Difference Founder vs Custom

[Azrael2k8]

I am wondering what exactly the differences between the Founder's Edition by nvidia and the custom designs are.

 

Most of the time I read that it basicly is a matter of Fans, Heatsinks and Clock rate. However if I want to replace those heatsinks and fans with a watercooling block and OC it myself all of this doesn't matter, right? Is there something more to the custom designs? I know some are bigger with extra power connectors and some are smaller (Zotacs Mini and Amp Extreme for example). So far I have heard that most of the times mini cards will just get hotter a lot while only having a little worse performance.

 

Basicly I guess I want to know what would be the best option in general if I plan to remove the fans/heatsinks anyway.

[Glenwing]

1 minute ago, Azrael2k8 said:

I am wondering what exactly the differences between the Founder's Edition by nvidia and the custom designs are.

 

Most of the time I read that it basicly is a matter of Fans, Heatsinks and Clock rate. However if I want to replace those heatsinks and fans with a watercooling block and OC it myself all of this doesn't matter, right? Is there something more to the custom designs? I know some are bigger with extra power connectors and some are smaller (Zotacs Mini and Amp Extreme for example). So far I have heard that most of the times mini cards will just get hotter a lot while only having a little worse performance.

 

Basicly I guess I want to know what would be the best option in general if I plan to remove the fans/heatsinks anyway.

Depends on which custom card. Some are the same as the founder's edition with a different cooler, so if you plan to put a water block on it then there is no point to those custom cards. However some cards have custom PCBs with stronger power delivery, which will be helpful for overclocking. However these will require different water blocks so you will need to find out if anyone makes a block specifically for that custom version of the card in order to water cool it.

 

You can tell whether it is a custom PCB or not by looking at picture of the back of the card. Most cards these days have backplates so you won't be able to see it on retail websites, but usually in-depth reviews will have pictures with the backplate off, and you can compare it to the founder's edition PCB.

[A Silver]

4 minutes ago, Azrael2k8 said:

I am wondering what exactly the differences between the Founder's Edition by nvidia and the custom designs are.

 

Most of the time I read that it basicly is a matter of Fans, Heatsinks and Clock rate. However if I want to replace those heatsinks and fans with a watercooling block and OC it myself all of this doesn't matter, right? Is there something more to the custom designs? I know some are bigger with extra power connectors and some are smaller (Zotacs Mini and Amp Extreme for example). So far I have heard that most of the times mini cards will just get hotter a lot while only having a little worse performance.

 

Basicly I guess I want to know what would be the best option in general if I plan to remove the fans/heatsinks anyway.

Usually the after market cards have better cooling and higher clock speeds than the FE

[Narnash]

1 hour ago, Glenwing said:

Depends on which custom card. Some are the same as the founder's edition with a different cooler, so if you plan to put a water block on it then there is no point to those custom cards. However some cards have custom PCBs with stronger power delivery, which will be helpful for overclocking. However these will require different water blocks so you will need to find out if anyone makes a block specifically for that custom version of the card in order to water cool it.

 

You can tell whether it is a custom PCB or not by looking at picture of the back of the card. Most cards these days have backplates so you won't be able to see it on retail websites, but usually in-depth reviews will have pictures with the backplate off, and you can compare it to the founder's edition PCB.

Or say fuck that, rummage the powerdrill and Dremel from the workbench and say : "We will make fit what not fit!" 

BTW this thing never leaked but after a half year I had a leak on the CPU cooler: microcrack ... guys please if you're using a acrylic top CPU coolingblocj don't tighten to much. 

 

Imgur Gallery of my ghetto "modded" full cover waterblock for a not fiting R9 290 PCS+ 

 

Enjoy!

 

PS: The water cooler was a gift  

 

[Azrael2k8]

2 hours ago, Glenwing said:

Depends on which custom card. Some are the same as the founder's edition with a different cooler, so if you plan to put a water block on it then there is no point to those custom cards. However some cards have custom PCBs with stronger power delivery, which will be helpful for overclocking. However these will require different water blocks so you will need to find out if anyone makes a block specifically for that custom version of the card in order to water cool it.

 

You can tell whether it is a custom PCB or not by looking at picture of the back of the card. Most cards these days have backplates so you won't be able to see it on retail websites, but usually in-depth reviews will have pictures with the backplate off, and you can compare it to the founder's edition PCB.

Ah ok, thanks. So as long as they only changed cooling/clock rates it does not really matter unless the PCB differs.

 

51 minutes ago, Narnash said:

Or say fuck that, rummage the powerdrill and Dremel from the workbench and say : "We will make fit what not fit!" 

BTW this thing never leaked but after a half year I had a leak on the CPU cooler: microcrack ... guys please if you're using a acrylic top CPU coolingblocj don't tighten to much. 

 

Imgur Gallery of my ghetto "modded" full cover waterblock for a not fiting R9 290 PCS+ 

 

Enjoy!

 

PS: The water cooler was a gift  

 

Even though this looks impressive it looks also sketchy and no option for me. I guess it is time to look for a suitable case for my project when the new pricing for the GPUs hit.