Which GPU brand have the best cooler?

[Bateluer]

I have an Asus DCU2 sitting on my desk now, I'll be installing it tonight and comparing it to my PowerColor(Reference and Arctic Cooler Extreme3).

 

[Kenmitch]

I've been very pleased with my 290DD as well. I don't recall seeing VRM1 above 85*C with it locked at 980mhz and afterburners default user fan curve while playing BF4.

The temps on the vrm1 can get pretty high dependent on a persons uses and case airflow....I used mine for some mining and they did stabilize around 98-100c with the fan cranked up around 80% or so which was still quiet. Vrm1 temps are very dependent on ambient temps and airflow more than the core. Had to set silly custom fan speed that kicked up with core temps only being around 70c for mining. Cooler is slightly unbalanced I guess. TriX has no issue with vrm1 temps but is somewhat louder and let's face it, it's a ugly looking card....At least when compare to the DD.

I'll have to test the temps during gaming to see. Stopped mining so I guess it's time to play around with the rigs now.

Looping some Unigine Valley benchmarks currently with the DD. I'm running stock speed but did load Trixx to use the default custom fan profile. CCC doesn't seem to allow custom fan without throttling the cpu speed it looks like. Trixx default custom fan profile does look to tie the fanspeed to the core temp.

Fifth loop and have the following results at stock clocks and VDCC at default settings.

Core 65c
Fan 65%
Vrm1 75c
Vrm2 57c

Bumped up to 1000/1300

Fifth loop and I have the following results.

Core 66c
Fan 66%
Vrm1 77c
Vrm2 58c

 

[Tequila]

Been very pleased with my two Asus GTX 760 DirectCU II OC. Temps are about 3C higher than my former MSI 560ti Twin Frozr but noise level is much better when gaming.

EDIT: I'm dumb. Temps are actually same now that I look at my previous benchmark link doh. Ranges from 24-27C idle and high 40s after running metro 2033 benchmark

 

[Rvenger]

I had a Windforce GTX 780 OC which ran extremely cool until the fans started to go bad on it. Gigabyte sent me replacement fans which forced me to have to disassemble the entire heatsink to install them. Out of frustration, I sold the card and I believe it turned out to be a silicon lottery winner too because the new owner absolutely loves it. I am happy for him, my loss, his gain. Was a great card but I had to return the card 3 times for faulty fans which I was not pleased.

So my recommendation would be:

MSI Gaming (Nvidia or AMD, they are both good), the lightning coolers are excellent too, EVGA ACX for Nvidia, and Powercolor PCS+ for the R9 290 series.

 

[Bateluer]

I have an Asus DCU2 sitting on my desk now, I'll be installing it tonight and comparing it to my PowerColor(Reference and Arctic Cooler Extreme3).

I've installed that Asus card last night. Idle temps seem to be around 48C with an ambient temp around 22C to 24C. My Define R4 case has great airflow though, and the card does get direct air unobstructed from a 140mm intake fan on the front and indirect from a second 140mm fan.

Haven't had the time to run any games through it yet, but I'm fairly sure the VRM and RAM cooling will be better than what the AC E3 was doing on the PowerColor.

 

[B-Riz]

I've installed that Asus card last night. Idle temps seem to be around 48C with an ambient temp around 22C to 24C. My Define R4 case has great airflow though, and the card does get direct air unobstructed from a 140mm intake fan on the front and indirect from a second 140mm fan.

Haven't had the time to run any games through it yet, but I'm fairly sure the VRM and RAM cooling will be better than what the AC E3 was doing on the PowerColor.

What GPU?

I put an R9 290 DCU 2 OC in last night, CM Storm Sniper case with a 200mm on the side blowing directly on it.

Do not think it will ever get warm due to only gaming at 1920 x 1080; BF4 Mantle with Ultra textures and 4x AA is the most demanding it will get...

The back plate / slot and card reinforcement is a great reason to go Asus DCU 2.

 

[rgallant]

I vote EK

-100k+++ re air cooled gpu posts all across the net about fan noises / heat sink rattle /high temps day after day.
all crap results at the end of any day , best air cooler for a mid - high end gpu has never shown it self if there is one. [show me one with a max fan speed 1000 rpm]

go water then fight over xxx temps @ 30c under max. load vs xxx @ 33c using xxx water block.
-peeps can spend more time and money not going to water imo.

-when gpu's come with max. watts down to sub 100 watts @ max. oc , [like some cpu's] water can retire for it's block cost and what ever , but that is not here yet.

I'd cry for the partners if they sold a sku for bare cards , but until then they can eat the rma's from peeps with loud or hot cards.

 

[Bateluer]

What GPU?

I put an R9 290 DCU 2 OC in last night, CM Storm Sniper case with a 200mm on the side blowing directly on it.

I have the 290X version. Wasn't entirely satisfied with my previous Powercolor 290X & Arctic Cooler.

Do not think it will ever get warm due to only gaming at 1920 x 1080; BF4 Mantle with Ultra textures and 4x AA is the most demanding it will get...

I don't think BF4 on Ultra at 1080p is the most demanding game I can throw at it . . . especially since I game at 1440p.

The back plate / slot and card reinforcement is a great reason to go Asus DCU 2.

Definitely a nice feature. The PowerColor card had a very visible amount of sag when I removed it. And its only been in there since November.

 

[el etro]

In perf(with max cooling perf)+noise metric:


Sapphire and Asus for Radeon Cards.


Gigabyte and Evga for Nvidia Cards.