NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Roundup

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Our friends at Legit Reviews have rounded up a handful of GeForce GTX 780 Ti video cards from various manufacturers over the weekend and put them to the test.

The NVIDIA GTX780 Ti reference card runs at 875MHz core (928MHz boost) and has 3GB of GDDR5 memory running on a 384-bit bus at 1750MHz (7000MHz effective), but there are a number of add-in-board (AIB) partners that have released cards with factory overclocks and custom cooling solutions. If you are looking to improve your graphics performance you might be ready to move up to a GeForce GTX 780 Ti, but which one?
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Gigabyte GHZ ownage. Can't wait for 100-150$ price increases in Canada which is what happened to the PNY 780 OC (530$ @ launch to 660$ now) once reviews came out.
 
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I'm shocked at these temps. What's a max OC test that has low temps? They should all be balls out 80degreesC/100% fan, no?

That's the torture I've been putting my reference 780s through on a daily basis running pcsx2 in stacked SLI-AA. 4xMSAA off the emulator and then driver enhanced SLI 8xFXAA+2xAA supersample transparency. Who says emulators can't make use of SLI?

To me the EVGA will win here if we keep going on the OC (and we really should keep going...), because the Gigabyte is running hotter and louder top to bottom. Also, we might as well drop the extra cash on the Classified ACX and not mention the Kingpin ed. since we're on air in this test and the Kingpin is for LN2 and a pretty low yield SKU. Admittedly I'm biased towards EVGA, but it's mostly just because they tend to have the best fit-and-finish. That Windforce card is a pig even with the backplate. MSI? Not on my list lately. They were once.
 
No mention of the lower RPM's on the MSI.

Something is wrong w/ the noise levels as well. The ACX is spinning 500+ RPM faster than the MSI. The MSI fans are larger as well. Yet they have the SAME db @ load? Also, a 36 db noise floor is quite high. My old apt in the city is @ 25 db. How do I know something is wrong? Simple, I've owned both. The ACX is whiny, loud, and generally a nuisance compared to the sheer awesome that is the MSI.

Finally, 12,700K GPU score in Firestrike for a 1300 Mhz 780 Ti is very low. I can hit that @ 1200.
 
Bluesun311 said:
I'm biased towards EVGA, but it's mostly just because they tend to have the best fit-and-finish.
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Not sure I can really agree with that anymore. They couldn't seem to ship out a working ACX cooler to me no matter how many we went through.

Eventually had to give up and zip-tie my own fans to the ACX cooler. Ended up with a quieter, better-performing setup that didn't make horrible whining or grinding noises.
 
LOL!

My ACX 780 whined and drove me bonkers. A friend's also whines. As does quite a few folks on the net...I would say the ACX is not for those that like their systems quiet.
 
shadyqwerty said:
LOL!

My ACX 780 whined and drove me bonkers. A friend's also whines. As does quite a few folks on the net...I would say the ACX is not for those that like their systems quiet.
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Tell me about it. The stock Nvidia reference-model blower cooler is better than an unmodified ACX cooler in almost every way. This is what my ACX looks like right now:



Soooo much better than the EVGA fans.
 
Unknown-One said:
Not sure I can really agree with that anymore. They couldn't seem to ship out a working ACX cooler to me no matter how many we went through.

Eventually had to give up and zip-tie my own fans to the ACX cooler. Ended up with a quieter, better-performing setup that didn't make horrible whining or grinding noises.
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Yeah that's a pretty epic fail and it makes me slightly embarrassed to be a fan (pun intended). I wasn't thinking of quality so much as aesthetics, though.
 
Unknown-One said:
Soooo much better than the EVGA fans.
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I think it might be true for all graphics cards. Maybe moreso with EVGA (I've heard the ACX has rattling issues).
This is what my Tri-X looks like right now:

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Probably will start doing this with all my graphics cards.
 
Haha, nice job with the 120mm Noctua.

I tried to keep mine looking at least semi-factory. I could actually re-attach the original ACX shroud with a little modding (and some slightly longer screws) since the fans are the same size and in exactly the same locations as the original EVGA fans.
 
Unknown-One said:
Tell me about it. The stock Nvidia reference-model blower cooler is better than an unmodified ACX cooler in almost every way. This is what my ACX looks like right now:



Soooo much better than the EVGA fans.
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Great job mate! Those look like 92x25mm fans from Artic Cooling! Dude...just fab man. I can't wait to foward this to my buddy.
 
