GTX 970

hey guys, i just built a new computer:

I7 4790k
32gb ram
and a EVGA nvidia geforce gtx 970 ssc axt 2.0

it ran amazing for one week then lastnight my games began to stutter didnt matter if high or low settings same stutter. after some searching i found the 970 is prone to develpoing unfixable stutters. i'm returning it on 3/16 i was wondering if i should hold hope the next one wont develop a stutter or should i change cards? and if i should change what would be recomended? i only have a 750w psu and room to fit a 11.5" card
thanks in advance for the help

[bob]

I would be doing several things first.

1. updating drivers, or even turning off automatic updates. people say "nothing has changed", oh, except for all those various bits of software that have updaters running left and right, and maybe not everything is updating and now I've got some mismatches
2. looking for conflicting software or settings
3. checking for corruption
4. ensuring I didn't lack disk space, especially for those games that like to have big caches
5. monitor hardware, maybe change the CPU strategy so all games are assigned all cores (basically this just lets Windows manage the CPU, which is usually the better option).

The 970GTX overall is a very good card. "Developing unfixable stutters" can't be too widespread (maybe just an OEM issue) otherwise there would have been more press about it. Are you only getting this from forums? or is there some official statement?.

i spent almost 8 hours doing forums searches, trouble shooting, benchmarks and using programs like techpowerup gpu-z for the first time ever. im far from an expert. i have never had a problem with nvida except for a 9800 gs that had heat issues cause i was too cheap to buy a gtx. i tried all suggested solutions from disabling hyper threading to using ddu to uninstall all video drivers. and fresh installing them. i pulled gpu and put it in my old build and the stuttering was there too. i put in my old 660 gtx and was smooth of what it was. granted on alot lower settings. but even if i dropped settings on the 970 it still stuttered. i found hundreds of forum entries from tom's nvidia, evga, newegg. of people saying the 970's are doing what mine is. and i've tried every one of their solutions that i found. i found the issue to be in the power consumption it tries to dial down instead of staying close to 100% tdp like most cards it would bounce radically from 30% to 80% causing the stutters.

[bob]

That's good you've spent to time to find out why. It makes it much easier to argue with the store if you have evidence.

Thermal throttling (dialing down of the power) is usually heat related, so maybe there is a batch where the cooling system is not set right, or the thermal paste is bad. This will be OEM range/specific usually. Nvidia don't make the cards themselves or choose the brand or range of components (they do specify the required type and specification).

This seems especially likely to be the case if it only started happening a week after some "amazing" use, and happens in another PC too. Will you get another bad one? who knows, I'd try a different brand if I could (I like ASUS personally). If you can afford it though, your next step is to look at a 980GTX if that's where you want to go.

i wish it was that. but it does it cold. even when it was only reading 35c

[bob]

I've not seen any official statements on a "stuttering" issue, nor anything reported by the tech sites.

It may be in the forums from other owners (ok, this is where things can start from), but until there is something that like an official report by a trusted authority (i.e. said tech sites, NVidia, OEM (e.g. EGA)) then it has to stay in the conjecture bucket about regarding whether it is a design flaw/fault. Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be.

Good luck with your RMA though. It definitely sounds like you've got a handle on it.

well it seems my question was for naught, because i should have looked at my return policy it only had a VGA replace. thank you for your input though Bob.