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Nvidia responds to GTX 970 memory issue

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Yep. I've considered returning my 970 and getting a 290 instead but I had a bad experience with an AMD card before and I don't want to go down that road again. Nvidia's support is just much better. And even though the 970 isn't what I paid for, I'm still happy with it for now, so I'm just going to keep it and learn a hard lesson for the future.

same. Too noisy, poor downsampling support. And the 290X is more expensive than the 970 in Europe - US might be different.

An Nvidia sanctioned step up program letting us upgrade to 980s for a discount would be attractive to me.
 

Lagamorph

Member
As tempting as it is to get a refund, I'm not paying £200 more to upgrade to a 980. Unless there's an upgrade program with at least a 50% discount, I'll be sticking with the 970.
I'll be playing at 1080 anyway for a while since I just bought one of those Asus 144Hz monitors in the Christmas sales. Had been toying with the idea of an Oculus Rift, but not sure if this issue will have a major impact on that.

As long as the 970 can last me about 3 years, then I'll move on to the 1070 or 1170 or whatever it is by then, and probably move to a 4k g-sync monitor at around the same time since they'll have dropped to reasonable prices by then.

It's hardly ideal, and I know that in a way it's basically giving Nvidia a free pass, but anything other than keeping it is just going to be punishing myself more than it punishes Nvidia.
 

Rafterman

Banned
except the 970 isnt the best card around for the money, the R9 290 is $240 and almost as fast compared to $330 for the 970, and the R9 290X is faster, and is only $260. the 970 is a very bad value proposition whichever way you choose to look at it in todays market.

Where are you seeing these unicorns?

And the 970 trades blows with the 290x, so claiming the 290x is faster is wrong. By your logic you should just buy a 290 because it's "almost" as fast as a 290x.

I checked with Amazon and they are giving full refunds for the 970, but I've decided to keep mine because a 3.5gb 970 is better than the AMD alternative. By the time the 970 stops being a good card both companies will have new cards out and I'll upgrade then, right now getting rid of it for a 290x causes as many problems as it fixes.
 
I'd like to get a refund, sadly I'm from South America, and bought it from Amazon when I was at the US, so there's no way I can do that without huge expenses XD

I'll just keep the card and hope for the best.
 

jfoul

Member
Where are you seeing these unicorns?

And the 970 trades blows with the 290x, so claiming the 290x is faster is wrong. By your logic you should just buy a 290 because it's "almost" as fast as a 290x.

I checked with Amazon and they are giving full refunds for the 970, but I've decided to keep mine because a 3.5gb 970 is better than the AMD alternative. By the time the 970 stops being a good card both companies will have new cards out and I'll upgrade then, right now getting rid of it for a 290x causes as many problems as it fixes.

I think the lowest I've seen the R9 290X after the price drop is $279.99 w/Rebate for the GIGABYTE GV-R929XOC. Even though it's a little more, the MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING is $299.99 now, and a nice card.

I've owned the Gigabyte OC listed above, great card, but I'll be holding onto my EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ for now.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Just realised there are actually 8GB versions of the 290x... With the recent price drop I'm actually considering going back to the dark side.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Where are you seeing these unicorns?

And the 970 trades blows with the 290x, so claiming the 290x is faster is wrong. By your logic you should just buy a 290 because it's "almost" as fast as a 290x.

I checked with Amazon and they are giving full refunds for the 970, but I've decided to keep mine because a 3.5gb 970 is better than the AMD alternative. By the time the 970 stops being a good card both companies will have new cards out and I'll upgrade then, right now getting rid of it for a 290x causes as many problems as it fixes.

same here. Although I might go 970 SLI after the oculus rift comes out. That should still be fine even with less ram as the resolutions aren't insane - I doubt I'll be 4k gaming for several years.
 

