Question 1

What are the cons of this card if any? Please don't be biased just give me honest reasons why one wouldn't buy this.

Accepted Answer

I've had two of these cards running in SLI in my rig for about a year now and so far I have very little to complain about. I'm able to play games at 1440p at 70-144fps. Games like Tomb Raider will jump a bit, Counter Strike: GO or any other valve game runs at 144fps, Fallout 4 can run at 60fps (It's 'capped' at 60 anyways unless you want glitching). Keep in mind though that this is my experience with TWO cards in SLI.

That being said, this card only has '3.5' Gigs of VRAM and not 4 as is advertised. The last 500MB is really slow memory that doesn't work too well. You can look up the whole '3.5GB VRAM GTX 970' debacle anywhere on the internet, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still good value for money, even if the advertising is misleading.

Hope it helps in your decision! Good Luck!

Question 2

well this card work with amd ???

Accepted Answer

By AMD if you mean their CPU's you should have no problem, but to be safe I would recommend checking with your motherboard manufacturer to see if there's a BIOS update if the card is not supported in the current version. But other than that you should be fine.

The only other thing you may be worried about is if  you'll get the full speed out of the card which depending on the age of your motherboard and the speed of the PCI-Express slot it may not reach it's full potential.

Question 3

Can this card support up to 3 monitors, and still give me a good FPS on games like Ryse:Son of Rome?

Accepted Answer

Well this question is contextual. It is completely dependent on the graphical quality you desire. So to try to answer this simply, YES there are NO ISSUES running a multiple monitor setup using this graphics card, so long as you have the proper cables to hook up 3 monitors. Now that being said, good FPS while on a triple monitor setup will depend on the graphics quality you intend to play on as that will begin to tax the VRAM you have available at higher and higher qualities given the triple monitor resolution.

So the short is, the answer is contextual. Yes you can game on triple monitor, yes you can game on 4k, yes it is capable. HOWEVER ANYTIME you go UP in resolution, that is total number of pixels, YOU WILL take a hit to your FPS,  So you will HAVE to trade off graphical quality to maintain a similar FPS as higher resolution.

Hopefully this helps, let me know If I can help further.

Question 4

What are the temperatures (when Overclocked or stock)?

Do you think the backplate helps with that?

How silent are the fans?

EVGA Customer Support apart, how does this one compare to MSI models that include a backplate (the MSI GTX 970 100ME and Golden Edition currently)?

Accepted Answer

This card is set by default to start the fans only once the card has reached 60 degrees Celsius. It runs very cool for me overclocked and at stock speeds. I rarely ever go over the 60 degree mark, even in demanding games, so it stays really quiet. When the fans are on, I have had no problems with noise. IMO the back plate is mainly just for looks. That being said, it does look nice.

Question 5

does this card come with a displayport cable or do I need to purchase one?  and is display port different then hdmi2.0?  looking to purchase the samsung ud590 28 inch monitor

Accepted Answer

It doesn't come with any monitor cables at all,  two power adapters,  and a VGA to DVI adapter.  Display port and hdmi are 2 different things,  I've been using hdmi and it's working perfectly. Great buy with this card,  everything on max in DA:Inquisition and card is barely even trying. Highest temp so far is 27c.

Question 6

I know this has a max power draw of 201w. I am looking to put a new graphics card in my computer, which has a 350w power supply in it. Would I be able to use this without upgrading my PSU? I would like to upgrade eventually but I don't currently have the money. 
How would I be able to tell how much power the rest of my computer is drawing in order to see if I can use this product?

Accepted Answer

To answer the power draw question first. There are products available that can monitor the power used by any load. At the moment the manufacturer, or product name, escapes me. Probably could do a search on Newegg for power monitor/draw or some such and find the item needed.
Regarding the power supply issue. I am firmly convinced that the PSU is perhaps the most critical item in any build. My personal preference is power in the 800+ range in a modular style. Again, do some research and find a unit that has great reviews - stay away from those that have faint praise.
Finally, I am delighted with this card. It handles Dragon Age Inquisition, Alien Isolation, and other like games with aplomb. I select maximum when video configuring - and the card delivers. I upgraded from a GTX 660 quickly overheated running video intense games - becoming unusable. One thing that concerns me - and I am not really qualified to make the statement - is that the card could possibly be either limited, or damaged, with the low power supply that you currently have.
My advice is to use less than half the cost of this card to purchase and install a potent PSU, save the balance and add to that to purchase and install this card. I think that you will be pleased if that is the route you take. Probably more than you asked for -

Question 7

Can I use this card with 3 monitors? There's only one DVI port, so how best to hook them up? I have 3x SAMSUNG S22C650D monitors.

