Which cooler is better: blower vs open air

[sm625]

AT recently published an article on the R9 270, and in the conclusion made the following statement:

But with that said, the lack of a blower option for 270 across any of AMD’s partners is going to hurt it. It has the low power requirements necessary for the 150W market, but a number of those same machines are going to have limited ventilation, which would typically call for a blower as the cooler of choice.

I really wonder how big a deal this is. In my opinion, blowers suck... badly. I'll take something like the Asus Direct CU II any day. Even if all I have is my 120mm psu fan to provide ventilation. In my cases at home I leave my 120mm case fan unplugged because it is simply an unnecessary source of noise (except maybe on the hottest summer days). I was wondering if anyone knows of any articles with temperature data (gpu blower vs open air) for any of the following configurations:

1) Mid tower ATX with 1 120mm case fan
2) Mid tower ATX with 2 or more 120mm case fans
3) Mid tower ATX with only a 120mm psu fan providing ventilation
4) Mid tower ATX with smaller 80mm psu fan providing ventilation

In my experience, #3 is all it takes to make an open air cooler better than a crappy blower. But I would like to see hard data.

 

[96Firebird]

All your options assume a mid tower ATX. In which case, an open cooler will do fine. What the Anandtech article is talking about is SFF cases, including HTPC and the like. They don't have the cooling capabilities of regular towers, and this is where a blower would be beneficial.

 

[Borealis7]

i've arranged my fans to create positive static pressure in my chassis, so blower only for me.

read this: http://www.silverstonetek.com/techtalk_cont.php?tid=wh_positive&area=en

my ZOTAC GTX680 has a blower type cooler.

 

[Aithos]

All your options assume a mid tower ATX. In which case, an open cooler will do fine. What the Anandtech article is talking about is SFF cases, including HTPC and the like. They don't have the cooling capabilities of regular towers, and this is where a blower would be beneficial.

If you have a single card generally a blower will underperform an open cooler. However, I disagree with your statement about mid tower vs SFF. I would say that it's a lot closer in a mid tower than a full tower. A full tower with decent fans/airflow will make the open cooler a lot better (something like the EVGA ACX), a mid tower usually has less/smaller fans and a smaller area and therefore lower airflow.

I'm doing a full tower with 2x140mm intakes, 1x120mm intake, 3x140mm exhaust and I went with two blower type coolers for my SLI setup because I want to overclock and even with a good positive air setup I don't want my top card throttling from the extra heat.

 

[Silverforce11]

All your options assume a mid tower ATX. In which case, an open cooler will do fine. What the Anandtech article is talking about is SFF cases, including HTPC and the like. They don't have the cooling capabilities of regular towers, and this is where a blower would be beneficial.

AT isn't saying that at all, he's saying people who buy $150 GPUs.. for some reason, have more cluttered or poor airflow cases.

Because saying SFF cannot cope with an open blower is rubbish. I've used two mITX rigs already, one of the smallest cases that can fit a dual slot GPU: Silverstone SG05, I ran an OC 7950 open air GPU in that, and we all know how much power these GPUs use once OC. All cases need are proper airflow to remove all the stagnant hot hair.

 

[96Firebird]

AT isn't saying that at all, he's saying people who buy $150 GPUs.. for some reason, have more cluttered or poor airflow cases.

It clearly says 150W, which is usually for HTPCs.

 

[blackened23]

To answer the OP: depends on your needs and wants. With that said, there is a stronger likelihood that the 270 series of cards will be used in SFF and HTPC setups where aftermarket designs are a complete no-go. I'd agree that a reference design is preferable with low cost cards like this, although the option for aftermarket is also fine.

 

[Silverforce11]

To answer the OP: depends on your needs and wants. With that said, there is a stronger likelihood that the 270 series of cards will be used in SFF and HTPC setups where aftermarket designs are a complete no-go. I'd agree that a reference design is preferable with low cost cards like this, although the option for aftermarket is also fine.

Since when are mid-range GPUS used for HTPC setups? Those tend to be low-range, even passive cooled. Not ones churning out ~150W. Most of you guys here have such high end rigs you forget the little guys, you know, the masses.

