MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G

[adnank77]

So my X99 build is coming up .. almost got all the parts (Except the case and the SSD) .. 

 

For Graphics, I'm going for 3-Way GTX 980 .. But with the limited quantity in the market, not many choices are there .. 

 

My local shop is offering me MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G (The one with Twin Frozr V) for $700 per card .. 

 

I know it's a little high price .. but I'm not sure how much will be the final price for this card (as it's after-market .. not reference) .. 

 

I'm confused between this one and Gigabyte (Windforce) or ASUS (Strix) .. Gigabyte should be available soon but the ASUS won't arrive until mid-October .. 

 

Do you guys have any suggestions ? Shall I go ahead with the MSI ? I have MSI laptop and quite happy with it .. but never tried their Graphics Cards .. 

Or shall i wait for later and get the ASUS ? 

 

Note that I'm from UAE, the high-end Graphics Cards are always over-priced .. I don't expect the price to go down much even when more quantity is available .. 

[I/O]

That's way to much money. Reference 980 is $550 and it's a fine card.

[Sexy Vanilla Freshness]

Use reference EVGA cards for 3 way, or whoever else is selling reference.

 

That design is better for 3 way SLI as all the heat will be removed directly from the case.

[I/O]

Use reference EVGA cards for 3 way, or whoever else is selling reference.

 

That design is better for 3 way SLI as all the heat will be removed directly from the case.

But the non reference will get better temps and OCs ... That's why they make non reference cards and coolers because they perform better.

[adnank77]

I don't want Reference .. I'm building a complete Black/Red themed PC and reference will spoil the looks .. I hate that grey cooler .. 

Card is good .. Agree .. but looks matter .. 

[79wjd]

But the non reference will get better temps and OCs ... That's why they make non reference cards and coolers because they perform better.

Except when they're suffocating eachother. 

[Sexy Vanilla Freshness]

But the non reference will get better temps and OCs ... That's why they make non reference cards and coolers because they perform better.

 

I shouldn't have to explain this, but heat rises, the top card will be taking the hot air from the 2 cards underneath it and blowing it all through its heatsinks, negating the advantage of the fancy cooler.

 

Exceptional case airflow could deal with 3 aftermarket cards in SLI but it will be loud and hot in there.

[SuperPug]

Agreeing with above... get reference cards for tightly packed 3way sli... or don't get 3way sli to begin with it's insane lol

[I/O]

Except when they're suffocating eachother. 

Sigh. Reference cards suffocate far more plus having one small fan sucking in hot air from the card below just means that the fan has to work much harder and louder.

[adnank77]

What advantage will reference give me in terms of cooling ? Need more explanation please .. why wouldn't it suffocate like aftermarket ? 

[adnank77]

Sigh. Reference cards suffocate far more plus having one small fan sucking in hot air from the card below just means that the fan has to work much harder and louder.

 

This is my understanding too .. 

[I/O]

I shouldn't have to explain this, but heat rises, the top card will be taking the hot air from the 2 cards underneath it and blowing it all through its heatsinks, negating the advantage of the fancy cooler.

 

Exceptional case airflow could deal with 3 aftermarket cards in SLI but it will be loud and hot in there.

More cooling surface air and fans will always dissipate the heat more efficiently. These tales that fly around the internet like reference cards being better for SLI.CFX are unquantified and just plain false.

[79wjd]

What advantage will reference give me in terms of cooling ? Need more explanation please .. why wouldn't it suffocate like aftermarket ? 

Aftermarket coolers suck air in through the bottom of the card -- when multiple cards are stacked you have limited air flow. Reference coolers (i.e. blowers) can pull air in from the front-side (side facing the front of the case) and then blow the hot air out of the case rather than into and around the case. 

[I/O]

This is my understanding too .. 

Yes this is just the way it is. More radiator surface area and fans will always cool better than less radiator surface area and fans.

[I/O]

Aftermarket coolers suck air in through the bottom of the card -- when multiple cards are stacked you have limited air flow. Reference coolers (i.e. blowers) can pull air in from the front-side (side facing the front of the case) and then blow the hot air out of the case rather than into and around the case. 

They both pull air in from the bottom unless oriented in a case that secures the cards Vertically.

