I've already got a freesync ultrawide and want to replace my Fury X. Obviously options are limited. I'm eyeing up Power Colors Red Devil Vega 64 (mostly it is available and claims the biggest boost clock). Looking at the pictures I see an oversized board that I guess was because of the oversized cooler however all the holes and bits you need to cool look very reference design to me. Can anyone think of a reason why a standard EK Vega 64 water block won't fit? vs
That's definitely not a reference board - the GPU and memory chips might be in the same position, but there's some obvious diferrences at the bracket end and multiple mounting holes are different places (most notably the ones near the PCI-E connector - on the reference board they are almost all in 1 line, with the Red Devil the GPU itself is further away from the edge of the board). EK usually have a pretty comprehensive compatibility list on their website, should be easy to confirm.
It won’t fit. Never, ever buy a block based on “it looks like it’ll fit” because there are always very subtle differences. On a separate note: boost clock means jack. I will bet you that any other brand will boost the same. The only reason they’re higher is because they’re willing to go all out, but other vendors prefer to play it safe. It also works as a marketing tactic; “OMFG!! Mine hit higher boost clocks than it said! I’ll buy these cards in the future, and so should you, bro!” ... you know how that works.
