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Review: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming

by Tarinder Sandhu on 15 December 2014, 12:00

Tags: Gigabyte (TPE:2376)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacmhv

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Conclusion

Cool and quiet to boot, and built like the proverbial tank, it's a card that's recommended to readers who like to indulge in a quieter gaming experience.

It's easy to recommend any card based on the GeForce GTX 970 GPU. Attractive pricing accompanies excellent performance that puts any new console to shame.

Available from £250 for standard models shipping with regular clocks, spending more buys you a commensurate increase in performance. The £285 Gigabyte G1 Gaming model, top of Gigabyte's range, is a case in point, offering solid numbers through a reasonable core overclock.

Blitzing through our 1080p benchmarks and clearly overkill for such a resolution, the 4GB framebuffer and inherent strength of the architecture enables it to make a good fist of gaming at a 4K resolution, particularly when overclocked.

There's certainly no shortage of choice for the ever-popular GeForce GTX 970 GPU. Gigabyte adds to the quality lineup with the meaty G1 Gaming version. Cool and quiet to boot, and built like the proverbial tank, it's a card that's recommended to readers who like to indulge in a quieter gaming experience.

The Good
  
The Bad
Good looks
Great at 1080p
Runs very cool
Strong aluminium backplate
Quiet under load
  
Stock-clocked memory
Fans don't turn off when idle



Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming

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The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming graphics card is available to purchase from Scan Computers*

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


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HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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Posted by Tpyo - Mon 15 Dec 2014 12:19
Apologies if this has been done previously, but has Hexus ever reviewed a card, then OC'd the memory (only) for comparison? I only ask because it is something Hexus regularly mentions that memory is still at stock in GFX reviews as a negative, yet manufacturers, while more than willing to significantly overclock the core etc. rarely do this. Is it that it doesn't make much difference, or is there some technical reason why they clock everything else but not the memory, as from their point of view, surely even 1% increased performace on their OC model would look favourable compared to their competitors.
Posted by Mauley - Mon 15 Dec 2014 12:55
I'm a bit miffed to not see the MSI GTX 970 compared with this in the benches. I have this card and I love it.
Posted by Tarinder - Mon 15 Dec 2014 13:07
Tpyo
Apologies if this has been done previously, but has Hexus ever reviewed a card, then OC'd the memory (only) for comparison? I only ask because it is something Hexus regularly mentions that memory is still at stock in GFX reviews as a negative, yet manufacturers, while more than willing to significantly overclock the core etc. rarely do this. Is it that it doesn't make much difference, or is there some technical reason why they clock everything else but not the memory, as from their point of view, surely even 1% increased performace on their OC model would look favourable compared to their competitors.

Are you saying you would like to see benchmarks with the core at the shipping speed but memory at, say, an effective 7,800MHz, to see what effect more bandwidth has on results? This would be a purely theoretical exercise as no-one clocks memory this high.
Posted by kalniel - Mon 15 Dec 2014 13:18
Tarinder
Are you saying you would like to see benchmarks with the core at the shipping speed but memory at, say, an effective 7,800MHz, to see what effect more bandwidth has on results? This would be a purely theoretical exercise as no-one clocks memory this high.

For the factory overclocked models, I think seeing if any memory overclock makes any difference (at factory GPU speeds) would be useful - presumably you have done the test already if you list the lack of a factory overclock on memory as a negative. Alternatively if not then doing the test and showing the results will enable you to stop listing lack of factory memory OC as a negative. Ie you'll be adding confidence to the Hexus statements.
Posted by Tpyo - Mon 15 Dec 2014 15:14
Tarinder
Are you saying you would like to see benchmarks with the core at the shipping speed but memory at, say, an effective 7,800MHz, to see what effect more bandwidth has on results? This would be a purely theoretical exercise as no-one clocks memory this high.

If it hasn't already been done, then just taking a unit with/without factory core OC and showing what difference it makes. The level of OC can be whatever is practical to do/you would like to see the 3rd parties do as factory memory OC. As Kalniel says, if there isn't a significant difference, why is (almost) always listed as a negative on Hexus GFX reviews?