Hi everyone,
I’m trying to decide between the Gigabyte Radeon AI PRO R9700 AI TOP, specifically revision 1.1, and the ASRock R9700 Creator. My main concerns are cooling, build quality, noise character and the possibility of adding water cooling later (if the noise profile or temperatures justify this option)
On paper, the Gigabyte appears to have a more substantial cooling solution. It’s reportedly heavier, and Gigabyte states it uses thermal gel on all vital components. It also seems (according to igor’s lab) that the ASrock does not cool the vram chips on the back of the card and that the backplate appears to be decorative. Does anyone know if there is indeed no Thermal pads between the vram and backplate, and in that case did anyone add pads or paste?
A potential plus for the ASRock would be compatibility with the upcoming Alphacool ES waterblock. The ASrock seems to use the reference design, whilst the Gigabyte most likely does not (might be closer to the reference 9070XT design)
I’m also curious about the Gigabyte’s thermal gel, I assume this would complicate disassembly and reassembly.
So in short what i assume right now is that the Gigabyte has slightly better temps, is slightly noisier and the ASrock is slightly more silent and has a potential watercooling upgrade path.
Can anyone comment on the temps and noise (sound profile) during sustained workloads and idle? To me a steady rush of air is much less bothersome than a tonal whine, even if the overall volume is similar.
Any insight would be most welcome!
Thanks!