Question 1080 Ti Gaming OC thoughts?

[Barty1884]

Hi all,

Contemplating an upgrade from my Strix 1070 (1440p 144Hz) and got a bite on a Gigabyte 1080 Ti Gaming OC locally for ~$500 CAD.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N108TGAMING-OC-11GD#kf

Doesn't seem a bad card, necessarily. It's a 1080TI afterall, but is definitely a budget offering. No backplate, and underwhelming cooling...

Anybody with firsthand experience of the card? How are temperatures, assuming reasonable airflow? Is it true the cooler does not contact the memory &/or VRM?

Just trying to sanity check the decision. I can flip the 1070 for an easy $300, so a net $200 spend seems a great deal for a 1080TI.... but the cooler does concern me.

Would appreciate anybodies experience(s) with this card.

 

[jankerson]

The Gaming OC is their midrange model, and it's a used card?

I would look for something else personally if it was my money.

 

[Barty1884]

What's Gigabyte's entry-level then?

Yes, it's used... but ~$500 CAD, which is a pretty good price for a 1080TI.

What would you suggest, as an alternative? Considering a fairly comparable 2080 starts at ~$900 CAD, and that's for a blower design. $930-$950 minimum for a dual fan AIB solution.....

 

[jankerson]

What's Gigabyte's entry-level then?

Yes, it's used... but ~$500 CAD, which is a pretty good price for a 1080TI.

What would you suggest, as an alternative? Considering a fairly comparable 2080 starts at ~$900 CAD, and that's for a blower design. $930-$950 minimum for a dual fan AIB solution.....

Here is a good GPU tier list:

Graphics Card (Cooling/VRM) Tier List (Navi Update)

Credit to: @GoldenLag, @XR6 Disclaimer: This list only covers the GTX 1000 series, GTX 1600 series and RTX 2000 series for Nvidia, RX 500 series, 5700 and RX Vega for AMD. Cards are not prefered between AMD or Nvidia or any brand listed here. Notes may be included with some of the cards. Tiers ar...

linustechtips.com

I have this thing about buying used GPU's.... I don't recommend it at all, especially these days.

People do a lot of messed up things to them and even go so far as to put them in the Microwave so they work long enough to sell them.

My recommendation is to save up and get what you really want NEW.

Your current GPU is fine, nothing wrong with a GTX 1070 and you know it works.

In the end it is your money and your risk if you choose to buy a used GPU.

 

[Barty1884]

As I mentioned Jankerson, I'm more interested in making a decision re: the cooler itself, whether it contacts the VRM/memory etc.

The used aspect, I'm comfortable taking a risk on. My 1070 was previously used, my 980TI was used.... I don't really recall the last 'new' GPU I've purchased.

I know my 1070 is fine, but I'm always looking at upgrading something.



As for the tier list, while I'm sure they arrive at decent positioning more often than not, I'd take it with a mountain of salt.

Tiers are based on facts. We rate on known problems and cooling capacity.

No distinction between problems, cooling capacity or outright cooling 'problems'. As far as I can tell, no sources quoted for said "facts" either.
For example, at their core, the 1080TI "Gaming OC" is their "G1 Gaming" of the lineup. Same cooler, lacks a backplate and is a different color - yet tier "C" vs "B".

Similarly, lumping the RX Nitro+ in tier "A" with a K|NGP|N card or even MSI's Lightning cards is laughable.

It looks like someone sorted PCPP highest to lowest, and ranked them accordingly.

 

[geofelt]

Newegg buyers of that card were generally pleased.
The most common complaint was coil whine.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125955

Looks to me like the cooling system is adequate.
Can you see it running or try it out yourself before buying?

 

[jankerson]

As I mentioned Jankerson, I'm more interested in making a decision re: the cooler itself, whether it contacts the VRM/memory etc.

The used aspect, I'm comfortable taking a risk on. My 1070 was previously used, my 980TI was used.... I don't really recall the last 'new' GPU I've purchased.

I know my 1070 is fine, but I'm always looking at upgrading something.



As for the tier list, while I'm sure they arrive at decent positioning more often than not, I'd take it with a mountain of salt.



No distinction between problems, cooling capacity or outright cooling 'problems'. As far as I can tell, no sources quoted for said "facts" either.
For example, at their core, the 1080TI "Gaming OC" is their "G1 Gaming" of the lineup. Same cooler, lacks a backplate and is a different color - yet tier "C" vs "B".

Similarly, lumping the RX Nitro+ in tier "A" with a K|NGP|N card or even MSI's Lightning cards is laughable.

It looks like someone sorted PCPP highest to lowest, and ranked them accordingly.

They don't have a tier above A so the tops end GPU's all got lumped into that tier.

I would say search for video reviews to see if there are any tear downs.

 

[Barty1884]

Newegg buyers of that card were generally pleased.
The most common complaint was coil whine.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125955

Looks to me like the cooling system is adequate.
Can you see it running or try it out yourself before buying?

Oh, absolutely. I wouldn't pick it up otherwise.

I did see the Newegg reviews, which seem to suggest it's "fine", which would make sense for the pricepoint. The few (admittedly anecdotal) threads/complains etc I can find independent of that are mostly around noise. The cooler is budget, repurposed from other cards, but I can't find where I read that it's not actually cooling the VRMs etc anymore.

Might think it over for a couple of days, rather than jump on it right away.