780 ti SLI question.

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Hi. If I am going to SLI 780 ti would
it be better to get two back blower cards (reference) or two of the better aftermarket cooler cards like the MSI gaming?
I think my case has good airflow. It's the Corsair Carbide 500R.

Also, what's the difference between an Nvidia reference design card and the partner brands reference design?

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

The msi gaming card is great for the price, runs cool and quiet.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Yea it got a 9.9 review on techpowerup. It's just 1-2fps behind the EVGA Classified and it's quieter and 100 bucks cheaper.

Didn't answer my question though

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

It really depends on preference as both will work. blowers will be better for your cpu temps, while the non reference will be better for gpu temps but your cpu temps will suffer...are you not able to make a decision for yourself? Can you not decide whether you would want your cpu to be a little hotter whilst having whisper quiet and cool graphics cards?

You say you have good airflow. Go for the non reference, make sure you have intakes on the bottom and front, and exhausts on top and back and you will be totally fine

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

If I knew what the result would be, I wouldn't be here asking. And yes I think my case does have good airflow. It has 2 fans in the front, 1 big fan on the side, one in the back, and one on top. The CPU is i5 4670k. I read that haswell gets hot. I was going to use my old Liquid CPU cooler but we didn't have the right mounting mechanisms so we put an old Asus fan+heatsink combo on it.

Right now I have 2 Dual-X 7950s. When I'm playing games the CPU hovers around 50degrees. I'm assuming that's a little hot but still fine?
I plan on putting in a good dual slot liquid cooler too so that should keep the CPU nice and cool.

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

Ok, mentioning those 2 cards you have already is a big thing. The 780ti runs at about the same temp to slightly lower temp than your current cards, so you won't even see a change in cpu temps

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

yea so I think I'll go with the MSI 780 ti. I'm only getting one for now and I'll add a second one when funds allow.

With a good liquid cooler, I think the CPU should be nice and frosty.