GTX 980 Series

[Firehawk97]

I'm planning on having two GTX980s in SLI so my question is which ones would be best on performance, with adequate cooling. I like the looks of the reference card, but it's not as fast as the other designs, ie  EVGA 980 SC version (amazon is only 490). My budget is <£500 per card, so there is a fair choice which makes the decision difficult. Any ideas? If you own a 980 non-reference card could you say why you chose it?

 

(Also overclocking is a possibility but I'd prefer to not have to do this, unless warranty covers it then sign me up!)

 

 Thanks in advanced!!

[Aniallation]

Does it have to be non-reference? Because reference would be best for SLI and IMO looks really nice

[Archangel1994]

1. Warranty covers OC'ing as long as you don't touch voltage

2. Card clocks out of the box mean nothing, you should always manually OC your GPU

3. Reference is best if there is no spacing in between the cards (IE Top slot and next slot used are 2 slots apart like PCIe 16x > PCIe 1x > PCIe 16x)

 

Gigabyte Windforce has the best cooler so if you have breathing room in between the cards then go 2x http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn980g1gaming4gd. Otherwise go with the reference design, this http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42982kr

 

 

Because reference would be best for SLI and IMO looks really nice

Not always best for SLI. If your board has good spacing and you have good airflow in your case then non-reference will probably still result in better temps

[Aniallation]

Not always best for SLI. If your board has good spacing and you have good airflow in your case then non-reference will probably still result in better temps

Even so, it will spit out hot air into your case, which will increase the temperature of your other components. This is already noticeable with a single card, two in SLI will increase this effect even more

[Archangel1994]

This is already noticeable with a single card

If you are referring to Linus' video he did it in an mATX case that was mediocre at best concerning airflow and even that is pushing it. Let's say you have a air 540 with 3 fans at the front then it's a non-issue mostly (Especially with good CPU coolers like the NH-D15 or Kraken X61).

 

 

Even so, it will spit out hot air into your case, which will increase the temperature of your other components.

Someone that can afford dual 980 can afford a good CPU cooler so the slight increase in temps will not be that much of an issue anyway

 

Edit: For reference, when I remove my 970 from my PC and run off integrated graphics my CPU temps go down by like 2C and that's it

[ablangc]

I have 2 EVGA 980 ACX 2.0 in SLI.  Yes it does spit hot air in the case; however, if you have a good air flowing case, it will not make much of a big difference.  My cards are in SLI with space in the middle for the cards to breath and they are installed in a Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 Advanced Case.  I invested money on good high flowing, low decibel case fans.  My cards under load very rarely touch 70c but average in the mid to high 60's after a few hours of gaming.  My ACX gpu fans are running at 30% at that temp and my whole setup is very quiet.

[Firehawk97]

It doesn't have to be non-reference, and I agree they do look better. The only reason i thought N-R would be better was because (if overclocking) they'd be quiter and cooler.

 

If it helps the case is a Corsair Vengance C70 with the three stock fans, a corsair H110i watercooler, and i'm looking at getting another AF series fan if needs be.