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6970 Reference or Non-Reference

post #1 of 17
3/17/11 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 
Just a quick one,

Reference cards vs non-reference cards.

Take for example the Gigabyte 6970 Windforce X3 (and even an asus DirectCU II)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=16893

versus an 6970 reference

http://www.scorptec.com.au/computer/...6970-2di2s2gd5


Would the windforce be better then the reference cooler. Looking at it, it seems it blows the exhaust all around within the case. I very much prefer exhaust to be blown out because I think that maybe it might disturb my current airflow and possibly do bad things for the corsair H50 radiator mounted within my case (push/pull).

Also I'd wager the DirectCU II would be a real pain in crossfire on my board and would block 2 potential pcie slots
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post #2 of 17
3/17/11 at 6:11pm
Non-reference usually has better cooling than the reference, but to keep the chip cool it dumps the hot air in your case. You'll probably be fine, though, if you have good case airflow.

If you're thinking of buying a new GPU I'd go with a reference 6950 2GB and unlock it. But if you do decide to go with a 6970, non-reference is the way to go.
Edited by thisischuck01 - 3/17/11 at 6:14pm
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post #3 of 17
3/17/11 at 6:14pm
yes non-reference coolers are better - for cooling the card that is, but think about it, the card produces the same amount of heat as the reference, but the the heat is going somewhere else which is inside your case. make sure you have nice big fans on your case.
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post #4 of 17
3/17/11 at 6:25pm
Thread Starter 
I have an antec 1200, with my H50 radiator mounted on the lower back fan (which would be directly above my GPU setup) so regardless of good airflow in the case the heat from the non reference will travel first the CPU dependant fan exhaust.

kind like this photo



but with more headroom at the top cause of the antec
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post #5 of 17
3/17/11 at 6:32pm
PCI slot fans?
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post #6 of 17
3/17/11 at 8:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by thisischuck01 View Post
PCI slot fans?
For a non-reference pair of cards I'd aim it outwards to draw heat out.

Would this suffice?

For reference cards I could aim it inwards though and get cool air on the cards.
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post #7 of 17
3/19/11 at 7:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbsolarski View Post
For a non-reference pair of cards I'd aim it outwards to draw heat out.

Would this suffice?

For reference cards I could aim it inwards though and get cool air on the cards.
Sounds fine to me!
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post #8 of 17
3/23/11 at 11:11pm
Thread Starter 
ok so I got a relatively cheap offer for two Asus HD6970 DirectCU II!

I checked and I can fit two of these on my mobo no problem, what do you guys think?

they actually retail for cheaper then the reference ones.

2x reference ASUS HD6970 (side fan blowing in on cards)

or

2x ASUS DirectCU II HD6970 (side fan acting as exhaust and sucking air out)
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post #9 of 17
3/23/11 at 11:13pm
go a reference way..cooling on these cards are not a big problem..you can always crank the fan up..
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post #10 of 17
3/23/11 at 11:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbsolarski View Post
ok so I got a relatively cheap offer for two Asus HD6970 DirectCU II!

I checked and I can fit two of these on my mobo no problem, what do you guys think?

they actually retail for cheaper then the reference ones.

2x reference ASUS HD6970 (side fan blowing in on cards)

or

2x ASUS DirectCU II HD6970 (side fan acting as exhaust and sucking air out)
if you say that the Asus DirectCU 2 is cheaper then go with it..either ways is obviously a good choice..
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