X99 system coming in, question about my case, video card, and cooling

w35t

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
1,761
Ok so I'm finally upgrading to an X99 system all the way from X58!

In case you're curious:
5820k
ASRock Extreme4
HyperX 4x4gb 2400

I currently have an HAF932 case with massive fans everywhere. I opened it up to take it apart and get it cleaned up for the new build and realized I want to go a different route with the build. I want something more elegant, clean, quiet, and doesn't act as a vacuum cleaner to a carpet full of cat hair.

I decided to go with Fractal Design R5 for it's sleek design, filters, and sound blocking materials. I will be cooling the CPU with a H100i aio. Through a bit of research I decided to attempt to go with the whole "positive pressure" thing by having more intake fans than exhaust to lessen the intake of dust. I also decided that as long as the tubing length permits, to install the H100i as an intake in the front of the case to avoid having the fans on top making noise.

The problem I'm running into now is that I have a the EVGA acx 2.0 980ti on the way. I guess my main question, assuming the above is ok, is should I send this card back and get a blower style cooler? I know I'm not going to have the circulation I had before and installing an open aftermarket cooler gpu seems contradictory to what I'm trying to achieve.


Here's a link providing lots of hi-res pictures of the case in case you're not familiar with it:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fractal_Design/Define_R5/4.html
 
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I haven't looked around to see if there was a specific GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0 vs Reference Cooler performance but I don't think I would worry about it.

I know a lot of reviews give high praise to the build quality of the reference cooler.

Is the GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0 a reference board? IIRC the Titan X & 980 Ti reference coolers are "identical." If you are unhappy with the ACX 2.0 performance (and it is a reference board), I'd see if anyone on [H] is willing to part with the (better looking IMHO) reference cooler from the Titan X.

Have you thought about EVGA's GTX 980 Ti Hybrid?
 
I haven't looked around to see if there was a specific GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0 vs Reference Cooler performance but I don't think I would worry about it.

I know a lot of reviews give high praise to the build quality of the reference cooler.

Is the GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0 a reference board? IIRC the Titan X & 980 Ti reference coolers are "identical." If you are unhappy with the ACX 2.0 performance (and it is a reference board), I'd see if anyone on [H] is willing to part with the (better looking IMHO) reference cooler from the Titan X.

Have you thought about EVGA's GTX 980 Ti Hybrid?

I'm actually not 100% sure if this card has a reference PCB or not. I'm going to keep searching for an answer on that. I didn't think about just grabbing a blower style cooler from someone, I'm sure there are people here putting em on water that would gladly part with one. Maybe I can compare the backplates on this one and a reference EVGA and figure that out.

At the same time, I could just return the card to newegg and get $50 back. Though that would probably take weeks and I'm anxious to get this build underway.

I didn't know about the Hybrid when I bought this card but it would be perfect for this build. Problem obviously is cost and availability. If I did return this card to newegg and one popped up I'd probably go for it.
 
Comparing the backplates they look the same so I bet it does have a reference pcb. There's also nothing in the specs or description of the card that would imply otherwise.
 
At the same time, I could just return the card to newegg and get $50 back. Though that would probably take weeks and I'm anxious to get this build underway.

I didn't know about the Hybrid when I bought this card but it would be perfect for this build. Problem obviously is cost and availability. If I did return this card to newegg and one popped up I'd probably go for it.

I'm going to assume you purchased the EVGA GTX Ti SC+ [$699.99] (06G-P4-4995-KR) based on you mentioning the savings of $50.

It would make no sense for you to spend $700 & then purchase a reference blower.

Newegg also sells (OOS) the 980 Ti Hybrid cooler for $99.99 (again - makes no sense)

I'd send the card back & wait for the $770 980 Ti Hybrid or keep your card & be happy :)
 
I'm going to assume you purchased the EVGA GTX Ti SC+ [$699.99] (06G-P4-4995-KR) based on you mentioning the savings of $50.

It would make no sense for you to spend $700 & then purchase a reference blower.

Newegg also sells (OOS) the 980 Ti Hybrid cooler for $99.99 (again - makes no sense)

I'd send the card back & wait for the $770 980 Ti Hybrid or keep your card & be happy :)

Yep that's the card I have coming and that's definitely sound advice. I just feel like with this case and airflow scenario I'm going for it doesn't make sense to have an open air cooler circulating hot air.

Unfortunately the case decision came after the card decision or I'd have just bought a reference card. =\

Edit: And stupid question, it looks by the pictures of the Hybrid cooler on NE you need a reference cooler to start with? Because it doesn't come with the blower fan? Or is it just not pictured..
 
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I'm going to make the assumption you have to have the reference cooler to use the stand alone hybrid waterblock

Take a look at the photos on [H]'s 980 Ti review. Specifically the first two with the shroud off the card.

I believe the only change between the hybrid and reference cooler is that the heat sink mounted on the GPU is replaced by the waterblock/pump combo.

