Power, Temperature and Noise
One partner-overclocked GTX 970 performs much like another - we know this from empirical testing of so many cards. What's unknown is how each partners' implementation fares with respect to power consumption, temperature and noise.
Each overclocked GTX 970 uses more voltage and, obviously, higher frequencies than the reference card. The upshot is that the G1 Gaming is 15 per cent thirstier than the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 reference card.
But you shouldn't be too drawn in by the power consumption figures for aftermarket cards; the quoted wattage is for the entire system, not just graphics card, meaning that a quality 500W will suffice for a single-GPU build.
Gigabyte has a track record of focusing on lower temperatures at the direct expense of noise, going by our past experiences. The GTX 970 G1 Gaming continues this theme with the lowest under-load temperature on test. But does this, as usual, mean a noisy card?
The answer is no, because while the GTX 970 variant uses the same cooling technology as its noisier brother, Gigabyte reins in the fan speed, running at a maximum 2,000RPM, instead of 3,000RPM on the GTX 980 G1.
Very quiet when idling and just about discernible under load, Gigabyte strikes a great mix between cooling and noise.
