Help me decide on the best air GTX 780...

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lobski2

Gawd
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Oct 16, 2009
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I am 98% sure I want the Galaxy gtx 780 HOF edition for its awesome 1.1ghz clock speed out of the box. However, one thing has been bothering me, the hyper boost button. What exactly is this for if the user will just manually overclock using software? What happens if I overclock and press the button? This hyper boost button is a big "unknown" for me, so it's the one thing holding me back.

Anyway, I'm wondering if there are any other suggestions for an air cooled 780. Of course I would rather it be factory overclocked like the HOF. Is it worth waiting for Lightning?
 
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lobski2 said:
I am 98% sure I want the Galaxy gtx 780 HOF edition for its awesome 1.1ghz clock speed out of the box. However, one thing has been bothering me, the hyper boost button. What exactly is this for if the user will just manually overclock using software? What happens if I overclock and press the button? This hyper boost button is a big "unknown" for me, so it's the one thing holding me back.
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The Galaxy rep here said this:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1040136280&highlight=#post1040136280

There should be an insert in the box that gives a brief explanation on the Hyper Boost function and points you to our KB for more details. Was it missing?

Please let me know if it clears everything up when you do your reinstall, but in my experience the Hyper Boost button doesn't change your clocks directly so much as it grants you the headroom to set higher clocks manually.
 
Gotta say, I'd recommend a GTX 780 with a blower-style cooler (like the reference cooler) if at all possible...

I've had dual-fan coolers on my last three graphics cards, and they're really not worth it unless you're running a totally open-air setup. You'll have to increase your case fan and CPU fan speed in order to compensate for a 250w graphics card dumping ALL of its heat directly into the case.

End result? Everything ends up running warmer and louder...

Very happy to be back on a blower cooler on my GTX 780. Dumps almost all the heat generated by the card directly out the back of the case without affecting ambient temperatures. The CPU and case fans don't have to spin up when only the GPU is under load, which leads to a massive decrease in noise under most circumstances.

tldr: the noise produced by a blower cooler is LESS THAN the noise produced by a dual-fan cooler when all the other fans in your computer have to spin up to compensate.


Edit: The type of cooler I'd really like to see... 92mm or 120mm fan strapped to the end of a card:

7Z5dYeo.png
 
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I have a similar question as the OP but my take is I need the quietest GTX 780 at idle and load. Historically, the ASUS DC II has been the king of quiet coolers. Is this still the case with the 780? Or is the Galaxy HOF even more quiet? Also, Unknown-One brings up a very interesting take on the issue. What are other posters experience? This is particularly relevant to me as I plan to run a pair of the cards in SLI. Thanks!
 
Nvidia_ATI said:
I have a similar question as the OP but my take is I need the quietest GTX 780 at idle and load. Historically, the ASUS DC II has been the king of quiet coolers. Is this still the case with the 780? Or is the Galaxy HOF even more quiet? Also, Unknown-One brings up a very interesting take on the issue. What are other posters experience? This is particularly relevant to me as I plan to run a pair of the cards in SLI. Thanks!
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I would wait for other reviews on the HOF before purchasing, if you're basing it on noise. Galaxy's other custom cooled 780, is slightly louder than reference.

The DC2 is absolutely dead silent, while in my opinion, the best looking aftermarket 780.
 
tonyftw said:
I would wait for other reviews on the HOF before purchasing, if you're basing it on noise. Galaxy's other custom cooled 780, is slightly louder than reference.

The DC2 is absolutely dead silent, while in my opinion, the best looking aftermarket 780.
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That's another problem, [H] is the only site with a HOF review.

C'mon review sites, review this baby!
 
Just pulled the trigger on it.

Replacing my aging gtx 480. I hope it all goes well :D
 
Out of the box speed is pretty much meaningless as each card should overclock over stock speeds anyway..

Here are my favorites:

Asus GTX 780 DirectCU II OC
EVGA ACX 03G-P4-2784-KR
GIGABYTE GV-N780OC-3GD
MSI Gaming N780 TF 3GD5/OC
 
Go with the EVGA SuperClocked ACX version imo. Not only do you get one of the best aircoolers on the 780 but you also get the best customer service of all the manufacturers with EVGA.
 