SFF are only for people who KNOW what they are doing.

 

[blastingcap]

To answer the OP: depends on your needs and wants. With that said, there is a stronger likelihood that the 270 series of cards will be used in SFF and HTPC setups where aftermarket designs are a complete no-go. I'd agree that a reference design is preferable with low cost cards like this, although the option for aftermarket is also fine.

+1

Reference is especially good for water cooler or other third-party cooler installations. Whereas non-reference could be better or worse. See for instance XFX which has made garbage cooling solutions for 2 generations in a row now. They cut, cut, cut. No expense is too small for them to cut. I would not trust an XFX card's components to be as good as reference.

Silverforce, which AIB company do you work for again? What's your policy on coil whine?

 

[blackened23]

Since when are mid-range GPUS used for HTPC setups? Those tend to be low-range, even passive cooled. Not ones churning out ~150W. Most of you guys here have such high end rigs you forget the little guys, you know, the masses.

SFF are only for people who KNOW what they are doing.

Says who? The beauty of the PC is that you define it yourself within the constraints of what products can and cannot do. There is no hard and fast rule that you can't put a 270 in a HTPC. If I can use a 660ti in a HTPC, who says I can't use a 270? What if, I want to play PC games on my bigscreen to go along with other HTPC functions? Yeah, I think i'd go for a pretty good GPU there. Back on the note of what products can and cannot do - you cannot use an aftermarket GPU design in a HTPC or SFF case. Now i'm not sure if AMD omitted the reference design completely or what for the 270, but I would hope not.

I would just disagree with you on the strongest terms. You can use whatever you want and whatever you can afford as long as the product parameters work within HTPC and SFF bounds. Heck, you can put a GTX 780 in a small form factor case with no issues because the reference shroud is very versatile.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Hello all, I am looking at a 7950 before they go out of stock, and I have two choices. Either a blower reference or an open air. I am using a m-atx case with 1 92mm outtake fan. I think I should use the blower, but I plan to overclock it and I am worried about heat and noise.

 

[blackened23]

Hello all, I am looking at a 7950 before they go out of stock, and I have two choices. Either a blower reference or an open air. I am using a m-atx case with 1 92mm outtake fan. I think I should use the blower, but I plan to overclock it and I am worried about heat and noise.

The 7950 when overclocked can be quiet, but you'll need to use lower fan levels so you may or may not be able to go all out on clockspeeds. Just find a clockspeed that works at 45% fan or lower, it should be acceptable. Personally, I would be extremely weary about using aftermarket designs in a mATX case. I wouldn't do it. I've had problems with such setups in the past, keep in mind that overclocking = heat and that just creates a bad situation in a mATX case. Or most of them. What case specifically is it?

 

[24601]

Hello all, I am looking at a 7950 before they go out of stock, and I have two choices. Either a blower reference or an open air. I am using a m-atx case with 1 92mm outtake fan. I think I should use the blower, but I plan to overclock it and I am worried about heat and noise.

With such a bad airflow case, the reference design will undoubtedly be a better choice. The blower will be loud as a banshee when overclocking, but at least it won't melt down (or throttle annoyingly) like an open air cooled 7950 will.

You can also look into the HIS IceQ Turbo 7950 if you have 3 slots of space in your case.

 

[Teizo]

Personally, I would be extremely weary about using aftermarket designs in a mATX case. I wouldn't do it. I've had problems with such setups in the past, keep in mind that overclocking = heat and that just creates a bad situation in a mATX case. Or most of them. What case specifically is it?

The Fractal Design Node 304 (or Define Mini) may be ok since it has an open air vent beside the GPU. I haven't used it for a build so I can't speak from experience, but I it is something I have been entertaining and supposedly aftermarket designs are fine so long as the length is ok in conjunction with the psu (with regard to the Node 304).

 

[Bubbleawsome]

With such a bad airflow case, the reference design will undoubtedly be a better choice. The blower will be loud as a banshee when overclocking, but at least it won't melt down (or throttle annoyingly) like an open air cooled 7950 will.

You can also look into the HIS IceQ Turbo 7950 if you have 3 slots of space in your case.

