GTX 770 4GB All Brands Comparison - Your Thoughts?

[Omga4000]

Hello

I am very confused by all the brands available, so I've created a little table that
consists all of the GTX 770 4GB GPUs out there in the market..
Which would you take, and why?

Links:
Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 770 4GB Accelero Hybrid
iChill GTX 770 4GB HerculeZ X3 Ultra -- 569 USD
EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB Classified w/ ACX Cooler -- 509 USD
MSI GeForce GTX 770 4GB OC -- 479 USD
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB OC -- 459 USD + Splinter Cell Blacklist
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 770 4GB -- 439 USD + Splinter Cell Blacklist
Gainward GeForce GTX 770 Phantom 4GB -- 539 USD

Thank you,
Omga4000

 

[sam_p_lay]

EVGA for the warranty and support. EVGA, MSI and Gigabyte for excellent coolers. Why no ASUS on there? There's some value in factory overclocks for people who won't manually overclock anyway, though there will be less than 10% framerate difference between the fastest and slowest card there.

 

[Omga4000]

Why no ASUS on there?

Becuase they do not offer a 4GB GTX 770 (or do they?).

though there will be less than 10% framerate difference between the fastest and slowest card there.

Really? How is that possible? Not that much of a difference then..
Also - are you able to clock an OC version further? Is it safe?

Thank you

 

[sam_p_lay]

Ah I forgot you're only looking at 4GB models. I dunno, I'd be surprised if they don't but maybe it hasn't launched yet. And if you look at the clock speeds, there's only a tiny bit over 10% gain from best to worst. But 10% clockspeed increase absolutely does not mean 10% framerate increase (because it's more than just clockspeed that determines performance). Some games may gain close to 10% while others will gain less. So not worth spending massively more on but if you don't overclock, maybe worth a little bit extra.

And you can further OC a factory-overclocked card, but the whole point of a factory overclock is that you don't have to do it yourself (which voids the warranty). A factory overclock is covered by warranty (obviously). If you're gonna overclock anyway you may as well buy a stock clocks card.

 

[Omga4000]

If you're gonna overclock anyway you may as well buy a stock clocks card.

Those are all of the versions out there, and it seems like all of the 4GB brands are factory clocked.
The Gigabyte seems to be the best choice because of the price and clock speeds.
EVGA is a good option, however 50$ is quite a jump for 13MHz more..

 

[sam_p_lay]

Haha 13MHz is a 1% clock speed increase - less than 1% framerates Grab the Gigabyte. Excellent coolers and quality cards.

 

[ShindoSensei]

I'm in love with the ACX cooler. It really does a great job of keeping the temperatures down compared to the stock cooler. I never tried the gigabyte 770, although I'm sure it's as good as any other. I always liked EVGA for their support and quality, but that's a good 50 bucks you're saving

 

[Omga4000]

I have the Gigabyte GTX 660Ti now, and I have to say that the fans aren't that silent.. And that's only 2 fans.
Does anyone know how loud are the fans in the Gigabyte GTX 770?

 

[sam_p_lay]

+1 to byogamingpc on the coolers. Windforce 3x actually do an excellent job of low temperatures without being noisy.

 

[Omga4000]

I have the Fractal Design Define R4, which is pretty air tight..
In that case would you recommend the EVGA then?

 

[Omga4000]

Actually, your Fractal Design R4 has pretty decent airflow. It's just an innovative design to appear unobtrusive to the eye. If you look at each of the areas there is ventilation, they are placed exactly where you want them. The front even has ventilation but around the faceplate. I'd still go with the Gigabyte GTX 770 WF 4GB http://amzn.to/16OAqkj

Oh that's great news..
I currently have the stock fans that came with the chassis (1 at the front + 1 at the back)
and I've added another fan at the front, so total of 3 fans.

I still have many more places to add fans, however, I don't see a need right now with my current card.
Should I add more fans when I get the GTX 770?
Which configuration do you recommend? (e.g. 2 front + 1 back + 1 top / 2 front + 2 back + 1 side etc..)

The front even has ventilation but around the faceplate.

Well I know that of course - I clean it regularly

 

[Omga4000]

Get two of these CoolerMaster R4 Silent Series 140mm Fan one for the back and one for the front and two of these CoolerMaster R4 Silent Series 120mm Fan for the top.

I already own 2 of this (came with the case): CoolerMaster R4 Silent Series 140mm Fan
One is at the back and one at the front (Stock.. Came like this..)

So I only have to buy two of these for the top I guess: Cooler Master 120mm R4 Computer Case Fan
Why are they so expensive though?

UPDATE:
Saw you updated your post so I'm updating my answer as well.
OK, so buy 1 for side + 2 for top. Got it.
Question still remains though.. Why are they so expensive?

 

[Omga4000]

Got it. Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[bill9803]

+1 to byogamingpc on the cooler designer
Windforce 3x has a good balance between performance and temperature

 

[Omga4000]

Great, seems like it's GIGABYTE then...

Just one thing I forgot to ask:
Can my Seasonic 660W GOLD handle an SLI of the GTX 770?
Because I saw you need at least 600W for just one..

 

[Omga4000]

Oh wow, such a PSU will cost a bunch in my country (double actually - 227$)
Guess I'll have to stay with just 1 GPU for the time.

FYI, rest of my system spec:
CPU: i5 3470 @ 3.20GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte B75M-D3H
RAM: 8 GB

 

[Giorgio Rapetti]

Theres a review on the GTX 770 2GB same cards in the table, same coolers just different amount of Vram.

The MSI is the one to go for cooling, unfortunately you cant OC much out of Nvidia cards anyway but if you do want to push the OC Gigabyte would be the one to go for, you will only gain 20-30MHz as opposed to a heavy OC with the MSI 770. However its 3 fans spin at a much higher RPM than the fans of the MSI which don't even keep the card as cool as the MSI...plus more RPM = more vibration and more noise.

I was going to get a gigabyte card but cooling and noise are things you have to live with.

 

[Omga4000]

Theres a review on the GTX 770 2GB same cards in the table, same coolers just different amount of Vram.

The MSI is the one to go for cooling, unfortunately you cant OC much out of Nvidia cards anyway but if you do want to push the OC Gigabyte would be the one to go for, you will only gain 20-30MHz as opposed to a heavy OC with the MSI 770. However its 3 fans spin at a much higher RPM than the fans of the MSI which don't even keep the card as cool as the MSI...plus more RPM = more vibration and more noise.

I was going to get a gigabyte card but cooling and noise are things you have to live with.

A very old post mate, prices are very different now.
Still thank you for sharing

 

[Giorgio Rapetti]

Theres a review on the GTX 770 2GB same cards in the table, same coolers just different amount of Vram.

The MSI is the one to go for cooling, unfortunately you cant OC much out of Nvidia cards anyway but if you do want to push the OC Gigabyte would be the one to go for, you will only gain 20-30MHz as opposed to a heavy OC with the MSI 770. However its 3 fans spin at a much higher RPM than the fans of the MSI which don't even keep the card as cool as the MSI...plus more RPM = more vibration and more noise.

I was going to get a gigabyte card but cooling and noise are things you have to live with.

A very old post mate, prices are very different now.
Still thank you for sharing

Which one did you go for in the end? You said in the previous post going with Gigabyte did you follow through?