Many 560 Ti's. Which would be the best choice?

[metal orient]

Hi i'm looking at building a new rig with a GTX 560 Ti. However...

There are so many, so very many.

I was wondering what people would suggest is one of the better versions, the cards i list below are the ones that i reckon
are the best in terms of keeping things quiet and cool. Would like to know what people think:

MSI Twin Frozr II £184
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/255699?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products

Gainward Phantom £199
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-gainward-gtx-560ti-phantom-40nm-4100mhz-gddr5-gpu-835mhz-shader-1670mhz-384-cores-hdmi

ASUS Direct Cu II £197
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/NVIDIA/NVIDIA+GTX+560+Series/Asus+GeForce+GTX+560Ti+DirectCU+II+1024MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=43564

KFA2 EX OC £194
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-kfa2-gtx-560-ti-ex-oc-40nm-4000mhz-gddr5-gpu-835mhz-shader-1670mhz-384-cores-dvi-minihdmi

Gigabyte SOC £210
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-077-GI

I'd like to have a quieter GC so the gainward phantom would the best choice, i believe, but i don't know how well it would cool the card if i OC it to 900+MHz.
Does anyone have any experience with that cooler?

If you wouldn't recommend the Phantom which would be he next quietest?

Thanks,

 

[17seconds]

The Gigabyte Windforce cooler would be the next quietest, and it comes factory overclocked at 950 mhz already.

 

[purple stain]

MSI Twin Frozr II is one of the coolest running GTX560's.Both the Asus and MSI version's have expert cooling and a great for O.C.ing.

Here's a good review of a bunch of GTX560's in temp performance

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/40552-nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-roundup-asus-evga-gigabyte-msi-19.html

Here's a great review with temps and noise results

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-ti-roundup-asus-engtx560-graphics-card-overclocking,2858-20.html

 

[17seconds]

According to this review, the reference GTX 560 is the quietest, followed by the Gigabyte SOC and KFA2. The Twin Frozr is a few Db's louder. The Phantom is not represented, but that is a nice looking card, and as you know, is geared towards quiet operation.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/palit-geforce-gtx-560-ti-sonic-review/9

 

[metal orient]

I have only found 2 reviews for the Phantom:

http://www.fudzilla.com/reviews/item/21708-gainward-gtx-560-ti-phantom-1gb-tested/21708-gainward-gtx-560-ti-phantom-1gb-tested?start=9

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1112/pg17/gainward-geforce-gtx-560-ti-phantom-2-graphics-card-review-conclusion.html

In one of them the card broke! But they reckon it was just bad luck.

I did have the Twin frozr pencilled into my design for ages, even switching it to a 6950 for a while. However while its cool its not as quiet as i'd like. However as the case i plan to use is a Fractal R3 I worry about temps as the airflow will be impaired compared to other cases.

 

[CraigHarrison]

Why not buy a Stock 560Ti and then OC it. That way would end up saving some $$$.
Component quality is pretty good these days, so i dont imagine the card will brick or anything while OCing. So although youd end up with a void warranty. Im not sure if youd even need that Warranty.
Do that unless youre looking for custom HSs and cooling.
The Twin Frozr seems nice. Two large fans.

 

[metal orient]

I am looking at custom heatsinks, mainly to reduce the noise level of the card, but also temperatures where possible. Otherwise yes a stock would be fine.

 

[metal orient]

I guess as this point i should do the template thing:


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: TBC

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, films.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: N/A but will have a XFX 750W Core

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:

CPU: 2500K
CPU Cooler: Mugen 2
MOBO: Asrock Extreme 4 p67
CASE: Fractal R3
RAM: Not sure, probably Corsair XMS3 8Gb


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:reliable UK sites

PARTS PREFERENCES: nope

OVERCLOCKING: Yes as necessary SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes as necessary

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Current 1280x1024 -> 1920x1200 in near future after build

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Quiet at idle, not so bothered in load, but quieter the better. Would trade Excellent temperatures for noise.

