Legit Reviews

alright well i'm thinking when i can i'm going to upgrade my pc, which will include upgrading from my 7800GT and putting both the new GPU and CPU under water. i wanted to know a little bit about the differences in heat dissipation, stock and custom PCBs, and all that.

looking at getting an 8800GTS 512 at the moment but in the time between now and when i'll be able to afford a new GPU it might change to a 9--- series card.

well i'm going to remove the stock fan and cooling from whatever the card will be and attach a waterblock.
going watercooling for 2 reasons - less noise and overclockability.

real question here: is there a noticeable difference in heat dissipation from reference cards to those with custom PCBs? i ask because i plan on buying the cheapest card/warranty combo of the card i'll get and overclock it to match the higher-end cards.

thoughts anyone?

stopthekilling77 wrote:real question here: is there a noticeable difference in heat dissipation from reference cards to those with custom PCBs?

No, custom PCBs may help for overclocking but even that is questionable.

It has been my experience that custom PCBs don't help with overclocking the 8800GTS 512.

go with an XFX, they may not have the lowest prices but there warenty covers everything short of stabing the pcb with a fork (including putting on aftermarket coolers), its lifetime, and it transfers to the second owner. they also have sexy black PCBs

martini161 wrote:go with an XFX, they may not have the lowest prices but there warenty covers everything short of stabing the pcb with a fork (including putting on aftermarket coolers), its lifetime, and it transfers to the second owner. they also have sexy black PCBs

awesome, great to hear because i've heard it was up between EVGA and XFX for good warranties. XFX it will be when i figure out when i can get it!

is it safe to assume that if i can't purchase these upgrades until another 9xxx series card comes out that gives better price/performance than the G92 8800 GTS 512 then there will be quality waterblocks available for those cards?

stopthekilling77 wrote:

martini161 wrote: awesome, great to hear because i've heard it was up between EVGA and XFX for good warranties. XFX it will be when i figure out when i can get it!

Yes, go XFX. eVGA has had some issues with RMA's and support from what I've read on NewEgg.

Have you considered an ATI card too?

stev wrote:

stopthekilling77 wrote:

martini161 wrote: awesome, great to hear because i've heard it was up between EVGA and XFX for good warranties. XFX it will be when i figure out when i can get it!

Yes, go XFX. eVGA has had some issues with RMA's and support from what I've read on NewEgg.

Have you considered an ATI card too?

in all honesty, no. seeing every card comparison around the net and LR, i just don't see any real competition but i am open to suggestions considering i dont have the $ in pocket to buy the upgrades yet

for your VGA block: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835108095
dont bother buying one of those specific series blocks that only fit one card, there a waste of money imo

martini161 wrote:for your VGA block: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835108095
don't bother buying one of those specific series blocks that only fit one card, there a waste of money imo

Remember you will need RAM and mofset heatsinks if that is the route taken.

They can be attached via thermal epoxy. I actually mix thermal epoxy with thermal paste (about 1:1), that way they stick on, and you can just about get them off and re-use them on a different card when you upgrade.

Dan

cool! options are good to have :D

i'll do some research but it would seem to me that a full per-model block might cool the memory more than this cheaper route?
if that is the case, how good would the RAM and mosfet heatsinks work compared to a full custom block?

BFG also carry a lifetime warranty and last I checked, they don't even require a receipt for returns. That is hard to beat.

ibleet wrote:BFG also carry a lifetime warranty and last I checked, they don't even require a receipt for returns. That is hard to beat.

Well BFG changed thier policy some as of Feb/08 , although they still offer a lifetime warrnty . http://bfgtech.com/warranty.aspx

Major changes :

1. Card must be registered in 30 days of purchase (for full warranty)
2. POP (proof of purchase) required by email or fax to complete registration
3. NEW ! 100-day trade-up program available

hmmm... i like XFX's double lifetime warranty and the ability to change the stock cooling solution the most so far

xfx dont require you to register with in a certain amount of time, but you have to if you want to return the card. i just did it first thing to get it out of the way. like i said i had a friends who accidently knocked a resister of the back of an 8800 while putting it in and they rma'ed it no questions asked

Thanks for the update stereo55.

I have an EVGA card and my son has an XFX card and both are excellent choices. We worry about warranty, but the fact is that those cards normally last a lot longer than they're required to. It will still be running long after its time to upgrade.