ASUS Direct CU2 GTX 780 ti vs NZXT Kraken G10 with ASUS GTX 780 Ti for first gaming build ($3000 budget)

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superdonny67

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Mar 26, 2013
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Hi,

This is my first rig and I've already got all my parts planned out:

Case: NZXT Phantom 820 Matte Black
CPU: Intel i7 4770K
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 1866 16GB (2x8GB)
HDD: WD Black SATA3 FZEX 2TB
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Formula
PSU: Corsair RM1000
Optical Drive: Asus 24x Burner
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 Liquid Cooler
Fans: Noctua NF-A14 FLX 140mm x 4
Thermal Paste: Noctua NT-H1

However, I have roughly $1000 out of this budget to put towards my graphics card(s). I am either able to buy 2 of the ASUS Direct CU2 GTX 780's and run them in dual SLI configuration for slightly over $1000, or I can wait until the Direct CU2 model of the GTX 780 Ti is released and buy that for probably $700-$800. I am looking for a graphics option that will hopefully allow me to run all games at maximum settings for at least 4-5 years. I wasn't sure whether to go with the GTX 780 Ti and SLI that card later down the track.

Unless a monitor which utilises nVidia's upcoming G-Sync technology is ridiculously espensive, I was hoping to upgrade to something like a 2560x1440p resolution monitor next year, as I currently have a Benq GL2450hm, which is 1080p. For my gaming needs, what would be the best graphics setup for me, also considering that my motherboard can only support dual SLI.

I also wanted to know if anyone would recommend the Inno3d Ichill GTX 780 Herculez 3000:

http://www.inno3d.com/press/press_2013_11_07/press_2013_11_07.html

I've heard really good things about this company and their coolers and was wondering if anyone actually owned either a GTX 780 or GTX 780 Ti which used this cooler and were able to share their thoughts on how it runs, both temperature wise as well as acoustically in idle and load.

Would appreciate some advice on this, as I want this to be a rig which lasts me for a long time, while also running cool and as quiet as possible, thank you.
 
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nostall
NICE rig!!
Right off the top, I am not running a 700 series card, but I have been running SLI for many years. Currently two EVGA 660s.
That said, it is always 'safer' to run the most powerful single card that you can. There are less heat issues, less driver and programing (in games) issues, and one less piece of equipment that can fail or start failing and cause hours of troubleshooting to find.
So I would probably wait for the Ti version or go with a Titan
Pros for SLI: You can run cheaper cards and get frame rate similar or better then the top end card; my 660s run games as fast or faster then a 680, and are very close to a 770.
If one card fails, I can still game as I have one card left until I get a replacement; so down time is...
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nostall

nostall

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NICE rig!!
Right off the top, I am not running a 700 series card, but I have been running SLI for many years. Currently two EVGA 660s.
That said, it is always 'safer' to run the most powerful single card that you can. There are less heat issues, less driver and programing (in games) issues, and one less piece of equipment that can fail or start failing and cause hours of troubleshooting to find.
So I would probably wait for the Ti version or go with a Titan
Pros for SLI: You can run cheaper cards and get frame rate similar or better then the top end card; my 660s run games as fast or faster then a 680, and are very close to a 770.
If one card fails, I can still game as I have one card left until I get a replacement; so down time is reduced in the event of a card failure.
Two 780's will scream!! but be prepared for the minor hassles that occasionaly come with SLI.
 
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determinologyz

determinologyz

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Thats a hard call because i like both options..On top of that the 800 series is coming out at some point and picturing what a gtx 870/880 would look like spec wise...And for upgrading to a 1440p you going to want a sli setup that has some kick to it.
 
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nostall

nostall

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Ya, brother! I have finally aged enough that I have stopped putting things off until the "next big/best thing" comes out. There were a few times years ago when I could have raised a family between the announcement of some new hardware and it actually showing up and doing as it was supposed to. (The original GF3 cards come to mind; anti-aliasing was going to be the big thing-and it was if you didn't mind 10FPS. That technology took nearly 9 years to reach a point where it would actually work and not seriously impact the frame rate. Remember?)
That being said, do the SLI with the 780s. OR save a little more money and do it with TWO 780Ti's !!! (Now we're talkin')
 
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determinologyz

determinologyz

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Knowing me if i was not honestly trying to up grade gpus within 3-5 years i would go gtx 780ti route which would give you more end game then the gtx 780s and from what ive seen the 780 ti benchmarks do look impressive tbqh

 
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nostall

nostall

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That Inno card looks pretty cool, figuratively and literally. Gigabyte has two 780 models with similar cooling:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125471

I have read good report re. both. Don't know about anyother manufactures. ASUS cools well also, and is a little shorter.
Only further suggestion I can make is base the final decision on the warranties; both cards look really good.
 