Nope, 2.01 slot, there was barley room for the (blower) 5770 that came with the thing. I don't really have *much* of a noise issue because I run 80mm fans at 4500rpm, but the 5770 was crazy before it died. Probably needed cleaning because I never cleaned it, I had no idea what I was doing.

The 7950 when overclocked can be quiet, but you'll need to use lower fan levels so you may or may not be able to go all out on clockspeeds. Just find a clockspeed that works at 45% fan or lower, it should be acceptable. Personally, I would be extremely weary about using aftermarket designs in a mATX case. I wouldn't do it. I've had problems with such setups in the past, keep in mind that overclocking = heat and that just creates a bad situation in a mATX case. Or most of them. What case specifically is it?

It's a stock DELL studio xps 8100 case. It has a grid near the videocard's intake for the thing. I am currently running a funky open air/blower combo HD 7770. It's molded to be a blower type, but it's open along the sides.

Case:

'Cept it's black.

Card:

EDIT: I do folding at home, so the card will be 100% for a lot of it's life.

 

[24601]

Nope, 2.01 slot, there was barley room for the (blower) 5770 that came with the thing. I don't really have *much* of a noise issue because I run 80mm fans at 4500rpm, but the 5770 was crazy before it died. Probably needed cleaning because I never cleaned it, I had no idea what I was doing.


It's a stock DELL studio xps 8100 case. It has a grid near the videocard's intake for the thing. I am currently running a funky open air/blower combo HD 7770. It's molded to be a blower type, but it's open along the sides.

Case:

'Cept it's black.

Card:

EDIT: I do folding at home, so the card will be 100% for a lot of it's life.

Then you definitely need a blower. Also you will need to mod the 7950 bios for a higher core amperage limit if F@H is as intense as Litecoin mining (if you want 100% of the card's performance without throttling). Also in your use case the fan will undoubtedly wail like a banshee.

That Dell case can't expel wattage if it's life depended on it (it does btw).

I would be very wary about using a 250-300w card like a 7950 with a crappy PSU like a stock Dell compy.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Then you definitely need a blower. Also you will need to mod the 7950 bios for a higher core amperage limit if F@H is as intense as Litecoin mining (if you want 100% of the card's performance without throttling). Also in your use case the fan will undoubtedly wail like a banshee.

Meh, I'll deal. But the BIOS thing. I'm not that experienced!

That Dell case can't expel wattage if it's life depended on it (it does btw).

I would be very wary about using a 250-300w card like a 7950 with a crappy PSU like a stock Dell compy.

Oh yeah, it came with an OEM 350w, upgraded to a bronze 550w. I have a suspicion that the crappy PSU killed the 5770.


I'll miss my silent 7770 though. Never over 31% fan or 61c.

 

[oleguy]

I keep reading that small cases (mATX/ITX) requires blower-type GPUs. What I haven't actually seen to much of is true comparison reviews or studies on the matter. Just a lot of anecdotal evidence, personal stories, and the like. The closest I've come is accidentally finding a review of the Temjin TJ08-E over at The Tech Report where some nut decided to cram as much hardware as they could into the case. That included two DirectCU II 560 Ti. The GPU that wasn't starved by the other (seems to be a flaw of the motherboard, not case) remained at 66C under load. The CPU stayed at 55C. I realize that case might be the king of the hill when it comes to airflow, but it just doesn't seem like many case reviews or GPU reviews really take that into consideration. The best I can come up with is looking at all the GPU reviews of reference and custom designs, cross-reference the case that was used (assuming it wasn't an open bench) and hope that one can find enough to go on.

Does anyone out there know of direct comparisons? At this point, I'm thinking a single 780 with DirectCU II or other high-end open fan design would be just fine in that Temjin case. Looking at AT's bench, the 560 Ti pull a little less power than the 780 does today, so the amount of heat two of those suckers put out would be well in excess of what the 780 could do.

 

[Silverforce11]

Says who? The beauty of the PC is that you define it yourself within the constraints of what products can and cannot do. There is no hard and fast rule that you can't put a 270 in a HTPC. If I can use a 660ti in a HTPC, who says I can't use a 270? What if, I want to play PC games on my bigscreen to go along with other HTPC functions? Yeah, I think i'd go for a pretty good GPU there. Back on the note of what products can and cannot do - you cannot use an aftermarket GPU design in a HTPC or SFF case. Now i'm not sure if AMD omitted the reference design completely or what for the 270, but I would hope not.