HOODedDutchman said:
Pulled the trigger on what lol.
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The HOF. It was either going to he HOF or the ACX, but I just went with the HOF due to higher out of the box clocks. If I don't feel like overclocking, the 1.1ghz option is still there by default. If I do, I still can get to maybe 1.3. With the ACX, I dont have the same options. And I think the cooler is better on the HOF too, right?
 
lobski2 said:
The HOF. It was either going to he HOF or the ACX, but I just went with the HOF due to higher out of the box clocks. If I don't feel like overclocking, the 1.1ghz option is still there by default. If I do, I still can get to maybe 1.3. With the ACX, I dont have the same options. And I think the cooler is better on the HOF too, right?
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They are both very capable cooling solutions. I believe the HOF is binned though. I highly doubt the evga is binned.
 
I too think that blower is the right way to go. My Gainward 6800 GT had dual fan solution that dumped everything inside the case, everything including the card run hot and noisy. Both of my GTX 680 cards dump the heat outside the case and in SLI that does wonders. I have no heat issues, I can keep side and top fan slots closed yet everything gets cooled nicely. If these would dump everything inside... Cpu and exhaust fan would have to run lot faster and I would probably need to add top fan too.

Also never rely on overclockability. My second GTX 680 can't handle higher than stock memory speeds at all.
 
lobski2 said:
The HOF. It was either going to he HOF or the ACX, but I just went with the HOF due to higher out of the box clocks. If I don't feel like overclocking, the 1.1ghz option is still there by default. If I do, I still can get to maybe 1.3. With the ACX, I dont have the same options. And I think the cooler is better on the HOF too, right?
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My 2 EVGA GTX 780 ACX's both boost to 1.11GHz 100% of the time. Just took me popping open evga precision and sliding the power target and temp target to the right to get it.


As far as blower vs dual fan: If you have a case that can get rid of the heat from a dual fan setup they are worth it. With my case I have one of my intake 140mm fans blowing directly on the cards and then for exhaust I have a 200mm fan right above the cards. I should take a pic and post it to show you guys. The design of the ACX cooler makes the heat pump out of the cards from one side only, the side right next to my exhaust fan, quite an efficient setup I'd say.

Edit: Pics:

89C7fLV.jpg
 
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pandora's box said:
As far as blower vs dual fan: If you have a case that can get rid of the heat from a dual fan setup they are worth it.
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I have a Fractal Design R3, trust me, I can move plenty of air through this case if I need to.

But that's kinda the point... I don't need to, not as long as I have a graphics card that employs a blower style cooler. Case fans basically sit at 600 RPM no matter what the graphics card does, and only spin up in response to abnormally high CPU temps.

If you want a truly quiet system, blower is the way to go at the moment. If noise-be-damned, then go ahead and go with a dual-fan cooler and crank those case fans.
 
lobski2 said:
The HOF. It was either going to he HOF or the ACX, but I just went with the HOF due to higher out of the box clocks. If I don't feel like overclocking, the 1.1ghz option is still there by default. If I do, I still can get to maybe 1.3. With the ACX, I dont have the same options. And I think the cooler is better on the HOF too, right?
Click to expand...

Most peoples acx 780's, boost to around 1100 out the box (1084 in my case). You might or might not be able to reach 1300. You have to remember, overclocking to certain speeds is not a guarantee, especially if you're basing it on reviews (which tend to get cherry picked samples).

The cooler on the HOF looks capable, but I want to see more reviews on it. Depending on what you paid for the HOF, for ten more bucks, the classified 780 would have given you unlocked voltage out the box. That is currently the only card that has voltage control, until the lightning is released.

You will enjoy your new video card though :).
 
Also going sli on the HOF could be a challenge since it uses more than 2 slots for its cooling
 
I love the blower vs. ACX/DCII/HOF/etc. fan argument. It just never gets old.
 
Starrbuck said:
I love the blower vs. ACX/DCII/HOF/etc. fan argument. It just never gets old.
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It is an interesting debate. Someone should compare gtx 780 sli with reference coolers and then again with acx coolers or even windforce coolers.
 
pandora's box said:
It is an interesting debate. Someone should compare gtx 780 sli with reference coolers and then again with acx coolers or even windforce coolers.
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It can be, but I bet if you cut out every comment about it the forum would be half the size. ;)

If it was such a simple issue, they simply wouldn't build anything but blower-style coolers!

To each his own!!!
 
pandora's box said:
It is an interesting debate. Someone should compare gtx 780 sli with reference coolers and then again with acx coolers or even windforce coolers.
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Too many variables to compare. Top card is more effected by non ref. coolers in a traditional case. Get a silverstone rv02/03 and no worries about the rest of the components temps tho. Heat just rises out of the top of the case. Goes nowhere near cpu, mobo, or upper gpu. If cards are sandwhiched tho I believe its 100% necessary to go blower. Or if you are in a case thats not a haf or something with crazy airflow and running 2 gpu then go blower. Single gpu anything reference is crazy imo. Makes hardly any difference at all to other components if you have a decent case. For sli depends on the cooler as well. Ran wf3 670s before and they ran low 60s on auto fan. Ran ftw sig2 670s and top card was above 70 even with fan speed cranked over 80 which was loud as hell. I would of traded them straight up for regular ftw model or my wf3's back anyday of the week. Only reason I have reference 780 is because its VERY quiet and it was the only card available in my area at the time.
 
