Small GPU, single fan vs. Larger GPU, dual fan. Which will stay cooler in a Mini-ITX system?

[FairPlay]

Hello everyone,

I'm building a Mini-ITX system soon and was looking at getting the Nvidia GTX 750Ti card.

As Mini-ITX systems have the potential to get hot due to the restricted airflow I was wondering:

Would this EVGA card for example get hotter than this Gigabyte card due to it's single fan, despite being a lot smaller.

[ If there's another thread that answers this already, feel free to direct me there instead, I just couldn't find one. ]

Thanks a lot,
FairPlay

 

[PP Mguire]

eVGA also makes an ACX model of the 750ti as well.
EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti FTW with ACX Cooling 2GB Nvidia PCI Express Graphics Card - 02G-P4-3757-KR - Scan.co.uk

Although, the 750ti does not get very hot at all. Maxwell is a rather cool running chip.

 

[FairPlay]

Thanks for your response! Ah that's good to know, that it's a cool running card.

So in terms of temperatures it's looking like the difference won't be that much?

I'm looking at the Fractal Node 304 so I'm trying to balance the right sizes for the GPU and the PSU (haha).

More questions: (sorry! D: ) do GPU's size affect their temperatures at all then? In general, I mean taking out the fans as a factor. (Yes, that is an odd question.)

Thanks a lot,
FairPlay

 

[PP Mguire]

The difference could be as high as 10c load (idle doesn't matter) but that all depends on clocks and airflow in the case. Adding more fans won't really be a benefactor if the card is starved for air anyways. That won't be an issue for the Node since the card will draw air directly from outside the case.

Being a bit anal here about terminology, the GPU size is the same for all like cards whereas card size can be irrelevant to actual cooling capacity.
In other words the physical length or size of the card does not change how big of a heatsink or fan setup you can mount to it. Card length dictates how many VRM phases or memory chips you can mount on there limiting how high you can clock the card and VRAM limit.

As an example, the eVGA 750ti and eVGA 750ti FTW uses the exact same card. The only difference is the cooler and clock speeds.

 

[FairPlay]

Ahh, no no, thanks that actually really helps explain it, so thanks a great deal.

May I ask, as I'm working on a budget would you personally recommend spending more for better cooling on the 750Ti or do you believe it's worth it if money's tight?

Thanks a lot,
FairPlay

 

[PP Mguire]

If you have a higher ambient temp then the better cooling wouldn't hurt for just a little bit more. Although I have to ask what else you plan to put in that case PSU and CPU wise.

 

[FairPlay]

Thanks again!

I'm going for a nice'n' simple i3-4130 and in terms of PSU, I was looking at a 430W Builder Series but I know that there's sizing issues for graphics cardsSUs and if I remember rightly Trotter (or someone) hates the Builder Series, or something like that.

Thanks a lot,
FairPlay

 

[PP Mguire]

Combined with the i3 there will be minimal heat in that case. Not much to worry about.

It's not that we hate the Building series, it's just that even though they are Corsair the CX is still a budget series. But if you can scrape enough cash to get the CX500 you would be good to go for quite a while.

 

[FairPlay]

Ah okay, do you mean people are drawn to them because they're Corsair and assume that despite them being entry level that they're getting more? (If you see what I'm trying to say...)

Are you recommending that in terms of more 'future proofing' / upgrade-ability in the future? Or in terms of PSU, "wear", for lack of a better word?

 

[PP Mguire]

Short answer, yes. Long answer, CX units are still budget but they are a notch better than say getting a Raidmax or Apevia PSU. The units are simply put together better but still rated at peak wattage, not to mention Corsair warranty backed. That doesn't mean people should get a CX750w and call it a day. If you have the money to get a better quality unit do so.

The CX500 can handle quite a lot. With an i3 you could mate something like the GTX 770 with it and it would be ok.