NVIDIA's flagship GeForce GTX 780 graphics card has been out since three months and is currently the fastest GeForce 700 series card in NVIDIA's lineup. Since its launch, NVIDIA's board partners have released some very impressive custom models featuring enhanced cooling design, faster clock speeds and non-reference PCBs with powerful VRM and phase design.
I wanted to do a round-up of these cards since the first custom made GeForce GTX 780 was unveiled. But at that time, it would had been pointless since most of the non-reference cards were yet to be released and only a short list of details were available regarding them. But now, the entire non-reference lineup has been launched with the exception of MSI's GeForce GTX 780 Lightning which would also launch in five days but we have almost every detail available regarding it so let's do a round-up and now which GeForce GTX 780 model is the best purchase in terms of value, design and performance.
EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Classified ACX
We start off with the EVGA's GeForce GTX 780 Classified featuring the new ACX cooling design which made its debut with the GeForce 700 series. The GeForce GTX 780 comes with clock speeds of 993 MHz stock and 1046 MHz boost which the 3 GB GDDR5 memory is clocked at 6 GHz (effective). The card features a 14 phase VRM and an enhanced power supply which is powered up through dual 8-Pin connectors. The ACX cooler is the most impressive thing about the Classified with dual stack aluminum fin heatsinks coupled with 6 nickel plated heat-pipes. The card would occupy two slots but the width is pretty big and may interfere with side panel's on small cases. The classy also comes with voltage measurement points at side of the PCB and features a Dual BIOS. The EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Classified is retailing at $50 more at $699.99. The price is absolutely fine for the custom designed card.(Product Link)
ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC
ASUS also introduced an updated design to their DirectCU II cooler with the GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC. The card runs at 889 MHz stock and 941 MHz boost speed while memory remains clocked at the reference 6008 mhz. ASUS uses an non-reference Digi+ VRM on their card featuring a 10 Phase Super Alloy Power design and featuring volt mod and voltage measuring points for enthusiast. The card is powered through 6+8 Pin connectors. The cool tech fan design introduced on the new DirectCU II cooler consists of a hybrid blade and bearing design, with inner radial blower and outer flower-type blades. With two large PWM fans and a large aluminum fin heatsink which is featuring five copper heatpipes that ensure grade A cooling performance. The ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC retails for $669.99. (Product Link)
Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 HOF (Hall of Fame)
Galaxy came in the non-reference game a bit late with the GeForce GTX 780 HOF but when they did, they totally set a new mark in GPU design and performance. I will be honest to you guys, since its first unveil i have been a fan of the GTX 780 Hall of Fame with it claiming impressive records on both air and LN2 cooling. The GPU is clocked at 1006 MHz stock and 1058 MHz boost and 6008 MHz effective clock for the memory. The PCB is entirely custom with an CHiL CHL8318 VR11.1 powered 8+2 phase power supply featuring POSCAP capacitors and IR3550 rated at 60A. The best part about the PCB itself is that its colored white and design scheme of the cooler matches it. It comes with a triple slot cooler which may be a downside for some users, power is provided through two eight pin connectors. The cooler features two large fans cooling the vapor chamber heatsink below it that's equipped with three large heatpipes. A hyper boost hardware overdrive switch is located on the I/O that further boosts clocking speeds. The Galaxy GTX 780 HOF retails at $689.99. (Product Link)
MSI GeForce GTX 780 LIGHTNING
MSI has yet to release their GeForce GTX 780 LIGHTNING next week but the design and features of the card have already been unveiled so let's take a look. The LIGHTNING cards from MSI stick with a black and yellow design to which the GTX 780 Lightning stays loyal. The card comes with an impressive 20 Phase VRMs along with the latest DrMOS 4 being the next-gen MOSFET. This is part of the new Triple Force architecture that has been featured on the new card. Three of everything, that includes the cooler, power, and even triple BIOS for the first time on a graphics card. The cooler being the main attraction of the card is quiet large and comes with three fans, two 100 mm and a 80mm in the middle of the shroud, these provide air to the stacked aluminum fin heatsink that feature seven heatpipes. On the backside, the card features the MSI reactor module that enhanced power delivery and reduces EMI interference. Overall, the card looks great and would also perform better. The clock speeds are not known at the moment but the reported price is pretty steep at $749.99 +. We will have to wait for official words on the pricing. (Product Page *Offline)
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3X
