Which GTX 1080 ti to get. Too many Choices!

[Tír na nÓg]

While the overclocking headroom is likely the same (almost all 1080 Tis can hit 2 GHz), the quality of components / cooling / fan control / aesthetics is different for other cards.

I personally went with the FTW3 because of aesthetics, and the over-engineering of the cooling / power components gives me a little extra piece of mind. I hit 2062 MHz, right in line with everyone else. The switchable BIOS on the FTW3 also gives you some extra power for Precision XOC, and a fail-safe if you're the type to flash BIOS on your cards.

If you only intend to have a 1080 Ti run around 2 GHz with minimal tweaking beyond that, though, the SC Black should be fine. At a certain point, a 1080 Ti is a 1080 Ti, other than aesthetics, noise, and thermals.

Check Woomack post: the guy is extra seasoned. 2GHz+ is not "common". Under water, yes, but not on air.

Unless you go cold, and then I would agree on lot of phases, the ref PCB is the way to go. And there isn't even a way to mod the bios! This suck big time...

Used to love my 780/780 ti for big bios mod an big boints (heck, used to run a new of my 780ti@1450+ under water, +50% of the core)!

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While the overclocking headroom is likely the same (almost all 1080 Tis can hit 2 GHz), the quality of components / cooling / fan control / aesthetics is different for other cards.

I personally went with the FTW3 because of aesthetics, and the over-engineering of the cooling / power components gives me a little extra piece of mind. I hit 2062 MHz, right in line with everyone else. The switchable BIOS on the FTW3 also gives you some extra power for Precision XOC, and a fail-safe if you're the type to flash BIOS on your cards.

If you only intend to have a 1080 Ti run around 2 GHz with minimal tweaking beyond that, though, the SC Black should be fine. At a certain point, a 1080 Ti is a 1080 Ti, other than aesthetics, noise, and thermals.

Check Woomack post: the guy is extra seasoned. 2GHz+ is not "common". Under water, yes, but not on air.

Unless you go cold, and then I would agree on lot of phases, the ref PCB is the way to go. And there isn't even a way to mod the bios! This suck big time...

Used to love my 780/780 ti for big bios mod an big boints (heck, used to run a new of my 780ti@1450+ under water, +50% of the core)!

 

[Woomack]

Yesterday I installed the Heatkiller water block on my 1080Ti FE and I could OC it about 75-100MHz higher than on stock cooler at max speed. So from about ~1950-2000MHz I've moved to ~2050-2100MHz. Of course not fully stable clock because of how boost works but still not bad. However I can clearly see that FE has too low power limit. On GTX1070 only cooling was adding ~150MHz boost without any OC and next 150MHz manually. Here is about 50MHz and 150MHz more manually.

It's about +160MHz max on core and +600MHz on memory. At +170-180 core it's passing some benchmarks while some are failing. Memory is showing artifacts above +600.



More phases than on FE are not helping much just because core is overheating at any higher overvoltage much before power section becomes unstable. Additional phases will help if you set something like +30% vgpu but then will be needed LN2. Standard limit is ~1.093V so barely above stock. There are barely any cards with higher limit.

 

[Jeff G]

Without wanting to create more clutter in the GPU section with another new thread, I'll put this here (with an edited thread title) and hopefully get some opinions.
I've decided to not go with the SC Black, but I'm not sure what to go with.
I really wanted to stay with Palit, Zotac, or EVGA but Palit is just too pricey here so that leaves Zotac and EVGA. I was debating between the FTW3 and the Amp Extreme models. Then I started thinking about watercooling, and decided if I went this route I'd get something with a waterblock already attached like the ArcticStorm or Waterforce cards. Then I started thinking that maybe I was overthinking everything and I should just get something like the Gaming OC because it's cheaper.
So, here's what I narrowed it down to and I'd love to hear opinions on any/all of them. These are in no order, I'm unsure which way I'm leaning right now.

Option 1 - Zotac 1080 ti Amp Extreme. Floats around the $750 range, when in stock (sells out fast). Only card I've seen with a 320w TDP, not sure if that's a pro or con. Great cooler. All reviews show it clocking pretty good.
Option 2 - EVGA 1080 ti FTW3. Floats around the $750 range, often with a rebate from the Egg dropping it lower. Another great cooler. The huge draw to EVGA for me is the customer support if I ever had issues.
Option 3 - Zotac 1080 ti ArcticStorm. Floats around the $820 range, but has a full water block. Even the cheapest card ($700) plus a waterblock ($140) costs more, so this is appealing if I decide watercooling is the way to go. Downside - I have to plumb it into my CPU loop, which means a full rework of my loop and ordering more fittings and tubing.
Option 4 - Aorus 1080 ti Waterforce. Floats around the $820 range, also has a full water block but comes with an AIO cooling solution. Literally plug and play water cooling. Comes with 4 year warranty. Can't find many reviews on this, but it seems like a pretty solid card. Downside, if it has any issues (lets face it, a card with AIO has more opportunity for failure than an air cooled card) then I have to go through Gigabyte's warranty process which is as comfortable as a root canal.
Option 5 - Just get the cheap-o Gigabyte 1080 ti Gaming OC and call it a day. $699 is $50 cheaper than any other card on my list. Cooler isn't as good as any of the others, but is probably still decent. No frills, no major overclocking potential like the watercoolers, not even good CS like EVGA or Zotac. However, it is cheaper.

