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Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black: Do-It-Yourself Cooler Swap
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1. A GeForce GTX Titan Black You Modify Yourself

We didn't review Nvidia's GeForce GTX Titan Black when it launched. The company didn't see fit to sample press. And understandably, really, since the Titan Black is largely the same as a 780 Ti with 6 GB of memory and the GK110's full FP64 performance. GeForce GTX Titan Black does sport slightly more aggressive reference clock rates. Its base frequency is 889 MHz to the 780 Ti's 875 MHz. Typical GPU Boost is stated at 980 MHz versus 928. But they both sport similar coolers, display outputs, and graphics card power ratings. 

Take a look over at Newegg, and you'll find an out-of-stock Asus model matching Nvidia's specification, an out-of-stock EVGA board at the same price point, but overclocked slightly, and a water-cooled EVGA card selling for $300 more and boasting an even more aggressive overclock. Really though, it's hard to see the value in a GeForce GTX Titan Black at $1400 when Radeon R9 295X2s are selling for $100 more.

Gigabyte takes a somewhat different approach to its GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition (how's that for a mouthful?). The company hits the same 1006 MHz base and 1111 MHz typical GPU Boost frequencies as EVGA's $1400 Hydro Copper Signature card. But it does so with air cooling. Pop the top on the packaging and you'll see that Gigabyte ships you a reference Titan Black, per Nvidia's requirements. However, you also get the components needed for a built-it-yourself adventure.

Apparently, Gigabyte went with the old adage that rules are meant to be broken (or, in this case, bent really far). You see, Nvidia doesn’t allow its partners to modify the reference cooling solution, so Gigabyte decided to send the modified cooler along for you to install yourself on the already-overclocked graphics card. 

You can still expect to pay dearly for the privilege of owning Gigabyte's take on the Titan Black (it's currently available in Europe and Asia; we're waiting to hear back from Gigabyte on whether it'll ever show up in the U.S.). At least you also get the thrill of tearing the top off of a flagship graphics card and replacing its thermal solution, though. Our aim today is to figure out if the operation is worthwhile. 

First, we'll take a peek into the pricey box. Gigabyte provides an abundance of opulent accessories.

In addition to the reference GeForce GTX Titan Black, we find an HDMI cable, a mouse pad, two four-to-six-pin power adapters, a VGA adapter, a driver CD, and the cooling kit that caught my eye to begin with. Gigabyte’s new WindForce 600 cooler employs a number of changes that we'll dig into.

ModelGeForce GTX Titan BlackGigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition
GeForce GTX 780 TiGeForce GTX Titan
ChipGK110-430-B1GK110-430-B1GK110-425-B1GK110-400
Shader Units
2880288028802688
SIMD/Texture Units
15/24015/24015/24014/224
ROPs4848
4848
GPU Base Clock Frequency889 MHz
1006 MHz
876 MHz
837 MHz
GPU Boost Clock Frequency
980 MHz
1111 MHz
928 MHz
876 MHz
Computing Power SP (GFLOPS)56456399
53454709
Computing Power DP (GFLOPS)188221342231570
Graphics Memory Transfer Rate
3500 MT/s
3500 MT/s
3500 MT/s
3004 MT/s
Memory Bus
384-bit384-bit
384-bit384-bit
Bandwidth (GB/s)336336
336288.4
Memory Size (GB/s)66
36
PCIe Power Connectors
6 + 8-pin
6 + 8-pin6 + 8-pin6 + 8-pin
2. The Gigabyte WindForce 600 Graphics Card Cooler

Changes to the WindForce Cooler

Let’s ignore the 600 W rating on Gigabyte's cooler, since it’s just a theoretical number handed down from the marketing department. Instead, we're interested in the physical changes that lend this WindForce model its claimed performance improvements. There were certainly things Gigabyte needed to fix, such as clicking/humming fans, which certainly didn’t do the otherwise potent cooler any favors.

Gigabyte deserves recognition for sticking with a two-slot configuration. While some competitors achieve better cooling through the use of more material, the GHz Edition board's bundled thermal solution is just optimized. As a result, SLI arrays remain viable (even if the reference design's ability to exhaust waste heat is probably better for multi-card setups). But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Fans and Airflow

As mentioned, Gigabyte really needed updated fans. The rotor was redesigned and the bearings were improved, contributing to a smoother ramp-up and quieter operation at low idle rotational speeds.

