As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
We're funding a new Acquisitions Incorporated series on Kickstarter right now! Check it out at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pennyarcade/acquisitions-incorporated-the-series-2

[Computer Build Thread] - Bitcoiners can't keep us down! 1440p or bust!

17778808283100

Posts

  • DelmainDelmain Registered User regular
    I don't buy any video cards without reading a comparison review for them, and I guarantee stuff like the heatpipes being shit would show up in a comparison like that

  • TetraNitroCubaneTetraNitroCubane The Djinnerator At the bottom of a bottleRegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    Yeah, EVGA screwed up the heat pipe on the GTX 970 that uses the custom ACX 2.0 cooler. You can a picture of this here.

    Among other issues with the card, you can see by the TIM footprint on the cooler that one of the heat pipes isn't even being used. There's a lot of that heatsink that isn't doing it's job as a result.

    TetraNitroCubane on
    VuIBhrs.png
  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    What about the ones with the "ACX 3.0" cooler?

  • TetraNitroCubaneTetraNitroCubane The Djinnerator At the bottom of a bottleRegistered User regular
    I may be getting the numbers mixed up. All I know is that the ACX cooler on the 970 is apparently not so effective as would be desired.

    Though the ones on the 980s are supposed to be okay, based on some talk and photos on the EVGA forums.

    VuIBhrs.png
  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    No, it's my fault, I got confused. I don't think there is a 3.0. But the coolers on the ACX cards and the ones on the ACX 2.0 cards look pretty much the same to me in the pictures on Newegg.

    Gaslight on
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    I think the current 970 rankings go MSI Gaming > Asus Strix > Evga ACX 2, with the Asus card being slightly (like 1db) quieter and the MSI card being 1-2fps faster while also having greater OCing headroom.

    I currently have a Evga 570 and it is loud so quiet is the name of the game for me, but with the MSI and Asus cards being so similar in terms of noise and performance I'm not entirely sure which to go with. I'll probably go with the Asus since I like the way it looks more, but the MSI apparently uses better components (military grade! :roll:) and I think I read it was designed to be slightly thinner so SLIing it should result in better cooling for the cards.

    But since both are sold out and I dont really need one, I'm just going to sit here and wait.

  • ShenShen Registered User regular
    I'm thinking of picking up a 970 early next year for Evolve and Witcher 3, is there anything on the horizon that would make this a bad idea? Aside from the fact that I'll also be needing a PS4 for Bloodborne, of course.

    3DS: 2234-8122-8398 | Battle.net (EU): Ladi#2485
    ladi.png
  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    I have a factory overclocked MSI 670 and I have to use Afterburner to intentionally downclock it back to the reference speeds to stop it from crashing every game. So MSI has basically earned a shunning from me for at least a generation.

    Gaslight on
  • djmitchelladjmitchella Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    emp123 wrote: »
    I think the current 970 rankings go MSI Gaming > Asus Strix > Evga ACX 2, with the Asus card being slightly (like 1db) quieter and the MSI card being 1-2fps faster while also having greater OCing headroom.

    pretty much; also Gigabyte > MSI, but the gigabyte one is _huge_ to the point where it may actually not fit in some cases, or at least need hard drives to be moved out of the way.

    (another thing about the evga cards; in the picture above, notice that the third "heatpipe" isn't actually closed off at the end, so it really is doing nothing at all, as well as not touching the GPU)

    djmitchella on
  • IanatorIanator Gaze upon my works, ye mighty and facepalm.Registered User regular
    My internet has been intermittent lately. Is there any way to determine whether it's due to the modem, wireless router, poor antenna quality or poor placement?

    steam_sig.png
    Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
    Backlog Challenge List
    Geth
  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    Well, the last 2 are out most likely if it's been fine until now.

    To see if it's the router plug directly into the modem if you can. I assume you're connecting wirelessly.

    See if you can still get into the router/modem when it goes down and see what it says. My money would be on the router at a guess. What model is everything?

    Xeddicus on
    "For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men. Not women. Not beasts...this you can trust."
  • IanatorIanator Gaze upon my works, ye mighty and facepalm.Registered User regular
    Modem is an Arris TM102 provided by Charter, router is Linksys E2500, wireless adapter is an external-mount antenna as part of my P8Z77-V. While my reception is usually better on my tablet even in the same spot it still gets spotty now and then.

