UPDATE 1/29/15: This forum post has since been edited and basically removed, with statements made on Twitter that no driver changes are planned that will specifically target the performance of the GeForce GTX 970.
The story around the GeForce GTX 970 and its confusing and shifting memory architecture continues to update. On a post in the official GeForce.com forums (on page 160 of 184!), moderator and NVIDIA employee PeterS claims that the company is working on a driver to help improve performance concerns and will also be willing to "help out" for users that honestly want to return the product they already purchased. Here is the quote:
Hey,
First, I want you to know that I'm not just a mod, I work for NVIDIA in Santa Clara.
I totally get why so many people are upset. We messed up some of the stats on the reviewer kit and we didn't properly explain the memory architecture. I realize a lot of you guys rely on product reviews to make purchase decisions and we let you down.
It sucks because we're really proud of this thing. The GTX970 is an amazing card and I genuinely believe it's the best card for the money that you can buy. We're working on a driver update that will tune what's allocated where in memory to further improve performance.
Having said that, I understand that this whole experience might have turned you off to the card. If you don't want the card anymore you should return it and get a refund or exchange. If you have any problems getting that done, let me know and I'll do my best to help.
–Peter
This makes things a bit more interesting – based on my conversations with NVIDIA about the GTX 970 since this news broke, it was stated that the operating system had a much stronger role in the allocation of memory from a game's request than the driver. Based on the above statement though, NVIDIA seems to think it can at least improve on the current level of performance and tune things to help alleviate any potential bottlenecks that might exist simply in software.
As far as the return goes, PeterS at least offers to help this one forum user but I would assume the gesture would be available for anyone that has the same level of concern for the product. Again, as I stated in my detailed breakdown of the GTX 970 memory issue on Monday, I don't believe that users need to go that route – the GeForce GTX 970 is still a fantastic performing card in nearly all cases except (maybe) a tiny fraction where that last 500MB of frame buffer might come into play. I am working on another short piece going up today that details my experiences with the GTX 970 running up on those boundaries.
Part 1: NVIDIA Responds to GTX 970 3.5GB Memory Issue
Part 2: NVIDIA Discloses Full Memory Structure and Limitations of GTX 970
NVIDIA is trying to be proactive now, that much we can say. It seems that the company understands its mistake – not in the memory pooling decision but in the lack of clarity it offered to reviewers and consumers upon the product's launch.
Still no FCAT?
“Re-write that
Still no FCAT?
“Re-write that code boyz, driver team- GET CRACKIN’!”
AMD responds to NVidia’s
AMD responds to NVidia’s BS:
https://twitter.com/Thracks/status/560511204951855104
LOL typical AMD. I expect no
LOL typical AMD. I expect no less from them. They should just keep quiet and keep working on trying to release some new cards (R9-3xx) before the end of the year at least.
ROTF
ROTF
I hate to break it to all but
I hate to break it to all but I have 2 gainwood gtx 980 phantoms and both exibit the same memory allocation issues.
I dont think this is only an issue with the gtx 970.
Nvidia better pickup thier game with drivers soon or ths shite will inevitibly hit the preverbial fan.
can you show some prof. The
can you show some prof. The 980 is a full 4gb card and it’s not design like the 970 (4gb+500mb). You might be having other issues.
Nvidia is blaming their
Nvidia is blaming their mistaken advertising, on a chupacabra attack, so that’s why 4 = 3.5, so there you go, enjoy your cache miss, but that .5 is not available when the 3.5 is being accessed. What were they smoking, when they(marketing) dreamed this up. Nvidia has a big cache, of your cash, and those binned/gimped dies where pawned off on quite a few, candy on a rolled paper stick, types.
Related – did you know PI=4?
Related – did you know PI=4? Google it 🙂
The biggest problem I can see
The biggest problem I can see is that, for the time being the GTX970 will perform superbly with pretty much any game thrown at it but future games may not fare so well. Also when the time comes to upgrade and sell you GTX970, the resell value will drop through the floor.
I understand both sides of
I understand both sides of the coin here and at first at was really upset an the green team but i’m not that upset as before after doing some research. The 970 should be what people paid for but this is blowing over too much. It was always stated that the 970 was design to run 4k but not maintain a playable FPS in current games at that resolution. That’s what the 980 is for. What would be the point in having a 970 = 980? If you plan to use 4k with all filters on at max than you need a 980 period.
Now, I would love to see Nvidia gift everyone that got 970 an upcoming title at least to alleviate this issue.
https://twitter.com/amd_roy/s
https://twitter.com/amd_roy/status/560462075193880576
Still no FCAT results that
Still no FCAT results that will show the stuttering and stammering when crossing 3500?
Takes a month to produce these maybe? Not from what I’ve seen on this very website!
Those results would have been produced by Monday night if this were an AMD mess.
What a disgrace, talk about protecting your “interests”. Bah
“We’re totally impartial, fair to the end” Yeah right, as long as it’s green.
I find it totally hilarious
I find it totally hilarious that the Green Team,some retailers, Manufacturers and websites are showing Fraps/FPS numbers as “proof” that all is fine, when FCAT was produced to show these exact microstutters/ unsmooth gameplay, but when it’s used to show Greenies shenanigans, it is not to be used, or at least published for scrutiny.
What a joke :thumbsdown:
Turns out PeterS lied. He has
Turns out PeterS lied. He has changed the post of geforce.com
“Hello,
I’m sorry that what I wrote was poorly worded, I realize I made it sound like there was a special patch or something and that is definitely not the case. We are always working on new drivers that tune performance and add features, the GTX 970 is no different.
Are you having a specific issue with the 970 that I can help you with? Unfortunately we made an error in the reviewer guide but the GTX 970 is one of the best GPU’s we’ve ever built.”
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/803518/geforce-900-series/gtx-970-3-5gb-vram-issue/post/4438090/#4438090
There is no fix coming.
We are Nvidia! We can do whatever the eff we want…SUCK IT!
What a Schyster!
I read that
What a Schyster!
I read that post, and told folks to go and talk to him, as he said to contact him directly.
A guy named Brian(says he works for nV out of Santa Clara) stated similar info at Techreport on Wednesday at 2:53am, and THAT post remains.
http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=101965&start=60
What a Schyster!
I read that
What a Schyster!
I read that post, and told folks to go and talk to him, as he said to contact him directly.
A guy named Brian(says he works for nV out of Santa Clara) stated similar info at Techreport on Wednesday at 2:53am, and THAT post remains.
http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=101965&start=60
Still not FCAT results to
Still not FCAT results to show the stammerinmg mess
Peter has already edited that
Peter has already edited that post on the forum to no longer explicitly reference refunds and to disavow that Nvidia is making any kind of specific driver fix for the 970.
No surprise PCper hasn’t updated this to indicate that he’s now changing his story.
Man, I’ve always been into
Man, I’ve always been into Radeons. When I choose to do different and get a 970, sh*it happens.
AMD has its own issues, but I don’t remember being misled by any of their advertisement. Either nvidia gives a major upcoming game for free or I’m never going back buying something from them.
The question isn’t “Does it perform well?”. The true question is “Does it perform as sold?”. The answer is no.
Bye bye magic driver
Bye bye magic driver 😛
http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-we-will-not-boost-geforce-gtx-970-performance-with-drivers/