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I am going to test both of these blocks with the same video card in the same RIG with the same system settings.
Right off the bat I will tell you all that the Heatkiller GPU-X³ 79X0 is a work of art as far as build quality goes. Everything about its appearance is pleasant on the eyes and to the touch it feels solid and well made.
Photos of the Heatkiller GPU-X³ 79X0
The XSPC HD 7970 Full coverage Block on the other end of the spectrum wreaks of poor craftsmanship in its finish and construction yet has some bright ideas such as the versatile multi tube connection ports.
My particular XSPC HD7970 New Edition Full coverage block came from the factory with some obvious imperfections on the finish.
Photos of XSPC RAZER HD7970 New Edition Block
In these photos you can see circular mill imprints on the contact surface areas of the block and some minor copper burs that should have been removed at the factory. Look at the crappy thread job on the connectors. This block should have never left the factory like this.
Look at the little metal burs hanging off of the ram contact areas. These little pieces of metal can fall off and possibly create a ground fault on the PCB.
The connection threads were terribly done. Look at the threads coming apart. Should have been cleaned up. This crap can clog a pump or radiator and hurt flow.
Blue Circle Area show copper shavings left inside from mill work. XSPC did a terrible job on this particular block and when I tried to RMA they denied RMA service. Be warned... Also Pefromance PC also denied customer support for all problems found with block.
The TESTs
For my tests I will be running Furmark for 15 minutes with my Sapphire HD7950 950mhz Edition set to 1300/1700.
I will use the latest version of HWinfo64 to record GPU/VRM temps.
The XSPC RAZER HD7970 New Edition block uses aluminum passive blocks on the VRMS while the Heatkiller GPU-X³ 79X0 uses active water flow over VRM to cool them down. I anticipate the Heatkiller to win on the VRM cooling.
The XSPC Razer HD7970 New Edition has 0.5mm fins for high performance which should work out better than the original XSPC RAZER HD7970 which fin spacing was at 1mm. This is basicly double the fins in the same area.
TIM
To make this test as fair as possible I will also use Cool Laboratory Liquid Pro TIM on the DIE and Fujipoly Xtreme thermal pad on memory and VRMS on both blocks.
Imperfections on my RAZER block
I contacted XSPC and shared these photos of my block and they have assured me that my block will perform fine with the mill marks and the copper burs on the block so I am going to do this test and hopefully my awesome HD7950 doesn't over heat or short out.
To avoid a terrible short out problem I am going to trim off the copper burs despite XSPC telling me the finish is fine because I don't want a small copper bur to fall off on the HD7950 or mother board PCB and short something out.
Final Results of my Tests below!
Right off the bat I will tell you all that the Heatkiller GPU-X³ 79X0 is a work of art as far as build quality goes. Everything about its appearance is pleasant on the eyes and to the touch it feels solid and well made.
Photos of the Heatkiller GPU-X³ 79X0
The XSPC HD 7970 Full coverage Block on the other end of the spectrum wreaks of poor craftsmanship in its finish and construction yet has some bright ideas such as the versatile multi tube connection ports.
My particular XSPC HD7970 New Edition Full coverage block came from the factory with some obvious imperfections on the finish.
Photos of XSPC RAZER HD7970 New Edition Block
In these photos you can see circular mill imprints on the contact surface areas of the block and some minor copper burs that should have been removed at the factory. Look at the crappy thread job on the connectors. This block should have never left the factory like this.
Look at the little metal burs hanging off of the ram contact areas. These little pieces of metal can fall off and possibly create a ground fault on the PCB.
The connection threads were terribly done. Look at the threads coming apart. Should have been cleaned up. This crap can clog a pump or radiator and hurt flow.
Blue Circle Area show copper shavings left inside from mill work. XSPC did a terrible job on this particular block and when I tried to RMA they denied RMA service. Be warned... Also Pefromance PC also denied customer support for all problems found with block.
The TESTs
For my tests I will be running Furmark for 15 minutes with my Sapphire HD7950 950mhz Edition set to 1300/1700.
I will use the latest version of HWinfo64 to record GPU/VRM temps.
The XSPC RAZER HD7970 New Edition block uses aluminum passive blocks on the VRMS while the Heatkiller GPU-X³ 79X0 uses active water flow over VRM to cool them down. I anticipate the Heatkiller to win on the VRM cooling.
The XSPC Razer HD7970 New Edition has 0.5mm fins for high performance which should work out better than the original XSPC RAZER HD7970 which fin spacing was at 1mm. This is basicly double the fins in the same area.
TIM
To make this test as fair as possible I will also use Cool Laboratory Liquid Pro TIM on the DIE and Fujipoly Xtreme thermal pad on memory and VRMS on both blocks.
Imperfections on my RAZER block
I contacted XSPC and shared these photos of my block and they have assured me that my block will perform fine with the mill marks and the copper burs on the block so I am going to do this test and hopefully my awesome HD7950 doesn't over heat or short out.
To avoid a terrible short out problem I am going to trim off the copper burs despite XSPC telling me the finish is fine because I don't want a small copper bur to fall off on the HD7950 or mother board PCB and short something out.
Final Results of my Tests below!
