Planning on OC a Watercooled 780 vs 780 ti. Is it worth the $200 difference?

The Stig

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Aug 18, 2011
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Hi guys, so I'm mapping out a custom watercooled rig. I've decided on purchasing either the eVGA 780 or 780TI. My question for you is since the two are the same boards and basically same card, if I plan on watercooling both cards and OC'ing them do they essentially become the same card? I know the 780ti comes out the box faster, but after I OC them I'd assume they become near the same. According to the techspot link; when air cooled, the OC models are nearly the same, but watercooling them should get them even closer I'd assume?

http://www.techspot.com/review/738-gigabyte-geforce-gtx-780-ti-ghz/page11.html
 
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I think you'd have to decide how much the money is worth to you. If you need (or really should) save the money, then definitely go with the 780. The price to performance ratio on that card is better than on the 780 ti - no doubt. But if you won't really miss the money (i.e. spending another $150 doesn't really matter that much to you in the scheme of things), then you will get a more powerful card with the 780 ti.

The 780 ti has a fully-unlocked GK110 chip, and the 780's chip is locked down to access fewer CUDA cores. Clock-for-clock, you'll see more performance out of the 780 ti. Putting it under water - putting either card under water - will certainly maximize overclocking potential, but the 780 ti will pull ahead there as...

DanDustEmOff

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Jan 2, 2014
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Both the 780 and the Ti model have GPU boost 2.0 so if you cooled the ti in the same way it would still outperform the 780. But to answer the question no it's not really worth the extra $200. I must say that I admire the courage to watercool a brand new card that sit's in that price range. Me personally I would keep the card stock until the warranty is finished.
 

Eggz

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I think you'd have to decide how much the money is worth to you. If you need (or really should) save the money, then definitely go with the 780. The price to performance ratio on that card is better than on the 780 ti - no doubt. But if you won't really miss the money (i.e. spending another $150 doesn't really matter that much to you in the scheme of things), then you will get a more powerful card with the 780 ti.

The 780 ti has a fully-unlocked GK110 chip, and the 780's chip is locked down to access fewer CUDA cores. Clock-for-clock, you'll see more performance out of the 780 ti. Putting it under water - putting either card under water - will certainly maximize overclocking potential, but the 780 ti will pull ahead there as well.

Just ask whether you care about the $150 - $200 you'd spend on the premium over the basic 780. If you're the kind of person who will spend a hundred or two on food and drinks, then just get the faster card. But if you're a budget-oriented kind of person (which you don't entirely seem to be based on this post), then go for the 780.

Good luck!
 
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