Thoughts on Video Cards Superclocked & ACX vs. Ref

Hi Folks,
Probably a stupid, noobish question.  What is the difference between the Superclocked Video cards vs. the ACX Video cards?  Also, what are people's thoughts on these cards vs. the stock reference card?  I'm currently mulling over my next system and the 780 Ti (x3) and wondering what the pros and cons are on these cards.  Any input would be very enlightening!!

Edit - changed typ'o to ACX (not ATX)


Edited by Dax Doomslayer - 13 Nov 2013 at 8:58am

Ooops - I just noticed the typ'o I meant ACX.  I'm assuming that's just a different cooling system?

Thanks Nav & bprat.  So bprat, for x3 SLI would you stick with just the reference card or would a SC version be acceptable?  Is it just the ACX version that dumps the heat in the case due to the different cooling system?  My apologies for being so obtuse but I'm trying to figure out what the differences are (other than performance and overclocking obviously) between the SC cards and the SC ACX card and if there are drawbacks to these vs. the stock reference card that outweighs the performance.  Thanks again!

Good information bprat - thanks.  FYI - I'm thinking of the Haf-X case, adding one fan to it and using Noctura if that makes a difference.  So are you saying that an SC card has a possibility to would "burn out" easier?  That would be a factor to consider - especially if I'm x3 SLI or even SLI...

What I typically do is try to buy the best I can at the time and I basically use that for 7 to 8 years - lol.  My current PC is about 8 or 9 years old but it still runs games OK.  However, it's definitely time to upgrade.  I just got the Dell U3014 monitor and I want to run games on their highest settings in 2560x1600 darn it!!  Thus if the SC cards have a higher chance of burning out from the stress, I may just go with the reference cards.  I'm just trying to figure what I'll get when I buy within the next few months (probably no later than March or maybe earlier if something happens where I can't hold off - lol).

First off, the current SC for the 780 TI is on a reference cooler.

The ACX cooler is an amazing cooler. I'd recommend waiting for it.  Also, your SC/FTW/Classifieds (since we're talking EVGA here) are great performance boasts than stock cards (even if they have the ACX cooler).

You must make sure that you understand the ACX is the cooler design, it has nothing to do with SC or any type of factory OC.

On that note, let's talk 780 Ti. EVGA is about to release one with the ACX cooler. That cooler works so well, that their ACX version will have a base clock of 1006mhz vs the 876 (?) mhz that comes on the reference.  that is a big jump for base clock. That means you'll be able to OC it even more for some extremely nice gains.

I don't like reference coolers. They leave very little room for OC'ing.  GPU's, unlike cpu's, really do show benefit in their OC's.  Where you can OC your cpu and might not see a difference, you will in your GPU's.

Wait, and buy that amazing ACX version if you really want to get the most out of the card without putting it under water.

Really, you don't need to worry too much about heat in the case as long as your ambient temps are nice and cool.

I've seen plenty of machines running non-reference coolers in 2 way and 3 way sli and temps were fine.

I'm not a fan of the Noctua compared to the closed loop coolers like the h100i. I think you'll get better case air flow with one instead of that huge block messing up air flow in the case.  You can point it up to exhaust, but then it blocks the back fan blowing in, you can point it towards the back to blow out, but then you have your top blowing out so you lose positive pressure.  If you flip the top fans to be intake, you're block air flow.  You just lose air flow, which can increase case temps.

Remember, positive air pressure = less dust build up.  If you run it in 3 way, you'll run into some small issues with cooling on the cards, due to they are pulling air in, which will be from the back of the the card in front.  But they don't run extremely hot anyways.  Keep your room cool and you'll be fine.

If you're really worried about it, you can get a Corsair 900D for less than $300 new, so the upgrade fee shouldn't be bad at all when you build your machine.  Do that and put your cards under water.  The GTX 780 ti overclocks extremely well.  I mean this card loves OC'ing and will let you push it hard.  Putting them under water will let you truly utilize all that money you just spend.  That'd be my biggest recommendation.  Get a case that lets you put all three cards under water.  Then air flow in case doesn't really matter, it'll be quieter, temps in the case will be drastically lower... pro pro pro to doing it that way.