Enter the GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER, one of the 6 GTX 970 models in their line-up. The SNIPER model doesn’t help you snipe better but what it comes with LED lit cooling system.
Before we get to that, here’s the card itself that is with a dual-fan cooler that switches to single fan operation when idle. Galax claims that the Silence Extreme cooler with aluminum cover is able to reduce temperature by 10C while the Dispersion Fan Blade design to maximizes downwards airflow.
The unique feature of the GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER is the LED lit fan cooler, 3 red LED on each fan and a GEFORCE GTX word at the top of the shroud.
The GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER comes with a 5 + 2 Phase enhanced power system with 8 + 6-pin inputs delivers up to 50% more power for overclocking, along the top you’ll see Quad mixed-gauge heat pipes ensure maximum heat dissipation.
The EXOC Sniper comes with Anodized aluminum backplate protects components and reinforces the PCB.
Here’s the I/O for the card.
More details at the official product page.
Test Setup
| Processor | Intel Core i7-5960X |
| RAM | HyperX Savage 2x 8GB DDR4 3000Mhz |
| Motherboard | ASRock X99 OC Formula |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master V850 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 64bit |
Here’s the GPU-Z of the card.
Overclocking
I managed to overclock the card by 150Mhz but unfortunately at this setting it didn’t pass the Metro Last Light test, I settled for 100Mhz core clock boost and it was pretty good, 125Mhz boost might be possible.
Benchmarks
Unigine Heaven 4.0
*NOTE : Details are set to maximum.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 57 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Overclocked) | 59 |
| GTX 970 Reference | 54 |
| PowerColor R9 390 8GB | 56 |
Metro Last Light
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 90 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Overclocked) | 93 |
| GTX 970 Reference | 80 |
| PowerColor R9 390 8GB | 78 |
Bioshock Infinite
Settings are at
2 – UltraDX11_DDOF | 2 – Custom | 1 – 16:9 | 4 – FullHD / 4K
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 110 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Overclocked) | 124 |
| GTX 970 Reference | 111 |
| PowerColor R9 390 8GB | 111 |
Shadow of Mordor
Settings : Set to ULTRA, V-sync OFF.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 80 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Overclocked) | 84 |
| GTX 970 Reference | 71 |
| PowerColor R9 390 8GB | 92 |
Grand Theft Auto V
Settings : Every option to the MAX setting available.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 41 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Overclocked) | 43 |
| GTX 970 Reference | 37 |
| PowerColor R9 390 8GB | 39 |
The Division
Settings : Set to ULTRA, V-sync OFF.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 64 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Overclocked) | 67 |
| GTX 970 Reference | 61 |
Temperature
Furmark Burn-in Test was used to stress the card. Fan settings are at Auto. Room set to ~25c.
| Card | Idle(°C) | Load (°C) |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER | 38 | 67 |
| GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER (Full RPM) | 34 | 63 |
The fan hovers at around 80% on AUTO settings where the noise level is silent.
Power Consumption
The stress was done with Furmark Burn-in Test. Power consumption reading was taken from the watt-meter, actual power draw by the entire system from the wall point. I’m using an Cooler Master V850 with around 90% efficiency and the estimated system power draw (CPU, not including GPU) during Furmark test is 80w.
| Card | GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER |
| Furmark Burn-in | 292 |
| Estimated Actual System Draw | 263 |
| Estimated Card Power Draw | 183 |
The Verdict
The GALAX GeForce GTX 970 BLACK EXOC SNIPER retails at RM 1759, not yet the highest priced GTX 970 but not the cheapest either. What you get is a solid looking card with LED Lights and some overclocking headroom.
Now the question is whether the LED light colors suit your setup, I think that’s the key factor for decision making.