A new fan blade surface structure is supposed to result in better airflow with less turbulence. I’ll go ahead and mention briefly that this does register a positive outcome in our measurements.

The design that Gigabyte markets under the “Triangle Cool” moniker is supposed to improve airflow through the cooler’s fins, which are also changed to minimize turbulence and its accompanying noise. That's an ambitious undertaking, since the performance-oriented nature of the WindForce coolers means we've never found them particularly quiet.

New Heat Pipes

Another area where Gigabyte shot for improvements was the make-up of its heat pipes. The company created this diagram to illustrate its approach, which attempts to combine the advantages of several different materials.

All of that sounds compelling in theory. But of course, we have to quantify the differences ourselves. Are the claims a marketing stunt, or is this a real alternative to competing 2.5-slot cards? We'll get to that just as soon as we get Gigabyte's WindForce cooler assembled.

3. Upgrading The Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black

A Step-by-Step Guide to Upgrading the GeForce GTX Titan Black

We’re ripping apart a thousand-dollar GeForce GTX Titan today. Obviously, the operation requires deliberate movements and a heaping dose of caution. Tearing off the reference cooler and bolting down Gigabyte's is not the way to approach this.

First, the reference cooler needs to be unscrewed. Gigabyte does include a universal tool for this, but using your own screwdriver is both faster and easier. Fortunately, the bundled manual is comprehensive enough to walk you through the process without any confusion that'd lead to mistakes.

If only because the original reference cooler should be saved, I collected all of its tiny screws into a small bowl. From there, it's easy to lift the heat sink up and off. Don't rush; you need to unplug a connector up top and another down below before the heat sink clears the card.

From there, Nvidia's cooler can be removed, greeting you with a bunch of gunk. The company doesn't shy away from blanketing its GK110 GPU with thick, heavy, and hard-to-remove thermal paste.

Gigabyte must anticipate this for each of its GeForce GTX Titan Blacks, so it provides a cloth for cleaning up the compound. That's a solid idea, though we'd also recommend using the right cleaning solutions.

As mentioned, the reference cooler (which is actually quite valuable) and screws are stowed away just in case warranty-related issues necessitate sending the card back. You're better off safe than sorry.

I chose to set aside the thick thermal paste Gigabyte bundles with its GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition. There are higher-end solutions out there, after all. You want a non-electrically conductive compound that doesn’t need a lot of burn-in, is easy to apply and spread, and performs well. After quite a bit of comparison testing, I standardized on Gelid’s GC-Extreme for my graphics card reviews, so I lean on that compound to normalize one more variable as I compare Gigabyte's card to other modified graphics cards in the lab.

It’s time to install the new cooler. Remove the protective covers from the thermal pads, and pull off the big warning label. I took the extra step of cleaning the copper surface with Arctic’s purifier solution to make sure any remaining remnants of glue were gone.

First, the four washers are glued to their respective holes. Then, plug the fan connector into its socket on the bottom, and rest the cooler on the graphics card. The WindForce logo LED connector is attached next. Fasten the heat sink using spring-loaded screws tightened in a cross pattern.

Next, three small screws are secured into place around the voltage transformers. Finally, you'll find yourself with just one screw left. It requires a nut, which is also included. With it in place, the cooler installation is complete.

It’s a little disappointing that Gigabyte doesn't include a backplate. The cooler is fastened securely and solidly in seven places, and the card seems safe from flex, but additional cooling under the voltage transformers and rear-mounted memory modules would have been nice as well.

4. Dimensions And Pictures: The Upgraded Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black

Once the upgrade is complete, Gigabyte's GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition looks just like the company's other WindForce-equipped GeForce GTX 780 or GeForce GTX 780 Ti cards. It takes a much closer look to turn up the previously-described changes.

Dimensions and Weight
Length, from Bracket to End of Cooler
30.0 cm
Height, from Slot to Top Edge of Cooler
10.8 cm
Depth, from Back of PCB to Front of Cooler
3.7 cm
Depth on Back, from PCB to Top of Screw Head
2 mm
Weight after Modifications
1132 g

The most striking change is the new fans. Their rotors are now black instead of translucent, and they have a new surface structure.

In contrast, the back of the board is unremarkable. There’s really not much difference between it and the reference design, other than the places sporting screws.

More changes are visible from the sides. There’s an LED behind the WindForce logo and those aforementioned eye-catching fins.

