EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid vs. MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK

[hatin lovin]

I already asked a similar question to this but it was comparing the evga version with the zotac one and evga ruled out...

Pc Specs:
Cpu:i5-4690k@4.7ghz
MOBO:z97 pro4
PSU:nev750..?
GPU: MSI Gtx 970
SSD: 850 evo
HDD: seagate 1TB

need to choose between the EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid and the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK

both have aio water coolers, evga has better cooling, yet a lower clock..
i WILL be overclocking but as long as temps wont go above ~75c then ill be fine, so i need to take into account which one would overclock better but i cant seem to find any info on the web except scattered data

so i really need some opinions and help on choosing which one would be best!

Thanks!

 

[Gam3r01]

AIO cards like that actually dont OC better than air cooled cards.
While they may run slightly cooler, there is much more to take into account. I could go into details myself, but Jack covered it very well in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2843715/980-hybrid-msi-980.html

 

[hatin lovin]

AIO cards like that actually dont OC better than air cooled cards.
While they may run slightly cooler, there is much more to take into account. I could go into details myself, but Jack covered it very well in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2843715/980-hybrid-msi-980.html

Jack and Reaper went at it in that thread XD
in short words,
reaper says that evga hybrid is better than the msi seahawk although that may just be bias because he owns it
and
Jack says aio perform slower... which while he does represent proof its very minimal compared to reaper's XD

tbh with you i really need the water cooler since i will be going sli and i dont want to have to deal with temp issues in the future

my only problem now is which one overclocks better :/

 

[hatin lovin]

~bump~

 

[Gam3r01]

If you decided you want the AIO (which there is nothing wrong with) I would recommend the EVGA. Mostly because its cheaper, as both units would perform similarly. I would rather deal with EVGAs support than MSI as well.

 

[Ramzik]

Agreed, MSI support is straight up shit.

 

[Reaper_7799]

AIO cards like that actually dont OC better than air cooled cards.
While they may run slightly cooler, there is much more to take into account. I could go into details myself, but Jack covered it very well in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2843715/980-hybrid-msi-980.html

Jack and Reaper went at it in that thread XD
in short words,
reaper says that evga hybrid is better than the msi seahawk although that may just be bias because he owns it
and
Jack says aio perform slower... which while he does represent proof its very minimal compared to reaper's XD

tbh with you i really need the water cooler since i will be going sli and i dont want to have to deal with temp issues in the future

my only problem now is which one overclocks better :/

Lol we did go at it...normally I respect his opinions but he is wrong in that case. As far as this goes...I think it's a toss up, mine overclocks above 1500, I can run 1520 in a lot of games but a lot of people have been stuck around the 1500 mark or 1490 for the hybrid but it is still very fast.

The seahawk uses a reference pcb, same as the hybrid so it really is going to be silicon lottery as far as how high you can overclock, as both do not cool vrm's or memory with water...EVGA is the best for warranty tho and they let you oc cards, switch bios and don't care in regards t o warranty, plus it's cheaper...I don't think msi is even close in that department...go look in the evga forums, they are really cool and will help with anything...that's why I bought from them...well the hybrid version.

If you read that whole thread, you'd see those benchmarks that put the hybrid right there against oc lightning, kingpin, msi g1, msi g6, asus strix, etc, even only at 1485 Mhz for max overclock he got, and those other cards were oc above 1500.

 

[17seconds]

I would lean more towards the MSI Sea Hawk based on the reviews. HardOCP was definitely more enamored with the Sea Hawk than Hardware Canucks was with the EVGA Hybrid.

Here's a review of the EVGA Hybrid where they do some comparisons with the Sea Hawk:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/70502-evga-gtx-980-ti-hybrid-review.html

Quotes:
"Since EVGA uses the same Asetek OEM’d water cooler as MSI (though the Sea Hawk’s has been rebranded with the Corsair name), the radiator / fan unit looks almost identical at first glance. While the single thickness radiator itself is a direct clone, the fan doesn’t have any integrated LED’s and sports a slightly different set of specifications. Whereas the Corsair-branded fan operates at a maximum of 1700RPMs, this one is rated to 2000RPMs at a slightly higher decibel range while the static pressure envelope is nearly identical."

