You could also use a different PSU that outputs a slightly higher or lower voltage on the +12V rail, which will also change the frequency the transistors need to work at.



Before you do this, please note that this could damage your graphics card.
I have a newer Power supply coming in(lol what are the chances, i only bought this because it was modular) that is stronger and more efficient. So i'm gonna go from a bronze corsair TX650 to a platinum corsair HX750i. I'm gonna try to see if i can get rid of the coil whine by underclocking the card... and if that doesn't work i'm gonna have to overclock it(as if EVGA haven't clocked it out the ass already). I'll post impressions to see if this will cure this epidemic of coil whining lol.
 
Use Vsync when you can keep a framerate above 60fps (I don't know how if Vsync locks it at 60fps for 144hz monitors) this way you'll get a smooth image but with added input lag. Don't use Vsync if you don't want to lock your framerate but you'll get screen tearing. Personally I hate both that's why I bought a Gsync monitor.

Would buying the gsync kit for my Asus monitor be worth it?
 

Yeah, this seems like it actually works. I recently had 2 MSI GTX 970 cards, and they both had horrible coil whine. I decided to see what kind of overclock I could get out of them anyway, and started tweaking. After arriving at a somewhat stable overclock, I let it idle in Shadow of Mordor @ 4K to see if there where any artifacting. After doing this for a few hours, I noticed the coil whine was all but gone.
 
Asked this before but no replies....if I buy an Asus 970 in the US, will I have RMA problems should there be a fault with the card? Would I need to return it to the US?

Is there a manufacturer that adopts a location neutral RMA process?

EDIT: I'm in UK

EVGA has an international warranty. You'll be asked to ship your card to their European repair centre located in Germany.

Gigabyte does not have an international warranty. MSI doesn't either and as mentioned above ASUS too.

Just for reference, Corsair products also come with an international warranty.
 
You could also use a different PSU that outputs a slightly higher or lower voltage on the +12V rail, which will also change the frequency the transistors need to work at.[/i]

Before you do this, please note that this could damage your graphics card.

Wait, why would trying a different power supply damage the card (if it's a good PSU and provides enough power)?
 
sorry, i was referring to overclocking ur GPU.

Definitely let us know how the new PSU goes. When are you getting it? I got some nasty buzz on bf4 today with my FTW. That game is trash so I don't care that much about it but I'm on board with the idea that changing the power delivery can affect the whine.

So far no buzz on any other games though.
 
Definitely let us know how the new PSU goes. When are you getting it? I got some nasty buzz on bf4 today with my FTW. That game is trash so I don't care that much about it but I'm on board with the idea that changing the power delivery can affect the whine.

So far no buzz on any other games though.
I'm assuming I'll get it on Monday or Tuesday. I'll post about it then. Right now I'm Overclocking the GPU... So far i upped the voltage by 6mV and GPU clock by 101Hz.
My clocks went from 1216Mhz - 1317Mhz and my boost went from 13667Mhz to 1468Mhz. My 3dmark score when from 9610 to 9937... I'm not sure if i should keep going, but the whine is still there so i'm gonna go till its gone.

EDIT: I'm not sure if i reached my threshold but anything above 6mV and 101Mhz crashes the fire strike benchmark... with coil whine. So overclocking isn't gonna do it unless i tinker for a lot more time which i can't spare right now. I'll try to under clock and if that doesn't work, i hope the 750W power supply works.

EDIT 2: i did some underclocking(couldn't undervolt) and it seemed to work better than over clocking, but the buzzing was still noticeable. Took it down further and star citizen would crash, even with minor buzzing. All my hopes are pinned on that PSU.
 
Finally heard some faint coil whine tonight when running the Win7 Experience Index of all things. Lol Haven't heard it while gaming or in benchmarks w/ speakers muted.
 
Finally heard some faint coil whine tonight when running the Win7 Experience Index of all things. Lol Haven't heard it while gaming or in benchmarks w/ speakers muted.

Got my evga sc acx 2.0 installed tonight and the same exact thing happened to me though I wouldn't say the whine was faint. It was very noticeable and pretty annoying.
 
Got my evga sc acx 2.0 installed tonight and the same exact thing happened to me though I wouldn't say the whine was faint. It was very noticeable and pretty annoying.

man, this issue is very pervasive. here is a video of my coil whine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTw0_duCIX8



I'm gonna call evga customer support to see what can be done about this. If i have to RMA, i'm gonna go for a 980.

quick question, what happens to my copy of Far Cry 4 if i return this card? also, i ordered a free backplate from EVGA, what will happen to that? i guess only evga can answer that.
 
even though the coil whine was annoying during the window experiece it still has been quiet otherwise.
and goddamn single-player battlefield 4 looks awesome on my tv when the settings are almost maxed out and averaging almost 60 fps. About to try out crysis 3
 
man, this issue is very pervasive. here is a video of my coil whine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTw0_duCIX8



I'm gonna call evga customer support to see what can be done about this. If i have to RMA, i'm gonna go for a 980.

quick question, what happens to my copy of Far Cry 4 if i return this card? also, i ordered a free backplate from EVGA, what will happen to that? i guess only evga can answer that.

It's completely normal. You'll find some which are a bit more loud or a little bit more silent. RMA won't help and the 980 will do the same sound.
 
Am I going crazy, or did Amazon ninja their Ubisoft promotion up a day?

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=10287901011

I made my order on the 3rd, and I quadruple checked to make sure I qualified when the promotion was first posted. I jumped with joy when I made sure. Now it says the 4th. Shit like this makes me question my sanity.

I called them out on Customer Support chat, and they said I'll hear back from their Marketing and Promotions team in 1-2 business days.

Hope they're not trying to pull a fast one here. Like they realized that a buttload of Asus 970's popped in stock and got bought up on the 3rd, and that they have to actually honor the promotion now rather than just sitting back on a promotion for an item that's either out of stock or massively overpriced at sellers for 90% of the duration.
 
Am I going crazy, or did Amazon ninja their Ubisoft promotion up a day?

You're going crazy. The promotion started on November 4.

Check the date here:

http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/pick-your-path-bundle

The deal was also first revealed on Nvidia's official Facebook page on the 4th.

https://www.facebook.com/NVIDIAGeForce


Although I gotta say it's pretty shitty that Amazon isn't hooking up previous buyers with a code. I do most of my online shopping there and they usually have great customer service.

This one time I'm glad I bought my 980 from Newegg instead. They gave me a code without any hassle when I asked through their chat.
 
You're going crazy. The promotion started on November 4.

Check the date here:

http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/pick-your-path-bundle

The deal was also first revealed on Nvidia's official Facebook page on the 4th.

https://www.facebook.com/NVIDIAGeForce


Although I gotta say it's pretty shitty that Amazon isn't hooking up previous buyers with a code. I do most of my online shopping there and they usually have great customer service.

This one time I'm glad I bought my 980 from Newegg instead. They gave me a code without any hassle when I asked through their chat.
I know it started on the 4th, but when Amazon first put up their page they had 3rd written on it as their qualification date.
 
1440p, everything maxed except textures



Hmm, you sure? It has compatibility bits now in inspector and I'm getting even usage according to afterburner.
Just tested this and yeah, both my cards are hitting 99% constant but it's not actually helping in any way. Same performance as single card.
 
Top Bottom