GTX 1080: WINNING THE SILICON LOTTERY

[ss_blake]

I plan to watercool (full block) the GTX 1080 (possibly x2 SLI, depending how the benchmarks turn out with Nvidia drivers that actually support SLI). At a minimum, it will be quiet! However, obviously squeaking out the most performance is paramount.

Does it matter which 1080 AIB I purchase? Since I am disconnecting the blinged out RGB coolers (2 fans, 3 fans, recessed fans etc), does it matter which brand of 1080 AIB I purchase?

Evidence suggests NO 3RD PARTY VENDOR are bin'ing the GP104 chips! Unreal. I am not sure if EVGA 1080 KingPin (when its released) will be the only vendor to actually bin their product.
But if this rumor is true, the best option for custom water coolers would seem to simply buy the cheapest 1080 AIB PCB that has an extra PCIE power connector (from the top 4, ex EVGA FTW, Gigabyte G1, MSI Gaming X) with the ability to customize the VBIOS (to up to voltage beyond the nVidia 1.25V brickwall).

Opinions?

 

[EarthDog]

There is too much concern for 'normal folks' (read: those that don't use sub-ambient cooling methods) over the minimal binning that is done in the first place.

As far is which one... it sure does matter! You need to make sure whatever card you pick the block fits on it! Some, regardless of the binning some hold so dear, modify the PCB. Be sure it has the extra power connector indeed.

 

[ss_blake]

So any suggestions for the AIB 1080's out there now? Most of the reputable water block makers (ex EKWB) will support most of the good cards (i.e from the top 4 vendors, ooops - forgot asus in my OP). I suppose I should wait for the reviews comparing all the AIB head to head, as I still suspect some vendors will bin their chips better to guarantee published factory clock speeds.

 

[EarthDog]

If they say its going to run at XXXX MHz, its going to run there. SOME binning is done to reach those tiers of cards. But above that, which is where you are going, its always a crapshoot/silicon lottery.

 

[wingman99]

It's always the luck of the draw. I would wait till you test your overclocking before you install your water block then you can sell real quick to get another one to try if you don't like the overclock.

 

[Woomack]

These cards have new power design and I don't think it will really matter what ASIC you get. In most cases it will scale the same with power limit. In most reviews are about the same results made by totally different people.

Right now there are waterblocks only for reference cards ( Founders and anything with reference coolers ).

Even in last Nvidia series all binning was only a myth ... the only series which are really binned are EVGA Classified/KPE. All other cards in GTX900 series are totally random and I don't think it will change now. I saw many more reference cards at 80%+ ASIC than from these special series from ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI etc. All cards which I had a chance to test were between 72-76% ASIC where ~85% is max and ~65% is about as low as you can find.

Other thing is that in GTX900 series reference cards were not much worse for overclocking. There are always some exceptions but look at EVGA. All their cards except Classified and KPE are on reference design ( usually with better cooler ). Even these that look like modified have only moved some components on slightly bigger PCB but all match reference design. At the same time their overclocking results were about as good as Gigabyte, MSI, ASUS and some other brands. I'm just not sure if there is point in these special series ( except mentioned highest EVGA ) when ( excluding extreme overclocking ) you can't see any difference.

 

[EarthDog]

It's always the luck of the draw. I would wait till you test your overclocking before you install your water block then you can sell real quick to get another one to try if you don't like the overclock.

unless one is benchmarking competitively, it's a lot of money and some effort for little actual gains.

 

[wingman99]

Since he is hell bent on WINNING THE SILICON LOTTERY I thought Id help him play.

 

[Vellinious]

There won't be a binned 1080 KPE either. Not with ASIC, anyway, like the 980tis were. ASIC is not supported in Pascal, per GPUz.

 

[bob4933]

... I'll let myself out...