Now you're just being ignorant.

Over 100 pages of people running awesome rigs in a mITX setup, inside a case so small it won't fit your shoes inside.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1372339&page=102

I used this OPEN AIR 7950 PCS at 1.2ghz inside a tiny SFF case for awhile, with an OC CPU on water cooling.. it was bitmining 24/7 as well.

Again, don't be daft with wild claims, people who build their own rigs should do some research beforehand. You can run a gtx480 out of a shoebox case if you take into account airflow and pressure.

Warning issued for personal attack.
-- stahlhart

 

[blastingcap]

Now you're just being ignorant.

Over 100 pages of people running awesome rigs in a mITX setup, inside a case so small it won't fit your shoes inside.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1372339&page=102

I used this OPEN AIR 7950 PCS at 1.2ghz inside a tiny SFF case for awhile, with an OC CPU on water cooling.. it was bitmining 24/7 as well.

Again, don't be daft with wild claims, people who build their own rigs should do some research beforehand. You can run a gtx480 out of a shoebox case if you take into account airflow and pressure.

Silverforce you work for an AIB right? You must have data on failure rates. I have never had a reference fan fail on me. I've had 2 axial fans fail on me, one so badly that it was barely spinning anymore and was making squealing noises nonstop, the other is currently on that road but has a somewhat less obnoxious sound coming from it. For now.

 

[24601]

Silverforce you work for an AIB right? You must have data on failure rates. I have never had a reference fan fail on me. I've had 2 axial fans fail on me, one so badly that it was barely spinning anymore and was making squealing noises nonstop, the other is currently on that road but has a somewhat less obnoxious sound coming from it. For now.

My 7970 in my sig's 2 fans just failed a few days ago. I'm on my XFX PoS 7970 right now. It's only been mining since march.

64 rpm on my two fans. Too pro.

I'll be trying to resuscitate it by oiling the fans within the next few days probably.

 

[blastingcap]

Maybe Sapphire fans on the 7970 just suck because my "problem child" 7970 was a Sapphire 7970 as well. I just could not take the fan squealing noise anymore... worried it would simply grind down to a halt and bake my card one day. I eventually sold it to someone cheap, with a stern warning that he would need to watercool it or add an Accelero or something. I didn't want to RMA it for reasons I won't go into here.

I have never, ever had a reference blower fan fail or start to make weird noises or whatever.

 

[Zanovar]

Silverforce you work for an AIB right? You must have data on failure rates. I have never had a reference fan fail on me. I've had 2 axial fans fail on me, one so badly that it was barely spinning anymore and was making squealing noises nonstop, the other is currently on that road but has a somewhat less obnoxious sound coming from it. For now.

Haha youre determined for him to confirm that.speaking of fans the middle one on my windforce is rattling badly at certain rpm ranges:S.As for ops question prefer open air.most blowers are ref?ice q maybe*shrugs*

 

[JDG1980]

I'm doing a full tower with 2x140mm intakes, 1x120mm intake, 3x140mm exhaust and I went with two blower type coolers for my SLI setup because I want to overclock and even with a good positive air setup I don't want my top card throttling from the extra heat.

Why not go with a Silverstone FT02? Plenty of airflow directly where you need it, without too much noise, and the rotated motherboard layout means there is no "top card". I suspect you could easily run two open-air GPU coolers in that case without running into thermal problems.

 

[24601]

Haha youre determined for him to confirm that.speaking of fans the middle one on my windforce is rattling badly at certain rpm ranges:S.As for ops question prefer open air.most blowers are ref?ice q maybe*shrugs*

My XFX 7970 DD Black edition has insane resonance from 78% to 85% fan speed. It is crazily loud when at those speed and I can feel the card resonating like crazy if I put my hand on it. I set the profile to not go over 77% for that reason. Sucks because the card needs 100% fan speed to keep the VRMs even remotely cool.