Reference vs non-reference for watercooling

[NE0XY]

Hi,

 

So I'm considering getting 2 980s and I'm not sure wether I want a reference model or an aftermarket one. I'm going to watercool the cards so my question is: Do I gain that much performance from spending a lot extra money for an aftermarket model even though I'm changing the cooler and watercooling it instead?

 

or would it be more cost efficient to get a reference card and overclock? 

 

Thank you

[officiallyasimulator]

if you want to just instantly WC it go reference

[Tagiau]

It would most likely cost less to go with a reference card and watercool it. Yet if you can find a deal on an aftermarket, and if a waterblock for it costs the same as a reference waterblock, then of course, that would another fine option. Really the main difference is usually price and looks. 

[QueenDemetria]

 Do I gain that much performance from spending a lot extra money for an aftermarket model even though I'm changing the cooler and watercooling it instead? If you get a card that uses a non reference design and has better VRM, then you could have better overclocking(could, nothing is guaranteed).

 

or would it be more cost efficient to get a reference card and overclock? Probably, and it will be easier to find a waterblock for reference designs(you will also have more choices).

Answers in pink^^^

[TheGamingBarrel]

I would go G1 or Reference, because the G1 has a better PCB and better binned chips which can overclock higher at lower temps while watercooled and have made a block for it.

[NE0XY]

Thank you for the input.

I already have a water cooling loop so I'm not considering air-cooling the cards.

I'm basically wondering how big raw performance and overclocking capabilities between a reference card and like a Asus Strix or EVGA Classified. If they were all watercooled.

Thank you

[NE0XY]

Strictly on the performance perspective, aftermarket design cards will perform exactly the same as reference, clock for clock, if they used the same cooler (which is applicable for your case)

If you want a card meant for higher-than-normal overclocks, you will have to go for those that explicitly use binned chips (cherry picked highly overclockable GPUs)

And as you would expect, those are more expensive and more often than not have a custom PCB layout, making watercooling difficult without a custom waterblock.

Thank you. Exactly the answer I was looking for =)

[Najuno]

Thank you. Exactly the answer I was looking for =)

It does depend on the VRM quality and how much PD,TDP and Voltage you can push through the PCB. The chip lives of its ASIC. There are different brackets for individual OCing on how much ASIC your card should have.

Of course if you take a PCB of a Classified (GTX980 has no full cover waterblock atm 2/8/15) you will be able to OC much more brutal from its PCB features. Still it´s not guaranteed that you see the highest OCs ever.

Dialing in a GPU to the sweetspot for your specific cooling solution in terms of OCing requires, having a good quality chip, usually always a custom BIOS. The manufacturer will usually never go (unless you buy a Classified or Kingpin with triple BIOS) to the PCBs limits.

I have 3 GTX980s running in 3way SLI and my best sample is a reference design. If I´d go for watercooling this I could hold stable 1700+MHz @1.31V (now I can do that for about 15-20 seconds, then my card start thermal throttling) with an of course heavily modded BIOS. I skipped watercooling for the GTX980 because I´m wating for something bigger and I came from a GTX780Ti SLI, was just a sidegrade. A reference or extreme OCing card brings one more advantage, the BIOS of the card itself. Many aftermarket design have hard locked BIOS and you can´t change certain values.

Other than that people mentioned already the easy compatibility of reference cards with full cover heatsinks. EKWB are my choice when it comes to watercooling, very reliable and always good quality.

One more thing though, Maxwell with the GM204 OCs a bit different from other cards. I came to find out that the chip is soo efficient that unless you want crazy high 3D Mark scores the Voltage is fine with max out of the standard BIOS.

[NE0XY]

I'm not very good at OCing so I don't know of I'll oc too much.

I really like the swiftech block but that only works with reference cards.

So would you recommend reference or aftermarket If I dont oc?

and if I oc what would you recommend then?

[GlassBomb]

@NE0XY

I'd check out the EVGA cards if you want to watercool them. They allow people to remove the heatsink and watercool it and it will still be under warranty. As long as it's shipped back with the original cooler.

[NE0XY]

Thank you, I have an EVGA card today and have no complaints =)

I understand that some of the "cheaper" cards they have are the reference model with their ACX cooler on them right? Which'll mean that I can attach the Swiftech The Komodo™NV-GTX9 waterblock on it right? 

For instance: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 ACX 2.0 http://eu.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=04G-P4-2981-KR&family=GeForce%20900%20Series%20Family&uc=EUR ?