Looking for quiet 980ti stock speed, also: coil whine?

[DaveSimmons]

My resolve to wait 6 months to play Fallout 4 has crumbled away. Since it will be 6+ months before the new nvidia cards are released I'm now looking at 980ti models.

The MSI Gaming LE is ~$40 cheaper than other models and the user reviews say it is quiet at stock speed. Any reason not to buy it? Any other cards more quiet at stock speed?

I was ready to buy it, but one Amazon review of the non-LE gaming model worries me, they claim to have gotten coil whine on all 3 of them that they purchased. I want quiet not whine 🙁

 

[RussianSensation]

TPU shows EVGA SC+ to be quieter than the MSI Gaming for 980Ti series.

MSI Lightning LE should be quieter than both and with custom PCB and power circuitry, it should have no coil whine.

The MSI Lightning LE 980Ti costs more than the EVGA SC+ and MSI Gaming but it comes with Black Ops 3, in addition to a choice between AC Syndicate and R6S.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Thanks -- the Lightning LE looks like the best choice if money is no object, and the SC is the best budget choice. Newegg even has the EVGA SC cheaper than the MSI if you ignore the $30 mail in rebate for the MSI.

I'd probably ignore the MIR anyway since it's annoying to send and the $30 debit card is a pain to use.

 

[Mondozei]

The MSI LE will be known long after the GM200 has gone out of fashion for the simple reason that the cooling/PCB setup is frankly shockingly good.

If you really, really want a quiet card with no coil whine that's the way to go. The extra performance is just bonus at that point, but a welcome one.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Sold! One Lightning LE ordered from Newegg, and possibly here by the weekend.

 

[RussianSensation]

Sold! One Lightning LE ordered from Newegg, and possibly here by the weekend.

I forgot to tell you that you could have gotten another $25 off credit via AMEX or Visa Checkout. But you placed the order so fast. 😀

 

[DaveSimmons]

I forgot to tell you that you could have gotten another $25 off credit via AMEX or Visa Checkout. But you placed the order so fast. 😀

😀 oh well, I saved almost $70 in taxes not buying it from Amazon so I'm good.

 

[RussianSensation]

😀 oh well, I saved almost $70 in taxes not buying it from Amazon so I'm good.

:thumbsup: Feel free to drop a couples lines about overclocking and overall noise vs. temperature experience. I think with that cooler, you should be able to crank her to 1.45-1.5Ghz (boost) and still run in the sub-80*C at whisper quiet levels.