Nvidia 980Ti non reference cooling comparison *w/pics*

[Arct1c0n]

ASUS STRIX 980Ti with new Direct CU III

 

Changes/upgrades/Upside:  Active VRM cooling now added. 3 80mm fans instead of 2 100mm fans. Solderless PCB printing, no sharp points. Glowing logo. 2x 8pin power

 

Downsides: Still no active cooling or even passive heatsink cooling on memory modules. Direct heat pipe on GPU, no head spreader plate still. Fan housing now plastic, not metal. 90mm fans produce more noise possibly?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MSI Gaming 980Ti Twin Frozr V

 

Changes/upgrades/Upside: Large 100 twin fans. Passive heatsink/plate cooling on VRM and memory modules. Backplate finally added. Glowing logo. 2x 8pin power

 

Downsides:  No active cooling on memory or VRM. Plastic fan housing. Backplate does not passively remove heat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gigabyte G1 Gaming 980Ti Windforce 600watt

 

Changes/upgrades/Upsides:  Triple 80mm fan cooling. HUGE heatsink platform actively cools GPU, memory and VRM heatsinks. All metal fan housing. LED color control. 2x 8pin power. Dual DVI

 

Downsides: Heavy and long, possibly resulting in more GPU sag. 90mm fans produce more noise. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVGA GTX 980Ti Superclocked ACX 2.0+

 

Upgrades/changes/upsides:  Included backplate with this model. Passive cooling on VRM and memory. Ball bearing fans. 100m sized fans

 

Downsides:   Only 1x 8pin 1x6pin power connections, will limit overclocking. Reference PCB board design. Cooling not the greatest. Plastic fan housing

 

 

 

Thermal testing done by HardWare Canucks  http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/69713-evga-gtx-980-ti-superclocked-acx-2-0-review-4.html

 

[Zeke]

How fat is DirectCU III? I remember one of the first generations being three slots tall

[Arct1c0n]

How fat is DirectCU III? I remember one of the first generations being three slots tall

 

Its 2 slots

[CostcoSamples]

very nice comparison.  I would like to see EVGA on the list.

[Arct1c0n]

very nice comparison.  I would like to see EVGA on the list.

 

Just added. 

[Zeke]

Its 2 slots

Sweet

[Arct1c0n]

Sweet

 

They've been two slots since 700 series

[Alurit]

I want that gigabyte one so badly

[Arct1c0n]

I want that gigabyte one so badly

 

Mine is FINALLY coming today from newegg, I fucking pray it doen'st have coil whine

[BlmMagic]

Great job.. This is exactly what i was looking for.. Reassures my decision for the G1 model. When they become available of course.

I dnt want to overtake the post with this question ., but will an i5 4690k bottleneck this card? Pc is only for gaming.

[Jord1990]

Great job.. This is exactly what i was looking for.. Reassures my decision for the G1 model. When they become available of course.

I dnt want to overtake the post with this question ., but will an i5 4690k bottleneck this card? Pc is only for gaming.

This gets asked multiple times every day. Everyone knows the forum has a search function right?

And no it won't

[Jord1990]

Mine is FINALLY coming today from newegg, I fucking pray it doen'st have coil whine

Mine also arrived today and either the card is DoA or my psu is dead. Already started the RMA process back to 1600x900 gaming it is.

[Overkilled]

yea just buy the Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Gaming.

I feel like you need to mention the Galax GTX 980ti LN2 capable of 2.1 ghz

[Retro1989]

My MSI one is coming tomorrow.

[MEC-777]

Everyone flipped out about one little heat pipe on the EVGA 970 not touching the GPU die (even though it didn't matter, still functioned properly and was by-design). Let's see how many people lose their minds because the die only touches 3 of 5 heat pipes on the DCUIII 980Ti...

 

 

 

IMO, they all look really well built and well engineered. The EVGA is the only one that concerns me because it doesn't look like there's any direct cooling for the VRMs aside from the fan blowing on them. But that part of the cooler could just be missing from those pics. 

[Arct1c0n]

OP has been updated

[Arct1c0n]

Mine also arrived today and either the card is DoA or my psu is dead. Already started the RMA process back to 1600x900 gaming it is.

 

I would try another power supply before you send that off

[maizenblue]

I liked the all black g1 windforce better than the one with bare metal on the ends. Just looks like a lame cheap attempt at adding some tacky bling.

[Arct1c0n]

. The EVGA is the only one that concerns me because it doesn't look like there's any direct cooling for the VRMs aside from the fan blowing on them. But that part of the cooler could just be missing from those pics. 

 

Nope, no direct cooling, I updated pics

[Arct1c0n]

I liked the all black g1 windforce better than the one with bare metal on the ends. Just looks like a lame cheap attempt at adding some tacky bling.

 

They are likely just glued on or held with clips, easily removal. 

[maizenblue]

!

[Arct1c0n]

!

 

Um ok

[CostcoSamples]

Just added. 

Awesome, thanks!  Those thermal images are interesting.  I would not have thought we'd see 105 degrees - its a little troubling actually.  My friend just bought this exact EVGA 980 ti.  Might be worth adding some thermal pads behind the backplate to dissipate some heat!

[Arct1c0n]

Awesome, thanks!  Those thermal images are interesting.  I would not have thought we'd see 105 degrees - its a little troubling actually.  My friend just bought this exact EVGA 980 ti.  Might be worth adding some thermal pads behind the backplate to dissipate some heat!

 

I doubt it will help much if at all as the backplate isn't designed to really pull heat away from the PCB board and then you will need to move a lot of air across it to remove that heat which on a flat surface, won't be very efficient 

[Arct1c0n]

I'll update page when reviews of the zotacs come out