    I would probably blame it on poor reception since my mom's laptop has no trouble at all. But sometimes I get a "no internet" issue while my connection to the router is fine, hence my worry about the modem. I guess I'm just looking for a utility to help me find where the break is.

    steam_sig.png
    Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
    Backlog Challenge List
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Regarding all this EVGA talk, it's worth mentioning that my GTX780 hasn't lost coil whine since I started using it. Luckily, it's only during load and I usually game with a headset on.

  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    Anecdote number two, my evga 780 does not have any coil whine whatsoever. Second one is in the mail currently to my house so we shall find out if it has the dreaded coil whine.

    PwH4Ipj.jpg
  • BubbyBubby Registered User regular
    Yeah, EVGA screwed up the heat pipe on the GTX 970 that uses the custom ACX 2.0 cooler. You can a picture of this here.

    Among other issues with the card, you can see by the TIM footprint on the cooler that one of the heat pipes isn't even being used. There's a lot of that heatsink that isn't doing it's job as a result.

    Are they likely to issue a re-release with everything fixed? I'm pretty much locked in on ordering a 970 when I get back from a trip end of next month. If the cards out right now are the only ones we'll see, I'll put in a pre-order for the MSI.

  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    Bubby wrote: »
    Yeah, EVGA screwed up the heat pipe on the GTX 970 that uses the custom ACX 2.0 cooler. You can a picture of this here.

    Among other issues with the card, you can see by the TIM footprint on the cooler that one of the heat pipes isn't even being used. There's a lot of that heatsink that isn't doing it's job as a result.

    Are they likely to issue a re-release with everything fixed?

    Given that their first move was to issue a statement saying they did this by design, I'm guessing no.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    "It's cheaper to call it a feature instead of a bug. And fire Ted from Engineering."

    Gaslight
  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    It was "by design" in that their design was to save money.

  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    That doesn't make a lot of sense though. The heatpipe still costs them money, even if it's not touching the gpu.

    Delmain
  • DelmainDelmain Registered User regular
    Yeah, that makes 0 sense.

  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    Delmain wrote: »
    Yeah, that makes 0 sense.

    I thought the theory was that they're just slapping the existing coolers from previous cards on the 970's? Or maybe using the same one for both the 980 and 970? So they'd be saving money in that they don't have to design/tool up to produce a different cooler that actually fits.

    a5ehren
  • toloveistorebel toloveistorebel Impressive. Most impressive. Central FLRegistered User regular
    Here's the ACX 2.0 from the Anandtech review. Looks completely different than that one with the exposed pipes.
    HSF.jpg

  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    That looks a lot more than the acx cooler on my 780, and it also makes a lot more sense than the other one.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    I'm going to chime in with some gushing praise for the cooler on my Gigabyte Windforce GTX680.

    Shit is cash, man. Quiet as hell, runs cool, fits on my mobo/in my case with room to spare. Then again I am using an ATX motherboard and a Corsair 550D, so I have a decent amount of room...

    Knight_
  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »
    Delmain wrote: »
    Yeah, that makes 0 sense.

    I thought the theory was that they're just slapping the existing coolers from previous cards on the 970's? Or maybe using the same one for both the 980 and 970? So they'd be saving money in that they don't have to design/tool up to produce a different cooler that actually fits.

    Playing devil's advocate here, but I think this has more to do with the fact that they aren't using a full sized chip in the 970 or 980 (these are more mid-ranged models with a larger Maxwell chip coming for their flagship cards). I saw some stuff about this on a tech news round-up a few days ago... They're likely saving money two fold by re-using an existing cooler design, and less manufacturing cost building the same cooler across multiple GPU designs.

    I really doubt the lack of contact on the third heat pipe is going to make a tangible difference anyway, given how efficient the Maxwell chips appear to be. This cooler was designed for the 700 series GPU's, and could take care of them no problem.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    Someone please explain my brain to me - before the 900 series were released I was thinking that I should wait for the 4GB cards to come out so I won't run into VRAM issues, but now that they're out my brain is all fuck it wait for the cards with more VRAM.

