Reference or non-reference cooler. That is the question.

[loki365]

I'm using a Cooler Master Silencio 352 MATX case and I was wondering if can get away with a non-reference cooler like an EVGA ACX, or if I should stick with a reference blower.
I have the case at its maximum fan capacity:2x 120mm fans on front intake, 1x 120mm rear exhaust and 1x 120mm top exhaust. Under load my CPU temps reach 40 ͦ C and motherboard temps peak around 32 ͦ C

[AETAaAS]

I would ask; what GPU are you after, are you going to overclock and do you care about noise? Watercooling in the future? The difference of going open vs blower cooling on other components is going to be quite small given your setup which is quite well ventilated.

Some GPUs benefit quite handsomely from aftermarket coolers, like the 290 and 290X. nVidia spent a lot of effort on their high end reference coolers, and that paid dividends (found on 780, 780Ti and Titan by default). Overclocking obviously benefits from better cooling and noise is generally better with open coolers as the fans get to spin slower though again, depends on card and with your Silencio case and use scenario, the noise might not be noticeable anyway.

Post a couple cards you are looking at and I'm sure people will be happy to chip in, but my advise is that with your setup, you may as well go for an aftermarket cooler. They are easier to find, can be cheaper, will make a minimal impact on your temps, are quieter and cool the GPU better.

[josephlck]

Your case looks really well cooled with lots of thermal headroom. If you're only worried about internal heat production with an aftermarket cooler, I would say you have nothing to worry about. It's only really a problem if you can't get rid of it.

[Tknibbs31]

It's always a good Idea to get a non reference cooler even if you don't think you will need it because it will help you get that last bit of performance when you need it

[KeyboardDemon]

I vote non-reference coolers too.

[vinnyT]

Non-reference card gets my vote too.

[Agent]

Reference coolers are fine for what they do, so it's really a question of do you need a quieter cooler, which is the normal reason for going non-reference.

It really depends on the cooler, but some non-reference ones certainly don't give any better temps once installed. This is especially true in MATX cases.

Consider the following coolers: http://www.legitreviews.com/images/r...gtx780-acx.jpg

The reason for it is that the reference one pulls the air from your case and vents it out the back. The one below it will cause the air to circulate a lot more in the case. If you have decent airflow it's probably not a huge issue, but if your case is a bit on the tight side, I've definitely seen it make a difference to the system temps.

Too many reviews look at non-reference coolers "on the bench" meaning they're not installed into a case, which can show a larger reduction in temps. Once they are installed, you can see differences.

[CustardInc]

I have this case and I use a HD7950 Windforce (rev2) with one fan in the front and one in the back, the CPU (i5 3450 with an Arctic cooling Freezer 13) gets to high 40s, GPU gets to 75 under load. The good thing about non-reference coolers is that you can run them quietly, with the windforce it was loud as hell with Gigabyte's fan profile, but it copes perfectly well and silently with the fans at 40% all the time.
One thing I did to make the GPU cooler was to remove the HDD cage, drill holes in the bottom of the case and mount my second HDD there, it dropped my GPU temps at load by 5 Celsius.