 

[shrkbay]

imo the Twin Frozer is best of the ones you listed, it is quite quiet and keeps temps very low, it is also designed for overclocking and is cheaper than others + it comes with 880Mhz OverClock, while the Phantom would be the quietest and followed by GIGABYTE,

imo GIGABYTE and ASUS for that price is an overkill...

i think the best cooling is: 3. GIGABYTE 2. ASUS 1. MSI or 1.GIGABYTE 2. ASUS 3. MSI

if you'll go for GIGABYTE you almost won't be able to OC it, cause it comes OCed to 1000Mhz core...

 

[17seconds]

But the Phantom just looks so cool:

I suppose the Twin Frozr Golden Edition is pretty snazzy as well:

But Gigabyte is the way to go for quiet operation, high performance, and high quality components:

Too bad, the Sparkle Calibre with the Arctic Cooling heatsink isn't available anywhere:

 

[purple stain]

Twin Frozer looks really cool like that but it also means a lot of cleaning in a couple years.

 

[metal orient]

imo the Twin Frozer is best of the ones you listed, it is quite quiet and keeps temps very low, it is also designed for overclocking and is cheaper than others + it comes with 880Mhz OverClock, while the Phantom would be the quietest and followed by GIGABYTE,

imo GIGABYTE and ASUS for that price is an overkill...

i think the best cooling is: 3. GIGABYTE 2. ASUS 1. MSI or 1.GIGABYTE 2. ASUS 3. MSI

if you'll go for GIGABYTE you almost won't be able to OC it, cause it comes OCed to 1000Mhz core...

So Gigabyte would cool it best? While being relatively quiet?

But the Phantom just looks so cool:
http://www.gainward.com/main/product/vga/pro/p00458/p00458_pic_18494d3e1eb6e5f4e.jpg
I suppose the Twin Frozr Golden Edition is pretty snazzy as well:
http://www.msi.com/pic/product/five_pictures3_2268_20110210110559.jpg
But Gigabyte is the way to go for quiet operation, high performance, and high quality components:
http://i.testfreaks.co.uk/images/pr...geforce-gtx-560-ti-gv-n560so-1gi.32655060.jpg
Too bad, the Sparkle Calibre with the Arctic Cooling heatsink isn't available anywhere:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_gHOn16OKw...c/p1UEd-noaUo/s1600/Sparkle_CalibreX560_1.jpg

That is a VERY orange cooler.

Although that does raise the question should i just get a stock and slap an aftermarket cooler on it. Although i can't find a cheap card that would make it economical.

 

[shrkbay]

^ that very orange cooler makes the card somehow cooler as far as i know, idk i like GIGABYTE most, it's just so badass *and Phantom's fat :lol:*, but imo that MSI is best deal of those 5

 

[17seconds]

So Gigabyte would cool it best? While being relatively quiet?

That is a VERY orange cooler.

Although that does raise the question should i just get a stock and slap an aftermarket cooler on it. Although i can't find a cheap card that would make it economical.

A few things to note:
-For GPU temperatures, the Twin Frozr is best, but the difference in load temps vs. the Gigabyte SOC is less than 10c.
-For quiet, either the reference cooler or the Gigabyte cooler is best (not counting the Phantom, since I don't have a comparable review). In the Guru3d review, that very quiet noise level is for the 1000 mhz version of the SOC. The new SOC's are clocked at 950 mhz, so they will be even quieter. Clocked at 1000 mhz in that review, the SOC is a full 2 Dba quieter than the Twin Frozr at 880 mhz. If both were to be clocked identically at 950 mhz, the SOC would be quieter, while the Twin Frozr would be louder.
-That Twin Frozr Golden Edition is pure copper.
-The GTX 560 is so cool and quiet, even with the reference cooler, there is no need to get an aftermarket cooler. If you did, you would be paying as much as a good GTX 570 costs, so it would be better to just get one of those instead.

 

[17seconds]

Yowzah:
"Given the significant factory overclock of 178Mhz over reference Nvidia speeds on the Core clock, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of additional headroom for the Gigabyte N560SO; how wrong I was. Through the MSI AfterBurner utility, I managed to push this overclocked GTX 560 Ti to 1102MHz on the core clock, an insane 280MHz over reference Nvidia speeds and an additional 102MHz over factory speeds!"
http://tbreak.com/tech/2011/04/gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-super-overclock-review/3/