Which GPU for SFF?

[Dawelio]

Hey guys,

So I’ve been wondering for a while now, which one is basically most optimal and ”best” overall?:

Titan Xp or EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 in the tiny Dan Case A4 SFX case?

Now the latter does fit, just wondering regarding which would be most suitable, in terms of temps, noise etc. Just how good or bad is the Titan Xp’s cooler really?...

I’m just wondering if I should maybe go for an Titan Xp, since basically everyone (LinusTechTips, JayzTwoCents etc) recommend a blower style/reference cooler in such a compact case. Yet they have been known to be a jet engine in the past. Have they been improved any during the years?.

Regards,
Dawelio

 

[jtd871]

Jay doesn't do SFF, so his opinion is speculative at best. I unsubbed him long ago.

I'd ask this in the DAN A4 forum on this site - you'll get more experienced answers rather than speculation.

 

[Dawelio]

Jay doesn't do SFF, so his opinion is speculative at best. I unsubbed him long ago.

I'd ask this in the DAN A4 forum on this site - you'll get more experienced answers rather than speculation.

Hey jtd871 and thanks for your reply and tips, I just posted it in that forum. Didn't realize a specific Dan sub forum existed here, so much thanks and appreciation!

 

[AleksandarK]

Moved to DAN cases....

If i were you, i would go with Xp, as you will get more performance(its only a few %, but thats what matters). You might not get the cooling as EVGA FTW3 card and same noise levels, but at least you got more performance. Other thing to note is that the blower cooler would be more suitable in cases you have no room for GPU if you move the build in future.

As for A4, i dont know how the open vs blower coolers perform...

 

[Mortis Angelus]

Jay doesn't do SFF, so his opinion is speculative at best. I unsubbed him long ago.

A bit off topic: "Doesn't do SFF" is all depending on what you call SFF... There are lots of builds even here, that some wouldn't call SFF (big water cooling mITX-rigs etc) and so on. Some even would say that building in something as large as an NCASE is not SFF. Heck some people even think that using full sized GPUs is not SFF.

That said; sure! Jayz mostly build gigantic rigs, but he is currently working on a custom water loop system in a Louqe Ghost case. If that is not SFF, I don't know what is (if we are to include systems like NCASE, DANcase and Dr. Zaber)

Finally, disregarding Jayz quite factual statement about "using blower style cooler for cramped cases" just because he usually builds in large cases is just stupid. SFF builder or not, it is no secret that it is better to use blower style coolers in cases with limited air flow.

Sorry if I sound like a fanboy to Jayz, but your comment just sounded way too ignorant.

I’m just wondering if I should maybe go for an Titan Xp, since basically everyone (LinusTechTips, JayzTwoCents etc) recommend a blower style/reference cooler in such a compact case. Yet they have been known to be a jet engine in the past. Have they been improved any during the years?.

From what I remember from the early reviews when Pascal-GPUs were released, the consensus was that the reference coolers had improved significantly both in terms of cooling performance and noise levels compared to the previous Maxwell generation. That said, I would then recommend a reference 1080Ti, as that one runs cooler than a Titan (lower fan speed), and you get much more performance per dollar. Titan cards have never been a good option for gamers. Unless you are doing lots of number crunching....

 

[dondan]

From my experience I can say both cards will work very well. If you prefer a more silent card pick EVGA if you need as much gaming power as possible pick the Xp.

I use a GTX 1070 reference and I am very happy with the noise results of it, but I think a Xp is more noisy. In idle also the reference cooler is very silent.

 

[jtd871]

Sorry if I sound like a fanboy to Jayz, but your comment just sounded way too ignorant.

Jay seems nice enough, but he comes across too often as not having his thoughts together and not terribly scientific or rigorous about his testing or conclusions for my liking.

From the episodes I've seen over maybe the past year, he does primarily water-cooled builds (and has fantastic skills bending hardline tubing), but doesn't seem to be terribly interested in or particularly knowledgeable about air cooling. The fact that he is WCing in a Ghost is perhaps an impressive feat of cramming, but I feel it kind of shows a bit of ignorance to the good performance (temps and noise) that can be achieved by air cooling alone provided you select your components with a bit of care, and does not suggest that he is familiar with cooling a GPU in a low-volume case where the volume of air can be turned over much more rapidly than even for a modestly sized mass-market mATX mini tower.

I will agree that, in general, blower style GPUs will tend to work better in (especially older) SFF cases due to the relatively poor airflow design of such cases; but for the A4, the design for air cooling is so good that open coolers (IMO especially EVGA dual-fan designs) do very well also. IMO, the open coolers from other vendors have suboptimal orientation of the fins or excessively confining shrouds which will hamper their relative performance in a case like the A4. That being said, I only have experience with a 1060 running at stocks, and the power draw of the 1060 is so modest compared to that of 1080 or Titan cards, that I suggested that the OP get the opinion of actual A4 owners rather than rely on a blanket statement from a YouTube personality best known for "halo" builds in dissimilar cases.

 

[Dawelio]

that I suggested that the OP get the opinion of actual A4 owners rather than rely on a blanket statement from a YouTube personality best known for "halo" builds in dissimilar cases.

Yes, hence why I posted here, which is basically a community that is specifically for small form factor builds. Having the thought of maybe someone with a Dan Case A4 and have experience with either type of GPU would be able to input their experience etc.

Since I currently have the EVGA 1080Ti FTW3 GPU inside of it and it's absolutely massive. So have been thinking of an reference GPU, since they are pretty much designed for these kinds of cases.

 

[shreebles]

In real-world gaming benchmarks at WQHD and 4k resolutions, the Titan XP is only some 3 to 7% faster than the 1080ti.
If you already have a 1080ti, why are you looking at a card that's only marginally faster for an absurdly high price?

The best option to improve your cooling I think would be to add the slim fan at the front of the Dan A4 if you have no hard drives there, and perhaps remove the GPU backplate to improve airflow around the card.
Definitely makes more sense than spending over 1000 bucks just to get a blower card.