Gigabyte has been using the WindForce cooler on their graphic cards since quiet some time. The GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3X OC GPU got a revised version of the cooler with a solid shroud and heatsink layout capable of handling 450W of load. The card operates at 954 MHz base and 1006 MHz boost while the memory comes with a clock speed of 6008 MHz. Gigabyte didn't made a non-reference approach to the PCB and kept the reference one from NVIDIA. Backed by a solid triple fan WindForce 3X cooler, users would be able to obtain some nice overclock frequencies. The cooler makes use of two 8mm and four 6mm cooper heat-pipes, the card is powered through 8 + 6 Pin connectors. The card retails at $649.99 which is the reference price of the card so as an addition, users get a better cooler for no extra cost. I do want to mention that while the WindForce 3X currently is Gigabyte's fastest card, it would soon be replaced by their GeForce GTX 780 SOC (Super Overclock) which will be revealed in the up-coming months. (Product Link)
Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 780 HerculeZ X3 Ultra
Inno3D revamped their iChill offering with the debut of the GeForce 600 series from NVIDIA, with Hybrid cooled solutions to the beastly HerculeZ air-coolers. Their GeForce GTX 780 HerculeZ x3 Ultra that falls under the iChill brand in nothing short of a monster with clock speeds reaching 1006 MHz stock, 1046 MHz boost and 6200 MHz on the memory. Although the card comes with a reference design PCB, the cooler makes up for it with a much impressive design with a hot backplate. The HerculeZ X3 cooler has three fans pushing air to a large heatsink block equipped with 5 heatpipes. Power is provided through an 8 Pin + 6 Pin configuration. The iChill GeForce GTX 780 HerculeZ x3 Ultra retails for around € 669.99. (Product Link)
Gainward GeForce GTX 780 Phantom GLH
Gainward returns to the phantom brand with their top tier GeForce GTX 780 Phantom GLH. The card comes with a non-reference PCB design backed by a 8+2 phase pwm design fitted with top of the line power components. The card offers over-voltage for overclockers and voltage measuring. The GPU is clocked at 980 MHz stock and 1033 MHz boost while the memory comes with an overclocked clock speed of 6200 MHz. The GPU is powered through 8 + 6 Pin connectors. The Phantom cooling design on the Gainward GTX 780 looks fantastic with an innovative cooling scheme which may at first look like a passive cooled card but the fans are actually seated beneath the exposed aluminum heatsink that's covered by a glossy plastic shroud on the top. The fans can be easily removed without even unscrewing the cooler from the PCB. This is made possible thanks to the screws that can be removed to bring out the fans. The card retails at £629.99. (Product Link)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 780 AMP!
ZOTAC also made its entry recently to the custom GTX 780 GPU lineup with their GeForce GTX 780 AMP!. The GeForce GTX 780 AMP! sticks to the reference PCB design featuring overclocked speeds of 1006 MHz base and 1059 MHz boost while the memory comes at a clock speed of 6208 MHz. The AMP! cooler used on the GTX 780 features three fans, two being 92mm and a 100mm PWM controlled fan in the middle. The cooler looks great and the card being available for the reference price of $649.99 is nice. It would be nice to see ZOTAC come up with an Extreme Edition remake of the GeForce GTX 780 GPU. (Product Link)
Palit GeForce GTX 780 Super Jetstream
Palit also has a custom made solution for the GeForce GTX 780 graphics card equipped with their triple fan Jetstream cooling solution. The card is clocked at 980 MHz stock and 1033 MHz boost, memory being clocked at 3100 MHz or 6.2 GHz effective frequency. The Palit GTX 780 Super Jetstream features an 8 Phase PWM supply that comes with DRMOS allowing high current circuits, low noise operation, and effective reduction of heat output. The triple fan (80mm/90mm/80mm) cooling design offers superior cooling and the most notable part about these fans are that they emit blue LED under operation as a cool effect. Under the shroud lies two blocks of aluminum fins interconnected with four copper heatpipes. Power is provided through dual 8-Pin connectors. The card retails for $669.99 US. (Product Link)
Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 780 Kudan
If you want a GeForce GTX 780 that's big, powerful, covers three slots, has tons of heatsinks, comes with an external power board, screw box and even paints so you can customize it, then look no further than the iGame GTX 780 Kudan from Colorful. Colorful is NVIDIA's Chinese AIB partner but their graphic cards are also available in European regions most of the time.
The Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 780 Kudan offers so much that it has to be the best GTX 780 ever made. I don't have any knowledge regarding the clock speeds but they have to be factory overclocked with such a beastly PWM area featuring 12+2 phase VRM and equipped with top of the line components, the card is an overclockers dream come true. The card comes with its own external power board that can hot wired to gain additional power. The cooler covers three slots with three 100 mm fans pushing air towards two stacks of aluminum fin array heatsinks interlinked with 10 6mm heatpipes. There's a BIOS switch at the I/O which offers makes the card runs at faster clock speeds through a saved factory OC profile. As far as pricing goes, VGA.It186 mentions a price of 5999 YEN (Chinese) for the card which amounts to $980 US. For this price, one can get a GeForce GTX Titan or even the GeForce GTX 690 but it should be taken in note that none of those cards offer the amount of customization and overclocking the reference only cards from NVIDIA have to. (Product Link) And if you think the card is big, wait till you check out its packaging:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Custom Models Gallery
Note - If you think we missed any custom made GeForce GTX 780 model, do mention it in the comment section below. We will gladly add it to this article!