Lagamorph

Member
Not going SLI is probably going to be the only real difference this makes to me. I had been planning on picking up a second MSI 970 later this year to run SLI, but now I think I'll just stay single card until mid/late 2017, unless there's some major need to go SLI to keep on playing at 1080.
 

cripterion

Member
Well my retailer (Materiel.net) is willing to take the cards back and offer the refund but like others have said, the GTX980 is so damn expensive, I would get 800€ back for my cards but a GTX980 costs 600€ plus in which case I get even worse performance in games that I was getting before bar the ones that don't support SLI.

I'm not even considering AMD at this point and I sold my previous 670's so I guess I'll roll with the 3.5gig. It just leaves a bad taste...
 

wazoo

Member
Well my retailer (Materiel.net) is willing to take the cards back and offer the refund but like others have said, the GTX980 is so damn expensive, I would get 800€ back for my cards but a GTX980 costs 600€ plus in which case I get even worse performance in games that I was getting before bar the ones that don't support SLI.

I'm not even considering AMD at this point and I sold my previous 670's so I guess I'll roll with the 3.5gig. It just leaves a bad taste...

I played with the idea of refund through materiel.net, but there is no other option for cards in mini-ITX version. The 980 card are bigger and hotter.
 
I think the lowest I've seen the R9 290X after the price drop is $279.99 w/Rebate for the GIGABYTE GV-R929XOC. Even though it's a little more, the MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING is $299.99 now, and a nice card.

I've owned the Gigabyte OC listed above, great card, but I'll be holding onto my EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ for now.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9290aedfd

R9 290 for $219 USD

as for the 290X, last week prices were $260 - 270, they are at $299 now, probably due to the 970 debacle, even still both R9 290 series cards are cheaper than the GTX 970.

The R9 290 at $219 is a monumentally better deal than the GTX 970 @ $330
 
So I finally got a reply from the company who I bought my custom built pc from, after I emailed them.

Edited out the names for privacy sake.

Hi

Unfortunately we are not accepting returns or issuing replacements on the GTX970 graphics card. Whereas we do see it as an issue that Nvidia didn't fully explain how the card uses its resources the card itself meets the expected reported performance i.e. there is nothing technically wrong with the card.
The issue will only occur if you are running a large 4k setup and/or are using top setting for anti-aliasing. Reports show that the problem even in these cases can be as little as a 1 or 2 less frame rates per second. Very few users should experience any issues at all with the card.
There is some good news from Nvidia though as, while not updating their driver specifically for the GTX970, they are releasing future updates to the driver which will increase the performance of all cards and move less essential graphics tasks to the slower performing VRAM partition.
We recommend you keep your eye out for future Nvidia driver updates and keep them up to date on your PC.


If you have any other issues or questions please feel free to contact us again.


Regards,

www.buildyourbox.co.uk
 

Zafir

Member
I'd only return my 970 if they did some discount on a step up, otherwise I see no point. Although I do have a 1440p monitor meaning it would be beneficial to have access to all 4GBs, I just wouldn't pay for a 980. I also wouldn't want to swap to a AMD card either, since support by them has always been historically worse.
 

Tacitus_

Member
970 GTX @ 340€ or a XFX 290X @ 315€?

I'd rather get team green for the extra goodies (Shadowplay, PhysX) but not so much to abandon a clearly better deal. The 290X comes with twin fans so heat shouldn't be a problem and I've got more than enough juice to run it with a 850W PSU.
 

Thrakier

Member
So, while I'm not happy about the 3,5GB fiasco, I also have to say, that Nividia gave me more than promised in a way. They gave me a 970 that easily (!) overclocks to 980 levels and slightly above (Boost: 1504mhz) while the card stays incredibly cool and silent. So while I'm not happy that I "lost" 500MB Vram, I don't think it'll matter too much in the grand scheme of things. By the time I absolutely need 4GB instead of 3,5, I'll probably need a new card as well.
 