Starrbuck said:
I love the blower vs. ACX/DCII/HOF/etc. fan argument. It just never gets old.
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LOL it is truly amazing to watch. Personally I love the blower fans simply because it goes out the back and my case has crappy cooling/air flow that a non-blower wouldn't fit well with. That's as far as the debate should go IMHO. Good case, good air flow? Non-blower card. Everything else. Blower card.
 
Starrbuck said:
It can be, but I bet if you cut out every comment about it the forum would be half the size. ;)

If it was such a simple issue, they simply wouldn't build anything but blower-style coolers!

To each his own!!!
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Well, see, that's the thing.

Dual-fan coolers DO cool more effectively in open-air. A good portion of review sites have open-air test benches, so they see stellar results with low noise.

But put them inside a box sucking on their own exhaust... things change pretty drastically.

tonyftw said:
Most peoples acx 780's, boost to around 1100 out the box (1084 in my case). You might or might not be able to reach 1300. You have to remember, overclocking to certain speeds is not a guarantee, especially if you're basing it on reviews (which tend to get cherry picked samples).
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Even a lot of cards with stock cooling boost to 1100 out of the box or with minimal effort (mine certainly does). Without any voltage mods I get close to 1200 MHz.

It's never certain, but the quality of the core seems to have more to do with things than the cooler.
 
Unknown-One said:
Well, see, that's the thing.

Dual-fan coolers DO cool more effectively in open-air. A good portion of review sites have open-air test benches, so they see stellar results with low noise.

But put them inside a box sucking on their own exhaust... things change pretty drastically.
Click to expand...

Let's see that review then. :)
 
Unknown-One said:
Well, see, that's the thing.

Dual-fan coolers DO cool more effectively in open-air. A good portion of review sites have open-air test benches, so they see stellar results with low noise.

But put them inside a box sucking on their own exhaust... things change pretty drastically.


Even a lot of cards with stock cooling boost to 1100 out of the box or with minimal effort (mine certainly does). Without any voltage mods I get close to 1200 MHz.

It's never certain, but the quality of the core seems to have more to do with things than the cooler.
Click to expand...



Put simply, you are wrong. If you have a high quality ATX case, open air coolers will *still* cool better than reference by a substantial amount - i've used tons and tons of GPUs, and have done direct comparisons. I've used reference and open air GTX 680s. Reference and open air 780. 580s as well, and 7970. I've used reference and open air cooled cards of various types over the years. This is in a cosmos 2 case (NOT OPEN AIR) -The 780 in particular with a reference model *always* hovers around 80C no matter what, while an aftermarket card such as the EVGA SC ACX will be around 55-60C which means that it has way more GPU boost headroom. This was in *my* case, in my Cosmos II.

If your case is garbage, don't use an open air cooler. You don't want open air in a mini ITX case. But if you have an ATX case with good air flow, the open air cards will cool better and overclock substantially better - as well, a good case will have no issues with air flow because hot air will be expelled by front and rear intake and exhaust fans; the only way the air becomes trapped inside is if your case has restrictive air flow or isn't configured properly.

It really does sound like your case is just garbage if the hot air is trapped within. If your case is garbage, don't use an open air cooler. It really is that simple. If you spend money for a good case, open air cards have benefits. They're obviously not for everyone, though - if you have a small case or a bad case with no air flow, reference is the way to go. High end fullsize EATX/ATX cases don't have this problem with air flow that you speak of, however.
 
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xoleras said:
Put simply, you are wrong. If you have a high quality ATX case, open air coolers will *still* cool better than reference by a substantial amount
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*Buzzer* I'm going to have to stop you right there...

I said better cooling AND low-noise. As in, simultaneously. You missed a full half of the equation there...

If you enclose a dual-fan cooler in a case, you will need increased case-fan speed (and possibly also the GPU-fan speed) in order to maintain the same temps on all components.

xoleras said:
- i've used tons and tons of GPUs, and have done direct comparisons. I've used reference and open air GTX 680s. Reference and open air 780. 580s as well, and 7970. I've used reference and open air cooled cards of various types over the years.
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As I said, so have I...