Just kind of looking to see what everyone's opinions are, maybe help me sway one way or another. I keep thinking I want to go water, even if it doesn't clock higher it's still nice and quiet. But then I think about the fact that the FTW3 and Amp Extreme probably clock just as well without the added hassle of plumbing more stuff in and cost about $70 less. I'm waffling back and forth more than I should be, I know, but I'm just unsure what I want to do.

 

[EarthDog]

Good lawd.... pick one. See this thread for the reasons.

 

[Jeff G]

Good lawd.... pick one. See this thread for the reasons.

I know, I'm over-complicating the decision process. At the end of the day, I guess I'm wondering if the watercooling is going to help push the card a little further. I just can't wrap my head around the cheap Gigabyte card, the Zotac and EVGA just seem so much nicer. So I guess it's really just between those two and one of the watercooled cards. The two air cooled cards are really a coin toss. Both have great coolers and great support. The watercooled cards I'm not sure if I want to try the AIO (I've never run one before) or plumb into my current loop.

 

[S_I_N]

I had the gaming oc from gigabyte and it was a heater no backplate either. Sold it at a small lose and grabbed a 1080 FTW2 and do not regret it. If it was my $$$$ I'd grab the FTW3 call it a day and when ready to put it under water grab a block and backplate.

 

[EarthDog]

I know, I'm over-complicating the decision process. At the end of the day, I guess I'm wondering if the watercooling is going to help push the card a little further. I just can't wrap my head around the cheap Gigabyte card, the Zotac and EVGA just seem so much nicer. So I guess it's really just between those two and one of the watercooled cards. The two air cooled cards are really a coin toss. Both have great coolers and great support. The watercooled cards I'm not sure if I want to try the AIO (I've never run one before) or plumb into my current loop.

Which woomack answered.

You got this!!!

 

[Jeff G]

Which woomack answered.

You got this!!!

Re-reading all the previous responses, I believe you are correct
And this last question may be another pointless one, but is there any difference from the SC Black to the FTW3 if both stock coolers were removed in favor or a waterblock (in terms of actual clocking and so forth).

 

[Woomack]

There won't be any special difference. However if price difference isn't big then get FTW3 as it's better card. Before you buy it, check if you easily get water block for it. SC or FE have many options on the market but I'm not sure about FTW for GTX1080Ti.
Regardless if you get AIO or add graphics card to the current loop, effect will be similar. I made tests on dual 360 rad but ( don't ask me why as I'm not sure ) I have there only 3 fans so it works like single rad and still keeps good temps with [email protected] which itself is maybe 250W.

 

[Jeff G]

However if price difference isn't big then get FTW3 as it's better card.

$720 vs $760. Plus a waterblock, $125ish. Even the SC, at $845 with waterblock, tops the ArcticStorm and Waterforce at $820 which is why I'm leaning towards the Zotac or Aorus.

Regardless if you get AIO or add graphics card to the current loop, effect will be similar. I made tests on dual 360 rad but (don't ask me why as I'm not sure ) I have there only 3 fans so it works like single rad and still keeps good temps with [email protected] which itself is maybe 250W.

If the Aorus, with the full cover AIO, is going to stay equally as cool as the ArcticStorm in my current loop with CPU then I'll probably go the AIO route for simplicity. I spoke with an Aorus rep to see how much difference there was between full waterblock version and the AIO version, they said the full waterblock will have better cooling. Who knows if that's just upselling the pricier product, or if the AIO is in some way inferior.
Just sort of thinking out loud through all my options, I appreciate all the feedback!

 

[Jeff G]

I didn't want to make a new thread for something that's probably an easy answer, so I'll bump my old thread since it's a similar question.

I have my 1080 ti under water. According to everything I've read, Nvidia has the power limit set at 1.093v on all cards whether FE or AIB; with the power limit and voltage % sliders all the way up, I'm seeing a max of 1.075. Thermal throttling, if I remember correctly, kicks in somewhere in the mid 40c range and begins to downclock the card; mine has topped out at 35c after several hours of playing with the clocks and benching (sits at about 30c while gaming).
So if I'm not at the voltage limit and I'm not at the thermal limit, what prevents my clocks from going higher?

I also don't understand how clocks vs fps work on these cards, since I have substantially higher fps at 1987mhz than I do at 2088mhz (like 20fps in games).
And going from stock boost to a +160mhz offset gained like 8fps, but going from stock memory to a +500mhz memory bump gained like 15fps. So boosting the memory speed seems to be the better bet for gaining more fps?

