Admittedly First-World 1080 Ti Problem

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

So, I just bought an EVGA 1080 Ti FE from Microcenter for my rig, and I have a second one coming on Monday from Nvidia for an SLI configuration... My problem is that I really wanted the FTW3 version from EVGA, but I really really didn't want to wait because I'd sold my 980 Ti setup a month ago in anticipation for the Ti release (Doing it before the announcement netted me $400 per card).

My question is, should I return the second card to Nvidia now and then buy the FTW3 when it comes out (play on one card until then) and then assuming it comes out in the next thirty days, exchange the one I'm currently running at Microcenter for a second FTW3? Or is this way too much of a pain in the ass for slightly better cooling?

TechyInAZ · Mar 11, 2017

For SLI specifically, I'd feel the pain and get the FTW3 cards. If you want to overclock at all.

junkeymonkey · Mar 11, 2017

so reference cards cant be overclocked ??? that's new .

if you look like at evga forums you can see FE cards were clocking just as good and sometimes better then the evga aftermarket cards pascal stinks at ocing and why LED lighting is a strong selling point ,and with NVidia gpu boost 3 luck of the draw means more then ever now

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

TechyInAZ :

You know, the FE cards aren't bad for a slight OC if you have an aggressive fan curve (50-80% at 70 degrees). I only game in headphones (Sennheiser) and don't hear the noise. The card naturally boosts higher to around 1842MHz with that curve without an OC, so it only needed small clock adjustments to boost to 2048 MHz. Is it perfect? no, but it's not bad.

I probably will end up getting the FTW3, but I have to say I'm impressed with the FE editions.

TechyInAZ · Mar 11, 2017

junkeymonkey :

No, I mean that you won't be able to overclock nearly as high as with the FTW cards, because of the cooling.

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

junkeymonkey :

It's really noise and cooling. I was looking specifically at more cooling with the FTW3, as I pointed out I don't really care about noise reduction (though it is still nice to have, even if not that important to me).

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

TechyInAZ :

Agreed, but is it worth the pain in the ass of RMA'ing a card and then trying to exchange the second one within 30 days or should I just be happy with the FE editions? Seems like you're saying its definitely worth it, right? The overclocking will be better enough to justify the effort.

TechyInAZ · Mar 11, 2017

SaintSe7en :

TechyInAZ :

Agreed, but is it worth the pain in the ass of RMA'ing a card and then trying to exchange the second one within 30 days or should I just be happy with the FE editions? Seems like you're saying its definitely worth it, right? The overclocking will be better enough to justify the effort.

It depends on how far you overclock, if you want every ounce of power out of those 1080 Tis, then the FTW3 cards are a no brainer.

junkeymonkey · Mar 11, 2017

''No, I mean that you won't be able to overclock nearly as high as with the FTW cards, because of the cooling''

wrong !

and why like evga sc and a classy is only 17mhz between them and fr reference is NVidia reference set to 100mhz lower not like older series where a sc was a 100mhz lower then a classy and why a reference card 980ti was 1000 MHz and a classy was 1250

the overclocking room just aint there with pascal

but I would recommend a factory clocked card the higher the better cause your at least guaranteed that , but not a drop more anyway , and blower type coolers and reference bios are best suited for sli set ups .

''It's really noise and cooling. I was looking specifically at more cooling with the FTW3 as I pointed out, I don't really care about noise ''

aftermarket coolers don't / may not cool as well in sli especially the top card if your board has wide slots spacing it helps a lot and NVidia reference cards full meet NVidia sli standards aftermarket do not have to . that's why its a ''reference '' card and fully meets all NVidia reference specs . the blower pulls air in and through the card and expels it out the case aftermarket just recalculates any air inside the case and keeps it dumped in side the case [its own heated up air ]

maybe worth the waite to see the 1080ti hybrid that should get you from a 80c air to 50c max , my hybrid 980ti so far has got to 48c as it max temp pounding on it

gaming nexus , there planning a 1080ti review with a hybrid kit soon maybe interesting on there sli results ??

in the end all you can do is what you feel is best for you

good luck

TechyInAZ · Mar 11, 2017

The problem with the Founders Edition, is that when overvolting + overclocking, the temps will force lower clock speeds, there is no way a 1080 TI at say 1.081v with a high overclock w/ Founders card cooling can keep the temps low enough to sustain that. Sure I guess you could put the fan at 100%, but even then, you'll still get a few extra mhz out of the box from a card with a LOT better heatsink like the triple fan ICX cooler.

It means absolutely nothing that a cards clock speed is close to the founders, if your trying to figure out how far it can overclock. It's the voltage regulators and the coolers that make that difference.

junkeymonkey · Mar 11, 2017

a preview vid here ?

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2831-liquid-cooling-gtx-1080-ti-hybrid-project

there at the end he makes the reference cooler on this card kinda dismal ? my bad , but some nice info from that vid anyway

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

junkeymonkey :

I watched this yesterday and honestly its why I started asking questions lol.

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

junkeymonkey :

Thanks for the info. I haven't made my mind up yet, luckily I'll have a few weeks before I have to exchange them. I mean, attempting a massive overclock for the 1080 Ti's at this point is adding overkill to overkill lol. I was playing Titanfall and CoD IW last night and I turned on the highest AA setting at 4K 60fps because I just felt like it lol... with one card. (Ghost Recon and Watch Dogs 2 were a different story but still impressive).

junkeymonkey · Mar 11, 2017

I liked that vid that review sit has on starting the hybrid review cant wait to see the ending and the results . thing is its a just released card and a lot of unknowns still to come ? you see where he said if you got a 1080 its not really worth the upgrade ???

don't know and I'm not investing in being the guiney pigger . lol.....

good luck

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

junkeymonkey :

I had a 980 Ti SLI setup. It was time lol. It's averaging 20-35% better performance across the board, especially at higher resolutions where CPU bottlenecking is less common. I have seen markedly better performance between the 980 Ti SLI setup and a single 1080 Ti, personally.

junkeymonkey · Mar 11, 2017

with my cpu and a 1080 or a 980it [that I uses] like firestrike score is close not OMG I need a 10 series if you remove CPU overclocking from the equation the gains are minimal

lot of folks don't look at that

in the end it comes down to what ever floats your boat

anyway if that reference cooler is doing that bad all you can hope for is the aftermarket coolers do better they may also struggle . reference cooling aint the greatest but then should not be that bad ??

maybe best to wait it all out and see what aftermarket solutions come in to the fold like my 980ti hybrid I was on the fence on going for it but glad I did I'd be hard pressed to go back on air unless this thing fails me some how bad . it was factory evga built not a kit .. I yet to see over 48c on the hottest day in here with it , and it can get hot in here

good luck

SaintSe7en · Mar 11, 2017

junkeymonkey :

I've only been playing on my 1080Ti for a few hours... but it's a pretty big difference in game as far as frame rates go. Just my experience.

Admittedly First-World 1080 Ti Problem

Reputable

Titan

Polypheme

Reputable

Titan

Reputable

Reputable

Titan

Polypheme

Titan

Polypheme

Reputable

Reputable

Polypheme

Reputable

Polypheme

Reputable

Share this page