If you decide to go this route, I'd strongly suggest returning your card and setting up "Auto Notify" direct from EVGA on the 980 Ti Hybrid. (It's cheaper and will probably be in stock sooner)

Scenario 1:
Keep GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0+ SC+ ($699.99) for a guaranteed 1102 MHz Base/ 1190 MHz Boost clock card

Scenario 2:
Keep GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0+ SC+ ($699.99) + Used Reference Cooler ($50 maybe?!) + Hybrid kit ($100) = ~$850 for a guaranteed 1102 MHz Base/ 1190 MHz Boost clock card

Scenario 3:
$649.99 - Return current card, save $50 for reference card for a guaranteed 1000 MHz Base / 1076 MHz Boost Clock Card

Scenario 4:
$749.99 - Return current card, save $50 for reference card + Hybrid kit ($100) for a guaranteed 1000 MHz Base / 1076 MHz Boost Clock Card

Scenario 5:
Return Current card for $699.99 and wait to purchase EVGA's GTX 980 Ti Hybrid DIRECT ($749.99) for a guaranteed 1140 MHz Base / 1228 MHz Boost Clock Card

Or any other permutation.....

I haven't gotten a chance to read all of [H]'s 980 Ti review yet - but another review's look at overclocking revealed that the 980 Ti seemed to scale very well with overclocking and concluded that the card is TDP limited.

With that said - overclocking is a obviously not guaranteed. If I could find a suitable replacement for my 37" Westy (cant decide on size or resolution) - I'd snag a Hybrid for the default clocks.
 
I'm going to make the assumption you have to have the reference cooler to use the stand alone hybrid waterblock

Take a look at the photos on [H]'s 980 Ti review. Specifically the first two with the shroud off the card.

I believe the only change between the hybrid and reference cooler is that the heat sink mounted on the GPU is replaced by the waterblock/pump combo.

If you decide to go this route, I'd strongly suggest returning your card and setting up "Auto Notify" direct from EVGA on the 980 Ti Hybrid. (It's cheaper and will probably be in stock sooner)

Scenario 1:
Keep GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0+ SC+ ($699.99) for a guaranteed 1102 MHz Base/ 1190 MHz Boost clock card

Scenario 2:
Keep GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0+ SC+ ($699.99) + Used Reference Cooler ($50 maybe?!) + Hybrid kit ($100) = ~$850 for a guaranteed 1102 MHz Base/ 1190 MHz Boost clock card

Scenario 3:
$649.99 - Return current card, save $50 for reference card for a guaranteed 1000 MHz Base / 1076 MHz Boost Clock Card

Scenario 4:
$749.99 - Return current card, save $50 for reference card + Hybrid kit ($100) for a guaranteed 1000 MHz Base / 1076 MHz Boost Clock Card

Scenario 5:
Return Current card for $699.99 and wait to purchase EVGA's GTX 980 Ti Hybrid DIRECT ($749.99) for a guaranteed 1140 MHz Base / 1228 MHz Boost Clock Card

Or any other permutation.....

I haven't gotten a chance to read all of [H]'s 980 Ti review yet - but another review's look at overclocking revealed that the 980 Ti seemed to scale very well with overclocking and concluded that the card is TDP limited.

With that said - overclocking is a obviously not guaranteed. If I could find a suitable replacement for my 37" Westy (cant decide on size or resolution) - I'd snag a Hybrid for the default clocks.

Those pictures lead me to believe you would need a reference model to get the hybrid cooler. =\

But anyway, I got the card today along with all the other X99 goodies =)

My childish impatience forced me to open the box up and pop it in for some benches using my current x58 setup. I'm assuming this means I can't return the card, but so far I'm pretty happy with it anyway. I figure I'll just use it and see how things go, if things get too toasty I could always trade it for a reference model, maybe even at least enough cash on top to cover shipping.

I appreciate your responses and help, and I realize returning the card would be a more cost effective option than using this one and swapping coolers. I just don't know what I'd do waiting weeks for its replacement, especially with a fresh X99 setup on standby.
 
I would have done the exact same thing. Given the (current) very limited availability of the 980 Ti series, you could be stuck with your GTX 970 for another month :rolleyes:. Instead, you accepted the issues around being an early adopter, found yourself a BA card and decided to use it.

What I'm about to say could be crucifable (not a word?) around here:

I completely understand the drive to constantly lower component temperature - but I also understand the maximum temperatures that Intel/nVidia/AMD rate their silicon at. I'll eat my work boots (on camera if needed) if somebody can point me to a test of silicon longevity, overclock included, that compared a large sample size of any CPU/GPU within the past 5 years that definitely proved that silicon would last a *measurable* (2+ years?) bit longer by dropping core temps by 10C. (within manu specifications/reason)

Within the past couple years I've paid a lot less attention to every single published silicon parameter - but your i7-950 has a published Tcase(max) of 67.9C. I'm not sure how Tcase and Core Temp correspond, but my idea of a *perfectly tuned* system would be this:

1) Find max stable overclock @ max fan speed
2) Slow fan speeds down as far as possible to keep temps within manu specifications
3) Compare temperature of Max_OC to 10% less OC (can you drop vCore)
4) Is system noticeably more quiet @ 10% less OC?