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nostall

nostall

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Not a lot of time to search for the CU2 card, but a friend has a 660 ASUS in his PC and it runs great and runs cool, and looks cool.
Check out the info. on the 780Ti at
www.maximumpc.com
In the search bar type in 780ti, and they have a couple good articles on them. None on the ASUS version, but I will bet they will have one by end of next month.
UPDATE: I just did a quick search of Newegg and TigerDirect; Newegg has an ASUS 780Ti with reference cooling, none with the CU2 cooler. Tiger Direct: I could not find the 780Ti on their site.
You might have to be wait for the modified cards to show up: Looks like an ass-kicker though. This thread could end up costing ME a lot of money!
 
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superdonny67

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Ah ok, thanks man, I looked at another solution, the NZXT Kraken G10, along with the NZXT Kraken X40 and a Noctua NF-A9x14 A-Series 92mm Fan:

http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/138-kraken-g10-gpu-bracket.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835146027

http://www.mwave.com.au/product/noctua-nfa9x14-aseries-92mm-fan-aa16149

This looks like it would run really cool and really quiet and I wasn't sure if it would be a better alternative to the ASUS Direct CU2 Cooler. Can I have some thoughts?
 
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staystoned

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superdonny, i've already ordered 2 kraken g10s and 2 Zalman LQ-320's to go with them, NZXT said they would start shipping them on dec 16 so if you won't have your rig ordered by then i can give you feedback on how they cool my 2 EVGA 660ti FTW's (going to overclock them very heavy). And from my experiences I would get 1 GTX 780ti and run at 1080p for a while, then get a second whenever you get a new moniter, right now Nvidia is putting out some.... below par.... drivers that is making SLI a liability, just running 1 of my 660tis will do almost as good as with 2 with up-to-date drivers, have to run older ones. hopefully they'll fix them soon.

and the Kraken G10s with All In One water cooling is best way to go unless you want to spend hundreds on a custom loop for your video cards, keeps temps extremely low compared to any air cooled card, and you can get everything you need for around 100bucks depending on wat AIO liquid cooler you get. and if you want to SLI heat becomes a huge factor, bottom card blocks air flow and has hot air blown over it so it combines the heat from both. And most custom loops include all video cards and sometimes the cpu in the same loop, with the kraken g10s you can have everything on its on loop and get very good results.
 
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superdonny67

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hmmmmmm, i would definitely appreciate you posting the temps you get from the kraken g10 once you install it dude :) i would also like to know the temperature that you're getting on the vrm as well, because i've heard that the fan won't be sufficient
 
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superdonny67

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hmmmmmm, i would definitely appreciate you posting the temps you get from the kraken g10 once you install it dude :) i would also like to know the temperature that you're getting on the vrm as well, because i've heard that the fan won't be sufficient
 
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CJ kRoOkEd

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Have you built it yet?

I have a 780Ti. Best card on the planet and significant difference from a 780. I would go with the Ti if I were u.

Also, keep the reference card look, do not cool with 3rd party coolers because if you go SLI you would want to keep the gorgeous reference look and get the EVGA PRO SLI Bridge with green led mod as as well.

The EVGA superclocked 780Ti reference model is beautiful and performs exceptional. The GPU boost 2.0 shoots the card up to 1200Mhz while keeping it quiet and cool enough to never throttle. Cards max is 95c and it will never go above 83c with the boost which is automatic and hassle free.

