Best GPU Coolers

[Gathorisx]

So here on the graphics card section of the forums I've noticed loads of threads comparing coolers asking which is best, so I decided it would be a cool addition to have a community poll to see which graphics cards have the best performance and quiet coolers so here it goes!

Please vote accordingly to your personal experiences or benchmarks you've seen, if I have missed out any coolers please tell me.

 

Please don't suggest custom loops etc, this poll is to see the best GPU Cooler that comes with a card.

 

 

[M-ursu]

Custom loop would be best.

[Jack.EXE]

Vapor-X or Toxic, with IceQ in a close third.

[CoolBeans]

Custom loop would be best.

That is what I was going to say

[TheSLSAMG]

Those Windforce coolers are absolutely bonkers. I have one, and my card usually idles around 29C

 

But an EK Waterblock in a custom loop is best.

[CoolBeans]

Custom loop then Sapphire toxic and Direct CUII in a tie

[Hyydrah]

In that case, add the best waterblocks as well.

[Gathorisx]

Since we are looking at the best GPU Coolers, i think it would make sense to not put in Custom Loop for now, Also dont forget to vote on the least noisy one!

[Parkway Drive]

Custom loop would be best.

That is what I was going to say

Same. But if I had to choose from the list I'd say Asus DirectCU II

[M-ursu]

That is what I was going to say

 nice

[Gathorisx]

Same. But if I had to choose from the list I'd say Asus DirectCU II

can you elaborate, btw are there any benchmarks for Coolers?

[Thecrazyswede]

MSI Twinfrozr 3 hands down, both quiet and cool.

 

I absolutely hate the 3 slot asus cooler for being thick as shit and still preforming same as the MSI one.

[Parkway Drive]

can you elaborate, btw are there any benchmarks for Coolers?

The only coolers I've used are the DirectCU II, Windforce and Ice-Q. Out of those three the DirectCU II had better OC temps, but only slightly. Windforce was a tiny bit quieter. I personally don't like the 3 slot Asus coolers but others do, much prefer their 2 slot coolers. I've heard from some mates that the Twinfrozrs are good too but I personally haven't used them. Can't speculate about the other coolers and I usually use reference designs cause I watercool, but these are the three most common I've used for client builds.

Honestly most aftermarket coolers seem to do well. The only exception I've heard to this is my mate had a Gainward GTX570 Goes Like Hell model and when under load he described it as "Sounds like a Boeing 747 taking off"

Sorry I don't have any benchmarks, you'll need to surf the net. Not sure how many you'll find, the only way to properly test would be to have the same GPU running at the same clocks and voltage.

[Gathorisx]

MSI Twinfrozr 3 hands down, both quiet and cool.

 

I absolutely hate the 3 slot asus cooler for being thick as shit and still preforming same as the MSI one.

I have seen both the Twinfrozr 3 and Direct CUII OCed and in the end they performed more or less the same, do you have any evidence?

[FernandoTeixeira]

good temperature on air =  luck 

 

if you get a high ASIC quality card it will run cooler

my older 7970 with 68,5% asic quality when idle it was like 28c , my new one is just 4% lower and idle at 33c... under load it's 5-6c higher too...

but if you search some reviews, when it's full load IceQ is leading when it comes to temps. 

[onionring]

arctic cooling extreme 3 is the best air cooler i used, xfx double d comes second. msi twin frzr was awful.

[Thecrazyswede]

I have seen both the Twinfrozr 3 and Direct CUII OCed and in the end they performed more or less the same, do you have any evidence?

 

Google.

 

EDIT: i had time to spare

 

<-- TTL's opinion on the 3 slot cooler.

[DrainDoc]

ZOTAC AMP! ZT-70203-10P GeForce GTX 780

 

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1812/pg1/zotac-geforce-gtx-780-amp-edition-graphics-card-review-overview.html