"For those wondering, the PCB’s layout doesn’t depart one iota from NVIDIA’s reference design."

"On the flip side of that coin we have MSI’s recently launched $749 ($999CAD) GTX 980 Ti Sea Hawk, a collaborative effort with Corsair that’s obviously meant to cut deep into the Hybrid’s market share. It offers higher clock speeds and a greater amount of fan speed adjustability in a nearly identical package."



And the MSI Sea Hawk:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/11/16/msi_geforce_gtx_980_ti_sea_hawk_video_card_review/#.Vmzex_krKUk


Quotes:
"You can't buy a faster, quieter, colder GTX 980 Ti than the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK."

"we can say without a doubt that if you have the room for the radiator the better video card all around is the SEA HAWK for the following reasons. It has liquid cooling built in, this provides a quiet operation with an extremely cool GPU that has the potential to be the best overclockable clock speeds. In addition, just at its base out-of-box overclock because of the liquid cooled GPU it is able to achieve a higher GPU Boost clock speed in games than any other video card, offering performance that blows away a reference GeForce GTX 980 Ti card's performance."

"MSI also uses top of the line Military Class 4 components, including the DRMOS, Hi-C CAPs, Super Ferrite Chokes, and DARK Caps. These components will drastically improve the video cards lifespan, while ensuring optimal energy distribution on the board."

"The MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK achieved the highest overclock we have experienced on a GTX 980 Ti to date. This video card was designed by MSI to achieve its highest manual overclock using MSI Afterburner. Afterburner has complete compatibility with this video card, developing conditions that greatly improve overclocking frequency and optimal environment."

"The temperature is the most interesting part of this conversation, in our opinion. The MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK stayed icy cool, idling at 23c. It increased to 36c under load, compared to the AMD R9 Fury X at 53c. When we overclocked the SEA HAWK the temperature rose to 42c, but with fans only at 33% we could accept that. Fan noise was virtually nonexistent when playing with the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK. The fan on the radiator stayed at 33% at all times, which was ample enough heat dispersal to keep the SEA HAWK under 45c, even after overclocking."

 

[Reaper_7799]

I would lean more towards the MSI Sea Hawk based on the reviews. HardOCP was definitely more enamored with the Sea Hawk than Hardware Canucks was with the EVGA Hybrid.

Here's a review of the EVGA Hybrid where they do some comparisons with the Sea Hawk:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/70502-evga-gtx-980-ti-hybrid-review.html

Quotes:
"Since EVGA uses the same Asetek OEM’d water cooler as MSI (though the Sea Hawk’s has been rebranded with the Corsair name), the radiator / fan unit looks almost identical at first glance. While the single thickness radiator itself is a direct clone, the fan doesn’t have any integrated LED’s and sports a slightly different set of specifications. Whereas the Corsair-branded fan operates at a maximum of 1700RPMs, this one is rated to 2000RPMs at a slightly higher decibel range while the static pressure envelope is nearly identical."

"For those wondering, the PCB’s layout doesn’t depart one iota from NVIDIA’s reference design."

"On the flip side of that coin we have MSI’s recently launched $749 ($999CAD) GTX 980 Ti Sea Hawk, a collaborative effort with Corsair that’s obviously meant to cut deep into the Hybrid’s market share. It offers higher clock speeds and a greater amount of fan speed adjustability in a nearly identical package."



And the MSI Sea Hawk:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/11/16/msi_geforce_gtx_980_ti_sea_hawk_video_card_review/#.Vmzex_krKUk


Quotes:
"You can't buy a faster, quieter, colder GTX 980 Ti than the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK."

"we can say without a doubt that if you have the room for the radiator the better video card all around is the SEA HAWK for the following reasons. It has liquid cooling built in, this provides a quiet operation with an extremely cool GPU that has the potential to be the best overclockable clock speeds. In addition, just at its base out-of-box overclock because of the liquid cooled GPU it is able to achieve a higher GPU Boost clock speed in games than any other video card, offering performance that blows away a reference GeForce GTX 980 Ti card's performance."

"MSI also uses top of the line Military Class 4 components, including the DRMOS, Hi-C CAPs, Super Ferrite Chokes, and DARK Caps. These components will drastically improve the video cards lifespan, while ensuring optimal energy distribution on the board."

