Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming Graphics Card Review

Final Thoughts
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming
As I said in the introduction of this review the GeForce GTX 900 Series has been something that gamers have been waiting for. While the Kepler architecture was and has been very powerful it was not that power efficient and the temperatures could get pretty high. There is where Maxwell comes in and offers lower operating temperatures and better efficiency. The GTX 970 is of course the little brother to the flagship GeForce GTX 980, but it is not to be counted out.

The first thing that stands out about Gigabyte’s GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming graphics card is the hefty factory overclock. While a reference GeForce GTX 970 comes with a core clock of 1050 MHz and boost clock of 1178 MHz, this card has a core clock of 1178 MHz and boost clock of 1329 MHz. That is a pretty nice factory overclock! To ensure that this overclock is stable and is run on the best graphics processors Gigabyte has implemented what they are calling GPU Gauntlet sorting. This basically means they go and test all of their allocated GPUs and see which ones perform the best. Those top GPUs are the ones that make it into the G1 Gaming series Super Overclock graphics cards.

Of course with that hefty overclock you are going to want to keep your card nice and cool. Gigabyte is using their latest WindForce 3X cooler on this card. The cooling solution is made up of three cooling fans, three heatsink fin arrays and four large copper heatpipes that make direct contact with the GPU. This offers some really great cooling and does not sacrifice your hearing either as the cooler is very quiet, even during extreme testing.

This card has an all black design that you are either going to love or hate. Normally we see some type of design on graphics cards, but this card has a pretty simple design. I do like that Gigabyte has included a metal back-plate and the actual fan shroud is made of metal too. The back-plate not only protects the PCB of the card but adds stability as well. Also to add a little style the WindForce logo on the side of the card lights up bright blue and can be controlled via the GeForce Experience software.

This card is currently selling for $369.99 at my favorite online retailer. That is about $40 more expensive than most R9 290X models. Keep in mind this card outperforms the R9 290X, is more efficient and does not have any heat issues. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming Graphics Card a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award!

rating9 10 small TC award recommended small

Pros:
– Hefty factory overclock
– GPU Gauntlet sorting
– WindForce 3X cooler
– WindForce logo lights up

Cons:
– Pretty plain design
– Not many accessories included

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