RoG Poseidon 780 vs EVGA Classified 780 Ti Hydrocopper

[Spongeman131]

Finally putting in some new graphics cards for my rig.

I've been watching the Asus Poseidon for awhile now and I see it's finally available.

I also know that it's only a GTX 780 card though and not a GTX 780Ti.

I haven't found many specs on the Poseidon but it seems its clock speeds are slower than the 780 Ti Hydrocopper.

The 780 Ti Hydrocoppers are expensive and I like Asus but I've never had a card from either manufacturer before and I've heard good things about EVGA as well.

I plan on getting two cards so which should I get? Will I notice a significant difference between the two cards? Is the Poseidon a much better performer than a regular GTX 780? Would I be better off going with the 780 Ti Hydrocopper?

In the end I'm really after performance, but if it's something like 5% more powerful for an extra $300 I'll probably take the cheaper option.

Thanks.

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

The poseidon is not a world of difference between a regular 780 and the difference would be even less if you were to watercool a regular 780. The 780ti is the fastest single card on the market under $1000, and is quit faster than the 780. It's closer to 20-30% more powerful than the gtx 780, and that number gets bigger after you overclock it.

conclusion, go with the 780ti (personally i would buy a reference one and slap your own waterblock on it to save some money)

 

[Spongeman131]

The 780ti is the fastest single card on the market under $1000, and is quit faster than the 780. It's closer to 20-30% more powerful than the gtx 780, and that number gets bigger after you overclock it.

conclusion, go with the 780ti (personally i would buy a reference one and slap your own waterblock on it to save some money)

I really have been giving that a lot of thought and while I'm teetering on an edge between buying a block and card or buying a card with a block installed. I like the idea of having one product that I can always return in one piece if something goes wrong.

If something fails on a reference card you have to remove the waterblock, potentially clean up the thermal compound (depending on the manufacturer) and send it in. Since the card itself didn't come with a waterblock any sort of water damage or problems that could be attributed to water, the manufacturer could blame it on your waterblock and void your warranty.

I've comfortably thermal compounded and installed a waterblock on my processor with no problems and I suppose that doing a video card is just kind of like the next level of experience (I get very stressed out with water and electronics! ). I completely understand the cost difference and it is one of the things keeping me from buying a pre-assembled card. That, the knowledge that if I do the waterblock application myself it would be done very carefully, clean and properly and that I could probably get a better performing waterblock/card if I did it separate. All of those things I love and like but I'm just so uneasy about it.

Is the risk of less cost but more of a hassle with hardware problems (in my own eyes) worth it? What kind of warranty and support do manufacturers provide for reference cards made for waterblocking?

In order to apply an aftermarker waterblock on a card, do you not have to first buy a card with a stock cooler on it and then remove it to apply your own waterblock? I haven't seen any bare-bones cards that come ready to have a waterblock installed. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this one.

Would I be better off asking this in the watercooling section?

 

[Brantyn Gerik]

You cannot buy a bare bones card, and removing the cooler does not void the warranty unless you damage it during the removal and installation of new waterblock. Also most companies just require that you reinstall the original cooler and send the card in if there is a problem with it.

Installing a gpu cooler is easy and not stressfull. as far as water damage, that is why you test for leaks. you can literally wash an unpowered card and it will work perfectly fine after you let it dry properly (might take a few days) just do your leak testing before you supply power to any part of your system.

And yeah, you probably would be better off asking this in the watercooling section as you will have to alter your loop to add in the gpu and it may get messy (suggested you drain loop completely before making alterations.


water damage in general is never covered by any type of warranty unless it is an all in one cooler that has leaked under normal operation. water damage otherwise is always the fault of the user (either improper installation or not doing your maintenance) of course accidents happen, but with water cooling those accidents are expensive.

 

[GuatoNoP01]

I prefer ASUS when it comes to hardware. The ASUS GTX 780 Poseidon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IMVYJR4 has slightly better components than the EVGA but EVGA does have better customer support.

It's really up to you and you may as well go with whichever you like the looks of because they are both amazing cards and it's really a toss-up between the two.