XSPC GTX 780 Waterblock Compatibility

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Andrew Rohlfs

Andrew Rohlfs

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I'm mainly going for increased component life rather than high overclocks.

Imagine you have to pick up a piece of hot iron with your hands, but you don't want to touch it without cooling it down. Blow cold air onto the metal for a second and try to pick it up. It would probably burn your hand because it's still hot. Now pour a bucket of water on the metal and pick it up. Either way, water absorbs heat way faster than air (25 times more), and that's the exact same concept with watercooling. I know there are people like me that want a high end computer for years without heat related issues to protect their investment for 5+ years rather than a having a waranty that will last a few years or even risk dealing with an overheated product.

Anyway, Deuce65, what waterblock/graphics card combination would you recommend? I have only heard good things about the ASUS GTX 780 DCII and I am seriously considering it. But I need the EK-FC 780, and apparently the nickel version of that block isn't recommended. so I'm just trying to figure out the most effective combination/compatibility.

Thanks for your help!
 
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Deuce65

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My 780s were classifieds and I only have good things to say about them. Obviously luck plays a factor but they are overall the best overclocking 780 on the market. Those would be my recommendation, though I didn't own an ASUS 780 so I never tried them.
As for the EK-FC 780, EK easily makes the best waterblocks on the market for the 780. Not sure who told you they weren't recommended, but whoever isn't recommending them doesn't seem to know what they are talking about. I personally think the nickel is ugly but they make an acetal version as well. The block itself is pure copper, the nickel\acetal is just for looks.
 
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brarboy

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those processors are made to handle to heat much more effectively than your hot iron example bro. You can run your graphics card as long as you want, just never let the temperature rise above 80C. I know water conducts better cooling than air. Unless you are some kind of Extreme Overclocker, you can be much stable with air cooling too, with nothing to worry. If you are kinda sure, you will hit above 80C then you should really look for water cooling.
I hope that can help you eliminate extra cost and work. It was just from my way of thinking, rest depends on you.
Good luck buddy :)
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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May 11, 2012
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Unless the block was manufactured for a specific card, it will only work on the reference design PCB. Punch your card into CoolingConfigurator and it will tell you if its a reference design or not.
As for which card to get, when your talking reference design it doesnt really matter. All the board partner did was get it from AMD/Nvidia, slap their logo on it and sell it to you. Exceptions exist like EVGA, where they bin the cards to find the best ones (regular -> FTW -> Classified series) though.



My 7970 never goes above 40°C under Furmark load. Performance like that is addictive...
 
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brarboy

brarboy

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that looks addictive enough for that card to me. Thanks for sharing your reviews :)
 
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Deuce65

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I'm currently running two gtx780ti at 1394 core, 8000 memory and they consistently run mid to high 30s celcius. Can't do that on air. They are dead silent; absolutely no sound whatsoever. Won't get that with air either. And ultimately, what do you care what he does? It's a hobby for a lot of people, we enjoy it. You don't. That's cool, we don't all like the same things. But why try to talk him out of a hobby he enjoys?
 
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brarboy

brarboy

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don't want to make this war ground, i already said;
It was just from my way of thinking
And sorry for any statement that might have gotten you off from my wording. :)
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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if I'm not mistaken the asus dc2 780 has the digi+ asp1212 voltage controller which is completely locked… you can only go to 1.212v on the core, although with the built in llc it is actually 1.24v. ekwb is a better block though. if you really want to water block then maybe you can look into selling your asus and getting a classified as it is by far the best 780.
 
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Andrew Rohlfs

Andrew Rohlfs

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those processors are made to handle to heat much more effectively than your hot iron example bro. You can run your graphics card as long as you want, just never let the temperature rise above 80C. I know water conducts better cooling than air. Unless you are some kind of Extreme Overclocker, you can be much stable with air cooling too, with nothing to worry. If you are kinda sure, you will hit above 80C then you should really look for water cooling.
I hope that can help you eliminate extra cost and work. It was just from my way of thinking, rest depends on you.
Good luck buddy :)
Click to expand...

