My experience watercooling the EVGA GTX780 Classified

guskline

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2006
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Recently I switched out 2 EVGA GTX670 FTWs for a single EVGA GTX780 Classified. The 670s were watercooled with EK waterblocks and ran well but I had the "itch" to go to a GTX780 so I opted for the Classified. Since my custom water cooling system was in place ( 2-360 rads--RX360 and EX 360; Swiftech 655-b pump; Swiftech ApogeeHD cpu block) I knew it was only a matter of time before the air cooler on the Classified made way for water cooling. I made the "leap" this week by installing the EVGA Hydro Copper block and EVGA backplate (Block from FrozenCpu and backplate from Amazon)

Overclocking on air was OK but I discovered it could have been better when I removed the aircooler. The thermal paste had been gobbed on and the cooler appeared not to be as tightly secured as hoped. This was a new EVGA card, not an opened one.

Now on to the new parts. The EVGA HydroCopper block for the Classified is MASSIVE and heavy (Swiftech manufactures it) The shim to protect the gpu was milled too small on the corners and required some grinding to fit flush. The backplate was easy to install and makes the unit very solid. The EVGA supplied compression fittings are really solid. I leak tested @ 3hrs and then fired it up. WOW have the temps been lowered. Seriously I have not exceeded 38C even when I OC'd the core by +110 and memory by +220. I know there was some criticism of the memory cooling on the EVGA block vs the EK block but it appears to NOT be true of the Classified block.

I'll will keep you posted as I play with this rig. My firestrike score of 10772 (1103 core 1612 mem) was solid and I appear to have more room to ramp it up. Stock score is 9832.

All in all I'm pleased. I'd appreciate any input from others who have water cooled the GTX780.
 
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blackened23

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Jul 26, 2011
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Have you tried the classified software voltage controller? I've seen mention of it at OCN (in the official classy thread), that should help quite a bit with higher clocks. And of course temps won't be an issue with your setup.

Might wanna look around over there, they have all sorts of tweaks with BIOS and software voltage which will help quite a bit.
 

tviceman

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Mar 25, 2008
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What are your actual boost speeds? GTX780 really benefits from a good memory OC once you past 1100mhz boost. ~1125mhz boost should more or less equal a reference 780 TI (slightly less shading power, moderately more ROP throughput) but you'd need a decent memory OC to realize 780 TI speeds. I have my gtx 780 running 1189 / 6900mhz (stock voltage) every day and am benchmarking about 5-10% faster than reference 780 TI review scores. I'm on air though. :/
 

norseamd

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Dec 13, 2013
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so evga is supposed to be the top nvidia gpu company. how does the asus or msi lightning compare with the evga 780 ti classified.
 

Face2Face

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Jun 6, 2001
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so evga is supposed to be the top nvidia gpu company. how does the asus or msi lightning compare with the evga 780 ti classified.

The 780 Ti Classified Kingpin is the best 780 Ti on the market. Though it's overkill for most users, the 780 Ti Classified is the next best down. The Galaxy HOF 780Ti is on it's way, but it's power design is lacking compared to the classified and the Lightning. MSI never officially released their 780 Ti Lightning, so you won't get a comparison there. I have never owned a Classified, but from owning a 780 Lightning, I can tell you this card laughs at 1.3-1.35v all day. Even with my half-water cooled setup. 1450MHz gaming is a reality with sold temps all throughout.

Congrats Gus, now it's time to really see what that card can do. Underwater, 1350MHz-1400MHz on the core should be very feasible with the tweaks found on OCN. I assume you have Hynix or samsung, so 1800Mhz+(7200+) on the memory should be realistic.
 
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guskline

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Apr 17, 2006
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Face2Face: Excellent points. I can't speak personally about the Lightning as I have never owned one. I will say that the Classified is a SOLID card with a custom PCB. You really get an appreciation of the card when you removed the air cooler and heat sink and install the water block and backplate. Installation of these has been written about on the forums so I won't bore you with all the details. I was surprised how heavy the EVGA water block is. In fact, though my CoolerMaster HAF 932 case has the plastic snaps to secure video cards, I opted for using screws to secure the video card to the case after installation of the water block and backplate. It's HEAVY.

I have Hynix memory as verified by Nvidia inspector. Since the installation occurred last night, it's going to take me time to tweak this card. I will say the temp has never exceeded 40C no matter how hard or long I run it. It feels like a significant difference from the air cooler.

I realize that the GTX780 TI is a better chip but the 780 on a classified chassis with a good water cooler really allows you to ramp up the settings.

I'll keep you posted as I spend time with it.
 

Subyman

Moderator <br> VC&G Forum
Mar 18, 2005
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You've got a lot more potential there. I got my reference 780 to 1400mhz stable in Firestrike, I haven't tried to push it more. They really like more voltage. You may have to flash the bios and do a few tweaks to AB. Highest temp I get is 40C at 1400mhz with 1.3V. I drop it to 1.212V and use around 1250mhz daily. These cards are beasts but they need a bit more voltage. Be sure to prioritize temp when over clocking as well so you don't get stuck with a low power limit.
 
