Blogs Would you buy cooler-less graphics card?

http://www.bit-tech.net/blog/2009/09/25/would-you-buy-a-graphics-card-with-no-heats/

 

I'd rether have companies setting themselves apart by not using the reference cooler with a sticker on it but by offering coolers of their own.

 

i would definately buy a coolerless graphics card, if the price was realistic its the ideal solution really, you just order the cooler and the card at the same time and everyones a winner. except nvidia and amd who cant sell you a crap cooler at 80% its worth

 

Sounds tempting to me, I'm still convinced they put a ton of TIM on graphics cards!

 

No. Even though I do wc my graphics I still need the stock cooler (even if 99% of the time it will be in a box). For once before installing the wc I test the whole setup. Imagine spending few hours putting it all together to find out somethin is not working propperly. The same goes for maintenance. I will use the cooler while
Lasttly the only-pcb would not be resellable. If you like to upgrade your card every now and then this could be an issue.

 

I would buy a coolerless graphics card as long as it was less expensive then one with the reference cooler. Easier to then slap my waterblocks on them, or other coolers such as Artic Accellero etc etc.

 

Thats a great idea. Itd be another option, and cut costs and construction time for people who know what they want down to a tee.

im surprised manufacturers dont already do this tbh

 

In order to avoid the case you explained which basically runs along the lines of "Idiot thinks card can run without heatsink" the card would have to have no warranty. And no DOA period. Which is illegal. Aside from that, you'd have no way of testing that the card worked on arrival without putting a cooler/block on it - I like to know new hardware works before I start ripping it apart. Also with some of the waterblocks around, people follow the instructions exactly, but have the card erroring - how would you know if it was a not-quite-correctly mounted waterblock, or a duff card?

The card would also need to have a significant price drop - while I doubt that reference coolers cost more than £30, simply removing the cooler and charging the same price (or more - I could see a lot of companies trying to charge more for a card already "prepared for watercooling") wouldn't cut it.

 

I'd happily buy a coolerless GPU and fit my own cooling afterwards, I can see as well that it should save a fair bit of cash off the normal retail price. Let's hope someone who can make this decision is reading!

 

yes!

 

Nope. I like to make sure my hardware works before I add on a 3rd party cooler.

 

+1.

 

As long as the GPU was properly protected (in transit et al) then sure! If it meant that the cost of the card was reduced. Obviously I'd only buy a cooler less card if I had a 3rd party one on it's way or already in my possession.

 

To elaborate on my YES! statement: I think it's very comparable to a tray version of a CPU. I've bought several of those, and always you need to fit your own cooling before you can test wether it works or not. More so, on a CPU you also need to assemble it yourself, even if you bought a boxed version. I don't see why GPUs should be that much more problematic in terms of QA and warranty.

 

i look at it this way:
CPU won't work without motherboard and RAM.
graphics card is a complete solution, i don't need to add vRAM or PCB to it, therefore it should come with a cooler.

one day, we can put GPU into graphics card PCB and choose our own GDDR chips, then they shouldn't come with a cooler.

 

i think its a nice idea, as long as they kept the price down to a level that is fair

 

They idea is good, but would rather they put removable el cheapo cooler on it so that you could test it to make sure it at least works and sell it for less.

 

And graphics card won't work without CPU, motherboard and RAM! But I get your point.

I don't usually buy OEM CPUs without bundled coolers because they often retail at the same price or near enough as the full retail CPU. If you buy a whole box of them as a system builder then I'm sure it's cheaper but as an enthusiast unfortunately not.

I can see problems getting online sellers to RMA a graphics card without a cooler too. I guess at the moment board partners may need AMD or Nvidia's permission to build such a card and maybe that's why we've not seen them?

 

I prefer this myself. Whilst I did change the cooler on my first graphics card (7950GT 512) that was only because the stock one was horrible. My 8800GTS is quite happy with its stock cooler and seems to be coping fine.

On the other hand, when I can roll my own graphics card (which does seem unlikely) then sure, have a system like you get with processors!

edit: actually, if I remember correctly, don't the manufacturers supply pre-built cards to the board partners with the option of no cooler anyway? if that is the case it doesn't seem a huge leap to provide one completely without cooler at little extra cost to anyone. In which case, I am all for the choice!