So should these results ring true if I were to go with an overclocked 780? MSI still the way to go?
 
Nice review other than the over the top overclocks. I don't know why AIBs send cards like that to reviewers, it is misleading. Save for the Classified due to its huge voltage headroom, these cards don't reflect real world overclocks at all. All of the cards hit well over 1300 MHz but one really?
I've owned 3 780 Ti's one of them couldn't go above 1200 MHz no matter what the voltage, one can do about 1215 MHz, and the last and best one can do about 1254 MHz. And by stability I mean strong 24/7 stability not a 5 minutes benchmark stable. That's why I like HardOCP as the best review site, most of the time they ensure their cards are 100% stable and the OCs they get are not way over the top.
 
MmAa990 said:
Nice review other than the over the top overclocks. I don't know why AIBs send cards like that to reviewers, it is misleading. Save for the Classified due to its huge voltage headroom, these cards don't reflect real world overclocks at all. All of the cards hit well over 1300 MHz but one really?
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1300 MHz doesn't seem that uncommon. Here's my reference-model GTX 780, with a reference blower-cooler, with a reference BIOS, doing 1306 MHz: http://i.imgur.com/gPpjzPf.jpg

Do the 780 Ti's have more trouble breaking 1300 MHz than the original 780's?
 
Ltor said:
So should these results ring true if I were to go with an overclocked 780? MSI still the way to go?
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Only thing to note is that should you have a problem, MSI's support is pretty craptastic. Not ASUS levels of bad, but not much better.

Well for laptops at least, I've never RMA'd one of their GPUs.
 
Unknown-One said:
Do the 780 Ti's have more trouble breaking 1300 MHz than the original 780's?
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From what I've seen yes. GTX 780 Ti's overclock worse than the normal GTX 780s. Mainly due to the voltage limitations. 780 Ti reference max is only 1.212V with a custom BIOS. GTX 780s can go up to 1.300V using MSI Afterburner mod, although it is very dangerous to go to that voltage without using proper cooling.
From my experience (1150 MHz-1241 MHz) is the average OC, anything beyond that is pure luck, only golden 780 Ti's can do 1300 MHz, or when given enough hefty voltage like the Kingpin or Classified cards. Otherwise with the stock voltage (depending on ASIC I've seen ranges from 1.200V to 1175V) don't put too high expectations of hitting 1300 MHz+ like those reviews show, at least not for 24/7 stability.
 
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Sycraft said:
Only thing to note is that should you have a problem, MSI's support is pretty craptastic. Not ASUS levels of bad, but not much better.

Well for laptops at least, I've never RMA'd one of their GPUs.
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Who these days really offers a great warranty and honors it? I've heard EVGA has slipped quite a bit and XFX has also gone down the tubes. Galaxy seems like they are pretty good and Gigabyte as well.

I've heard nothing but shit from ASUS support. However the worst of all time is a tie between HIS and Diamond (I've had personal experience with Diamond , don't know if they are even around anymore.. I hope not).
 
^My EVGA was so jacked, they gave me a full refund 3 months later. So, I would say it was a good experience overall. Especially when I bought a Ti for the same price, lol!

MmAa990 said:
...these cards don't reflect real world overclocks at all. All of the cards hit well over 1300 MHz but one really?
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That's because that review is full of shit and you are not. I have had 2 780's. 1150, 1221, and one 780 Ti hits 1210. That's MULTIPLE GAME STABLE, not a retarded suicide bench run.

Unknown-One said:
1300 MHz doesn't seem that uncommon.
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For stability across ALL the games one owns it sure as hell does.
 
oldbigisugly said:
well the result of overclocking a 780ti will always be better than a non oced 780.Its just an excuse for them to not getting a 780ti :D
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Uh... that's pretty obvious. Of course an overclocked 780 Ti is faster than a stock-speed 780...

What's kinda interesting is that there are overclocked 780's beating overclocked 780 Ti's (not all, but some), because the plain 780 can hit high enough clocks to overcome the SMX-unit difference.
 
