Watercooling for RTX 2070 Super

[skunkmunkey]

Hi guys,

 

I'm looking at getting a new GPU and am going in circles and looking at the same stuff over and over again without really making up my mind.

 

I've just about settled on the RTX 2070 Super, I did consider the 5700XT for a bit but I've generally had better experience with Nvidia so going to go for the RTX card.

 

I'll be running it watercooled so ideally need one with a reference PCB (or at least one that is supported by a decent full cover block by a decent make, EK/alphacool etc). I've already got a full custom loop setup to include GPU so won't be needing the stock cooler.

 

My main conundrum is though, do I go for one of the more entry level cards that sit in the 1770-1800MHz range or spend more money for one of the better ones with a higher pre-clock of around 1900MHz. Normally I'd just pick a card with a bit of a factory overclock and just end it there. But as this is my first GPU buy after having the loop installed am I better to get a lower clocked card in the hope that it'll clock pretty much as good as the more expensive ones as it has lots of additional cooling or would I still need to be looking at the more premium end of the scale to be able to push the card?

 

For example the Asus ROG Strix is the best factory over clock at 1935MHz but is £610, whereas the Gigabyte Super Gaming is 1815MHz but is £488. That's a big price difference when I need to add at least £100 for the waterblock as well for what is probably not a huge amount of difference in real world performance. On the other hand I do like playing around with my clocks and benchmarks and do want to be able to push the hardware I've got as far as I can.

 

Edit: Just to add, if the £600+ cards are really worth it, then how would they compare to a low end £650ish 2080 Super (MSI ventus for example)?