Hi all, long time no post.

I am in the process of upgrading nearly my entire gaming system, and I am stuck on the GPU that I will purchase due to air flow and heating concerns.

My new system is in my signature, except for the GPU which needs the update.

I am tossing up between 2 bang for buck buys:

Radeon 6950 - better air exhaust design see figure 3 (if indeed that matters)
GTX560 Ti - quiter and cooler card

Both are great cards and are right for my price range, however I am finding it difficult to find a design which channels all the air into the CARD and straight out the back of the PC without recycling air into the case. Most of the designs have a ridiculous twin fan system which could recycle it's own hot air inside the case. Even thought my case has a rear fan and top fan I think that will be ok, both cards have a vent at the rear which would also let air into the case interupting the flow of the case.

I have some questions:

1. Considering my case, is it all important to have GPU air pushes straight out the rear of the PC? Ie leaning towards the 6950? If not, the CPU is going to be getting hot air from the GPU as it is pushed around the case
2. If the rear air exhaust is not a major factor, would it be prudent to cut off the Expanstion slot air vents of the card to stop dust getting in through the rear of the PC. the Antec 180B has the front air flow with dust filter, and two fans pulling it above the GPU.

Thoughts?


560 FIGURE 1:
Pushes the air all over the shop! Whats the points of rear vent?


560 FIGURE 2:
Pushes hot air out rear vent and back into the PC case


6950 FIGURE 3:
This one looks like it achieves what I want, by pushing air out of rear vents and out of the case.
FULL ARTICLE HERE

1st you need to change the typo in the title from 550ti to 560ti

2nd I personally don't think much about recycling of hot air in the case since there should be sufficient airflow in the P180 to remove the hot air quickly. What matters (to me) is the fan speed and the noise level of that fan. If a cooler is more efficient at cooling the GPU itself (no matter where the hot air goes) it has the potential to be quieter. I also think the amount of dust that may enter from the back slots in negligible.

It is my experience with coolers from the type you've shown on the 6950 that they tend to be louder and run hotter than coolers with 1 or 2 large fans and possibly heatpipes like on the 2 x 560ti you've shown. Still looking at the cards tells me nothing. Reading reliable reviews of specific models and comparing the results is the best way to estimate what to expect.