970 GTX @ 340€ or a XFX 290X @ 315€?

I'd rather get team green for the extra goodies (Shadowplay, PhysX) but not so much to abandon a clearly better deal. The 290X comes with twin fans so heat shouldn't be a problem and I've got more than enough juice to run it with a 850W PSU.

AMD has a shadowplay equivalent, and using physx without a dedicated gpu specifically for it tanks framerates so its irrelevant anyways. the AMD card is the better buy.
 

wazoo

Member
This is nonsense. PhysX does cost performance like any other effect, but why would that make it irrelevant?

AMD fans downplay Physix whatever they can.

I found AC4 and Metro to be completely new games with Physix enabled. It is also nice to see how the batman works so well at 60 fps with all enabled, inclusing Physix on the 970.

The 970 can easily support the cost with all things enabled.
 

kharma45

Member
AMD fans downplay Physix whatever they can.

I found AC4 and Metro to be completely new games with Physix enabled.It is also nice to see how the batman works so well at 60 fps with all enabled, inclusing Physix on the 970.

The 970 can easily support the cost with all things enabled.

Physx is nice but it's not that good :lol
 

bj00rn_

Banned
Respectfully disagree, sir. Allowing companies to walk all over customers should not be acceptble, irrespective if they are producing the "best" product at a point in time. In the cold light of consumerism the only way to "teach a company a lesson" is through their bottom line so by choosing not further support nvidia in this case with a step up to a 980, or by returning a 970 using the law specifically aimed to prevent this sort of unethical behavior , I hardly feel is "going too far."

I am guessing that Nvidia's response to this situation would be vastly different if the US had the same consumer protection laws as the EU and Australia among other places, which in itself tells it's own story if true.

The point flew over your head. And this kind of overreaction is a bit over the top for me.

except the 970 isnt the best card around for the money, the R9 290 is $240 and almost as fast compared to $330 for the 970, and the R9 290X is faster, and is only $260. the 970 is a very bad value proposition whichever way you choose to look at it in todays market.

Even "VERY bad" huh? The TDP for one (and the benefits in its wake) was one of the big new features of the 970 and the 980.. The 290x is faster? Is that really a fact?

If you don't mind getting lied to and fucked over by large companies then fine. But stop coming in here claiming folks are over reacting. Go and suck nVidias cock in some other thread.

I actually didn't notice this one before now.. This pretty sad stuff.. I explained my view in detail, and it's pathetic that you're not able to discuss those points without using this kind of harsh insult for no good reason.
 
The point flew over your head. And this kind of overraction is almost on the scary side IMHO..
Eh, what exactly was your point? They got caught lying once so they probably won't try it again? Not exactly a great point to make if that's what you were going for.

I can see why people would want to avoid their products in the future if they're not even sure that they're getting what they're being told they're buying.

It won't personally stop me buying Nvidia products but I don't blame people who see this as a reason to boycott because they purposely misled people about what they were selling.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were sued in the UK or EU over this.
 

bj00rn_

Banned
I don't blame people

It's not about blaming people for overreacting, it's more about the futility in undermining one self for no practical good reason. If Nvidia comes out with their next gen cards later this year, and they turn out to be totally awesome, I'll be having a good time not spending one second worrying, while a few people are sitting there on their high horses denying themselves for nothing but principle. But yeah, I agree with you; It's fair, and it's their choice, I don't blame them either. But.. At least something good came out of this; about 1-2 fps more in the GTX1070, nothing to sneeze at, lol.
 
I just found out that my shop (Mindfactory.de) is willing to give full refunds for GTX 970 till February 14th. I think I'll send it back.
 

Damian.

Banned
AMD fans downplay Physix whatever they can.

I found AC4 and Metro to be completely new games with Physix enabled. It is also nice to see how the batman works so well at 60 fps with all enabled, inclusing Physix on the 970.

The 970 can easily support the cost with all things enabled.

PhysX in Metro is very subtle and it makes AC4 run like complete dogshit. So it's the same game and a now broken game you made. Go you!
 
