Upgrade advice and update me on Nvidia reference coolers

[PhysicsMan94]

Hey guys, it's been a long time since I posted here, I'm looking to upgrade / sidegrade my two GTX-780s to a single (Nvidia) card some point soon - SLI is good for the most part but can be more of an issue than not to be honest, single card is always more reliable.

I'm a big fan (pun not intended) of the reference coolers on my 780s as they tend to dump the vast majority of heat out the back of my machine. Unfortunately I've not been keeping up with the graphics card market for a good 3 or 4 years now and so I'm not too sure on which version of Nvidia cards still have this nice cooler design - it seems the GTX 1080 Founders Edition cards have this but it's not too clear with others (if any) do as well.

Apparently I can expect the 1070 to be around 60% faster than the 780 and the 1080 around 100% faster so obviously the latter would be a good side-grade (more of an upgrade though considering SLI can have issues) however these seem fairly expensive and I'd ideally like to stick to around £500-600. The 1070TI is around 85% faster than the 780 from what I've seen so this seems like a good shout but I'm unsure if there any 1070TI's with the 780-style reference coolers.

Cheers for any help.

 

[JediFragger]

but I'm unsure if there any 1070TI's with the 780-style reference coolers.

Yes their are, nVidia sell these direct now (and I think all partners have custom designs).

 

[wunkley]

I've always loved the look of the reference cooler, and the 1080ti is especially fetching. I Really like the principle of the exhaust cooler, but the sad fact is - all nvidia reference coolers always have been, and still are **** at cooling. No point looking nice if you can't do the job. You have to run the fan too fast with a custom curved to be effective, but they are just too loud at the required speeds.
Got my 1080ti with a home made AIO set up now - h55 and kraken g10. Super cool and quiet now.

 

[Marine-RX179]

I've always loved the look of the reference cooler, and the 1080ti is especially fetching. I Really like the principle of the exhaust cooler, but the sad fact is - all nvidia reference coolers always have been, and still are **** at cooling. No point looking nice if you can't do the job. You have to run the fan too fast with a custom curved to be effective, but they are just too loud at the required speeds.
Got my 1080ti with a home made AIO set up now - h55 and kraken g10. Super cool and quiet now.

If I remember correctly, the reference cooler for the 780 (also known as the "Titan cooler" at the time) was quite decent, and the same exact cooler were first used on the original Titan, then the 780 and then the 780Ti. However, later down the line with the release of non-flapship smaller chip such as the 970 and 980, they were than rebranded as Nvidia's own branded "Founder Edition" card, at a cost of £30+ higher in price comparing to the better custom cooler cards by the partners. Not only that, although the cooler appearance "looks" pretty much the same as the "Titan cooler", but it had the vapor-chamber removed, so it real world it wasn't the same good cooler that was used for the original Titan and the 780/780Ti and essentially inferior in cooling capability.

Haven't been keeping up with the latest Nvidia cards regarding the blower cooler, but it's difficult to tell if there's a vapor-chamber being used for the cooler or not judging from the appearance of the card alone.

 

[wunkley]

1080Ti has a vapour chamber I think. I also had 780Ti's with the reference exhaust coolers, and they also were too hot and loud, for me.

Don't get me wrong, they work, but you have to run the fan at higher speeds than stock to eliminate throttling. It's all down to personal tolerances though really - some people aren't bothered by excessive fan noise, some are me included.

 

[Radox-0]

1080Ti has a vapour chamber I think. I also had 780Ti's with the reference exhaust coolers, and they also were too hot and loud, for me.

Don't get me wrong, they work, but you have to run the fan at higher speeds than stock to eliminate throttling. It's all down to personal tolerances though really - some people aren't bothered by excessive fan noise, some are me included.

Yup 1080Ti has vapor chambers, as does the GTX 1080, Titan XP/Xp cooler. The 1070 down does not, not sure about GTX 1070Ti.

 

[Marine-RX179]

1080Ti has a vapour chamber I think. I also had 780Ti's with the reference exhaust coolers, and they also were too hot and loud, for me.

Don't get me wrong, they work, but you have to run the fan at higher speeds than stock to eliminate throttling. It's all down to personal tolerances though really - some people aren't bothered by excessive fan noise, some are me included.

I totally get what you are saying. The 290 series reference cooler was made fun of a lot and being made out as very bad, but noise aside the cooler actually get the job done and does it quite well with all things considered.

I think sometimes people are just forgetting how high the power consumption of these big chip flagship cards are, and how much waste heat they generate.

 

[PhysicsMan94]

Yes their are, nVidia sell these direct now (and I think all partners have custom designs).

Ah I see, didn't realise Nvidia had started selling directly. Cheers!

 

[wunkley]

Ah I see, didn't realise Nvidia had started selling directly. Cheers!

It's worth looking at Nvidia direct for ref design cards. I picked up a 1080Ti for £649 effectively (after I sold the free Destiny 2 code I didn't want that came with it).