    On the one hand there's only a few games I play that I would like to see higher frame rates in (BF4, Skyrim, Metro, I assume the newest Batman game as City kind of gave me some issues because I didn't want to turn off PhysX), but on the other I've been putting off upgrading my video card for about a year now...

  • Knight_Knight_ Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    Are there any 6gb versions of the 970 on the horizon? I'm still running 2GB cards, and have been holding off on moving past 1920x1200 until larger vram amounts are cheaper, but i haven't seen anything from the 900 series regarding versions with more ram.

    aeNqQM9.jpg
  • DelmainDelmain Registered User regular
    I wouldn't be surprised if 6GB is a thing for the 980 or even potentially a 980Ti

  • cardboard delusionscardboard delusions USAgent PSN: USAgent31Registered User regular
    I just got Newegg to accept the return of my EVGA 970 with ACX and placed an order for the ACX 2.0 version, also used VISACHECKOUT to get another $20 so netted $10 back after all said and done. The ACX 2.0 looks like a fine solution as pictured above.

    toloveistorebel SmokeStacks
  • ErlkönigErlkönig Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »
    I have a factory overclocked MSI 670 and I have to use Afterburner to intentionally downclock it back to the reference speeds to stop it from crashing every game. So MSI has basically earned a shunning from me for at least a generation.

    See, I have had to do this for every factory overclocked card I've had since my Geforce 460ti. If I started shunning video card manufacturers based on that criteria, I'd basically be cutting out MSI, Gigabyte, and Sapphire (before I knew about underclocking my video cards, my Radeon 4870 would crash constantly).

    | Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
  • IncindiumIncindium Registered User regular
    So the EVGA ACX2 cards should be ok but not the ACX1 cards? But maybe should just go with the Gigabyte Windforce if I'm going to spend $360 anyway?

    steam_sig.png
    Nintendo ID: Incindium
    PSN: IncindiumX
  • cardboard delusionscardboard delusions USAgent PSN: USAgent31Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    I'm now hearing it's the FTW edition that has the better heatplate, I mean at this rate should I really care that much?

    edit: I can't find a solid post, everything seems to indicate it's the 1.0 ACX though.

    cardboard delusions on
  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    Second 780 get! Running tests now to see improvement.

    PwH4Ipj.jpg
    toloveistorebel BouwsT
  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    Second 780 get! Running tests now to see improvement.

    Congradulations!

  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    And I had to switch it on in the nVidia control panel. Now in rocking sli! Pretty slick folks!

    PwH4Ipj.jpg
    RhalloTonnySmokeStacks
  • RhalloTonnyRhalloTonny Of the BrownlandsRegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    Knight_ wrote: »
    Are there any 6gb versions of the 970 on the horizon? I'm still running 2GB cards, and have been holding off on moving past 1920x1200 until larger vram amounts are cheaper, but i haven't seen anything from the 900 series regarding versions with more ram.

    This really is the determining factor for me- I've been saving for about two years to replace my old Core 2 Duo from 2006, so if there's going to be a 6GB version by December, I can certainly wait a couple more months.

    RhalloTonny on
    !
  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    And I had to switch it on in the nVidia control panel. Now in rocking sli! Pretty slick folks!

    Yeah, and any time you update the drivers, go back to the control panel and check to make sure it's still on. My last driver update turned it off for me and I was all like "fps, y u no love me?" for a few hours before I thought to check there.

    davidsdurions
  • a nu starta nu start Registered User regular
    Went from a 8400gs to a 270x. Quite the leap. Had the side effect of accenting the fact that my CPU and RAM need updating, too.

    Number One Tricky
    Donovan Puppyfucker
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Pulled the trigger on a Lenovo Y50. It should be here by end of the week, so I can start tweaking it for my upcoming work trip.

    Now to try to find someone willing to pay me for my 2008 MBP.

    toloveistorebel
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    I've now pinned this graphics card problem down to the point where it doesn't annoy me as much. It's something to do with the computer being cold, because it always happens after the first boot of the computer in the day. I notice the taskbar flickering (first symptom) after five minutes and just reboot and it's fine for pretty much the rest of the day. It's something to do with how it interfaces with one particular monitor, because if I switch my main display to the other monitor the crash still happens on the (now) second monitor. It's fucking weird and dumb, but liveable.

Sign In or Register to comment.