 
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nostall

nostall

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+1^
 
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superdonny67

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Well, I've actually changed my mind heaps, I'm going to scrap the all in one water cooler and I'm now putting together a custom loop with the following parts:

1 Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Mini Valve $24.00
1 PrimoChill Liquid Utopia Clear Additive 15ml $16.00
1 Alphacool G1/4 M-M Adapter with O-Ring Chrome $5.00
1 XSPC Raystorm D5 EX360 Water Cooling Kit $299.00
5 XSPC G1/4 Black Chrome 7/16 Compression Fitting $22.50
1 PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing Red 7/16ID 5/8OD 3m $35.00
1 Alphacool Y Connector G1/4 Triple Female Chrome $15.00
1 Logitech C270 HD Webcam $29.00
3 Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fan $96.00

I was tossing up between buying a reference ASUS GTX 780 Ti right now and putting these waterblocks on it:

http://www.xs-pc.com/waterblocks-gpu/razor-gtx-titan-780-780ti

http://www.xs-pc.com/waterblocks-gpu/razor-gtx-titan-780-backplate

Or buying an ASUS GTX 780 Ti Direct CU2 and buying a waterblock later, once one is released:

http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/GTX780TIDC2OC3GD5/
 
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CJ kRoOkEd

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I can tell this is your first build. Your very enthusiastic about it, and focusing more on looks I see.

Let me help you out.

1- Your CPU is $330.00. Your water cool setup is About $500.00.
2- Your focused on silence, but the NZXT phantom is not a silent case.
3- For the difference in cooling costs you can get a kraken x60 AIO and upgrade to 2 480gb SSD's in RAID 0. That 250GB will run out sooner than you think.
4- Asus is a good company, but if your going Nvidia, stick with EVGA. They have the best warranties, service, support, and products. Also the 90 day step-up program which allows you to upgrade your gpu only having to pay the difference if any.
5- A gpu will not last you 4-5 years. Will last you 2 before you undecidely opt to upgrade due to the change in architecture and new functionality support. Example: I had a GTX 580 3GB Extreme lightning series, and 2 yrs later im on a 780Ti because of Geforce Shadowplay, 4k, GPU boost, the reference look etc..


Lets focus on performance first and foremost.

If you want a mix of quiet, powerful, and full-featured, I can help get you there.

Im running a silent build. These are my specs:

4770k @4.4GHz
NZXT Kraken X60 (on quiet mode)
GTX 780Ti EVGA Superclocked- GTX 580 3GB for Physx
MSI Z87 Mpower Max Motherboard (Bluetooth 4.0, wifi, widi, SLI, Shielded audio, killer Ethernet, usb game port, quick charge usb)
Cooler Master V1000 fully modular haswell PSU
16 GB Adata 2400Mhz Ram
960GB Crucial SSD

I boot up in 6-9 seconds. I max everything. And its super quiet. Will get a 1440p monitor next month and SLI my 780Ti's.
 
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superdonny67

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Well firstly, I was planning to upgrade to Broadwell late next year if the performance is worth it, considering it's been planned to use 1150 socket already, meaning I can use the same motherboard. This watercooling solution can be applied to any cpu I decide to use and will be worth it once I cool my $700ish graphics card in a few months time. I could also use my existing watercooling components on a completely different build anyway, so it's not like this is a single-use loop.

While I have put a lot of money into silence and knowing full well that the Phantom 820 is not the most silent case, I firstly decided that I will remove all the included case fans and install my own, as well as connect all my noctua fans to the inbuilt fan controller, allowing me to run them all extremely quietly, while still performing well.

I had already purchased a swiftech h220 all in one water cooler, which in fact would've performed far better than the x60, but decided I would be happier with my own custom loop. I don't need that much SSD space, anyone that thinks they need 960GB's of RAID 0 SSD storage obviously doesn't manage their files enough, plus I already ordered a 2TB WD Black drive, which will suffice for all my music and video needs.

Are you sure about EVGA? I've heard plenty of bad things about them, while people tell me ASUS are the best graphics card manufacturer... Also, how hard would it be to apply for the 90-day stepup program? To be honest, I would rather purchase an ASUS direct cu2 graphics card, as direct cu has always performed extremely cool and quiet and will serve it's purpose until I put the card under water.

I know for a fact that gpu's can last for 4-5 years if you're not obsessed with maxing out every single graphical setting on a 1440p display, my friend has an overclocked GTX 480 that runs everything he plays, with absolutely no sweat.

I'm not sure what you can do to change my build because a) I've ordered all my parts except for the graphics card and b) while all my parts were a little over the top, I was able to buy them from America due to a connection with a friend, meaning I had more money to spend, as Australia is more expensive, which is why I went for things like an ROG board and Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM.

