Blower vs Open Air in Xigmatek Aquila

Hello everyone, it's been a good 2-3 years since the last time I posted here. I'm currently building a new PC and am just looking for some last thoughts before I pull the trigger on a GPU. I'm looking at the 980 ti with the ACX or the reference cooler. Logically, I would assume that the reference cooler would get better performance in a case like that where the exhaust from an open air cooler could screw with the airflow of the case. Any thoughts?

Yes the reference cooler will exhaust the Air outside the case but I still feel you will be better off with the ACX Heatsink. The ACX heatsink itself is better then reference and the dual fans will be quieter then reference.

Hopefully they did a better job with the 980 Ti then the 970...

http://www.eteknix.com/evga-respond-possible-design-flaw-gtx-970-acx/

Hmm... well the gm200 is significantly larger than the gm204 found on the 970 and 980. So hopefully if they are recycling coolers, it was originally designed for the 980 ti and Titan.