You're dumping all the heat from a 250w graphics card directly into the case. That will, unquestionably, require your case fans to run faster than if almost all of that heat were instead jettisoned directly out the back of the case. Faster case-fan speed = more noise, simply because of the style of graphics card cooler. Even with the GPU idle, you're still stuck with more heat to evacuate from the case, which means increased fan speed and noise is required.

Worse yet, having to use multiple fans of varying sizes and RPM scattered throughout the case means the noise is wide-band. That's REALLY difficult to target with noise cancellation. Much easier to deal with and deaden the peak frequencies from a single blower fan if you're going to employ noise cancellation (as an aside, this is one of the reasons Noctua fans always come up short on SPCR's reviews. They specifically set their fans up to produce wide-band noise, making them impossible to effectively deaden with acoustic foam).

Let me put it this way, when my machine is idle:
- Two 120mm case fans at 520 RPM (just above stall speed)
- One 120mm CPU fan at 700 RPM (CPU idles at 38c)
- The 140mm PSU fan runs at 0 RPM when under this low level of load.
- My reference-cooled GTX 780 idles at 22% fan speed and holds an idle temperature of around 40c.
- The loudest thing in the entire rig is a 2TB hard disk.

xoleras said:
This is in a cosmos 2 case (NOT OPEN AIR) -The 780 in particular with a reference model *always* hovers around 80C no matter what, while an aftermarket card such as the EVGA SC ACX will be around 55-60C which means that it has way more GPU boost headroom. This was in *my* case, in my Cosmos II.
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Again, I've already stated what case I'm using. Fractal Design R3.

Honestly, it seems to me that you just don't care about noise... I'd rather not have to spin up every fan in my case to keep my motherboard, CPU, and GPU temps in-check simply because the GPU alone is under moderate load.

And as I said above, my GTX 780 idles at around 40c (load temp is closer to 80c). That's hardly "always" hovering at 80c (and it's able to do that with only the cross-flow of a 520 RPM fan blowing past a HDD cage. That's pretty darn impressive)

xoleras said:
If your case is garbage, don't use an open air cooler. You don't want open air in a mini ITX case. But if you have an ATX case with good air flow, the open air cards will cool better and overclock substantially better - as well, a good case will have no issues with air flow because hot air will be expelled by front and rear intake and exhaust fans; the only way the air becomes trapped inside is if your case has restrictive air flow or isn't configured properly.
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I don't think anyone here is about to call the R3 garbage :rolleyes:

You're just not getting the point. cooling-to-noise ratio. Can't do a rig this silent with a dual-fan cooler, because too many other fans (that would otherwise be off / just above stall) need to be running JUST to maintain GPU (and possible other component) temperature vs. getting rid of all that heat immediately with a blower cooler.

There's nothing "restrictive" about my airflow. It's a full ATX case with fans in the appropriate locations. The cooling is so good, in fact, that my fans can be almost OFF and my temps stay in-check... UNLESS I toss a graphics card with a dual-fan cooler in there. That immediately screws up the entire setup and requires I run all my fans at audible levels just to keep all my idle temps on all my components from rising.

xoleras said:
It really does sound like your case is just garbage if the hot air is trapped within. If your case is garbage, don't use an open air cooler. It really is that simple. If you spend money for a good case, open air cards have benefits. They're obviously not for everyone, though - if you have a small case or a bad case with no air flow, reference is the way to go. High end fullsize EATX/ATX cases don't have this problem with air flow that you speak of, however.
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It's not garbage, the fans are LITERALLY off or almost off. My cooling-to-noise ratio is outstanding.

Slightly old pics (the Noctua fan has been swapped for a better one), but go ahead and tell me if you see any issues with airflow in this full ATX case with mount-points for four 140mm fans + three 120mm fans:

lJGJS5V.jpg


b9bWWBB.jpg


The foam-padded fan-hole cover located above and behind the CPU heatsink has been removed on-purpose. No fan has been mounted here because, at idle and low-load, convection carries hot air generated by the CPU cooler out the top of the case with no assistance. This allows the rear case fan to spin at lower speeds while the machine is idle because it has less heat to forcibly evacuate.

You have a lot to learn about silent computing, my friend...
 
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Unknown-One said:
*Buzzer* I'm going to have to stop you right there...

I said better cooling AND low-noise. As in, simultaneously. You missed a full half of the equation there...

If you enclose a dual-fan cooler in a case, you will need increased case-fan speed (and possibly also the GPU-fan speed) in order to maintain the same temps on all components.
Click to expand...

