Anyone have problems with their GTX 970?

[P-40E]

So far my 970 has done well. I have the EVGA ACX 2.0 SC model, And their is no backplate, I was supposedly supposed to get one for free with it. I bought it from OfficeMax, and they said I needed to contact EVGA about it, And EVGA told me the promotion was already over, So long story short (too late) I never got a backplate. Anyway! I noticed the back V-Ram chips on the back get very warm. The only air that gets to them is from the airflow from my old Antec 300 case. This makes me a bit nervous since I never had a GPU with uncooled V-Ram, I had cards without a heatsink on the V-Ram before, But they were at'least cooled by the GPU fans. I am afraid the back V-Ram chips will just burn up one day, and ruin the card. I looked up prices for Ram sinks, But they will be almost as expensive as the stupid backplate! Also I noticed the drivers do not seem as good with older games, I see a few more glitches than I did with my older R9 270 in games like Fallout 3 and NV. Maybe I should have just got a R9 290 instead! Also the shadows around the character and the character's car seem a bit off in GTA V. It's hard to explain but it is kinda like a almost invisible shadow that will follow you around in GTA V, It is not very noticeable most of the time. But when the sun is just right you can see it. Other than that the game looks great.

 

[Jborg]

So far my 970 has done well. I have the EVGA ACX 2.0 SC model, And their is no backplate, I was supposedly supposed to get one for free with it. I bought it from OfficeMax, and they said I needed to contact EVGA about it, And EVGA told me the promotion was already over, So long story short (too late) I never got a backplate. Anyway! I noticed the back V-Ram chips on the back get very warm. The only air that gets to them is from the airflow from my old Antec 300 case. This makes me a bit nervous since I never had a GPU with uncooled V-Ram, I had cards without a heatsink on the V-Ram before, But they were at'least cooled by the GPU fans. I am afraid the back V-Ram chips will just burn up one day, and ruin the card. I looked up prices for Ram sinks, But they will be almost as expensive as the stupid backplate! Also I noticed the drivers do not seem as good with older games, I see a few more glitches than I did with my older R9 270 in games like Fallout 3 and NV. Maybe I should have just got a R9 290 instead! Also the shadows around the character and the character's car seem a bit off in GTA V. It's hard to explain but it is kinda like a almost invisible shadow that will follow you around in GTA V, It is not very noticeable most of the time. But when the sun is just right you can see it. Other than that the game looks great.

I haven't noticed any issues at all with my GTX 970... not even the 3.5G VRAM issue, even when trying to push it beyond 3.5G I simply cannot do it.... at least in GTA5.... (For 1080P at least)

I have quite a few fans in my case - 2 Jet Flow fans as well, My 970 sits around 65 celcius in Unigine Heaven even with a heavy OC. You might want to look into some case fans to move the air around near the VRAM chips if it concerns you.

However, my FPS in GTA 5 concerns me a little bit, I tend to get anywhere from 35-60 fps, I would say the average FPS is in the 40s however. I have suspicion that the FX 8350 I am using might be causing a bit lower FPS than somebody who might be using an i5 or higher.

 

[RyanK]

Currently use a Gigabyte G1 970 but mine does have a back plate. Never had a problem with temps, I do have a well ventilated case however, the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe. I can't relate as well to the problem you describe with GTA V. As for FPS my card automatically clocks at 1404 MHz when in game, and I maintain 60 fps for the most port on mostly ultra settings with things like grass on high, extended view is down a little and msaa at 2x. At 1440p if I turn off msaa its 50-60+ easily. That is with an i5 3570k at 4.2 ghz

 

[Vayra86]

I haven't noticed any issues at all with my GTX 970... not even the 3.5G VRAM issue, even when trying to push it beyond 3.5G I simply cannot do it.... at least in GTA5.... (For 1080P at least)

I have quite a few fans in my case - 2 Jet Flow fans as well, My 970 sits around 65 celcius in Unigine Heaven even with a heavy OC. You might want to look into some case fans to move the air around near the VRAM chips if it concerns you.

However, my FPS in GTA 5 concerns me a little bit, I tend to get anywhere from 35-60 fps, I would say the average FPS is in the 40s however. I have suspicion that the FX 8350 I am using might be causing a bit lower FPS than somebody who might be using an i5 or higher.

That 3.5GB issue is exactly the 'issue', you can't push more than 3.5GB into your VRAM at all. So effectively you're limited to that. But it only causes issues during SLI, GTX 970 can't/can hardly push 4GB on its own and 3.5GB is not much different.

@OP: try fiddling with Ambient Occlusion settings for your weird invisible shadow thingie. It may do something, for example going from performance to quality setting in Control Panel, and check your settings ingame too. Whole thing sounds like AO to me.

Fallout 3... yeah. It's Fallout 3 I wouldn't directly take the blame game to your GPU. It is a well renowned bugfest and a driver change could solve your problems. I do hear more issues surrounding FO3 and NV now that people pick them up again to prepare for 4, on their spanking new Maxwells. Probably an architectural issue. Try different drivers, performance wise they don't really change much.

About your VRAM / backplate. I've never had VRAM burn up. If anything suffers on GPU it's the power delivery / stability, so VRMs, as long as you have decent case airflow that will be more than enough. Backplates are overrated and 90% marketing.

 

[horik]

Mine only has a slight buzz, no other problem with it. Temps get to 63ºC max.

 

[rtwjunkie]

No 970 problems here either with an MSI 100ME. It has a backplate, but backplates are all about looks. It's marketing. No overheating problems, but it's in a Fractal R4 Define, so airflow is great. Also no issues with the RAM, as it has yet to use even 3GB of VRAM. Might GTA V change that? sure, but I can only speak to this card's experience.

 

[mrw1986]

I have an Asus Strix GTX 970 and haven't had a single issue. I purchased it on release date and push the card VERY hard.

 

[HWTactics]

The only problem I have with the GTX 970 is the price

Memory chips do get warm and I wouldn't be worried about that. Even the memory on the front of the cards typically don't get any direct cooling, so the exposed chips on back are OK.

I haven't heard of the shadow issue in GTA, but if you have the latest drivers and other games look correct it is most likely just the unique graphics engine in that game.

Edit: if you have an infrared thermometer you can check the temps on the rear VRAM. What feels hot to you probably isn't all that hot to a video card. 150°F doesn't feel too great on your fingertip, but that's still only 65°C and video cards can do that all day long.

 

[newtekie1]

Also the shadows around the character and the character's car seem a bit off in GTA V. It's hard to explain but it is kinda like a almost invisible shadow that will follow you around in GTA V, It is not very noticeable most of the time. But when the sun is just right you can see it.

Also the shadows around the character and the character's car seem a bit off in GTA V. It's hard to explain but it is kinda like a almost invisible shadow that will follow you around in GTA V, It is not very noticeable most of the time. But when the sun is just right you can see it.

That 3.5GB issue is exactly the 'issue', you can't push more than 3.5GB into your VRAM at all. So effectively you're limited to that. But it only causes issues during SLI, GTX 970 can't/can hardly push 4GB on its own and 3.5GB is not much different.

No, you can use more than 3.5GB with a 970. The issue is the last .5GB is slower than the rest.

Also the shadows around the character and the character's car seem a bit off in GTA V. It's hard to explain but it is kinda like a almost invisible shadow that will follow you around in GTA V, It is not very noticeable most of the time. But when the sun is just right you can see it.

Honestly, this sounds like a memory issue actually.