Reference card vs non for water cooled 770?

[Lil'John]

Title basically states it.

In terms of water cooling and overclocking, will I get better results starting with a reference card for a 770? Or am I better off starting with one of the manufacturer already overclocked cards?

For example this reference(PNY):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133495

versus(ASUS DirectCU2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121837

Rest of system is:
RIVE MB
3930K CPU
32GB RAM
Intel 520 SSD

Use is a bit of gaming, CUDA programming, etc.

 

[Jaydip]

Don't waste your money on water cooling a 770, grab a 780 instead

 

[staryoshi]

I agree with Jay. It's worth the $150-170 premium for the GTX 780 unless you already have all the water components. They have quite a few models with non-reference cooling that are at or under the $500 MSRP.

Also, the DirectCU2 model uses a non-reference PCB that would not be compatible with most water blocks.

To answer your question - stock clocked and factory overclocked models shouldn't clock too differently under water, IMO. Factory overclocked models are sometimes binned, but they are binned to run at their predetermined clocks, not necessarily at the highest clocks possible (With the exception of cards that are meant for extreme overclocking).

 

[tweakboy]

Nah, IMO from my research,,, no need for a 780 unless your resolution is 2k or higher, but for 1080p gaming 770 and a nice OC is whawt I recommend to you, my friend.

 

[BrightCandle]

Typically water coolers use reference because its hard to get blocks for the custom ones. But if you can find a full coverage block for a non reference card then that is probably worth it as they tend to beef up the power stages and other tweaks for these OC models.

 

[Lil'John]

Thanks for the input. I think my ASUS pick was a bad one.

I was thinking of manufacturer overclocked reference cards. Unfortunately, my memory on which is which is a bit off so I won't try another pick:whiste:

I guess my curiosity is whether a water cooled overclocked reference will always do better than a non-reference PCB with customer cooler. Or will the performance be roughly the same but the water cooled has potential to be quieter.