80C feels like a lot after witnessing full loads at 46C. After the initial installation of a custom waterloop, a computer can be way more stable with low temps and silent operation. I love the idea of knowing my components are dipping their feet in a fresh spring at full load.


I'm currently running two gtx780ti at 1394 core, 8000 memory and they consistently run mid to high 30s celcius. Can't do that on air. They are dead silent; absolutely no sound whatsoever. Won't get that with air either. And ultimately, what do you care what he does? It's a hobby for a lot of people, we enjoy it. You don't. That's cool, we don't all like the same things. But why try to talk him out of a hobby he enjoys?
Click to expand...

Haha, no one is going to "talk me out of" watercooling, I'm already committed. And you hit the point exactly, it's more of a hobby rather than a necessity, and the end result is GLORIOUS.

My 7970 never goes above 40°C under Furmark load. Performance like that is addictive...
Click to expand...

Manofchalk is right, there's no way I'm considering letting my GPU or CPU reach air cooled levels anymore, it's just not appealing.

if I'm not mistaken the asus dc2 780 has the digi+ asp1212 voltage controller which is completely locked… you can only go to 1.212v on the core, although with the built in llc it is actually 1.24v. ekwb is a better block though. if you really want to water block then maybe you can look into selling your asus and getting a classified as it is by far the best 780.
Click to expand...

What about the SuperClocked version? Is there a big difference between the two, or would it be a better idea to go with classified? I’ve been a big ASUS fan, that’s why this is a hard decision for me.
 
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Deuce65

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Well I will again recommend the classified. For one, EVGA has great warranty; as long as you put the fans back on they will honor the warranty even if you water cool it. Some manufacturers won't. I'm not sure about ASUS though. It's voltage locked, but it is easy enough to flash the bios to an unlocked on. And it has two bios' so you don't have to worry about bricking the card if the flash fails.
The superclocked card doesn't have the improved voltage regulation that the classified has, that is the main advantage of the classified. Once you unlock the bios, it is almost impossible to give it too much power. I loved the classified, only reason I got rid of them was for the ti.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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the classified is the only 780 that has a 14+2 power phase design and the chil8318 voltage controller which allows up to 1.35v on the core. you can download the classy voltage tool software and fully control the core voltage memory voltage and pulse width modulation frequency.

the rest of the cards have either the ncp4206 6+2 power phase reference voltage controller, the ncp4208 controller for the 8+2 power phase, or the digi+asp1212 which im not too familiar with... all i know its voltage locked so nobody really wants cards with those.

im still on air with mine, im waiting for the funds for an ekwb and an xspc ax240 setup. but mine will do 1300/1700 at the stock 1.212v and i run around at about 72c max in an hour or so of crysis 3. i have a skynet custom bios also. ive played around with 1.25v core and 1375mhz, increased the pwm to 400khz, and the memory up to 1.65v for 1750mhz.... but i hit 85c very quickly in unigine valley so i just stopped the benchmark and went back to my 1.212v clocks. i have no interest in getting my card that hot. my asics is 78.9%
 
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Andrew Rohlfs

Andrew Rohlfs

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So you're saying that the classified is more stable regardless if I overclock or not due to the way the power grid is layed out?

 
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nikoli707

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the classified is just setup more to take advantage of full water cooling do to its power delivery design and full voltage control. evga and msi seem to be getting/paying for the best possible binned gpus for the last few gens and they save the for their classified and lightning models. to their standards the binned chips are stable at higher voltages while being within their temperature range. many classified owners agree... there is not much point in buying a classified if your never going to water cool.

evga only does nvidia though and their 780ti kingpin is a beast, capable of 1.6ghz+ 24/7 with a water block, and the current world record holder. msi has only just announced their 290x lightning so we will see if their will reclaim the crown as they historically have, albiet maybe only for a few days.
 
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