"The MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK achieved the highest overclock we have experienced on a GTX 980 Ti to date. This video card was designed by MSI to achieve its highest manual overclock using MSI Afterburner. Afterburner has complete compatibility with this video card, developing conditions that greatly improve overclocking frequency and optimal environment."

"The temperature is the most interesting part of this conversation, in our opinion. The MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK stayed icy cool, idling at 23c. It increased to 36c under load, compared to the AMD R9 Fury X at 53c. When we overclocked the SEA HAWK the temperature rose to 42c, but with fans only at 33% we could accept that. Fan noise was virtually nonexistent when playing with the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK. The fan on the radiator stayed at 33% at all times, which was ample enough heat dispersal to keep the SEA HAWK under 45c, even after overclocking."

Holy shit at that 1567 with max voltage...I missed this article. That's nice as hell. Grab the seahawk. My max with voltage maxed out too is 1530 but not fully stable in all games, like 50%.

 

[17seconds]

The reference EVGA board versus the all "Military Class" upgraded components on the MSI is a big deciding factor for me. I agree that EVGA has better customer service though.

 

[hatin lovin]

I would lean more towards the MSI Sea Hawk based on the reviews. HardOCP was definitely more enamored with the Sea Hawk than Hardware Canucks was with the EVGA Hybrid.

Here's a review of the EVGA Hybrid where they do some comparisons with the Sea Hawk:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/70502-evga-gtx-980-ti-hybrid-review.html

Quotes:
"Since EVGA uses the same Asetek OEM’d water cooler as MSI (though the Sea Hawk’s has been rebranded with the Corsair name), the radiator / fan unit looks almost identical at first glance. While the single thickness radiator itself is a direct clone, the fan doesn’t have any integrated LED’s and sports a slightly different set of specifications. Whereas the Corsair-branded fan operates at a maximum of 1700RPMs, this one is rated to 2000RPMs at a slightly higher decibel range while the static pressure envelope is nearly identical."

"For those wondering, the PCB’s layout doesn’t depart one iota from NVIDIA’s reference design."

"On the flip side of that coin we have MSI’s recently launched $749 ($999CAD) GTX 980 Ti Sea Hawk, a collaborative effort with Corsair that’s obviously meant to cut deep into the Hybrid’s market share. It offers higher clock speeds and a greater amount of fan speed adjustability in a nearly identical package."



And the MSI Sea Hawk:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/11/16/msi_geforce_gtx_980_ti_sea_hawk_video_card_review/#.Vmzex_krKUk


Quotes:
"You can't buy a faster, quieter, colder GTX 980 Ti than the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK."

"we can say without a doubt that if you have the room for the radiator the better video card all around is the SEA HAWK for the following reasons. It has liquid cooling built in, this provides a quiet operation with an extremely cool GPU that has the potential to be the best overclockable clock speeds. In addition, just at its base out-of-box overclock because of the liquid cooled GPU it is able to achieve a higher GPU Boost clock speed in games than any other video card, offering performance that blows away a reference GeForce GTX 980 Ti card's performance."

"MSI also uses top of the line Military Class 4 components, including the DRMOS, Hi-C CAPs, Super Ferrite Chokes, and DARK Caps. These components will drastically improve the video cards lifespan, while ensuring optimal energy distribution on the board."

"The MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK achieved the highest overclock we have experienced on a GTX 980 Ti to date. This video card was designed by MSI to achieve its highest manual overclock using MSI Afterburner. Afterburner has complete compatibility with this video card, developing conditions that greatly improve overclocking frequency and optimal environment."

"The temperature is the most interesting part of this conversation, in our opinion. The MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK stayed icy cool, idling at 23c. It increased to 36c under load, compared to the AMD R9 Fury X at 53c. When we overclocked the SEA HAWK the temperature rose to 42c, but with fans only at 33% we could accept that. Fan noise was virtually nonexistent when playing with the MSI GTX 980 Ti SEA HAWK. The fan on the radiator stayed at 33% at all times, which was ample enough heat dispersal to keep the SEA HAWK under 45c, even after overclocking."

well i know which one ill be getting but i have to ask just two more things, can the led on the fan be changed or turned off, my pc scheme is red so the blue would mess with it lol and how long is the tubing?

i have the n450 case