My PSU fan doesn't spin up until 40% load, so no noise there. I have a single hardrive, so minimal noise there. I'm using all high-end noctua fans, so extremely little noise there. I'm going for a custom watercooling loop with a quiet pump, so again, extremely little noise there. I chose the brands that were reputable, such as ASUS, Corsair and Samsung, which is why I felt reluctant to buy power supplies from EVGA, NZXT or Coolermaster, as they're case/ gpu manufacturers.
 
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CJ kRoOkEd

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Ahhhh I see... didn't realize you're from Australia. yeah EVGA has the best cooling system for graphics cards now with their ACX lineup. I checked out the direct cu from Asus and it seems good too but being in Aus. Im not sure whicb one u would more benefit from. from the reviews I've seen and my personal experience with the Kraken It has out performed the H 2 20 and every other all in one In its class. It truly is a beast. Good luck with the loop though. Yeah im hoping they release a six core 1150 some time that would be nice. if you're a gamer then the SSD space would be nice. it's the biggest upgrade for any system and they don't make any noise whilst you can hear hard drives crackling across the room. I know thOse are very good fans that you ordered but when you put six of them in a case they're going to be loud. My case is enclosed and lined with sound dampening material and when I open the front panel the noise increases significantly with all of mY quiet fans. if your friends Maxing out on a GTX 480, hes not playing graphics intensive games. I can't max out Crysis 3 battlefield 4 and Call of Duty ghosts with my 580.
 
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Executeorder66

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Man loving this thread! Donny's buying almost part for part what I am. Question so I don't have to make a new thread.. With CES starting January sixth do any of you think they'll give the release dates for g-sync monitors?
 
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CJ kRoOkEd

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I wouldn't build around Gsync. Id go with a 2560x1440 overlord tempest that can reach 120hz then wait for Gsync to come out with more flexible DIY kits. When Gsync launches it will only be 1080p monitors. Id rather 25x16 with "micro stutter" which I don't even notice much anyways. Gsync will eventually support higher resolutions and dvi/hdmi but we are going to have to wait.

Donny, When you register your card with EVGA, it guides you through all the steps for Advanced RMA "insurance" and the 90 day step up program. I'm pretty sure u will need a U.S. address tho. Head over to EVGA forums to find out! But EVGA>ASUS for Nvidia. The EVGA 780Ti kingpin will blow the roof off of GPU benchmark records.

And btw.. I'm still Shaking my head about that GTX 480 statement. o,O
 
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staystoned

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quick results from my krakens, under full load both cards stay 40-45C and never throttle (x2 EVGA GTX 660 ti FTW sig2), versus 60-70 wit stock cooling and would start to throttle, i don't have a program to test vram temps but from simply installing the G10's i noticed that the stock heatsinks over the vram were simply heat pipes with sinks from the gpu, without knowing the temps i cant be certain but everything has preformed awesomely so far. my thoguhts on the vram, the only heat sink they had over them had pipes leading from the gpu so it was getting lots of heat from that as well, and had the same size fan over it, so with almsot 0 heat from the gpu adding it it should do fine, there will prolly be some hardcore custom loop guys that say water cool everything but realistically other stuff will overheat before that does.

PS. i got the phantom 820, thing is huge, i had the original phantom before and it dwarfs it, but can easily fit 3 All-In-One units (what ive got) or any custom loop you can imagine. my fan controller did have all 3 rear fan connectors not working when it came but since im using like 5 of them im not concerned about it as all other 12 seem to work fine.
bottom line, for the price its well worth it, ill post how much overclocking i can get without throttling after i have time to play with it tomorrow.
 
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superdonny67

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Ah ok, thanks man. I've now decided to run a full-water loop, actually started putting some of it together today, installed my three noctua nf-f12's in the top of my case, above the mounting plate, with the ex360 radiator inside the case, under the mounting plate. I have the nf-f12's exhausting air through the top of the case and I have to say, it frees up a lot of room in my case by attaching them where the 200mm fans are normally found. I've also used the four grommets next to the pcie slots as the location for my drain valve, using a y-connector i can make it so much easier to fill and drain my loop. Now just waiting on my mobo, cpu and the rest of my gear to arrive so I can connect it all up. Even though I could buy a gtx 780 ti reference card from asus right now and throw an xspc razor waterblock on it I've decided to wait and buy the asus gtx 780 ti direct cu2 and put a waterblock on that probably in 3-6 months time, depending on when one is released. I will then probably buy a second gtx 780 ti in 2-3 years time and throw a block on that and include it in my loop. Should be a pretty beastly rig.
 
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