The card's rear I/O panel is unchanged, which is to say that it includes two dual-link DVI outputs, full-sized HDMI, and a DisplayPort connector.

5. Power Consumption: Test Methodology And Idle Measurements

Benchmark System and Measurement Methodology

Tom’s Hardware Germany’s power consumption and performance benchmark system for consumer and workstation graphics cards was designed in cooperation with HAMEG (Rohde & Schwarz) to allow for very precise measurements. We put it together in several steps.

Only professional technology can handle the new challenges posed by AMD’s PowerTune and Nvidia’s Boost technologies and their massive load fluctuations. This is why we’re using a 500 MHz digital multi-channel oscilloscope, the HAMEG HMO 3054. It also lets us save all the measurement data in one place and brings a handy remote control function to the table.

We measure the currents with three calibrated DC current clamp probes (HAMEG HZO50). Two of them, 3.3 and 12 V, take their readings at a custom-made riser card, which can reliably pass PCIe 3.0 signals, and one of them at a specially-modified PCIe power cable. All voltages are measured at the single-rail power supply, which we slightly modified to allow better access.

The voltages are measured directly with a modified connection to a single-rail power supply. Our time resolution is now a mere 2 ms, which can measure and log all load transients incurred by AMD’s Power Tune and Nvidia’s GPU Boost. In order to keep the volume of data manageable, we limit the duration of a test run to two minutes.

Test MethodContact-free DC Measurement at PCIe Slot (Using a Riser Card)
Contact-free DC Measurement at External Auxiliary Power Supply Cable
Voltage Measurement at Power Supply
Test Equipment1 x HAMEG HMO 3054, 500 MHz Digital Multi-channel Oscilloscope
3 x HAMEG HZO50 Current Probes (1 mA - 30 A, 100 kHz, DC)
4 x HAMEG HZ355 (10:1 Probes, 500 MHz)
1 x HAMEG HMC 8012 Digital Multimeter with Storage Function
Test BenchMicrocool Banchetto 101
Power Supply (PSU)
1200 W, be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10

Power Consumption At Idle

Let’s first take a look at a normal desktop environment without any applications running in the foreground before and after modifying Gigabyte's GeForce GTX Titan Black.

The total power consumption is basically identical. However, distribution between the PCI Express slot and auxiliary connectors changes a little. This phenomenon can often be seen with Nvidia graphics cards at idle if the GPU temperature falls under 30 degrees Celsius. The additional 100 mW are probably due to the additional fans and can generally be ignored.

If you find the following two (very detailed) charts difficult to read, focus primarily on the bold red line, which indicates total average power consumption.

It’s a lot more important to observe how the GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition fares under load before and after the modification. It goes without saying that we collected those numbers using the same high resolution. The results, on the next page, are certainly interesting.

6. Power Consumption: Gaming And Full Load Measurements

Gaming Power Consumption

The next two diagrams represent before and after our modification, represented by a gaming workload.

When we look at cards based on AMD's Hawaii GPU, power consumption drops massively when we encounter a more effectively-cooled board. This is a result of lower leakage.

Here, we see the opposite as power consumption increases quite a bit. The main reason is that throttling is more deftly avoided, since the GPU falls well under Nvidia's thermal target. The card’s efficiency doesn’t get any better, but available gaming performance does increase by about the same percentage as power consumption.

Power consumption on the 12 V rail through the motherboard's PCI Express slot is relatively constant. The memory subsystem's power consumption increases a little. Really, most of the increase is measured at the auxiliary power connectors. 

Because it stays under Nvidia's defined temperature limit, the modified GeForce GTX Titan Black approaches its 250 W TDP.

Stress Test (GPGPU) Power Consumption

Here's where we push this card to its limit. Since Gigabyte's GeForce GTX Titan Black hits its power limit in both cases, and the load is constant as well, there aren’t as many peaks in our graph.

It’s particularly interesting that power consumption and compute performance are almost identical under full load. In other words, workstation users buying the card exclusively for its compute potential won't benefit from a better cooler. I can’t resist the temptation to mention AMD's FirePro W9100 (AMD FirePro W9100 Review: Hawaii Puts On Its Suit And Tie), which could have beaten Nvidia’s Quadro K6000 in more of our tests if it was equipped with better cooling.

