swordfish1030
I just purchased an EVGA 04G-P4-3975-KR and now as I read about them online I find out that even it has the 3.5gb mess
going on.
 
I have not yet received my card and I simply want a refund for the false advertisement and claims. The Vendor NewEgg
will not issue a refund and said that EVGA will have to address the problem.

You are pretty late to the party.  I kind of doubt that EVGA or Newegg will be very sympathetic since you purchased the card so long after the "problem" was made known.  People who purchased the card months ago were treated very well and taken care of.
 
To be honest, the "problem" is really a non-issue for the majority of users.  Why do you want to return the card?  You haven't even tested it yet to know if you experience any issues due to the "problem".
 
The card has 4 GB of VRAM.  It does not have 3.5 GB of VRAM.  False advertising claims are way over-spoken.
 
If you don't want the card, reject the package when it arrives to your home.  If you reject the package, it will go back to Newegg and then Newegg will give you a refund.

swordfish1030
I just purchased an EVGA 04G-P4-3975-KR and now as I read about them online I find out that even it has the 3.5gb mess
going on.
 
I have not yet received my card and I simply want a refund for the false advertisement and claims. The Vendor NewEgg
will not issue a refund and said that EVGA will have to address the problem.

Shop a little better next time. This really is old news.
Now.
You can step up the card to a 980 with EVGA. No other Company has this program.
And All 970 Cards have this 3.5 Memory Issue. I do not really call it an issue and their really is noting wrong with your card.
 
Why is Newegg not giving you their 30 Day Return?
Or is the card older than 30 Days now.

Yes, refuse the package and it will go back to Newegg.  A few days after they receive it back you will get your refund

Yeah, refusing the package is the best way to do that. If you get it, open it and then want to return it... You will probably get a refund, but with a 15% restocking fee cost.

Be careful about refusing the package, I've heard Newegg and other retailers blacklist you if you do this too many times or maybe even once, just FYI.
 
As others mentioned, if you haven't received it yet and haven't opened the package, get Newegg on chat ASAP and explain the situation to them.  If you ask for credit/exchange to put that money toward a different card (say a 980 or 290X) I think you will find Newegg will be much more willing to work with you.
 
Or as others stated, just use the card and enjoy it and not worry about the negligible perf drop from that .5GB RAM.  My wife loves her refererence 970, its a great card!

I wanna point out that in OCCT yesterday, I had my 970 doing a 2GB error check on 640x400 which was using 3.9GB of vram and my FPS was a mess. My FPS would literally go from 200 to 600 back down to 300 in seconds and continue doing that. I don't know if it was an issue with my Vram or something else but it was unusual seeing as most things I do have a fairly constant FPS (+-10), but they don't use over 3.5GB so maybe there really is a stability issue over the 3.5 mark.

IMHO: The remaining 512 meg of 970's ram runs at only 1/7th speed and when that 512 meg gets really busy, the lower 3.5 gig's priority will degrade as the load spreads.  A Lose/lose situation for 970 owners trying to run a game that can use over 3.5 gigs of Vmem like GTA5. Don't get me wrong, the 970 is a beast.
 
I thought of upgrading to a 970 from my JutterMaster 760-2 gig that swaps to system DDR3 if I move any or turn too fast in GTA5 but certainly not because of a $60 game that won't run maxed out at 4k on anything less that a pair of 980's (and with a little luck too)...... I digress.    

Just to clear up any misconceptions about the 970, the issue is Nvidia sent the wrong specs to reviewers, stating the card had 64 ROPs and 2MB of L2 cache, when it actually has 56 ROPs and 1.75MB of L2 cache. As this isn't an advertised spec on video cards, the error wasn't caught right away. As you have just purchased the card, you would be eligible to step up to a 980 if you are unhappy about this. For a refund, you would need to contact Newegg. I'm not sure why they would deny a refund on an unopened product you haven't even received yet, I second the earlier recommendation to try their chat support for further assistance.
 
As far as the memory goes, the card does use all 4GB of memory. The 3.5GB/.5GB configuration is the same setup the 560Ti uses to get 1024MB, and 660Ti uses to get 2GB instead of 1.5GB. It only affects performance by 2-6% in extreme cases such as running 2560x1440 and really high MSAA or DSR, 3840x2160, or a multi-monitor Surround setup. 
 
There's a few sites I recommend reading about the 970 memory configuration. This first link is a follow up from the site that originally reported the memory configuration on the 970:
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA-Discloses-Full-Memory-Structure-and-Limitations-GTX-970 
 
"To those wondering how peak bandwidth would remain at 224 GB/s despite the division of memory controllers on the GTX 970, Alben stated that it can reach that speed only when memory is being accessed in both pools."
 
"Despite some other outlets reporting that the GPU cannot do that, Alben confirmed to me that because the L2 has multiple request busses, the 7th L2 can indeed access both memories that are attached to it at the same time."
 
"The configurability of the Maxwell architecture allowed NVIDIA to make this choice. Had the GeForce GTX 970 been built on the Kepler architecture, the company would have had to disable the entire L2/MC block on the right hand side, resulting in a 192-bit memory bus and a 3GB frame buffer. GM204 allows NVIDIA to expand that to a 256-bit 3.5GB/0.5GB memory configuration and offers performance advantages, obviously."
 
