Pros: - One of the cheapest 970s you can get
- Compact design

Cons: - Rear fan died after 3 months of gaming use (ZOTAC did RMA with no hassle)
- Runs hot up to 75c with stock cooling under load (now considering aftermarket heatsink - extra $50)
- Quiet at low temps but gets noisy under load
- All this is without any overclocking

Other Thoughts: - If your case is large enough, get one with larger heatsink and better cooling

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Mr. G,

Thank you for your purchase of our GTX 970. We are glad your RMA process went smoothly.

75C is okay for the card under load as NVIDIA rates the GTX 970 max GPU temperature as 98C. http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications. Alternatively, you can download a fan control utility and set a custom fan curve to keep the temperature lower.

If you should have any further issues or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Support Team again.

Sincerely,

ZOTAC

Pros: I upgraded to this from a 6950, and have no regrets. The first thing that I noticed when unboxing this card was the size and solid quality feel of the card. The metal shell is a nice touch, over the typical plastic found on most cards. My case is a small form factor Lian Li, and my old XFX barely fit. The increased airflow from swapping in this smaller card has lowered my CPU Temps a bit, even.

I used to be part of the OC crowd, but have since grown too lazy to bother. The factory OC seems just right, and the cooling is excellent. There is no coil whine and I only hear the fans over my case fans, just barely, if I am playing games with intense graphics rendering. FFXIV at max settings does not even give this card a workout, so it takes games like Dragon Age Inquisition to get the card warm enough to kick the fans up. No game that I've tested has dipped below 30fps at max settings. Most run at 60+ fps, which is a huge upgrade from my 6950.

If you are looking for a quality, quiet and cool 970, this card is a great choice, I highly recommend it. This is even better for those in the market for a small form factor card, since it is only 8". Zotac is related to Sapphire and has done a great job with this card.

Cons: For those who care to adjust the fans, afterburner is better than the firestorm software that comes with the card. This might not be the best GPU choice for overclocking enthusiasts, due to there being beefier options out there.

Other Thoughts: There is a Gigabyte ITX 970 is another smaller card that is probably worth comparing to the Zotac. I prefer the dual fan design, so that tipped my decision.

Pros: Runs crysis 3, rise of the tomb raider, fallout 4 and some other triple a titles at about 60fps at high-ultra settings.
$300
came with a nice game

Cons: Drops frames every now and then but pretty rarely.
IT GETS TOOOOOAAAAAAAASTY. when playing the aforementioned AAA titles, the temps shoot up to 80 C.
fans are a bit loud above 50% but bearable

Other Thoughts: If you want a nice gpu, game and wear headphones, then get it.

Pros: Bought this at a great price and received a free game bundled with it as well. Replaced a Geforce 670 with this card and re-optimized to ultra settings on all games with no decrease in performance. Dual fans keep this fairly cool (Manually adjust fan speed using MSI Afterburner and it gets no higher than 80 at full gaming load)

Cons: Firestorm Application does not save fan settings even after updating the app to the latest version. Also gaming button in app did not work.
Since the install, I now have an issue with the screen blanking out after watching netflix or you tube for around an hour or so. Am adjusting windows features to see if they are the cause (windows 10), so far it has not been resolved.

Other Thoughts: I have bought Zotac cards in the past and been very pleased with their performance. I have also had one go out and used the rma process, which, once I got a manager involved, was quickly resolved.

Pros: -Money. This card has serious bang for buck value. Flawlessly plays almost every game I throw at it with 60fps+ maxed @1080p with a few exceptions.
-Size. While not really a factor for me this card has serious appeal for people with smaller cases that still want to game big.
-Cool given its size. Some of the other reviews rip on it for being warm. Not only have I not experienced that at all it also is a smaller card. I've not have mine go hotter than 76° and the fan wasn't noticeably loud (I have a Fractal Design R5 windowed and game with open air headphones)

Cons: -Aesthetics. One I upgraded to a windowed case I found myself more and more wanted a cooler looking MSI model. I couldn't dock an egg for it though because that's a me thing. Definitely something to consider if you are planning on having a windowed case and could save a little more to have a color themed build.

Other Thoughts: I've purchased a few zotac products over the past 8 years and have never had an issue. I find them to be the value for the level hardware and would recommend them to anyone wanting the balance between performance and budget.

Pros: Easy install, very quiet... so far.

Cons: Packaging vs. the size of the card is a little bit over the top, but no other complaints.

Pros: horrible noise from fan. vibrating hard

Cons: Horrible noise from fan. vibrating very hard

Other Thoughts: Might just be a single defective one... but not happy. Has been 2 months. and probably have about 30 hours on the computer. Literally

Pros: Super quite... Also very small.

Cons: Doesn't perform as well as other 970's for the same money. Broke after 5 months(rear fan failed). Try to call any of their numbers listed. ALL are out of service as of 3/8/16

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Levi,

Thank you for your purchase of our GTX 970. We apologize that the rear fan died. That should not have happened and we would be glad to help you with RMA.

Please contact our Support Team by calling 877-596-6822 Monday - Friday 9AM - 6PM or emailing support.us@zotac.com to begin the RMA process.

Sincerely,

ZOTAC

Pros: Fallout 4 looks amazing so do other games I play.

Cons: Have to resize my screen to fix overscan on my tv. This can't be fixed unless in windows so I have to use a monitor to change my bios which is annoying.

Other Thoughts: My last GPU was an Radeon HD4850 and had no overscan issues.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Jesse,

Thank you for purchasing our GTX 970. We are glad you are satisfied with the performance for Fallout 4.

Regarding your overscan issue, please check with our Support Team for further assistance. You can reach them by calling 877-596-6822 Monday - Friday 9AM - 6PM or emailing support.us@zotac.com.

Sincerely,

ZOTAC

Pros: Short - should fit any case
Fast
Quiet
No coil whine !!
Well Built

Cons: None that I can think of ATM.

Other Thoughts: I was a little reluctant to go with a brand I had no experience with before. I am pleased to note that it has exceeded my expectations.

I'm running GTAV with almost everything maxed out and I get 30+ FPS, probably averaging around 45. Smooth as silk with no stutter. It's paired with an I5-760 which is over 5 yrs old, and both are maxing out to 100% usage.

I love it that the fans are quiet and does not have any irritating noise characteristics as some have. Also the absence of any coil whine is a huge plus. It helps that I have a Anec Solo case, but it should be a welcome addition anywhere.

The size is great - it's 2" shorter than my previous HD5850 making it easy to install. It also has power connectors on the top which is convenient.

It doesn't have a backplate but to me that doesn't really matter. The card looks nice and functions well, and appears to be well built.

So far the temperature hasn't gone above around 75 C. There are vents in the back of the card so the inside of my case manages to handle it easily.

I haven't used the software much but it allows for overclocking though I haven't really felt a need to try it yet.

I understand that they extend the 2 yr warranty to 3 if registered online.

All in all I'm quite happy with this purchase. I figure it should give me another 5 years before having to upgrade again. Oh - The Division was a nice bonus. I probably would have bought that anyhow, bringing the effective price down to the level of a 960 or a 380. You can't go wrong.