[adnank77]

Aftermarket coolers suck air in through the bottom of the card -- when multiple cards are stacked you have limited air flow. Reference coolers (i.e. blowers) can pull air in from the front-side (side facing the front of the case) and then blow the hot air out of the case rather than into and around the case. 

 

But they are so ugly man .. I really hate that reference grey/silver color  

[79wjd]

They both pull air in from the bottom unless oriented in a case that secures the cards Vertically.

Blowers can also pull air from the front. But the fact that one exhausts heat onto the other card vs. exhausting heat out of the case also makes a difference. Aftermarket coolers exhaust the heat right onto any card in SLI vs. blowers which just radiate heat onto other cards. 

[Real_PhillBert]

What advantage will reference give me in terms of cooling ? Need more explanation please .. why wouldn't it suffocate like aftermarket ? 

Reference cards use a different style of fan, a compressor (or blower type) which generate much higher levels of both positive and negative pressure than an axial fans. Axial fans move more air at a lower pressure an are generally quieter than compressors.

 

Why is the reference card preferred for closely packed SLI arraignments? The higher pressures generated by the compressor fans do a better job of overcoming obstacle like another card in close proximity. Because of this reference designs will often cool better in a closely packed SLI arrangement than a similar card with an aftermarket cooler and axial fans, while aftermarket coolers with axial fans often cool better when there is not direct obstacles blocking the airflow into the card.

[Tacitus]

For two-way SLI I'd say just go with the MSI Twin Frozr option, but 3-way SLI will undoubtedly be extremely hot no matter which cooler-type you opt for.

[adnank77]

When you guys say better .. how much better are we talking about ? If it's a matter of few degrees I could live with that .. 

 

By the way .. Case will Corsair 780T 

[I/O]

Blowers can also pull air from the front. But the fact that one exhausts heat onto the other card vs. exhausting heat out of the case also makes a difference. Aftermarket coolers exhaust the heat right onto any card in SLI vs. blowers which just radiate heat onto other cards. 

Non reference pulls in air from many more directions that's why they are better because the move more air more efficiently over a larger radiator surface area. Saying that a reference cooler pulls in air from the front is silly. Non reference coolers still move more air and pull in air from the same places and many more than a reference blower.

[Sexy Vanilla Freshness]

More cooling surface air and fans will always dissipate the heat more efficiently. These tales that fly around the internet like reference cards being better for SLI.CFX are unquantified and just plain false.

 

 

Yes this is just the way it is. More radiator surface area and fans will always cool better than less radiator surface area and fans.

 

So it doesn't matter how hot the air surrounding the card is then?

 

lol

[I/O]

When you guys say better .. how much better are we talking about ? If it's a matter of few degrees I could live with that .. 

 

By the way .. Case will Corsair 780T 

Good quality non reference cooled cards will always cool better than Reference no matter what. This is not up for debate because this is the scientific laws of thermal dynamics more radiator surface area, more air flow over the increased radiator surface area will mean better temperatures and less fan noise. With Reference card the single blower style fan gets choked up and overwhelmed and in turn has ramp up the fan speed to compensate for the decrease in airflow.   

[I/O]

 

 

 

 

So it doesn't matter how hot the air surrounding the card is then?

 

lol

 

Well put it this way with the logic used that reference blower coolers are better for SLI cause the inside case temp increases from the increased cards then why does a non reference cooler single card like the Tri-X cool better than reference even when the ambient temper is say 40c. It's because non reference coolers are more efficient at all times and temps compared to blower style coolers. The only thing that will decrease with a reference blower card in SLI/CFX is the silence of you computer ... the temps will be higher than a good aftermarket cooing unit.  

[adnank77]

I've Emailed ASUS and EVGA asking if the Blower design will have any advantage .. here is there answer: 

 

EVGA said both designs should run just fine .. 

 

JJ From ASUS was more clear actually .. He recommended a 2-Way with Strix Cards as they are sure better than reference, but they need some space to breath .. So motherboard has to be designed with a space in between for 2-Way SLI 

 

For 3-Way and 4-Way .. He clearly said blower design is preferred .. 

 

I went ahead with his recommendation and got 3 Reference Cards .. along with the Claw designed SLI Bridge from nVidia site