A GPU with attached closed-loop liquid cooler is a little more mainstream these days with AMD's Fury X a high-profile example, and now a partnership between Corsair and MSI is bringing a very powerful NVIDIA option to the market.

The new product is called the Hydro GFX, with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 980 Ti supplying the GPU horsepower. Of course the advantage of a closed-loop cooler would be higher (sustained) clocks and lower temps/noise, which in turns means much better performance. Corsair explains:

"Hydro GFX consists of a MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti card with an integrated aluminum bracket cooled by a Corsair Hydro Series H55 liquid cooler.

Liquid cooling keeps the card’s hottest, most critical components – the GPU, memory, and power circuitry – 30% cooler than standard cards while running at higher clock speeds with no throttling, boosting the GPU clock 20% and graphics performance up to 15%.

The Hydro Series H55 micro-fin copper cooling block and 120mm radiator expels the heat from the PC reducing overall system temperature and noise. The result is faster, smoother frame rates at resolutions of 4K and beyond at whisper quiet levels."

The factory overclock this 980 Ti is pretty substantial out of the box with a 1190 MHz Base (stock 1000 MHz) and 1291 MHz Boost clock (stock 1075 MHz). Memory is not overclocked (running at the default 7096 MHz), so there should still be some headroom for overclocking thanks to the air cooling for the RAM/VRM.

A look at the box – and the Corsair branding

Specs from Corsair:

  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti GPU with Maxwell 2.0 microarchitecture
  • 1190/1291 MHz base/boost clock
  • Clocked 20% faster than standard GeForce GTX 980 Ti cards for up to a 15% performance boost.
  • Integrated liquid cooling technology keeps GPU, video RAM, and voltage regulator 30% cooler than standard cards
  • Corsair Hydro Series H55 liquid cooler with micro-fin copper block, 120mm radiator/fan
  • Memory: 6GB GDDR5, 7096 MHz, 384-bit interface
  • Outputs: 3x DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0, and Dual Link DVI
  • Power: 250 watts (600 watt PSU required)
  • Requirements: PCI Express 3.0 16x dual-width slot, 8+6-pin power connector, 600 watt PSU
  • Dimensions: 10.5 x 4.376 inches
  • Warranty: 3 years
  • MSRP: $739.99

As far as pricing/availability goes Corsair says the new card will debut in October in the U.S. with an MSRP of $739.99.