 

[wingman99]

The limit for overclocking is the luck of the draw with the GPU. Both the GPU and memory overclock work together, just try memory overclocking by it self and see what the card will do at stock boost clock.

 

[Jeff G]

The limit for overclocking is the luck of the draw with the GPU.

But what determines that is what I'm wondering. If it's not power or heat, what stops it from going higher?
I'm happy with it right now at +150 on the core clock and +500 on the memory. That seems to be the best gain in fps. I can go to +600 on the memory and +160 on the core clock and still be stable, but for some reason my fps are actually lower (and about 100 points down in TimeSpy).

It's mostly a curiosity thing, I like to tinker with everything and see what the limits are and what causes them to hit the limits. I'd love to push the card further just to see how far it goes if I can find out what the limiting factor is, but at the end of the day I'll stick with my +150/500 settings for gaming.

 

[wingman99]

The transistors in the GPU can only switch on and off so fast according to there design characteristics.
Video

 

[Jeff G]

The transistors in the GPU can only switch on and off so fast according to there design characteristics.
Video

That video states that heat is the issue. The whole video is about how heat is what prevents the overclock. After 3 hours of benching with HWMonitor running the entire time, the highest recorded temp of my GPU was 35c.

 

[wingman99]

That video states that heat is the issue. The whole video is about how heat is what prevents the overclock. After 3 hours of benching with HWMonitor running the entire time, the highest recorded temp of my GPU was 35c.

He said heat and power is the limit.

 

[Jeff G]

He said heat and power is the limit.

Im not hitting either limit though. The 1080 ti has a voltage limit of 1.093 set by Nvidia. Im maxing out at 1.075 @ 35c.

 

[Jeff G]

From reading some other articles, it appears the voltage is too low for a given clock based of the standard linearity of the voltage-per-clock curve. The solution is to create a custom voltage curve that adds more voltage for the given clock as it boosts. If the card goes to 2100mhz @ 1.08v but crashes at 2050mhz and 1.07v, then 2050mhz probably needs 1.075v which you bump up with the custom voltage curve. Seems to make sense, and it would explain why I don't see over 1.075v when the card has a limiter of 1.093. 2088mhz seems to be where it stops at 1.075v, never exceeding 2100mhz. But there's probably a step between 2088 and 2100mhz that requires a bump up in voltage that the stock curve isn't supplying. Looks like a lot of trial-and-error, and some fun times playing with it after work today!


TL;DR - I'm not hitting a limit of the card, but in fact hitting a voltage limit for a specific frequency.

 

[Woomack]

Drivers affect max OC. Software affects max OC like EVGA soft is forcing higher voltage than other brands and you get that slightly higher voltage. I guess you can make it with AB or something else too. My 1080Ti FE on EVGA stock BIOS has max ~1.095V while the same card on Gigabyte Xtreme or ASUS Strix early release BIOS has max ~1.075V.

GTX1080Ti is generating much more heat than lower GTX1000 cards. Simply Nvidia decided to limit max voltage to the reasonable safe values for air cooling and mass sales. If card could run at 1.2V then in typical environment it would die soon. No one wants to generate RMA and huge loses.

On the other hand if you are not taking part in competitive benchmarking then +30 or 50 MHz means nothing. Pushing card to get 3% higher performance in some games isn't really worth it.

 

[Jeff G]

Drivers affect max OC. Software affects max OC like EVGA soft is forcing higher voltage than other brands and you get that slightly higher voltage. I guess you can make it with AB or something else too. My 1080Ti FE on EVGA stock BIOS has max ~1.095V while the same card on Gigabyte Xtreme or ASUS Strix early release BIOS has max ~1.075V.

GTX1080Ti is generating much more heat than lower GTX1000 cards. Simply Nvidia decided to limit max voltage to the reasonable safe values for air cooling and mass sales. If card could run at 1.2V then in typical environment it would die soon. No one wants to generate RMA and huge loses.

On the other hand if you are not taking part in competitive benchmarking then +30 or 50 MHz means nothing. Pushing card to get 3% higher performance in some games isn't really worth it.

I agree that +30mhz isn't a deal breaker for gaming, I'm just looking to see how high I can take the card since I have zero issues with cooling (again, I've seen a max of 35c after hours of benching). I will try EVGA software to see if it lets it go above the 1.075v I'm currently seeing. Right before I went to sleep last night, I wiped my entire hard drive clean and started with a fresh install of W10. I'll be doing all the updates tonight to verify that I'm indeed on the most current drivers. I plan to play around with the custom voltage curve too as that seems like a good way to push it a little further.
I have no intention of doing any sort of modding to exceed the Nvidia 1.093v limit, but I'd like to see what my card can do with the 1.093v since cooling isn't an issue for me.