GTX 980Ti - Reference or aftermarket?

[Rowlii]

I know the answer to this is generally aftermarket, since it's usually only $30-50 more, but...

At the moment I can get a reference GTX 980Ti for £500, an Inno3D Herculez (not the iChill X3 one) for £525, or an MSI Gaming 6G for £600. I'd like to moderately OC (to 1300-1400mhz core if possible) and I plan to SLI in a few months time.

My question is: Are the reference cards that much hotter/louder than aftermarket ones? I have 8 Arctic F12 fans in my case (5 in, 3 out) so I don't think cooling would be much of an issue. Or what about the Inno3D card? The three fans and no silent mode puts me off that one a little. Its core clocks are only 40mhz more than the reference, too.

Thanks!

 

[i7Baby]

Reference cards aren't too bad. See http://www.anandtech.com/show/9306/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-review/16

32C idle, 83C furmark

 

[junkeymonkey]

''•Runs into the 84°C temperature limit very quickly''
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_980_Ti/36.html

''Thanks to the new cooler, the card never even gets close to the 84°C temperature limit at which NVIDIA Boost will start lowering clocks to keep temperatures in check. ''

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_980_Ti_SC_Plus/35.html

according to them it looks like aftyermarket all the way for cooling

 

[geofelt]

Fancy coolers sell, but I actually prefer the cards with the stock blower cooler.
They get heat out of the case directly. I use a evga GTX980ti superclock and I never hear it.
I generally think a small upcharge for a factory overclocked card is worth it.

 

[rcald2000]

I prefer the blower reference design, to keep my case temps down. My only other preference would be the hybrid water cooling model.

 

[junkeymonkey]

reference blower cooler

''•Runs into the 84°C temperature limit very quickly''
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_9...


is this what I want to see ?? that anit good

 

[geofelt]

Graphics cards are tested in an open test bed.
In that environment, fan type coolers do very well.
But, installed in a case, the hot air must be dealt with by increased case cooling.
This is particularly important for sli setups where the top card gets restricted air supply.
Moreover, the added heat within the case is not good for cpu cooling.

Techpowerup does install the cards in a silent case with an open side to test for fan noise.

It is all probably a moot point. Graphics cards do run hot under load, particularly when overclocked.
But they are built to tolerate heat. Perhaps up to 100c.
If one is concerned about heat, you can always turn up the fan profile, but that comes at the expense of added noise.
Pick your poison there.

 

[junkeymonkey]

''Graphics cards are tested in an open test bed.'' hmmmm...

then it should be doing a way better job seeing theres no added case heat or in a confined space blocking air flow ??? [opinion]