Just got my EVGA GTX 970 reference design with blower type cooler (04G-P4-1970-KR). First thing I noticed is the size, The PCB is small like a stock 750ti it actually has an extension on the end to accommodate the cooler unit. I find the reference cards to be the best and the blower unit better in SLI (Just my preference).
I would like to share one small issue I had with the installation and how I resolved it. Before the install if I went to device manager under "display adapters" it listed Nvidia GTX 770 (card I was using at the time). I removed all drivers and software completely (clean wipe of everything including reg entries). Powered down and replaced the 770 with the new 970. Powered up and no video on any output (display, DVI, HDMI) nothing. System would post,,windows logo,,,,nothing but black screen?,,,odd not even windows basic driver working? Finally booted into safe mode and under "display adapters" in device manager it read Intel HD 4000 then GTX 970. I installed the drivers for the 970, rebooted and black screen after post again. It's loading the Intel HD 4000 driver not the Nvidia one? Removed all Intel display drivers disabled the HD 4000, rebooted and everything was good. But the HD 4000 was still there, disabled but still there.
Now,, I had a copy of my motherboards bios on a USB stick, just the newest bios with default settings. I booted into bios, saved my current config settings to the stick, flashed with the default bios, then loaded my profile and settings back. And Viola no more Intel HD 4000.
I then modded my 970 bios slightly for a little extra power, flashed it, used PrecisionX 16 to set fan curve,,GPU 1504Mhz, Ram 8010Mhz,,power target 110%,,Voltage +12mV. then stress test for 4 hours. And temp holds at 68 degrees.
I was surprised to see that the light weight (610g) GTX 970 could keep up with, and in some cases beat my overclocked GTX 690 in real world gaming. Sure it falls behind a bit in raw compute power against the dual 1150Mhz GPU's, 7000 Mhz ram of the massive 1.8Kg GTX 690 signature. Don't get me wrong I love my 690, specially in the winter. One hour of Crysis 3 brings the room temperature up 10 degrees...lol. "Shut the furnace off and open a window Babe, I'm gaming!"..lol.
But considering I bought the 970 for $360 and the 690 for $1200. Both cards purchased roughly a month after their release. I must say I can't wait to try a pair of 970 in SLI. Not that I really need to. My current set up with one 970 overclocked, accompanied by a 750Ti dedicated to PhysiX (I'm a big Metro fan) can play anything at 1080p max settings.
So to sum it up, I can't see any reason to buy any other card other than the 970, specifically the EVGA 970's. The 780Ti and the 980 are great, as is my 690. But $360 for 60 fps in Crysis 3 maxed out with V-sync on...I love it...Ordering the second one now.
Feel bad for those AMD fans?..No!...Me either...lol