MSI will release a GeForce GTX 970 Gaming LE. LE as in LITE edition, the card is pretty identical to the GTX 970 Gaming OC, but has slightly lower frequencies with a 1076 MHz core, 1216 MHz GPU Boos... MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming LE
MSI why no sexy backplate this time? Every1 knows backplates are just for showw and do stuff all like a sexy female wearing a gimp suit with matching gag ball, every1 wants one....
Palit has, and it's pretty much the same Cooler Design: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/palit-geforce-gtx-980-super-jetstream-c82f.html
Somehow the sense behind releasing such a card doesn't really jump at me, I have to think a bit to find reasons to release this one.
What's going on here? This can't be just an MSI thing. I assume we'll see other brands and maybe a reference? Are Nvidia binning 970s and selling them more cheaply in order to squash AMDs price drop?
Absolutely not. Its an reference clock design, nothing more is disabled than the overclocked clock provided on the MSI gaming 970... hence the lower price of their overclocked one. Well i believe they wanted to add the " LE " ( Lite ), as they have first release the OC version. MSI Gaming 970 OC = 1316mhz typical boost MSI Gaming 970 LE = 1216mhz typical boost ( same as reference Nvidia design )
4gb still seems a tad on the small size to me for future proofing. I'd wait with buying any of the 9xx and get the 8gb versions which will be a lot more future proof.
The difference in price between the 4gb and 8gb version will probably be a $150. The 770 2gb can be purchased for $275 and the 4gb versions range from $350 - $400. Probably not worth it if you are below 2560x1440.
By the time 8gb cards are needed, anything out now will be woefully inadequate. Unless maybe if you want to 4 way multi gpu.
Dont speak in %, just look at what is the TDP set in the bios ( offical 980 = 181W, most overclocked retail one: 210-250W ) ....
If you look around you might be able find the standard 4G OC edition for near the same price. When I bought mine it was $410 (cheapest available) Vs $405 for the LE (also cheapest at the time). That's in Canadian prices though. It's currently $350 Vs $330 on newegg.com.
