GTX 970 beats a stock 1060. Nothing but ice, and a dream.
Posted by Tra5hL0rd_@reddit | hardware | View on Reddit | 42 comments
I've been trying to get an old 970 to outpace a stock 1060 in a few modern (ish) games. Started on air and got close but needed more. Ended up activating the 3D printer again and bolting an AIO block onto it, ran tubing into an esky of frozen bottles and water, and pumped water through the block with a fish tank pump. It worked... Best set up so far actually and I am hoping the new mounts will be reusable on any GPU with a 58.4 spacing.
One 970 died early on (RIP), probably didn’t like the volts, VRAM... who knows. The replacement made it through, but only after hours of tweaking. Turns out you have to set voltage in GPU Tweak and clocks in Afterburner, otherwise nothing sticks. That alone took a while to figure out. The voltage sliders in AB were locked (yes I know about the settings) and the clock sliders in GPU Tweak didn't go high enough, so I ended up using them both together.
Then came the real pain, dialling in stable clocks per game. Some runs were fine at +290 core, others crashed at +250. Ended up settling around +240/+250 core and +500 memory on air and +250/+280 on ice. That finally pushed it past the 1060 in TR 2013, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Fortnite, and a world record on firestrike!
It only won be a couple of frames in each test, and about 1000 points in firestrike... but hey, winning is winning don't they say?
Didn’t think it would work tbh, but it did. With enough ice and determination! Anything is possible.
If anyone wants the chaos, I made a vid on it, but mainly just happy it finally held together long enough to win. https://youtu.be/5CTjMUdB-vw
Sylarxz@reddit
miss those days.. value cards
they don't make them like that no more
noiserr@reddit
gtx 970's MSRP was $329. 9060xt is $349. 8 years later. 9060xt is 300% the performance and more than 4 times the VRAM. And that's not factoring the inflation.
COVID was bad but this right now is pretty good.
Active-Quarter-4197@reddit
Seems cool until you release the 9070 was around 15 times faster than the equivalent priced card released 10 years before it
noiserr@reddit
I lived though those times. ~$350 GPUs couldn't max out games at 1080p back then.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
You're both missing the bigger picture. Sure, MSRP might be similar, but the value has changed massively over time. The 1070 might not have been earth-shattering in 2014, but in 2024, it holds up better than half the current entry-level options. A used 1070 today can outperform a brand new 3050 in some titles for a fraction of the cost.
So, it is fair to talk about old cards in today’s context because while $329 doesn’t get you much anymore, $80 on eBay for a 1070 might.
Strazdas1@reddit
1070 was earth shattering at release. It was THE value card of the generation. Now though? it aged like milk in comparison to 2070 all because of the hardware features introduced in 2000 series.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
The 1070 may lack the RT and Tensor cores of the 2070, but in pure raster performance it’s only about 10–15% behind. Considering it launched at a lower price and still holds up in modern 1080p gaming, it aged just fine. DLSS and RT are nice but not essential for a lot of titles.
Strazdas1@reddit
thing is, pure raster performance is only small part of the performance now.
It does NOT hold up in modern gaming precisely because DLSS and RT is not there.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Saying “pure raster is only a small part of performance” is just wrong. Rasterization is the foundation, it’s where all the actual rendering work begins. RT and DLSS don’t even exist without a solid raster pass first.
You can’t treat raster like some legacy afterthought. It still defines how well a card holds up in 99% of modern games.
A 980 Ti running medium settings will match or even beat a lot of the “modern” entry level cards like the 3050 or 2060 in pure raster. Raster is still the main event. RT and DLSS are side dishes, sometimes useful, but never the meal.
Strazdas1@reddit
Rasterization, on its own, is useless. This is why those cards have aged as badly as they have. They need to work together and only together they bring actual value in modern games.
A 980 TI will not run modern games at all because it will choke on bruteforcing raytracing in software.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
"Rasterization is useless" has to be the dumbest take I’ve read all week. That’s like saying an engine is useless in a car because electric motors exist. Raster is literally the backbone of how games are rendered. Without it you’re staring at a black screen.
You’ve been watching too many tech YouTubers who think DLSS and ray tracing are the only things that matter. A 980 Ti on medium settings still pushes 60+ FPS in most modern games without needing fake frames or tensor magic.
Ray tracing is eye candy. Raster is how the game runs. Big difference.
Strazdas1@reddit
An engine is useless without every other part of the car, yes.
Ray tracing is an unavoidable part of the game. therefore 980 TI cannot run those games, flat out.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Ray tracing is optional eye candy, rasterization is how the whole game is rendered. Without it, you’ve got nothing to trace. A 980 Ti still runs modern games just fine without fake frames or RT fluff. Turn off your DLSS and see how close the gap really is.
Strazdas1@reddit
Ray tracing is not optional. It is the mandatory and only way moder games do lighting.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
At this point, I’d have better luck enabling ray tracing on a 980 Ti than getting through to you. I’m out.
noiserr@reddit
1070 was not a budget GPU it was $379 MSRP at release. Budget GPUs never offered a great value. That's because entry level GPU costs are dominated by just providing a functioning GPU and hence don't result in a good frame / $$$.
