Crashman :
redgarl :
Blower GPU have worst quality coolers and provide lower OC capabilities. Not only that, but throttle and offer less stability... and are noisier...
The only reason to buy one is because you overlooked the importance of a good case, and especially if you are planning on multi-gpu setups.
I can only disagree with the writer finding open-air cooler defective. Best example in the news, the 1080GTX FE.
Disagreeing doesn't make you right though. Nvidia put a bunch of effort into its top blower cooler and it worked very well. Dumping that heat into your case isn't simply a bad idea, it's the kind of idea that makes me question your judgement on just about anything. And getting five upvotes from people with equally poor judgement isn't going to change my analysis.
Wow, self-righteous much?
Just look at the industry. If blowers were the ideal solution for cooling on air, why isn't everyone using them, especially in the higher-end cards? Maybe you think all the OEMs building graphics cards are idiots and can't learn from their decades of experience?
What if Nvidia only uses blowers as a safe bet - to mitigate against people with poor case circulation - as redgarl mentioned? Or maybe because they're cheaper, having only 1 fan, and Nvidia is content to let their OEMs worry about more elaborate cooling solutions that allow the GPU to stretch is legs?
Blowers have one disadvantage I haven't seen mentioned, which is negative pressure. By exhausting out the back, they suck a lot of dust into your case, especially if you have a multi-GPU setup. The way to combat this is with dust filters and positive pressure, but the blowers mean you need high intake CFMs, which will turn your PC into an absolute wind tunnel and clog your dust filters very quickly.
I agree with Mopar63's conclusion, which is that open air cooling doesn't raise case temps much, and case temps aren't really a limiting factor for anything. So, while it seems less elegant than to exhaust the waste heat, it is an exercise in optimizing the limiting factor, which is nearly always GPU temps. So, it works out that if you're not going with water cooling, your best bet is open air and decent case airflow.
Normally, I prefer rational argument to downvotes, but your tone has earned you my downvote. As a site staff member, you might think more about how to interact with readers. You are in a privileged position of controlling what's in the article, so if people disagree with you, there's no need to get nasty. All of the other writers I've seen comment in the forums seem to understand this.