No you don't need to increase case fans speed. And even if you did, it would still be less noisy because reference cards are easily x4-x5 more loud by default than the aftermarket cards.

Sounds like you're too poor to buy a decent case and a good aftermarket brand card.
 
StormClaw said:
No you don't need to increase case fans speed. And even if you did, it would still be less noisy because reference cards are easily x4-x5 more loud by default than the aftermarket cards.

Sounds like you're too poor to buy a decent case and a good aftermarket brand card.
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Unknown is right and wrong at the same time. Yes the GPU with non ref cooler will make the CPU run slightly hotter, but the difference is only about 5°C while running the same case fan speeds. I had 2x sapphire dual x 7950 in an r4 with a 3770k with the fans on medium fan speed and had no heat issues. With the CPU at 4.6ghz 1.3v it never broke 70°C while gaming (including big bf3 maps). So yes the other components will run hotter, but the benefits you get from the GPU (non ref PCB with better vrm, better cooling for higher over clocks, and quieter operation in most cases like wf3 or tf3). Plus you can get binned cards like the AMP or HOF, that's not gonna happen with reference.
 
StormClaw said:
No you don't need to increase case fans speed. And even if you did, it would still be less noisy because reference cards are easily x4-x5 more loud by default than the aftermarket cards.
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Two scenarios...

1. Almost the entire thermal load from a 250w card never enters the case.
2. The entire thermal load of a 250w card enters the case.

How, exactly, do you not need to run your case fans faster in scenario 2 than you did in scenario 1?

And Nvidia did an excellent job with the blower cooler on the 770, 780, and Titan. It is, by far, the quietest blower cooler I've ever used. Leaps and bounds better than what was used on the GTX 200 series (last time I had an Nvidia card). Unbelievably good compared to the garbage blower coolers that came on the reference HD 5850, 5870, and 6970 as well...

StormClaw said:
Sounds like you're too poor to buy a decent case and a good aftermarket brand card.
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Again, case is right in the photos. There's a fairly large thread dedicated to the R3 in the case-mod forums. It's popular as hell and top-rated by SPCR...

And I specifically picked a blower cooler because I was tired of dealing with the heat output of dual-fan setups... also, did you really just call someone who dropped $650 on a graphics card "poor"? Come on man, reality-check :rolleyes:

Another reason for going reference-model? I had heard good things about the Nvidia cooler, but even if that didn't work out, it's easier to find aftermarket coolers for reference-model cards. I wasn't about to buy some weird custom PCB design and be stuck with whatever cooler the OEM built for it.

LVUdY6K.jpg


Old HD 6970 next to new GTX 780. Sooooo glad to be back on Nvidia and blower coolers :D
 
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Unknown-One said:
Let me put it this way, when my machine is idle:
- Two 120mm case fans at 520 RPM (just above stall speed)
- One 120mm CPU fan at 700 RPM (CPU idles at 38c)
- The 140mm PSU fan runs at 0 RPM when under this low level of load.
- My reference-cooled GTX 780 idles at 22% fan speed and holds an idle temperature of around 40c.
- The loudest thing in the entire rig is a 2TB hard disk.
.
Click to expand...

My case:

  • 2 140mm intake fans in the front. One has the radiator from my H90 attached to it. The other is right infront of the graphics cards, running at 900RPM (noctua fans btw)
  • 1 120mm Noctua exhaust fan running at 900RPM
  • 1 200mm CoolerMaster exhaust fan on top. 700RPM (110CFM)
  • 2 ACX Cooled 780's idle at 29C (Top Card) 26C (Bottom Card) Oh and these are reference PCB too...Like all EVGA cards are...
  • CPU at 4.5 with 1.28volts idles at 26C
  • Same as you loudest thing in my case is my 2 western digital 1TB black drives.

89C7fLV.jpg


ePR9IWQ.jpg


ezG7eX8.jpg


If you look at the cooler on the 780's you can see a gap between the heatpsreaders, all the hot air comes out there, directly into my 200mm exhaust fan.

Edit: I will say this though: If I was using a standard CPU heatsink and not a all in one water cooler or standard water cooling I would go with reference blower style coolers on the GPU's. Since I am using a Corsair H90 that gets fresh cold air from the front intakes I don't have to worry about hot air from the GPU's affecting cpu temps
 
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I stopped buying non ref/non blower cards just because they preclude you from sandwiching/tri SLI and usually prevent you from using a full coverage water block. If you know with 100% certainty that those things aren't ever going to be an issue, I'd get the ACX style cooler every time. But personally, I like keeping my options open.
 
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