Conclusion

Using a proven cooler and keeping the twin fans switched off under low loads, in-game performance is excellent at 1080p and passable at 4K.

Anyone looking for a high-quality graphics card to last them at least three years could do a lot worse than see what the GeForce GTX 970 has to offer. Various Nvidia partners offer custom cooling and higher core speeds, but most don't indulge in memory overclocking.

Palit plays the value game with the Jetstream iteration. Using a proven cooler and keeping the twin fans switched off under low loads, in-game performance is excellent at 1080p and passable at 4K.

Though cheaper than most, Palit's design isn't as good as good as, say, Asus or EVGA. Multiple monitor outputs require the subsequent purchase of additional dongles and the power connectors' location isn't ideal.

There is no perfect GeForce GTX 970 card. Palit's strength is value, so if every penny matters, it is a solid choice.

The Good

Cheaper than most GTX 970 OC cards
Zero noise at low loads
Reasonably quiet

The Bad

Strange choice of outputs
No memory overclock
6-pin connectors could do with relocation

HEXUS.awards

Palit GeForce GTX 970 Jetstream 4GB

HEXUS.where2buy

The Palit GeForce GTX 970 Jetstream 4GB is available to purchase from Dabs.com.

HEXUS.right2reply

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I've a pair of these and have to say I don't think they're especially flimsy. They certainly aren't as heavy as my old card 670 windforce 3x. But to be honest I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

The only slightly annoying thing about them is that there isn't quite enough hysteresis on the on/off of the fans. After a gaming session the top card spends about 10 minutes pulsing the fans on and off whilst it hovers between 59 and 61 degrees.

Can I ask why you've dropped 1440 or 1600p from your test resolutions?

Don't you think there should be some kind of mid point between the “anything can play it” 1080 res and the “yeah, you're probably going to need a second card” 4K res?

“Nvidia has made a good choice regarding video outputs on the reference card” ehh apart from going with the older display port standard which doesn't support freesync ! So your forced into buying a g-sync monitor if you want less screen tearing.

Source: http://www.techpowerup.com/205656/nvidia-sacrifices-vesa-adaptive-sync-tech-to-rake-in-g-sync-royalties.html

DemonHighwayman
“Nvidia has made a good choice regarding video outputs on the reference card” ehh apart from going with the older display port standard which doesn't support freesync ! So your forced into buying a g-sync monitor if you want less screen tearing.

Source: http://www.techpowerup.com/205656/nvidia-sacrifices-vesa-adaptive-sync-tech-to-rake-in-g-sync-royalties.html

But their cards don't support freesync anyway.

kalniel
But their cards don't support freesync anyway.

But they easily could and freesync is royalty free unlike g-sync. Also if they do that for the next generation cards (AMD will probably be beyond DP 1.2A) they will stopping themselves having a higher throughput of data, just for the sake of a few royalties !
This is one of the few things I hate Nvidia for, all there proprietary tech they make us use when AMD makes there stuff free for everyone to use and therefore helps advance technology progress rather than hinder it.