Godmachine said:
Who these days really offers a great warranty and honors it? I've heard EVGA has slipped quite a bit and XFX has also gone down the tubes. Galaxy seems like they are pretty good and Gigabyte as well.
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Nobody is really great, probably because they always assume the consumer is stupid and wrong because, well, they usually are. I can vouch for this what with doing tech support for a living. However it also leads to somewhat worse customer service in real cases.

eVGA has been pretty good in my experience. I have had to use their RMA process and while it did take longer than I'd like to convince them it was a legit problem, it was made right in the end. I had a card, GTX 280 I think, that had thermal issues as a lot of them did. Didn't when I bought it but developed them like a year later. Sent it back, got another 280 refurb'd. Same issue. Sent it back, they sent a 400 series as a replacement which worked. I don't recall which but it was more powerful than the 280.

They are who I'll probably stick with, though I've heard good thing about Galaxy but not tried them myself.
 
shadyqwerty said:
For stability across ALL the games one owns it sure as hell does.
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I also don't necessarily agree that 1300mhz is extremely common on the 780. Now you can do various things with voltage mods and 3rd party BIOS' installations, but on most stock cards? It really does depend. My experience hasn't revealed 1300mhz being "easy", but some of the voltage modifiable cards (such as the classified and lightning cards) can do that. Also GPU Boost 2.0 directly correlates improved cooling to improved clockspeeds and overclocks. But I wouldn't characterize 1300mhz as being completely trivial.

I would say it's easier but not guaranteed on SKUs such as the HOF, classified, or lightning. On reference, maybe, but silicon lottery definitely applies. I've used quite a few 780s that could not hit 1300, but it really isn't a huge deal. Because: It seems that 1200mhz or so is there threshold where the 780 can start matching the 780ti. Then again, the 780ti can overclock as well and once you overclock the 780ti, then you're back at square one. With the same performance difference between cards.
 
I've seen dudes struggle w/ 1250 on their Classies.

Even EVGA_Jacob posted 1300 on air is GREAT. If anyone knows the lottery, it is him.
 
I completely agree with you. I get the feeling that some of the overclock brags at OCN are mostly 2 minute heaven runs or quick "suicide" benchmark runthroughs. I mean, getting a ridiculously high overclock doing that is very, very easy. Getting a stable overclock for a 3 hour gaming session of Crysis 3 or Metro : LL is another thing altogether. Won't be nearly as easy, you'll likely get a TDR after 10 minutes.

Anyway, I know my 780s peak at around 1202. And that's really fine with me, as the performance is really awesome at that point. I just don't get why anyone would be disappointed by the 1150-1200 range, as it's an awesome overclock. 1150 is 250MHz higher than the stock GTX 780 boost also.

I'm not saying that 1300 isn't possible. And I know some have done it. To say it's common though? I'm not so sure. Not that it even matters: What i'm saying is that 1150-1200 is a fucking amazing overclock for a 780; heck a 1200mhz 780 enters 780ti performance territory. So there's no need to ever complain about a 1200ish GTX 780 overclock. I don't know how or why 1300 is the arbitrary number that everyone aims for when overclocking, but it seems a bit on the high end and probably not realistic for anything except the best binned cards with voltage adjustments. Just IMO.
 
What's the "1300 OC" (golden for 780) for the 780 Ti - 1200? My Kingpin is at 1320 and it seems to have plenty of breathing room...but yeah...expected for a card of that price. :)
 
What can you do with that card @ 2000 RPM fan?

What are temps @ those settings?

How much was it?

What is warranty?

July crap I'm lazy lol!
 
sk3tch said:
What's the "1300 OC" (golden for 780) for the 780 Ti - 1200? My Kingpin is at 1320 and it seems to have plenty of breathing room...but yeah...expected for a card of that price. :)
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Yeah, binned cards like that can generally have a much easier time achieving it. I'd say it's much more likely with a classified or kingpin calibur card, rather than a reference PCB based card. And those cards have more voltage options as well, which helps.

I just question the assertion that it's very likely for reference based cards. Some have gotten it, but i'd say say a lot haven't. And that's no big deal. I think 1150-1200 is an amazing overclock for the 780 or 780ti.
 
shadyqwerty said:
Wow. $180 over what I paid for my 780!

I just said a little prayer for u to get 1500. ;)
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Yeah, it's not a good price. I wasn't worried about that, just wanted to own the 3 fastest single cards. Just having fun before Maxwell hits.
 
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