It's not about blaming people for overreacting, it's more about the futility in undermining one self for no practical good reason. If Nvidia comes out with their next gen cards later this year, and they turn out to be totally awesome, I'll be having a good time not spending one second worrying, while a few people are sitting there on their high horses denying themselves for nothing but principle. But yeah, I agree with you; It's fair, and it's their choice, I don't blame them either. But..
You have to understand it from their perspective though; they've paid a lot of money for a 4GB card, only to find out that it's not really a 4GB card at all. They probably feel like they've been conned, and that's a horrible feeling.

If someone had lied to me about a product so that I would buy it, then I would return it when I found out and I would be very wary of buying anything from them in the future.

I think a lot of people are going to be scrutinizing Nvidia's products more closely from now on.

Edit: I know it can be hard to understand, but to some people, knowing that they're actually getting what they've paid for is more important than getting the best performing card for the money.

I still think it's a great card for the money, but I can understand where people are coming from.
 

kitch9

Banned
The point flew over your head. And this kind of overreaction is a bit over the top for me.



Even "VERY bad" huh? The TDP for one (and the benefits in its wake) was one of the big new features of the 970 and the 980.. The 290x is faster? Is that really a fact?



I actually didn't notice this one before now.. This pretty sad stuff.. I explained my view in detail, and it's pathetic that you're not able to discuss those points without using this kind of harsh insult for no good reason.

There's no reason for you to apologise on Nvidias behalf as Nvidia themselves feel they have nothing to apologise for.

Disgusting as that may be.
 

laxu

Member
I just found out that my shop (Mindfactory.de) is willing to give full refunds for GTX 970 till February 14th. I think I'll send it back.

I just looked at their 980 prices and it would cost me about 430 euros + shipping back and forth to upgrade to equal Gigabyte 980 Windforce SLI cards. That's a whole lot of dinero for max 15% better performance and no VRAM issues.

With G-Sync and Hackintosh tying me to Nvidia I think I'll keep looking at the development of this until I decide. It's not that I can't afford it but seems like throwing money down the drain considering the only issue I've faced so far is 1440p + Ultra textures in Shadow of Mordor (stutter when rotating viewport).
 

jordyn11

Neo Member
It's not about blaming people for overreacting, it's more about the futility in undermining one self for no practical good reason. If Nvidia comes out with their next gen cards later this year, and they turn out to be totally awesome, I'll be having a good time not spending one second worrying, while a few people are sitting there on their high horses denying themselves for nothing but principle. But yeah, I agree with you; It's fair, and it's their choice, I don't blame them either. But.. At least something good came out of this; about 1-2 fps more in the GTX1070, nothing to sneeze at, lol.

Coming from the perspective of observing this situation from the outside and not been directly impacted, as you have stated, that is understandable. Thanks for your opinion though.
 

H1PSTER

Member
So UPS say my graphics card has been delivered but Scan's website says it hasn't been received.

I'm now without my graphics card, money and unable to run my second monitor.

They still haven't made a public announcement either.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
So despite all the issues I decided to stick with my 970 purchase.

Quick question: Can it run AC Unity in 1080p maxed out with solid 30+ frames?
 
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9290aedfd



The R9 290 at $219 is a monumentally better deal than the GTX 970 @ $330

I don't know, quickly checking the benchmarks I'm seeing a good 10-15% gulf between the two in raw fps performance in most games at 1080p. Some games the gap is closer, but I'd say it averages around 10%. It also runs 2x as hot and uses 30% more power.

Granted with the rebate that is ~ $120 less than a GTX 970.

I still am leaning towards a GTX 970 vs an R9 290x, despite the 3.5 GB vram thing. I'm gaming at 1080p and have little intention of changing anytime soon, and the benchmarks favor the 970. AMD also slightly annoys me with how they ignore power consumption and card design.
 

mephixto

Banned
I don't know, quickly checking the benchmarks I'm seeing a good 10-15% gulf between the two in raw fps performance in most games at 1080p. Some games the gap is closer, but I'd say it averages around 10%. It also runs 2x as hot and uses 30% more power.

