Quote:
Originally Posted by
rubixcube101Â

Those temps sound pretty good, the only thing about the asus TOP cards is some of them seem to be unstable and only the minority seem to break the 1300mhz maximum boost clock.
Gotta admit the TOP looks seriously cool compared to the other two. Looks aside, i think i'm torn between the gigabyte and the FTW. The EVGA card is just over $40 more expensive than the GB, is it really worth it? Ive had both brands before, two of each, and i have to say i think the gigabyte impressed me more. This is simply because of the amazing overclocks i got, and the cool temperatures and quietness of the card. On the other hand the two evga cards i have at the moment are loud, and heat up 78C on a max overclock, fan at 100%. Gotta convince me lads

EDIT: In saying all of that though, i wasnt really dissapointed with the EVGA cards i have at all.
Between the two, as has been said a lot in these forums, if your case can handle hot air being dumped into it, the Gigabyte is a fine choice. If airflow is a concern, the blower style exhaust of the EVGA card may be better. From my observations, I'd go into it with the expectation that both cards will have similar overclocking potential, so it really boils down to luck on that front. On the Gigabyte card, and in typical bell curve fashion, there are a few outstanding OCers (glares at brettjv), a bunch of average ones (my card falls into this camp at 1,250 max), and a few duds.
One thing I will say about the Gigabyte card though, is that it does it's excellent job of cooling VERY quietly. I don't think any reviews of the the FTW are out yet, but based on the blower design, I feel like the EVGA card would show higher dbA from the fan at equal temperature levels. That's just me speculating though and I could be very wrong.
Is the FTW worth the price premium? I say yes, simply due to the excellent product support. If either card has a problem a year from now, there's little doubt that you'd get top notch treatment from EVGA making the price premium worth it. Think of it as buying a bit of insurance.
I chose the Gigabyte card on release day because it appeared to be the clear winner at the time. Today, I would probably still choose it over the other variants assuming it was in stock. I'm that happy with it.
Edited by JayWill411 - 6/13/12 at 8:06pm