PNY 2080TI XLR8 Gaming OC for new build?

[Sprucemoose]

I've just started picking parts for my next build (so far a Gigabyte X570 Elite motherboard with AMD 3900X). Now, I'm trying to decide on the GPU, and I'm thinking about going all the way for a 2080TI. The GPU is going to be water-cooled, so there is no need to pay a premium for giant factory-mounted heatsinks and fans. This card should also have the reference PCB, so I should be able to use the reference water-block from, let's say EK. This is important as my case (Lian Li O11 Dynamic) has some issues with the widest water blocks.

I've read that the 2080TI GPUs comes in two types, A and non-A, and I should choose the A-version. The cheapest A-version available to me is the PNY XLR8 Gaming OC.

Now, if I understand correctly all A-GPUs can be flashed with a BIOS increasing the max power limit to 380W. This should also include the PNY card above, right? I haven't had any experience with PNY, and I'm a litte reluctant to go with a brand I haven't heard much about. On the other side, I suspect a lot of the other mainstream manufacturers (MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, EVGA) charges a premium for their name without adding any real value to the products besides their different cooling solutions and stock OC?

Also, there are a lot of people mentioning coil whine with the 2080TI lineup. Are there significant differences between brands in this regard? Anybody have any experience with the PNY-card I'm thinking about buying?

 

[Kenrou]

I asked a while ago about PNY, i think the general consensus was "good for stock but (really) bad for OC" and if memory serves, something along the lines of "crap RMA"... so i guess buyer beware ? the low prices really pulls us in though

 

[EarthDog]

If you are really pushing the overclocks, you may want to look into a card with more robust vrms than factory...as well as a water block that supports it. Iirc, that a/b thing with there was nothing much there? Its been a while though and I dont recall.

 

[Sprucemoose]

Just to add: After posting, I looked at what used cards are out there. I found one guy selling a 2 month old Gigabyte 2080 TI Gaming OC 11G for 23% lower price than the cheapest new price. The price is also lower than buying a new PNY-card. This card seems to have a factory power limit of 366W (not completely sure on this), but it could indicate better components. Would this option be better to achieve stable high clocks? Remember, card will be water-cooled, so the factory mounted air-cooling is of no concern.

 

[EarthDog]

Truthfully, they will all be around the same clock give or take 50 or so mhz. I prefer a more robust vrm more so for longevity than overclocks...

 

[Sprucemoose]

Thanks for the input. I just pulled the trigger on the used Gigabyte card. There aren't many used 2080Tis out there, and this was the only one in my country that was an A-GPU. I'm planning on putting a Heatkiller IV full cover block on it.