Morphevz
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Hi guys,
I'm playing the waiting game to get my hands on a pair of GTX 970 to watercool, and apart from what given the models price differences and limited availability, I'm still curious about a few things:
1. Is there any arquitectural difference between the ACX and the FTW model? Or are they the exact same card (same PCB components and version), with different clock settings and different cooler?
2. Can both models "normally" reach the same top clocks despite shipping with different factory clocks? Or will a FTW model normally have a higher head room than a ACX stock, when using the same watercooling block?
3. @someone from EVGA; just like everyone else, I'd definitely be interested in a couple backplates for my SLI setup, but given the super limited availability in Norway, I fear I won't manage to get hold of the two cards I desire before the promotion ends and/or stock lasts. Do you have any backup plan for it, or will the US demand on something that was exclusive to EU now affect the EU supply? For instance, if I end up going with the FTW version, only two etailers in Norway have the card listed and the ETA is "over 30 days" to return to stock. And I'm not even sure if one of them is an official reseller.
Thanks in advance for the answers!
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EVGA_JacobF
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Re: GTX 970 ACX or GTX 970 FTW?
Friday, October 03, 2014 9:15 PM
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☼ Best Answerby Morphevz Monday, October 06, 2014 10:06 AM
1. The heatsink is different on the FTW model, improved about 4C.
2. Clocks will be very similar... FTW may clock a bit higher.
3. Supply should improve before then. If you end up not getting the card because of supply, let me know and will try to work with you.
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Morphevz
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Re: GTX 970 ACX or GTX 970 FTW?
Friday, October 03, 2014 10:11 PM
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Thanks for the answers, Jacob. Tell your guys, you just sold 2 GTX 970 FTW in Norway.
Have a nice weekend. =)
P.S.: Still use the OC settings on my i7 920 @4Ghz that you posted way back for the X58, in Nov. '09. Still rock solid with daily over 12 hours use, @4Ghz on water. Never replied to thank you... kudos for that one! Maybe you're also the one to tell; will this old piece of tech still make full use of SLI GTX 970 FTW, or the time to upgrade has come? =/
Edit: Almost forgot, have a great weekend!
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EVGA_JacobF
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Re: GTX 970 ACX or GTX 970 FTW?
Friday, October 03, 2014 10:17 PM
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Awesome! 920 @ 4GHz is still no slouch though... should be fine for the 970.
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Morphevz
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Re: GTX 970 ACX or GTX 970 FTW?
Friday, October 03, 2014 10:20 PM
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That is great to know, tks. =)
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freEVfoldinGA
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Re: GTX 970 ACX or GTX 970 FTW?
Saturday, October 04, 2014 0:16 PM
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I'm in US but in the same boat, been waiting money in hand* for the 970 FTW since launch and wanting to get in while backplates are still included with registration, the two times I've been notified I've been checking out within two minutes of notification but at the final step each time it goes to "out of stock" instead of order placed successfully. I know the FTW are super in demand right now but I can't imagine hundreds being sold in 3 minutes, seems like there were only like a dozen or so. :(
*oh and more than two years of EVGA folding bucks
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Morphevz
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Re: GTX 970 ACX or GTX 970 FTW?
Monday, October 06, 2014 10:19 AM
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EVGA_JacobF
1. The heatsink is different on the FTW model, improved about 4C.
2. Clocks will be very similar... FTW may clock a bit higher.
3. Supply should improve before then. If you end up not getting the card because of supply, let me know and will try to work with you.
It seems supply and demand is taking its toll in Norway. The FTW model is listed by only one etailer now and due to that "privilege", they decided to bump the card price further up, being now 1100 NOK (~170 USD) more expensive than the ACX 2.0 model. It's great to see the FTW 40 USD above the ACX 2.0 in the US; but no one in their right mind would drop 170 USD extra to pick an FTW over an ACX 2.0. My dilema now is either wait for the FTW to come back to realistic pricing in Norway, or give up on it (the higher clocks and the extra bios feature). Having 2 GTX 760 blocks from Alphacool already on their way doesn't help on "waiting for the best one at its realistic price". I'll keep on waiting... let's see if I can resist the urge! But it really seems like going with FTW means missing out the backplate deadline. 
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