Thanks Ray-
I guess I can just set it to mine ZCash instead then? And then switch the ZCash difficulty get too high?
I'm not trying to make a fortune here, I just want to get a rig so that I can learn to mine and getting a small rig seems like a good way to learn. I just don't want to spend over $1k and have the GPUs die in a few weeks because of the heat.
Whichever gives you the best investment, keep in mind, cryptocurrency prices are liable to change in price too, mining a newer coin can also rocket you into a good investment just as well as mining Ethereum or ZCash could. If heat inside the case gets bad just open the side and point a usb fan at it (works for my 560s just fine) Heat and card death should really not be a problem, it's earning your money back that will kick you in the end.