Granted with the rebate that is ~ $120 less than a GTX 970.

I still am leaning towards a GTX 970 vs an R9 290x, despite the 3.5 GB vram thing. I'm gaming at 1080p and have little intention of changing anytime soon, and the benchmarks favor the 970. AMD also slightly annoys me with how they ignore power consumption and card design.

If you OC the 970 it blows away the 290x and still manages to stay below of load temps of a normal 290x.
 
So UPS say my graphics card has been delivered but Scan's website says it hasn't been received.

I'm now without my graphics card, money and unable to run my second monitor.

They still haven't made a public announcement either.

I expect they have to manually process the return so it might take a bit of time for it to show as received.

I have given up on any one, be it nVidia or retailers, making any form of announcement on this issue. The news blew up two weeks ago and is slowly dying off which is what nVidia would have been wanting.
 

kharma45

Member
If you OC the 970 it blows away the 290x and still manages to stay below of load temps of a normal 290x.

Blows away is a bit much. Comparison of an OC'd 970 and an OC'd 290X

perf_oc.gif


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/28.html

perf_oc.gif


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Lightning/27.html

Temps weren't all that different either

970

temp.gif


290X

temp.gif


Pick a 290X with a reference cooler, sure, it could heat your house.

nQQga2v.png


A good cooler like the Lightning or the Sapphire Tri-X and temps are fine
 
I don't know, quickly checking the benchmarks I'm seeing a good 10-15% gulf between the two in raw fps performance in most games at 1080p. Some games the gap is closer, but I'd say it averages around 10%. It also runs 2x as hot and uses 30% more power.

Granted with the rebate that is ~ $120 less than a GTX 970.

I still am leaning towards a GTX 970 vs an R9 290x, despite the 3.5 GB vram thing. I'm gaming at 1080p and have little intention of changing anytime soon, and the benchmarks favor the 970. AMD also slightly annoys me with how they ignore power consumption and card design.

Well let's be serious here. At 220 vs 330$ R290 is much better deal.

Unless you are aiming for ultra silent rig, or have itx/m-atx rig.

Also some 290 can be flashed into 290X.

If AMD had pricing like that outside of USA I'd be running 290 now instead of 970
 
Building a new computer in the next month, gonna be getting an Oculus day 1 so I've been really interested in Nvidia for their VR SLI. Do I buy a 970 or wait for something else?

1440p monitor, btw. If that's a factor in this recent issue.
 

Seanspeed

Banned
Blows away is a bit much. Comparison of an OC'd 970 and an OC'd 290X

perf_oc.gif


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/28.html

perf_oc.gif


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Lightning/27.html

Temps weren't all that different either

970

temp.gif


290X

temp.gif


Pick a 290X with a reference cooler, sure, it could heat your house.

nQQga2v.png


A good cooler like the Lightning or the Sapphire Tri-X and temps are fine
Using one single game(and a Mantle title at that) isn't exactly the best way to prove your point here.
 

laser

Neo Member
Temps weren't all that different either

970

temp.gif


290X

temp.gif


Pick a 290X with a reference cooler, sure, it could heat your house.

nQQga2v.png


A good cooler like the Lightning or the Sapphire Tri-X and temps are fine

Just a nitpick, the card will heat your house the same regardless of what cooler is used. The better coolers just are better at moving the heat off the card and into your house. :)
 

Kezen

Banned
It's an AMD sponsored game yes. Part of their evolved stuff. Don't know if it supports Mantle though

Mantle was not around at the time BF3 launched. BF4 supports Mantle and it gives a nice boost in performance.

The game runs well enough on Nvidia's DX drivers though.
 
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