The MSI one happens to have a little higher clock speeds but they will typically perform the same, and since the ASUS one is out of stock you might as well grab the MSI one.

i was told that the asus strix was the only 970 that is truly unlocked? is that true?

Go with MSI, the name is more respected in graphics cards than ASUS


Also look into EVGA:
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They'll perform almost identically for the most part. I've not looked into the Strix card much myself, but I had TF4 770's and they were fantastic. I'm looking at getting TFV 970's as well so obviously, that would be my choice between those two. As the MSI unit is in stock, and the Asus one isn't, I'd say to just grab the MSI one but it doesn't really matter.

Also, note that the fans on the TFV cooler don't start to spin up until under load, not sure if it's the same with the Strix cooler.

Obsidian wrote Go with MSI, the name is more respected in graphics cards than ASUS


Also look into EVGA:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

What would you prefer? most i want to spend is $400, so which brand has and one has the best cooling and performance

Update wrote

Obsidian wrote Go with MSI, the name is more respected in graphics cards than ASUS


Also look into EVGA:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

What would you prefer? most i want to spend is $400, so which brand has and one has the best cooling and performance

It makes little to no difference on the frames, benchmarks of the 3 cards:

Battlefield 4:
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Bioshock Infinite:
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Crysis 3:
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Skyrim:
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Benchmarks taken from [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Both are semi passive (fan doesn't spin until around 60 degrees C for both cards

so, Go with the one that looks the nicest, because that's the only real difference.

The strix one seems to have a pretty low bin rate compared to other models and it also has a smaller power limit so you won't be able to overclock it very far even with a bios mod.

United_Kingdom wrote

Update wrote

Obsidian wrote Go with MSI, the name is more respected in graphics cards than ASUS


Also look into EVGA:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

What would you prefer? most i want to spend is $400, so which brand has and one has the best cooling and performance

It makes little to no difference on the frames, benchmarks of the 3 cards:

Battlefield 4:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Bioshock Infinite:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Crysis 3:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Skyrim:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Benchmarks taken from [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

MSI gtx 970 has an average of 70fps on bf4 yet i have this card and have a solid 120fps with everything maxed out 2 moniters etc so this isnt completely accurate but yeah the gtx 970 is a great card