But a 9060xt is more than twice as fast with twice the VRAM for less money.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Totally agree that the 1070 wasn’t a budget card in 2016, and budget cards historically don’t aim for high FPS. But I’m not comparing launch MSRPs or product tiers.
I’m saying right now, you can get a used 1070 for $80, and for that money, it outperforms current entry-level cards like the 3050 or 4060 non-Ti in a lot of games. That’s where the value is.
A 9060 XT might be better new, sure but it’s also $250+. So we’re talking about totally different price brackets. I’m comparing what $80 gets you today, not what $379 got you in 2016.
noiserr@reddit
That's my point. That's absolutely not where the value is, and it never was. Budget GPUs are never recommended for best value. xx60 series GPUs were always the best value. x50 GPUs were always too compromised to offer good value.
I agree that the entry level decent value $200 range GPUs are gone. That range is now $300. But that's inflation, not the GPUs.
Blueberryburntpie@reddit
One of my friends sold their RX 6700XT on eBay for over $250 to help fund their new GPU purchase. He notes that particular model was selling at above $250 on eBay for more than a year.
Helpdesk_Guy@reddit
Maybe I missed it or you didn't mentioned either, but what was the driver-situation with the GTX 970?
Which driver-version you used and how did it impact the results? Didn't declared the GTX 970 as legacy, the moment they lost the class action lawsuit about the 3.5GB VRAM? I thought they dropped driver support for it?
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Hey, good question!
The latest available Game Ready Driver for it is 473.81, released Oct 2022.
As for the 3.5GB VRAM situation it was a PR disaster, but it didn’t end driver support. That lawsuit didn’t affect how long drivers were issued, it just forced better disclosure.
I used 473.81 for all tests. Performance was consistent, and no issues showed up in the games I ran.
kuddlesworth9419@reddit
Impressive stuff. I always like seeing old cars getting overclocked and modded.
detectiveDollar@reddit
Vrrm vrrm
kuddlesworth9419@reddit
I also like old cards not just old cars.
miscman127@reddit
Man lad, but not at all surprising - the 970 is and was a workhorse, and some boards are easily mod-able to AIO or full custom to hit better clocks.
Pretty crazy to use ice!
AssCrackBanditHunter@reddit
A workhorse right up until you go over 3.5 gigs ;)
I remember upgrading from a 270x to a 970 and I was FLYING. I was modding up Skyrim like crazy... Well crazy for the mid 2010s anyways
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
I actually found the 970 to be a pita with its stupid VRAM set up... usually when I bolt a cooler to a card it's pretty easy to avoid the VRAM but the 970 had it right under where the bolts needed to go so, I had to completely rework the mount I have used for other cards. Good thing in the end though because now I have a block that I think will mount to any GPU...
Ice is good... but now I am wondering what benefits immersion might offer 😊
adaminc@reddit
I still run a gtx 970 in my main pc, with a 4770k. Works pretty good still, can play Rdr2 and GTA5 just fine. No Win11 support sucks tho.
Ok_Assignment_2127@reddit
The ancient secret of not setting everything to ultra is one that I hope more people learn about some day.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Totally underrated card mate, and they overclock really well. If you're happy with it, definitely no need to change.
dsoshahine@reddit
You could try getting your hands on a modded card with 8GB VRAM, that alone can bring some big gains apparently.
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/nvidia-gtx-970-memory-mod-boosts-performance-with-8gb-vram-upgrade
emotionengine@reddit
I liked this project. If you have the parts and inclination, would be interested in seeing what you could squeeze out if an old AMD R9 290X or something similar.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Funny you mention that! I don't have any of the older AMD stuff, but I do have an rx6600 I was thinking about making punch up to something in NVidia's line up.
emotionengine@reddit
I used to have dual R290s in crossfire back in the day, they would hit over 95 °C in my crappy airflow case. Once in winter when it was -12 °C outside, I moved the tower to the balcony just for kicks and saw temperatures drop to under 60 °C under max load. Your ice cooling project reminded me of that, haha.
jonathanwashere1@reddit
I remember having a 970 and flashing loads of different custom bios. The fastest I got mine stable was 1531MHz, surprised I still remember after all these years. I replaced the stock blower cooler with a Corsair H90 with one of those dark brown noctua fans, and an HG10
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
That is top work mate! This one did not go much higher than that on ice. Kudos sir.
Nippy69@reddit
Never would of thought the 970 would come that close on ice but those temps are the chef's kiss.
Impressive.
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Thank you! With all this talk of the 5050 being trash, it's got me thinking about which pascal or maxwell can take a swipe at a 3060 🤣
Ok_Anything_58@reddit
What was the wattage like?
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Wattage was between 170-200. Varied between tests, ice and air.
Ok_Anything_58@reddit
Damn, what about the thermals?
Tra5hL0rd_@reddit (OP)
Core was around 45C on air and 12C on ice.