Which 980ti for watercooling

martos123 · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:40

I'm thinking of upgrading from 7970cf to a single 980ti. The card will eventually watercooled. Am I best off just getting a reference board and o/c it, or getting a pre-over clocked one?

BRIGGBOY81 · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:52

i always go reference when putting a block on as there is no point paying for a cooler that you aint going to use

megatron · 26 Jun 2015 at 22:05

If a full cover block, I'd suggest looking at reviews and finding out which VRM controller a particular board is using. Since you would be using a full cover block (I assume), you can easily use more GPU voltage for a higher overclock and accomplish this via software with the right chip.

I made a popular(!) thread about it here:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18675816

RyanF · 26 Jun 2015 at 22:09

Get a reference card, flash the BIOS and install whichever Titan X block you like the look of

For choosing a brand, most people seem to get on EVGAs bandwagon but in reality most of the major brands are fine with removing the block as long as you don't go gouging holes in the card trying to get it apart

martos123 · 26 Jun 2015 at 23:38

Cheers guys, was thinking along those lines. Will prob get the Zotac reference that's on offer this week for the 5 year warranty.

Razor Time · 27 Jun 2015 at 00:11

This thread might help you decide which to go for in terms of cooler removal and warranty.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18643771

Sky01454 · 27 Jun 2015 at 02:19

martos123 said:
Cheers guys, was thinking along those lines. Will prob get the Zotac reference that's on offer this week for the 5 year warranty.

Zotac sounds very strict with cooler removal and it states on their website that removing cooler voids warranty so i wouldnt go with them. Grab a OCUK one.

mattcrane · 27 Jun 2015 at 07:06

Sky01454 said:
Zotac sounds very strict with cooler removal and it states on their website that removing cooler voids warranty so i wouldnt go with them. Grab a OCUK one.

Silly question but do you have a link to that as I have been looking for that info for a while and haven't been able to find it, which is why I posted in the thread linked above asking if anyone knew Zotac's stance on cooler removal to add a waterblock.

NoobCannon · 27 Jun 2015 at 07:13

According to customer service OCUK also doesbt allow cooler removal on there refrence cards

mattcrane · 27 Jun 2015 at 07:32

NoobCannon said:
According to customer service OCUK also doesbt allow cooler removal on there refrence cards

Yet on the thread linked above it clearly states that OCUK brand is no problem :confused:

Freddie1980 · 27 Jun 2015 at 07:35

If your that concerned then get the EVGA one as they allow cooler removal and the fitting of waterblocks just remember to keep ahold of the hsf as it must be returned with the card for rma purposes.

martos123 · 27 Jun 2015 at 07:41

I spoke with the sales team yesterday and they said it was fine to swap the cooler on the ocuk ones, as long as it was replaced before any returns (and wasn't damaged as a result of the removal process).

Bonjour · 27 Jun 2015 at 08:12

Reference. Otherwise you're paying for a fancy cooler you're not going to use.

Dom86 · 27 Jun 2015 at 09:45

Cheapest one that lets you remove the cooler.

Sky01454 · 27 Jun 2015 at 12:20

http://www.zotac.com/support/warranty-manager/register/warranty-disclaimer.html

NoobCannon · 27 Jun 2015 at 14:01

martos123 said:
I spoke with the sales team yesterday and they said it was fine to swap the cooler on the ocuk ones, as long as it was replaced before any returns (and wasn't damaged as a result of the removal process).

Why would they tell me otherwise then??

"Thank you for your webnote.
Removing the cooler would void the warranty on the card I'm afraid.

Regards,

Simon Bagshaw"

Appologies if im not aloud to put the guys name but will be pretty miffed if he not told the truth as i wouldnt have paid the extra £150, someone from OCUK confirm this?

NoobCannon · 27 Jun 2015 at 14:16

Have asked CS to confirm

martos123 · 27 Jun 2015 at 16:51

I'll be interested to see what they come back with on this.

Sky01454 · 27 Jun 2015 at 17:52

I bought an OCUK reference 980 ti from a Zotac 980 ti AMP and I am seeing better overclocking with the OCUK one.

stooeh · 27 Jun 2015 at 19:26

Shame you can't buy GPUs with no coolers (like the Intel recent chips that come with none) and then fit your own.

I guess they would be worried about people blowing them up though