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Thread ID: 135586 2013-11-21 00:04:00 Thoughts on New PC Components MrRandom (17197) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1360418 2013-11-21 22:25:00 H100 closed loop cpu cooler from corsair cools better than any standard air cooler can. Slankydudl (16687)
1360419 2013-11-22 05:25:00 I think for now I will keep the Corsair Water Cooler in the build as it fits (in theory) so nicely into the case, if it comes down to needing an extra $100 or so for a better GPU I will explore alternative, cheaper cooling solutions.

Does anybody own the Coolermaster HAF-912 combat case and a 240mm radiator and can confirm it fits without any case modding (I don't need a push/pull configuration so the standard 2 fans will be fine) and still leaves the exhaust fan unobstructed? I'm fairly certain there shouldn't be a problem but it's better to be safe than sorry :)

Is it the general consensus that I should avoid the 290x GPU in favour of a 780ti? personally on paper it seems hard to justify the $300 price difference for the slightly improved performance of the 780ti. Is it likely that the arrival of non-reference design coolers for the 780ti will drop the price to keep it semi on par with the current price of the 290x?
MrRandom (17197)
1360420 2013-11-22 05:46:00 If you are going to purchase a gpu before the 3td party coolers for the 290 come out then go for either a 780 or a 780ti. It is yet to be seen how well the 290 and 290x can overclock because the terribleness of their stock cooling makes it impossible to properly overclock them.

Also there is very little between the 290 and 290x at the moment and it is not worth the price unless it turns out the 290x overclocks much better than the 290. but that seems unlikely.
Slankydudl (16687)
1360421 2013-11-22 06:30:00 If you can't wait for an aftermarket cooler for the R9 290 you could give this a shot: www.tomshardware.com (It's the same as swapping the heatsink on any gpu)

imo in NZ neither the 780 or 780ti are sold at a price point which I would consider worth it (same goes for the 290X). Not when you can get a 770 with a DC2 cooler for $200 less.
icow (15313)
1360422 2013-11-22 07:14:00 Apparently some of the heat problems caused by the AMD cards is due to a small die size. heat over a lower surface area makes for less overall thermal conductivity. Slankydudl (16687)
1360423 2013-11-22 07:23:00 The die size of the 290X is larger than the 7970 and they're both made using a 28nm manufacturing process. icow (15313)
1360424 2013-11-22 17:52:00 I probably should have been more specific when I said overkill, currently my friend is using a standard 60Hz single monitor set-up so having this hardware (which seems geared towards multi-monitor/120hz/4k HD set-ups) probably is a little over the top for his current set-up
Really that isn't a factor at all for skimping on the GPU.

I have one monitor, well I have 2, but only have one connected to this PC......but I sure don't skimp on graphics.

Do you want to play with the game cranked up to max with all the pretty bits or would you be happy having to turn settings down in the game to get a decent frame rate?

My son just changed his GPU as new games were starting to be an issue.

He has one monitor.
pctek (84)
1360425 2013-11-22 21:48:00 The thing about the die size i believe was in comparison to the 780. Even the 780 will max out new games (e.g. BF4) at 60fps with everything on max at 1080p resolution. Slankydudl (16687)
1360426 2013-11-22 22:00:00 If you can't wait for an aftermarket cooler for the R9 290 you could give this a shot: www.tomshardware.com (It's the same as swapping the heatsink on any gpu)

imo in NZ neither the 780 or 780ti are sold at a price point which I would consider worth it (same goes for the 290X). Not when you can get a 770 with a DC2 cooler for $200 less.

I wouldn't mind trying something like this if it were my own build, however (and I may be wrong) but doesn't replacing the cooler void the warranty? Since this build needs to last such a long time I would like to keep all products protected under warranty for as long as possible, just in case.

I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see if the new coolers come out by next month and hopefully some price drops with them. If not I definitely wont be buying a GPU with a reference cooler I never liked the idea of something running so hot and 90 degrees (in the 290x's case) is a bit ridiculous.

If the coolers haven't become available in time (My friend wants this build before Christmas) do you think getting SLI/Crossfire would be a good option? With the current budget for a GPU I could potentially get 2 GTX770's or 2 R9-280x's.

Thanks everyone for all of your help so far :)
MrRandom (17197)
1360427 2013-11-22 22:31:00 well if you can afford 2x 280x then why not get what is literally the best gpu that money can buy right now (780ti). The reference cooler on these nvidia cards not only looks the part but it is a very efficient reference cooler that runs very quietly. Slankydudl (16687)
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