This link is a site that went back and tested a 970 in high memory use situations and reported their findings:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-revisited 
 
"To actually get game-breaking stutter that does show a clear difference between the GTX 970 and the higher-end GTX 980 required extraordinary measures on our part. We ran two cards in SLI - in order to remove the compute bottleneck as much as possible - then we ran Assassin's Creed Unity on ultra high settings at 1440p, with 4x MSAA. As you can see in the video at the top of this page, this produces very noticeable stutter that isn't as pronounced on the GTX 980. But we're really pushing matters here, effectively hobbling our frame-rate for a relatively small image quality boost. Post-process FXAA gives you something close to a locked 1440p60 presentation on this game in high-end SLI configurations - and it looks sensational."
 
"Finding intrusive stutter elsewhere was equally difficult, but we managed it - albeit with extreme settings that neither we - nor the developer of the game in question - would recommend. Running Shadows of Mordor at ultra settings at 1440p, while downscaling from an internal 4K resolution with ultra textures engaged, showed a clear difference between the GTX 970 and the GTX 980 - something which must be caused by the different memory set-ups. To be honest, this produced a sub-optimal experience on both cards, but there were areas that saw noticeable stutter on the 970 that were far less of an issue on the 980. But the fact is that the developer doesn't recommend ultra textures on anything other than a 6GB card - at 1080p no less. Dropping down to the recommended high level textures eliminates the stutter and produces a decent experience."
 
To sum up, optimizations of the Maxwell architecture allow the memory to be used in ways that would not function in earlier Fermi or Kepler architecture cards. I hope this helps you understand the architecture of how the 970 can provide great performance at a price point not normally seen for cards of this caliber. If you keep the card and later decide it's just not meeting your needs, contact us at support@evga.com or call us 24/7 at 888-881-3842 and we can assist you with stepping up to a GTX 980.

Ok, GTA5 PC Forum talked me into buying a 970, instead of the R290 that was almost the same price. I hope it lasts for a couple years until something better and similarly priced comes around.

VegetaCreeper
For the 970 price, you could have got a r9 290x

970 is better than the R9 290X <.> Don't worry about the Memorygate issue. It actually isn't as rampant issue as most want to make it out to be. Drop AA down a notch but personally running ultra @ 1080P i've never had an issue and using DSR hasnt had an issue either with my 2 970's.

Squall_Rinoa86

VegetaCreeper
For the 970 price, you could have got a r9 290x

970 is better than the R9 290X <.> Don't worry about the Memorygate issue. It actually isn't as rampant issue as most want to make it out to be. Drop AA down a notch but personally running ultra @ 1080P i've never had an issue and using DSR hasnt had an issue either with my 2 970's.

That depends on the game(s) you're playing
Even with absolutely no no AA, even @1080 GTA 5 eats up some memory

MrImSoGood

Squall_Rinoa86

VegetaCreeper
For the 970 price, you could have got a r9 290x

970 is better than the R9 290X <.> Don't worry about the Memorygate issue. It actually isn't as rampant issue as most want to make it out to be. Drop AA down a notch but personally running ultra @ 1080P i've never had an issue and using DSR hasnt had an issue either with my 2 970's.

That depends on the game(s) you're playing
Even with absolutely no no AA, even @1080 GTA 5 eats up some memory

I'm not sure if your comment was directed at the 970's ability to play GTA 5, but ( I will say this. ) GTA 5 is a choking buggy game right now. It's not the cards. I have seen reviews where people with 980's fail playing GTA5, so it's not the 970's.

Recently got a 970 FTW+. Out of the box it used 4gb of VRAM not 3.5gb. So I don't see why everyone is still talking about this, NVidia obviously addressed it with the latest drivers and fixed the problem. I run GTA 5 maxed out on 1080p no stuttering online or offline, and use almost all my 4gb vram cap.

stalinx20

MrImSoGood

EVGATech_JaesonW
Just to clear up any misconceptions about the 970, the issue is Nvidia sent the wrong specs to reviewers.

I honestly believe that is straight up BS!
I believe Nvidia knew exactly what they were doing
Exactly how many months was the card out before someone else pointed out the vram issue, and Nvidia didn't catch it first?

NV Link is going to be phenominal.

PCIe bus speeds are more than the card can provide. Memory bus is the true limiting factor, not PCIe, which is what NV Link addresses. For gaming, this is a non-factor. If you're mining or something, that might improve matters.
 
Just so you aren't disappointed.

J_Burton

stalinx20

MrImSoGood

EVGATech_JaesonW
Just to clear up any misconceptions about the 970, the issue is Nvidia sent the wrong specs to reviewers.

I honestly believe that is straight up BS!
I believe Nvidia knew exactly what they were doing
Exactly how many months was the card out before someone else pointed out the vram issue, and Nvidia didn't catch it first?

NV Link is going to be phenominal.

PCIe bus speeds are more than the card can provide. Memory bus is the true limiting factor, not PCIe, which is what NV Link addresses. For gaming, this is a non-factor. If you're mining or something, that might improve matters.
 
Just so you aren't disappointed.

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-pascal-architecture-detailed-technical-analysis-stacked-dram-nv-link/
 
It will make a difference for those that don't want to push for an SLI setup, but want to stick to 1 card. However, it will still make a difference regarding gaming, especially for those that are pushing 4k. Think about when 4k monitors are pushing 120hz/144hz. you will need that extra power.