HD 7970 Advice

[R4VANG3R]

Hey guys,

I'm going to upgrade my rig this month.
New specs:
i7 3770K
Asus Maximus V Formula
Corsair Dominator GT 8GB 1886 MHz
Also I've got a 1000W CM PSU and the Antec H2O 620.

Now i'm thinking of upgrading my Sapphire HD 6950 2GB.
I was thinking of going 7970, with doing a full water loop in the future.

So which 7970 is the best bang for buck?
And how do the waterblocks work (reference designs etc)

 

[tinytomlogan]

If you want to water it Id buy a ref card, the overclocked ones are always hit and miss with the silicone lottery anyways. If you are going to watercool it then 100% buy one with a ref pcb. (brand makes no difference)

 

[PEXON]

As Tom said, get a vanilla 7970 and just add an Alphacool block.

 

[R4VANG3R]

Thanks guys!

Sorry for being such a watercool noob but how can I distinguish a ref pcb from a non-ref one?
This will be the first time I'm doing a waterloop, only got a closed circuit one right now.

 

[PEXON]

If you go on cooling configurator, they have images of vanilla PCBs, aftermarket PCBs etc.

 

[R4VANG3R]

Thanks pexon,

That's a very helpful website!

Cheers!

 

[PEXON]

No probs!