Nvidia refrence cards

[Daniel123dk]

Are nvidia reference cards worth it nowadays?

[Samfisher]

Are nvidia reference cards worth it nowadays?

Why not?

[ThinkWithPortals]

Are nvidia reference cards worth it nowadays?

Sure. Blower style cards are great for ITX systems and such, plus I think they look pretty good.

[don_svetlio]

Depends on the card - 980, sure. 480, burn

[FloRolf]

i don't like them. i'm in an itx case and my windfore 970 does a good job. Not as well as in a giant airflow case but still. Keeping it around 65°C

[Daniel123dk]

Why not?

Well you could get, for example a SC from evga with acx cooler but same pcb for the same price

[Daniel123dk]

Sure. Blower style cards are great for ITX systems and such, plus I think they look pretty good.

This is for my air 540, i just love the looks of the reference

[Daniel123dk]

Depends on the card - 980, sure. 480, burn

980 was my plan because of the backplate. But 980ti too?

[ThinkWithPortals]

This is for my air 540, i just love the looks of the reference

Then go for it, they're still good cards. They will actually perform better in SLI setups due to lower temperatures because of they're blower-style cooling (they're not exhausting heat onto each other, they're blowing it out the back of the case)

[don_svetlio]

980 was my plan because of the backplate. But 980ti too?

980 Ti ain't worth - thermalthrottles like a boss - performance is far lower than it should be

[Nena Trinity]

I have this!:

[Daniel123dk]

I have this!:

i dont like that cooler

[Nena Trinity]

i dont like that cooler

Racist!

[Daniel123dk]

Racist!

Sorry  B)   

[Daniel123dk]

980 Ti ain't worth - thermalthrottles like a boss - performance is far lower than it should be

In my country, Denmark, the reference 980 is almost the same as the cheapest 980TI

[Najuno]

Well the reference cooler can come in handy when you go for more then a 2 way SLI or if you want to make sure you have a waterblock compatible PCB. EKWB for instance produces blocks for aftermarket PCBs but not for each of them.

In my HTPC I have enough ventilation for a STRIX GTX980 but if the side was sealed off I would have gone for reference design.

However the myth that a reference design can´t OC good is just partially true. That might apply for cards where the stock coolers are a bit... under dimensioned. For a GTX980 this does not apply. I was able to OC an nVidia stock sample with a mode BIOS to benchmark stable 1618MHz. In case you have a GTX980TI oder a Titan X then you will need a better cooler that´s just how it goes.

For the average Joe that´s not one of the early adopters, I usually recommend boardpartner designs, for a quieter, cooler solution, that is fairly easy to OC.

[Daniel123dk]

Well the reference cooler can come in handy when you go for more then a 2 way SLI or if you want to make sure you have a waterblock compatible PCB. EKWB for instance produces blocks for aftermarket PCBs but not for each of them.

In my HTPC I have enough ventilation for a STRIX GTX980 but if the side was sealed off I would have gone for reference design.

However the myth that a reference design can´t OC good is just partially true. That might apply for cards where the stock coolers are a bit... under dimensioned. For a GTX980 this does not apply. I was able to OC an nVidia stock sample with a mode BIOS to benchmark stable 1618MHz. In case you have a GTX980TI oder a Titan X then you will need a better cooler that´s just how it goes.

For the average Joe that´s not one of the early adopters, I usually recommend boardpartner designs, for a quieter, cooler solution, that is fairly easy to OC.

So you tell me to get a 980 if i want reference cooler?

[Najuno]

So you tell me to get a 980 if i want reference cooler?

No I´m telling you what reference coolers mean. What you buy is totally up to you and if you don´t want go anymore with custom watercooling like on your 780Ti, then you could go for a GTX980Ti with a nice boardpartner design like the STRIX, Lightning or Classified .

[Daniel123dk]

No I´m telling you what reference coolers mean. What you buy is totally up to you and if you don´t want go anymore with custom watercooling like on your 780Ti, then you could go for a GTX980Ti with a nice boardpartner design like the STRIX, Lightning or Classified .

Well, yeah, im done with custom loop and i sold my 780ti. But i just like the Reference cooler. im playing on 144hz. what should i then go for?

[Najuno]

Well if it is a 1080p 144Hz monitor you could buy yourself a reference GTX980 and call it a day. In 1080p you´ll be set for a while even with 144Hz. If it is a 1440p 144Hz I´d go for a GTX980Ti hands down, because a GTX980 can drive a 1440p with ease but the 144Hz will be a deal breaker. The GTX980 will never reach this goal as single GPU in 1440p in modern games.

