The Nvidia 970 is definitely a 5/5 product, but if assessing the different brands of the cards, then the EVGA ACX cooler has a few problems. My first impression was that the ACX cooler was flimsy and not attached well. When picking it up the shroud moves and rubs against the aluminum fins and causes a scratching sound. Other coolers I have handled did not bend and move when picked up, especially not the reference 780/980/Titan cooler. I've handled MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, and EVGA cards. This cooler is the flimsiest I've handled.
Many reviews said the retail version of this card would come with a back plate or that EVGA would offer a program in which they mail one to the purchaser upon registration. My card did not come with a back plate installed and when I registered the product there was no indication of a back plate program. Hopefully EVGA announces this program soon as it was one of the reasons I purchased this particular card.
As reported by Techpowerup, EVGA chose not to use the Nvidia recommended voltage regulator and instead they placed a cheaper module on this card. This could possibly effect overclocking, but user that will only be running stock shouldn't care.
As for performance and noise, its a great card. I came from a GTX 780 and my Firestrike score increased roughly 16% stock for stock. At $329.99, this card is an incredible value. It not only runs cooler than the 780, but its nearly $100 cheaper than the cheapest GTX 780 on the market right now. The low energy consumption also makes this a great card for SLI without having to purchase a huge PSU.
This card does support 4k and 60hz through HDMI or Display port.
Overall, the GTX 970 is an incredible value, but the EVGA ACX card doesn't seem to be the best one to get. If I had to do over I would have gone with the Gigabyte, MSI, or ASUS card. Hope that helps.
UPDATE: I ended up returning the card. It had coil whine and I was not pleased with how EVGA handled the backplate offer. Even though all the review sites said the same thing, that early customers will be receiving the backplates, EVGA backed out on the claim and said they are not responsible for third party miscommunication. I feel that an EVGA rep relayed the wrong information to the review sites, who then passed along that information to customers. Instead of making it right for those that purchased this card in part because of the backplate offer, they stonewalled. I decided to spend my money elsewhere. Worse temps, worse noise, and a cheaper PCB compared to the competition only made that decision easier. For this reason, I am lowering my initial score to three stars. The card may still be fine for some users and works adequately, but it is not the best option.
| Max Screen Resolution | 4096 x 2160 |
|---|---|
| Memory Speed | 7010 MHz |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Nvidia |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | GeForce GTX 970 |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 4 GB |
