Gainward GTX780 Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review

Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review

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The packaging for the Phantom is simple with the card itself front and centre, and just the product and manufacturer logos tucked away in a corner. Stealthy. Inside the box we have the usual graphics card accessories of display adaptors and Molex to PCI power, as well as the driver disk that nobody ever uses due to the speed with which graphics drivers are updated.

Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review     Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review  

The moment you catch sight of the Phantom you realise that this isn’t a regulation cooler. After all the fans aren’t on top, and that definitely causes a raised eyebrow. 

Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review     Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review  

This is why the fans aren’t obvious, and the real innovative star of the Gainward show. So often you can vacuum your fans but can’t get into the fins to clean them without dismantling the cards. You can’t even properly clean the fans on most graphics card coolers. With the Gainward Phantom the fans are kept in place with a single screw so that they slide out easily for proper cleaning.

Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review     Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review  

Once they’re removed you can use an attachment on your vacuum to get in there and clean out all the dust that accumulates. You can also see the cut-out that positions the fan connector. Working out how to enable fan removal without dismantling the card to unplug them is the real challenge and one that Gainward have solved ingeniously. It almost takes a leaf from a drive caddy. 

Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review     Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review  

We think that a pair of cards always looks stunning, and it’s a large reason as to why we prefer two cards to something like a GTX690, and we’re sure you’ll agree that as a SLI arrangement the Gainward Phantoms look particularly striking. 

Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review     Gainward GTX780Ti Phantom Single and SLI Review Â