I've had 4 EVGA GPUs: 8800 GTX, GTX 260(replacement for the 8800 GTX w/blown cap), GTX 480 and GTX 970. Besides the GTX 260 (used for a very short time), the GTX 970 is my favorite card. It is not/was not the most bleeding edge nVidia GPU at time of purchase. However, it is the first GPU I haven't had to put under water to shut it up. I still have nightmares about air cooled sound my GTX 480 made.

I'll PM you an address to mail your 980 Ti SC+ to when you decide you don't want it anymore. :D
 
I would have done the exact same thing. Given the (current) very limited availability of the 980 Ti series, you could be stuck with your GTX 970 for another month :rolleyes:. Instead, you accepted the issues around being an early adopter, found yourself a BA card and decided to use it.

What I'm about to say could be crucifable (not a word?) around here:

I completely understand the drive to constantly lower component temperature - but I also understand the maximum temperatures that Intel/nVidia/AMD rate their silicon at. I'll eat my work boots (on camera if needed) if somebody can point me to a test of silicon longevity, overclock included, that compared a large sample size of any CPU/GPU within the past 5 years that definitely proved that silicon would last a *measurable* (2+ years?) bit longer by dropping core temps by 10C. (within manu specifications/reason)

Within the past couple years I've paid a lot less attention to every single published silicon parameter - but your i7-950 has a published Tcase(max) of 67.9C. I'm not sure how Tcase and Core Temp correspond, but my idea of a *perfectly tuned* system would be this:

1) Find max stable overclock @ max fan speed
2) Slow fan speeds down as far as possible to keep temps within manu specifications
3) Compare temperature of Max_OC to 10% less OC (can you drop vCore)
4) Is system noticeably more quiet @ 10% less OC?

I've had 4 EVGA GPUs: 8800 GTX, GTX 260(replacement for the 8800 GTX w/blown cap), GTX 480 and GTX 970. Besides the GTX 260 (used for a very short time), the GTX 970 is my favorite card. It is not/was not the most bleeding edge nVidia GPU at time of purchase. However, it is the first GPU I haven't had to put under water to shut it up. I still have nightmares about air cooled sound my GTX 480 made.

I'll PM you an address to mail your 980 Ti SC+ to when you decide you don't want it anymore. :D

I think if you would have added the i and said crucifiable... nope... still red squiggly =\

And squiggly is a word, go figure.

That's actually a good point you make about temps though. Most of these chips (gpu and cpu) according to the manufacturers are designed to handle up to ~90 deg C. We enthusiasts just always have these numbers staring at us and don't like em. The 980ti seemed to handle 1400-1450 MHz just fine playing the Witcher 3 and that's without voltage increase; which as you pointed out earlier I can't increase anyway, perhaps with a BIOS flash, idk atm.

I guess my end goal is to have my CPU at 4.0-4.4 GHz at hopefully 1.25v or below and hopefully low 70s under load. I also want my GPU to never touch 80 deg and maintain 1400 MHz + on the core. I'm not reaching for the stars or anything.

I actually didn't notice you have a 5820k too. What OC have you achieved and how are you cooling it?
 
I'm in the same boat for an upgrade to the 5820k too but possibly with the Asus X99-A or Gigabyte X99-UD4. Please let us know how far can you get with that cpu & mobo & cooler.

On your vga question, unless you decide to SLI, ACX cooler is the way to go. However, it will perform way worse than reference blower in multiple cards configuration. The 980 Ti ACX definitely used reference pcb so you shouldn't have any problem with the hybrid cooler.
 
I'm in the same boat for an upgrade to the 5820k too but possibly with the Asus X99-A or Gigabyte X99-UD4. Please let us know how far can you get with that cpu & mobo & cooler.

On your vga question, unless you decide to SLI, ACX cooler is the way to go. However, it will perform way worse than reference blower in multiple cards configuration. The 980 Ti ACX definitely used reference pcb so you shouldn't have any problem with the hybrid cooler.

I was able to get 4.2GHz with the one click overclocking feature on the MOBO. The H100i keeps the CPU freezing cold and I couldn't be happier. Easiest and most streamline install I've ever experienced, can't say enough good about the R5 case.

I rigged something up pretty nasty however... You can see in the picture below the lack of hard drive cages. This is due in part that the case has mounts for 2 SSD's behind the mobo tray and that I had few options if I was going to stick with my original plan of mounting the H100i rad on the front as an intake. I have 1 60gb SSD for the OS and another 512GB SSD for programs mounted on the back, and with the position of the H100i I had no decent option to mount a hard drive cage, so I actually taped my 1TB HDD to the top of the optical drive :eek: where there's a perfect space but no real mounting options outside of modding and fabrication. My next plan is to install a M.2 SSD for the OS and a 1 TB SSD on the mobo tray in stead of the 60gb one. I then can say goodbye to spinny's for good. My wallet however needs some time to recuperate.

 
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