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TreVader

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Oct 28, 2013
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All the info you need to tweak your card is in the 1st post in the link.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1411500/official-evga-classified-owners-club/0_50

As Termi has shown in his shootout, the GTX 780 Ti is not that much faster than the GTX 780 clock for clock. It won't take much for your card to beatup on a Ti.

That's not accurate. The 780ti is consistently 15-20% faster than the 780 and it overclocks better.

The 780, if anything, is disappointingly fast in comparison to the 770. It OCs alright, but the huge lack of shader power kills it. Also you have to consider that the best 780 for OC is the Lightning, which is out of production. The best 780ti is the Galaxy HOF or the K1NGPIN Classified.


I have never seen a 780 break 1250 core or 1500 memory, but i've seen it done consistently on the 780ti. Clock for clock it's no contest.

As you can readily see, sometimes the performance increase is actually closer to 30% http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1036?vs=1072
 

Subyman

Moderator <br> VC&G Forum
Mar 18, 2005
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I have never seen a 780 break 1250 core or 1500 memory, but i've seen it done consistently on the 780ti. Clock for clock it's no contest.

Wait, what? I can show you my Futuremark at 1400mhz on a reference 780. Do you mean personally you've never been over 1250mhz?
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
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That's not accurate. The 780ti is consistently 15-20% faster than the 780 and it overclocks better.

The 780, if anything, is disappointingly fast in comparison to the 770. It OCs alright, but the huge lack of shader power kills it. Also you have to consider that the best 780 for OC is the Lightning, which is out of production. The best 780ti is the Galaxy HOF or the K1NGPIN Classified.


I have never seen a 780 break 1250 core or 1500 memory, but i've seen it done consistently on the 780ti. Clock for clock it's no contest.

As you can readily see, sometimes the performance increase is actually closer to 30% http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1036?vs=1072

The GTX 780 Ti is 12-15% faster clock per clock vs. The GTX 780 as Termi has shown in his own tests. Tests were done with common resolutions like 1080p & 1440p and with today's current crop of games. We what we all should care about is clock per clock comparisons, because most cards clocks different out of the box, especially with the introduction of GPU boost 2.0. You may be saying the GTX 780 Ti clocks better because all of the use the B1 revision. It wasn't until the GTX 780 Ti was released some of the GTX 780 started to use B1 chips, all were using A1 chips prior. For the most part B1 chips can hit higher clocks with lower voltage. 1.2v is the max voltage on GK110 cards without bios mods and special overvolting tools. So it seem reasonable to say the GTX 780 Ti overall overclocks better than GTX 780 A1 cards, but I don't see that being true with b1 cards. Silicon lottery still plays a huge role.

I am not sure how many GTX 780's you have seen, as most here on the forums will do 1200MHz+ core & 1650MHz+ memory game stable. And this is with reference PCB's. Cards with aftermarket PCB's with better than stock cooling are hitting 1300Mhz + pretty easily.

Here you go, now you have seen a 1500Mhz game stable GTX 780...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmK3ChEctaQ


But anyway, this is about Gus's overclocking escapades.
 
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Tristor

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Jul 25, 2007
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That's not accurate. The 780ti is consistently 15-20% faster than the 780 and it overclocks better.


I think you misunderstand the comparison. The 780Ti /is/ faster clock for clock than a 780, simply because it has more shaders. The clock speed determines the speed of the actions an individual shader can take, the number of shaders is fundamentally the width of parallel actions that can occur. So by increasing the clock speed of the 780 you can mostly make up for it's lack of width and have it match performance with a 780Ti stock very easily.

Because of the increased width, the 780Ti is more thermally limited than the 780, however under water or better, both should in theory be able to reach roughly the same clock speeds (of course chip lottery and all that). In these cases the 780Ti will continue to be faster than the 780, but we're also talking about a relatively minimal difference for 30% more cost ($530 vs $770).

There's absolutely no reason to think a 780 cannot be reliably overclocked to match a stock 780Ti at a fraction of the cost, and many times overclocked far beyond that.
 

Fastx

Senior member
Dec 18, 2008
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F2F what overclocks would it roughly take on a GTX 780 to be on par with a reference GTX 780 TI (stock clocks) in your opinion?
TIA

Btw wow/very nice oc on your 780 Lightning w/NZXT per YT vid!
 
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guskline

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2006
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Both of mine are B1 cards with Hynix memory, so as soon as I get them under water (waiting on a few parts to arrive), I'm hoping I can get them around 1250MHz 24/7.

Tristor: what water blocks are you going to use? I notice that you use a Corsair H110 for the cpu. If you are also going to put the gpus under water it sou nds like it's time to delve into custom water cooling;););):biggrin:
 
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Tristor

Senior member
Jul 25, 2007
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Tristor: what water blocks are you going to use? I notice that you use a Corsair H110 for the cpu. If you are also going to put the gpus under water it sou nds like it's time to delve into custom water cooling;););):biggrin:

I'm planning to do custom water for my next build, but this time around I'm janking something together using a couple of H80s, ala "The Red Mod". We'll see how effective it is, I'm not trying to get crazy just hoping for 1250-1300, which I could probably do with the ACX cooler that's already on it.
 

guskline

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2006
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Lordy, Tristor H80s are big. It's going to be a tight fit and then how is the VRM going to be cooled? Keep me posted.