Accepted Answer

Short answer yes.

Long answer, I have mine with 4 monitors (not your brand or type), a quick search of your monitor reveals that it has display ports, that will be your best method is connecting all three via display port cables.

Question 8

GTX 970 FTW has two models it seems, a EVGA 04G-P4-2978-KR  which I ordered and a "3978-KR" probably upgraded model. Can these be combined in SLI if I Want? or can an FTW have a Superclocked 970 used as SLI? just worried going forward since I bought the cheaper of the two FTW and the difference is not discussed. I'm assuming its a refinement of some of the fan issues on the earlier model FTW

Accepted Answer

while it is better to have the same model, as long as its the same architecture the speeds should level out and you should be able to SLI them. you are correct though the model is just simply that a different model. the clock speeds or the memory speeds may change slightly.

Question 9

Will this fit in the alienwareX51???

Accepted Answer

Depends what year / generation the system is, but it should fit.  I've owned an x51 in the past and can confirm they use full sized card.

Question 10

This is a DirectX 12 card, but my Windows 7 system is DirectX 11.  I researched whether or not Windows 7 will support DirectX 12 and it looks like the answer is "no."

1) Why does the operating systems supported show Windows 7, then?
2) Will this card run on DirectX 11, i.e., is it backwards compatible?
3) If I'm wrong about Windows 7 not supporting DirectX 12, how do I get DirectX 12?

Thanks.

Accepted Answer

1 because the card will work  in windows 7 
2 yes
3OS and GPU support
DirectX 12 is currently supported on all Nvidia GPUs based on Kepler and Maxwell. That’s the vast majority of the 6xx series and all of the 7xx and 8xx graphics cards. Fermi support is coming soon, which will extend support all the way back to the 400 and 500-series as well.

AMD supports DirectX 12 on all GCN-class hardware dating back to the launch of that family in 2012. All AMD GPUs from the HD 77xx family (or above), the HD 85xx family (or above), and the Radeon R5 family (or above) all support DirectX 12. This includes the various iterations of GCN, from 1.0 – 1.2.

One thing to understand is that while DirectX 12 is a common API, that API has different optional features, defined as feature levels. AMD’s first-generation GCN products support DirectX 12 at the 11_1 feature level , as do Nvidia’s Fermi and Kepler cards. Cards based on Hawaii, Tonga, and Fiji support the 12_0 feature level. More information on this, and a comprehensive comparison between AMD, Nvidia, and Intel, can be found here.

Windows 10 is the only operating system that supports DirectX 12, which means if you want in on these features you’ll need to take advantage of Microsoft’s free upgrade (or buy a new PC with W10 preloaded).

Brand	EVGA
Model	04G-P4-3978-KR

Chipset Manufacturer	NVIDIA
GPU Series	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 900 Series
GPU	GeForce GTX 970
Core Clock	1216 MHz
Boost Clock	1367 MHz
CUDA Cores	1664 Cores

Effective Memory Clock	7010 MHz
Memory Size	4GB
Memory Interface	256-Bit
Memory Type	GDDR5

Multi-Monitor Support	4
HDMI	1 x HDMI 2.0
DisplayPort	3 x DisplayPort 1.2
DVI	1 x Duallink DVI-I

RAMDAC	400MHz
Max Resolution	Analog: 2048 x 1536 Digital: 4096 x 2160
3D VISION Game Ready	Yes
SLI Support	2-Way or 3-Way SLI
Virtual Reality Ready	Yes
Cooler	Double Fans
Operating Systems Supported	Windows 10 32/64bit, Windows 8 32/64bit, Windows 7 32/64bit, Windows Vista 32/64bit ‍👉Check gaming pc with Windows 11 Pro
Thermal Design Power	170W
System Requirements	Max Power Draw: 201W Recommended PSU: 500W
Power Connector	1 x 6-Pin + 1 x 8-Pin
Dual-Link DVI Supported	Yes
HDCP Ready	Yes

Meet Your Seller

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-3978-KR 4GB FTW+ GAMING w/ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling w/ Free Installed Backplate Graphics Card

Used - Very Good

Features

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Warranty & Returns

Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

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3D API
DirectX	DirectX 12
OpenGL	OpenGL 4.5

Form Factor & Dimensions
Card Dimensions (L x H)	10.10" x 4.38"
Slot Width	2 Slots

Item#: 9SIAGSCKSK7150