EVGA GTX 980 Classified

[Jeff R 1]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814487080

Any one have one of these ?

I was thinking of cancelling my Amazon order and going for the EVGA Classified.
There isn't much info on it so if someone has one here I would like to know what they think of it.

I know EK is going to make a full water block for it, but one doesn't exist yet.
I am thinking too that once EK does come out with a block the EVGA Hydro Copper will probably become available. (all assumptions of course).

It also appears that the Hydro Copper and the Classified are the same cards except that the Hydro Copper is water cooled, which begs the question, if they made the Hydro Copper, why even make the same thing with an air cooler set up ?
Is air cooling adequate enough for that card ???

Newegg (and others) are having a free game promotion (Assassin’s Creed Unity, Far Cry 4 and The Crew, the value is only .99 cents)
I don't game and I have no idea which one is the better of the three, which one is the most popular _ I plan to just give the game away ?

Thanks !

[Akira749]

The 980 Hydro Copper and the 980 Classy are 2 very different cards. They might share the same specs out of the box but the Classy can be pushed way more in terms of OC.

They are also on 2 differents PCB design so they are compatible in terms of waterblocks.

Also, the 980 HC is powered by 2 6pin PCIe like any standard 980 and the Classy is powered by 2 8pin PCIe.

I hope this help in your choice research

Also, even if there's still no release dates on the EK Classy block, all I can say is that they are working on it

[Jeff R 1]

The 980 Hydro Copper and the 980 Classy are 2 very different cards. They might share the same specs out of the box but the Classy can be pushed way more in terms of OC.

They are also on 2 differents PCB design so they are compatible in terms of waterblocks.

Also, the 980 HC is powered by 2 6pin PCIe like any standard 980 and the Classy is powered by 2 8pin PCIe.

I hope this help in your choice research

Also, even if there's still no release dates on the EK Classy block, all I can say is that they are working on it

Thanks, I didn't even notice the 6 and 8 pin PCIe difference _ interesting _ one would think the Classified would be the one to water cool having the 2 8 pin PCIe connections.

You know I've been reading and reading and reading about specs, reviews, forums etc.... It has become "information over-load".

I'm eventually going to get something, but what...

The only thing that I have decided on is EVGA.

[xmanrigger]

As Akira said, they are two different cards, with the Classy being the beast. Cards are cherry picked and jacked to the tits. If it were a Dodge Challenger, it would be the Hellcat. When I was into benchmarking, the Classifieds always prevailed.

[Jeff R 1]

As Akira said, they are two different cards, with the Classy being the beast. Cards are cherry picked and jacked to the tits. If it were a Dodge Challenger, it would be the Hellcat. When I was into benchmarking, the Classifieds always prevailed.

I understand they are two different cards, but (my rhetorical question if you like) is why didn't EVGA put the water block on the Classified since it would be working harder then the HC and even more so if one were to over-clock the Classy ?
That's the part that doesn't make any sense.

[Akira749]

I understand they are two different cards, but (my rhetorical question if you like) is why didn't EVGA put the water block on the Classified since it would be working harder then the HC and even more so if one were to over-clock the Classy ?
That's the part that doesn't make any sense.

EVGA and EK have a nice partnership and it's obvious that EK will bring a waterblock. Also the Classy are often used by extreme benchers like Kingpin to break records under LN2. So why slap an expensive waterblock from the factory just to be ditch and replaced by an LN pot.

This is probably why but I don't know for sure

[xmanrigger]

I understand they are two different cards, but (my rhetorical question if you like) is why didn't EVGA put the water block on the Classified since it would be working harder then the HC and even more so if one were to over-clock the Classy ?
That's the part that doesn't make any sense.

They run hot on air as any high end card. They run fine on air. Other than you have to listen to a jet engine running inside your case, as with most any high end air cooled card. And without a water block, not a whole bunch more room to overclock.

The HydroCopper is just EVGA's water cooled offering. And being it is water cooled, they crank it up. If you arent benchmarking, but just looking for butter smooth framerates while gaming, a reference card is the best option. A reference card with your choice of water block, is generally cheaper than the HydroCopper, and you can clock the reference card as high or higher than the HC. The beauty of the HC is that you are getting a factory water cooled card that is guaranteed to run at listed speeds, and the work is done for you. From the GTX280/GTX295 up to the GTX680, I have easily been able to clock the reference versions all as high as what the fastest offering of each card was. I havent messed with anything above a GTX680 yet, but I would expect to see the same trend.

As well, I believe there were previous versions of the Classified that were water cooled. With the majority pre-ordered, they get snapped up pretty quick. I passed on the Classified for a couple of builds, simply because I couldnt get a block for it at the time.

[Jeff R 1]

Thanks guys for the answers, looks like I would be just wasting 250 bucks for some over-clocking features that I would never use with the Classy.