7. Temperatures And Noise

Temperatures

Does the new cooler do the trick? It most certainly does. The modified GeForce GTX Titan Black runs at 73 degrees Celsius, or 10 degrees Celsius lower than Nvidia's reference model. Again, that's effective enough to keep the card from hitting its thermal limit, even under full load. I even tried bringing the modified temperature down further using a manual fan profile under Gigabyte’s OC Guru software.

In an open build, the noise level rises quickly and noticeably, so the extra cooling isn't worth the tradeoff. But I also felt it necessary to simulate a worst-case thermal situation in a cramped case. So, I used the same chassis Thomas reviewed in AIO DRN-STN Review: A Gaming All-In-One With A 120 Hz Display, filled to the brim with case fans spinning slowly.

The VRM temperatures were measured with a probe between the GPU and thermal tape, and the board temperatures on the back were gathered using an infrared thermometer. The measurements marked with (TH) are those that used my custom fan profile with elevated rotational speeds.


Bench Table
(Open Installation)
Corsair
Obsidian 900D
AIO Drone Station
(Case Fans at
Minimum)
GPU
73 °C
75 °C
82 °C
GPU (TH)62 °C
63 °C
70 °C
VRM87 °C
89 °C
100 °C
VRM (TH)81 °C
84 °C
91 °C
Board
85 °C
86 °C
96 °C
Board (TH)81 °C
83 °C
91 °C

Noise Measurement

I measure graphics card noise with a calibrated high-quality studio microphone (supercardioid) that is placed perpendicular to the center of the board at a distance of 50 cm. The combination of this distance and the microphone’s very strong directionality represents a compromise between minimizing the noise generated by fan turbulence and minimizing the impact of ambient noise, which can never be completely avoided.

Sound dampening can help with ambient noise, but it can never be completely eliminated. This is why we’re performing these measurements predominantly at night.

Fan RPM

As long as you own a suitable PC case that’s not too packed and offers decent airflow, then Gigabyte's WindForce cooler should perform well. It reaches a maximum of 1900 RPM under full load, which keeps the card surprisingly quiet.

Our manually-created profile is quite a bit louder, of course. But the noise level is still only a little worse than Nvidia's reference cooler, even as our custom fan ramp keeps the card 20 degrees Celsius cooler. To be fair, the only reason you'd want to try something similar would be if you were using a chassis with terrible airflow. Otherwise, there's no need to tinker.

The fan curves are only part of the take, though. Here's the numerical data in the form of a handy table directly comparing the different configurations:


Idle
Gaming
GPGPU
Nvidia's Reference Cooler
31.2 dB(A)
41.7 dB(A)43.5 dB(A)
Gigabyte's WindForce Cooler, Stock
30.4 dB(A)35.4 dB(A)35.7 dB(A)
Gigabyte's WindForce Cooler, TH Profile
30.4 dB(A)42.1 dB(A)44.9 dB(A)

The modified cooler is definitely successful, given that the GeForce GTX 780 Ti WindForce OC, which performs around the same level, produces just over 40 dB(A) with its older cooler and non-optimized fans.

8. Performance

Performance Benchmarks

We're in the process of adding Gigabyte's GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition to our 2014 VGA Charts, which will facilitate a complete performance break-down, but I still wanted to touch on a normalized comparison in this review, also.

Additionally, I thought it'd be good to explore whether or not 6 GB of graphics memory makes a big difference in the benchmarks. Originally, it was believed that Nvidia's partners would start selling GeForce GTX 780 and 780 Ti cards with 6 GB, rather than 3 GB. There's currently one 780 from EVGA with 6 GB. However, plans for the 780 Tis were scrapped when it became clear they'd cannibalize sales of Titan Black amongst affluent enthusiasts.

GPU Boost Frequency Under Load

We've gone into great depth about how Nvidia's GPU Boost technology works in theory and practice, so let's compare the company's reference GeForce GTX Titan, an overclocked Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black, and the overclocked Gigabyte card with its modified cooler.

The overclocked Gigabyte board with Nvidia's reference cooler hangs out well under its 1100 MHz ceiling. In fact, the average frequency barely hovers around 1050 MHz. The modified version is quite a bit faster, averaging 1150 MHz. That's a gain of about 100 MHz, with lower temperatures and less noise to boot. Nvidia's reference GeForce GTX Titan really can’t compete. The overclocked Gigabyte model with its WindForce cooler lands just behind the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti WindForce OC‘s Boost clock frequency of almost 1170 MHz.