It´s a matter of preference, IMHO the board partner design might be the better choices, I´ve had a 3way GTX980 SLI with 2 reference and 1 GTX980 STRIX. Well I stil have the STRIX in my HTPC, because of the 0 fan profile and even when the fans turn on they are a lot quieter than a reference blower design.

I´ve skipped a custom loop on those GTX980s and I regretted it. I can handle the dull humming sound of my external monster radiator but that high frequency whistling of the GPUs (3 produce quite a bunch of noise) got on my nerves.

[Daniel123dk]

Well if it is a 1080p 144Hz monitor you could buy yourself a reference GTX980 and call it a day. In 1080p you´ll be set for a while even with 144Hz. If it is a 1440p 144Hz I´d go for a GTX980Ti hands down, because a GTX980 can drive a 1440p with ease but the 144Hz will be a deal breaker. The GTX980 will never reach this goal as single GPU in 1440p in modern games.

It´s a matter of preference, IMHO the board partner design might be the better choices, I´ve had a 3way GTX980 SLI with 2 reference and 1 GTX980 STRIX. Well I stil have the STRIX in my HTPC, because of the 0 fan profile and even when the fans turn on they are a lot quieter than a reference blower design.

I´ve skipped a custom loop on those GTX980s and I regretted it. I can handle the dull humming sound of my external monster radiator but that high frequency whistling of the GPUs (3 produce quite a bunch of noise) got on my nerves.

Its 1080p 144hz. only. though, i wanna max out 144hz all the time, or, that was the plan. I accually Like the 980ti classified from eVGA, i accually like everything from eVGA so far, so will the classified be more worth my money than a reference 980 when im just playing BF4 144hz 1080p?

[Najuno]

Its 1080p 144hz. only. though, i wanna max out 144hz all the time, or, that was the plan. I accually Like the 980ti classified from eVGA, i accually like everything from eVGA so far, so will the classified be more worth my money than a reference 980 when im just playing BF4 144hz 1080p?

No, the Classified will certainly OC better due to better VRM and cooling design but it will not be a whole different experience, after all the chip is the same. But EVGA cards are amazing and pretty much the best choice to make when it comes to nVidia cards.

If you really want to max out then you should consider the GTX980Ti... maxing out aka AA full settings is even in 1080p a burden for a GPU in 144Hz.

 

EDIT: You don´t need the classified this thing will do more than fine

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-06gp44995kr

[Daniel123dk]

No, the Classified will certainly OC better due to better VRM and cooling design but it will not be a whole different experience, after all the chip is the same. But EVGA cards are amazing and pretty much the best choice to make when it comes to nVidia cards.

If you really want to max out then you should consider the GTX980Ti... maxing out aka AA full settings is even in 1080p a burden for a GPU in 144Hz.

 

EDIT: You don´t need the classified this thing will do more than fine

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-06gp44995kr

Did i forget to say, that i also want to OC?

[Najuno]

Did i forget to say, that i also want to OC?

The ACX2.0 SC is more than qualified for OCing. Very capable cooler and the Classified starts shining with a modded BIOS or one of its extreme BIOS which I don´t recommend to use. I´ve had this discussion with a guy to the beginning of the year with his classifieds running on air and using a LN2 BIOS... he wouldn´t listen and fried ´em.

 

Are you planning to flash the BIOS and go for an advanced PT, with removed thresholds BIOS? Then do yourself the favor go back to custom water cooling. If I wanted to go with air cooling and OC with air as high as possible I´d have a look into the MSI´s Lightning GTX980Ti, or Asus RoG Matrix Platinum, or EVGA´s Classified (without using a LN2 or WC BIOS).

But if you are only looking for beefy gaming performance then the GTX980Ti ACX2.0 SC is a rock solid choice.

[Daniel123dk]

The ACX2.0 SC is more than qualified for OCing. Very capable cooler and the Classified starts shining with a modded BIOS or one of its extreme BIOS which I don´t recommend to use. I´ve had this discussion with a guy to the beginning of the year with his classifieds running on air and using a LN2 BIOS... he wouldn´t listen and fried ´em.

 

Are you planning to flash the BIOS and go for an advanced PT, with removed thresholds BIOS? Then do yourself the favor go back to custom water cooling. If I wanted to go with air cooling and OC with air as high as possible I´d have a look into the MSI´s Lightning GTX980Ti, or Asus RoG Matrix Platinum, or EVGA´s Classified (without using a LN2 or WC BIOS).

But if you are only looking for beefy gaming performance then the GTX980Ti ACX2.0 SC is a rock solid choice.

Well, if you recommend the classified too, then ill go with that. the price between the classified and the SC+ is to small that i better buy the classified.