July 29, 201114 yr Hi guys and thanks for all your help so far. I'm pulling the pieces together on paper, and was just wondering... I usually stick with ASUS for motherboard. Is there any advantage these days in also getting an ASUS video card for sure compatability, or does it really make no difference? Thanks Windows 10 (x64) - X-Plane 11 - M/B: Asus ROG Maximus IX Hero - CPU: i7 7700k (@5.0GHz) - RAM: 32Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @ 3200MHz - Video: GTX1080ti - Cooling: Custom water loop (EK 140 Revo D5 pump/res combo, EK EVO CPU block, EK XE360 Rad)
July 29, 201114 yr no advantage, no difference Quite right. Virtually all graphics cards of the same model use the exact same design, and are even all built by the same company (often it is Asus). These cards are purchased in bulk by various board partners like EVGA, PNY, Zotac, etc and they just slap a different sticker on the card and sell it to the end user. Some board partners cherry-pick cards after receiving them from the manufacturer in order to test them for optimal clock speed and apply a factory overclock which they can then use to differentiate their products from their competitors and offer more value to their customers. Eventually after a card has been out for awhile (or if a card re-uses many components from a previous design as was the case with AMD's Radeon 6800 series, for example) board partners will engineer a custom design to further distinguish their product and offer benefits such as reduced board length, aftermarket coolers (which lower temp), reduced power consumption, noise, increased overclocking capability, etc.
July 29, 201114 yr Author Thanks, I really appreciate the help you guys give (and the speed you give it at!). Another thing I've finally decided on, is to try liquid cooling for the CPU and GPU. Did it once a good few years ago before things got enormously simplified! Any recommendations for a kit that'll do both chips? Thanks again! EDIT: It does NOT need to look 'pretty'. I never look in there:-) Windows 10 (x64) - X-Plane 11 - M/B: Asus ROG Maximus IX Hero - CPU: i7 7700k (@5.0GHz) - RAM: 32Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @ 3200MHz - Video: GTX1080ti - Cooling: Custom water loop (EK 140 Revo D5 pump/res combo, EK EVO CPU block, EK XE360 Rad)
July 29, 201114 yr Yes! As long as you're not going to use SLI, this kit is the best bang for your buck in existence. Literally nothing else even comes close. If you are going to use SLI, you'll need to purchase a GPU block, another pump, and I would suggest an additional radiator as with that much heat to dissipate you'll be overwhelming the rad.
July 29, 201114 yr Author Okay thanks. Will look to see if that's available in the UK. Have no intention of going SLI. Windows 10 (x64) - X-Plane 11 - M/B: Asus ROG Maximus IX Hero - CPU: i7 7700k (@5.0GHz) - RAM: 32Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @ 3200MHz - Video: GTX1080ti - Cooling: Custom water loop (EK 140 Revo D5 pump/res combo, EK EVO CPU block, EK XE360 Rad)
July 29, 201114 yr Okay thanks. Will look to see if that's available in the UK. Have no intention of going SLI. That would be a shame if it's not available, you'll pay far more if you have to buy components individually.
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