Which 970 GTX pick

[Dzzope]

I'd questioon the psu's if they weren't custom built rigs. They could be too low watt / quality / too old.

If they are decent then yea, I say RMA it if possible if not try bake it.

[THS]

I have an ASUS 970 and it is a beast. A cool and quiet beast :P

ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte are all good imho. EVGA too for their good customer service even though their card isn't as good imho due to reference PCB.

You can't really go wrong with either. Just save your money and buy whichever you can get for a good price.

[Dzzope]

There is no such thing as a reference 970...

[THS]

Originally Posted by Dzzope

There is no such thing as a reference 970...

Yes there is....

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (Require Min. 500W Power Supply) - Newegg.com

Google reference GTX 970.

There are youtube reviews and some guys on reddit have found them in stores like best buy.

[Dzzope]

No..

Really, do a search.. Where do see any reference design?
This is some 3rd party putting the reference cooler on (obviously with the 970 on) Not the first time I've seen this... Note the lack of a manufacturer on that card? And Nvidia definitely do not sell cards to customers directly. Otherwise what would be the point in having board partners.

Another interesting aspect of the GTX 970’s launch is the lack of a reference design. While NVIDIA has given board design guidelines and minimum clock speeds that need to be adhered to, board partners have been given a free hand to launch their own versions.