Palit GTX970 JetStream OC Review

The Palit GTX970 JetStream OC is the third partner solution we have looked at since Nvidia launched their new Maxwell architecture last week. This card is the quietest of the three we have tested to date making it ideal for the gamer with a particular aversion to noise. That said, the MSI and ASUS GTX970s are also extremely quiet.

First impressions of the Palit GTX970 JetStream OC are rather mixed. I can't say I am a big fan of the gold and black cooler. There is nothing wrong with the colour gold per se – but I prefer it on fancy Swiss watches, not on gaming components. That said, I never warmed to the the gold coloured Asus motherboards either, so this is clearly a personal taste issue.

There is no doubt however when we compare the appearance of this card against the MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G – it does pale in comparison. The MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G is the Cameron Diaz of graphics cards, the Palit GTX980 JetStream is more akin to Paris Hilton dolled up for a night out on the town.

The Palit GTX970 JetStream OC is not quite so reassuring in hand either, when directly compared to the ASUS or MSI cards. The company have added a black plate extension to the PCB to match the length of the cooler above. In theory there is nothing wrong with this, but the plate flexes excessively under  any pressure – even when mounting it into the PCIe slot on the motherboard. A direct mounting system from this plate to the cooler above would have helped.

Due to the PCB extension plate design the two 6 pin PCIe power connectors are mounted three quarters of the way along the full length below the second fan – and are reversed making life difficult when you want to connect or disconnect the cables. You have to shove your fingers between the fan and the PCB to try and press down on the clip while pulling out.

Negatively, we have to mark Palit down on the use of Mini DisplayPort connectors and a Mini HDMI connector. There are no full sized adapters in the box, so if you want to hook this GPU up to a 1080p HDTV, you need to buy a full sized HDMI adapter. Same thing for that shiny new DisplayPort monitor – none of these ship with mini cables, so its another trip to Ebay or Amazon. I had to hunt out an adapter myself to use with the ASUS PB287Q 4k screen but I have loads of spare adapter cables in a drawer. Palit should have bundled a Mini DisplayPort and Mini HDMI converter in the box – it would have cost them a few pence and saved much frustration.

While the Palit GTX970 JetStream OC is clocked the highest out of the box, the overclocking headroom is a little less than both ASUS and MSI cards which we reviewed days ago. It isn't much, but we expected more. Part of the issue is likely due to the hotter running temperatures and the weaker cooling system fitted to the card.

Negatives aside, the Palit GTX970 JetStream is a phenomenal performer and when overclocked to the limit the performance is in the same ballpark as the GTX780ti with a much lower power draw. If I had reviewed this a week ago, it would have earned our MUST HAVE award, but both Asus GTX970 Strix OC and MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G are superior solutions fitted with more formidable coolers. Subsequently due to this, and some poor design choices, we have to mark the score down a little.

You can buy the Palit GTX970 JetStream OC from OCUK for £275.99 inc vat.

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Pros:

• eye catching.
• great performance out of the box.
• nice overclock.
• very quiet.
• fans disable below 68c.
• excellent additional overclocking headroom.
• £275 inc vat.
• 4GB of GDDR5 memory.

Cons:

• the gold colour may not appeal to everyone.
• hotter running than the MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G and ASUS GTX970 Strix OC.
• PCB extension plate moves excessively – should be mounted to the cooler above.
• fan profile could be a little more aggressive.
• 6 Pin power headers are reversed and not at the end of the card – fiddly to work with.
• Mini DisplayPort and Mini HDMI connectors – with no converters in the box.

Kitguru says: Another high performance GTX970 solution from an Nvidia partner. Some poor design choices by Palit lower the score a little, and the cooler isn't in the same league as the MSI Twin Frozr 5 or Asus Direct CU II fitted to competitor cards.

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