We’re using the 1080p benchmarks of our VGA charts at higher (in fact, the highest possible) settings for our normalized performance benchmarks.

Comparison between 1080p and 2160p: Are 6 GB Worth It?

If you go by the performance benchmarks, 6 GB doesn't appear necessary at all. There's barely a difference between the two configurations. This is complicated by the fact that a single-GPU configuration still can't really handle 3840x2160. In order to enjoy the highest resolutions and most demanding detail settings, you want a couple of high-end cards in SLI or CrossFire. To keep the comparison fair, I overclocked the modified Gigabyte GTX Titan Black GHz Edition with the WindForce cooler to the same 1020 MHz base clock speed as the factory-overclocked Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti WindForce OC.

The head-to-head comparison paints a sobering picture. Apart from double-precision compute performance (for the handful of folks who actually need it), a similarly-clocked GeForce GTX 780 Ti is clearly the better choice, especially since it's a lot less expensive.

Now, here's the wild card: 6 GB is very likely more important to an SLI configuration. I don't have the cards or the FCAT suite here to properly test such a decadent setup. However, I also know from Chris Angelini that a couple of 3 GB cards rendering cooperatively start to demonstrate stuttering artifacts at 2160p, particularly as you crank up the detail settings. In those cases, we think you'll lament the fact that there aren't any GeForce GTX 780 Ti 6 GB boards available.

9. Gigabyte Gets Its WindForce Cooler Right

We set off on a mission to strip the cooler off of a very high-end graphics card and replace it with something claimed to be even better. The rebellious project was a success, and we had lots of fun in the process. 

That's not to say there's anything wrong with Nvidia's reference cooler. In fact, it remains a quiet, effective way to ensure heat is exhausted from your chassis. Gigabyte's solution blows all of that hot air around inside the case. As a result, be sure you have the right enclosure before spending the extra cash on the GHz Edition board. With that said, the reference cooler's thermal capacity isn't particularly special; it costs the GK110 GPU quite a bit of its potential performance.

Not so for Gigabyte’s WindForce 600 Watt cooler. It scores major points with its new fans and an improved cooler design. This is probably about as good as a two-slot thermal solution can get. Hopefully, the company uses it on some of its other cards as well.

Naturally, Gigabyte's WindForce 600 Watt cooler handles the GeForce GTX Titan Black's 250 W board power with ease, which is what we set out to test. So long as you own a well-cooled case, modifying Nvidia's reference design is wholly worthwhile. It'll give you a few pleasant hours of tinkering to start, and a more enjoyable gaming experience after that. The knowledge that you own something unique should help ameliorate the pain of buying such a high-end board (providing you can find it; we're still not seeing it for sale here in the U.S.).

This raises another question: is there a point to the GeForce GTX Titan Black to begin with, particularly in a gaming system? The only additional values come from unrestricted double-precision compute performance (which isn't relevant to a majority of desktop users) and 6 GB of graphics memory. At least at the resolutions and settings once GK110 can comfortably drive, this isn't really an advantage. It really takes a multi-GPU configuration to demonstrate the need for more than 3 GB. 

Nvidia's Reference Cooler

Want to know more about how the engineers at Nvidia came up with the iconic windowed cooling solution we've seen on so many of the company's high-end graphics cards? Check out The Story Of How GeForce GTX 690 And Titan Came To Be.

We probably won’t see many Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition graphics cards in the wild. The exorbitant price alone takes care of that. However, this story was worth writing, if only to demonstrate how much performance can be gained from Nvidia's GK110 GPU by matching it up to a better cooler.

The combination of Gigabyte's notable factory overclock and the improved cooler puts the modified GeForce GTX Titan Black GHz Edition’s performance on par with an even more aggressively overclocked Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti WindForce OC. That card only manages to achieve a slightly higher GPU Boost clock rate, despite its higher base frequency. It also runs hotter and louder than the modified Titan Black. The biggest difference is that you'll find the overclocked 780 Ti board selling for a lot less money.

More daring enthusiasts can use the included OC Guru software to increase the power target and core voltage above the stock settings. This allowed us to push the GPU Boost clock rate beyond 1300 MHz. That might seem a little risky though, given that we're talking about a $1000+ graphics card.

To the folks at Gigabyte: pay attention to what we were able to do with your cooler and apply that to other (more affordable) models as well. We're sure the enthusiast market will thank you.