7970 Non Reference Water Block Issue

[andrews013]

A few months ago I bought a Swiftech H220. I now want to add my gpu to the loop. I looked it up, and despite Sapphire saying my card is reference, it is not. Somewhere mid production they switched to a new version with a blue pcb that is non reference. The part that makes it incompatible with full cover blocks are two capacitors next to the left most vram chip. 

 

Mine:

 

 

Reference pcb:

 

In this thread on xtremesystems.org the poster says that he might drill through a full cover Koolance block (page 2). I don't want to screw up and void my warranty. I am good with tools, but wasting $100 doesn't sound like fun.

Should I go universal? Both versions of the card come with heat sinks on the vram and mosfets anyway. Would this be enough to cool passively, or should I take the stock heat sinks off and add aftermarket ones?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Ghost]

I really wouldn't risk drilling though your waterblock.

 

If it ever leaks your card will be ruined too.

 

Try to return the block if you can.

[mvitkun]

@andrews013 I would go with a universal block if you want to watercool the gpu.

the heatsinks on the card seem good,and the only other type you could buy would be small ram-sink type ones,and the large interconnected pieces of metal used to cool the parts on the pcb seem better.

though are you sure the pcb-sink wouldn't interfere with a universal block?

 

alternatively you could sell this 7970 and buy a reference 7970,though that would take some time and you would very likely lose a decent amount of money.

[andrews013]

@Ghost I don't own a block yet. 

 

@mvitkun That is my one concern: that the universal block will be incompatible with the stock ram sinks. I thought about posting a trade on /r/hardwareswap to try to trade with someone for a reference card. If I did, I don't think anyone would care anyway. Maybe if I incentivized with $40 or something like that. But then I'm wasting money and might as well just get a universal block and not bother. 

[Ghost]

I thought about posting a trade on /r/hardwareswap to try to trade with someone for a reference card.

Worth a try as long as you are sure you won't get scammed. The full water block looks a lot better.

[mvitkun]

@Ghost I don't own a block yet. 

 

@mvitkun That is my one concern: that the universal block will be incompatible with the stock ram sinks. I thought about posting a trade on /r/hardwareswap to try to trade with someone for a reference card. If I did, I don't think anyone would care anyway. Maybe if I incentivized with $40 or something like that. But then I'm wasting money and might as well just get a universal block and not bother. 

well cooling the entire board with a real full cover waterblock (PCB,vrm's,power phases,ram,etc) gives you more headroom than a universal block with small ram sinks,also the full cover block looks much more clean than a universal block and small ram sinks.

 

pretty sure @Ghost bought a non-reference card(s) and ended up selling it or returning it for a reference card(s)....and he's pretty smart about watercooling....you should just mindlessly follow what he does.

 

the above comment about following said person mindlessly contains sarcasm,do not attempt to follow people mindlessly at home....or anywhere else.I am not responsible for what may or may not happen if you follow people mindlessly.

[Ghost]

pretty sure @Ghost bought a non-reference card(s) and ended up selling it or returning it for a reference card

Well in my case I bought a non-reference 7950 which was also made non-reference mid-production. So I just decided to upgrade to a reference 7970. Considering I got two Never settle bundles with it; it was a no-brainier for me.

 

If you don't care that much about looks then a universal block is fine. Just make sure to put heat sinks on everything that needs it on the card and it will be fine.