Asus P9X79 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti compatibility

classicus

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Nov 17, 2013
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Hi,

Does anyone know if the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is compatible with my current rig?

Motherboard: Asus P9X79
CPU: Intel Core i7-3820 (8 CPUs 3.6GHz)
GPU: Radeon HD 7870
RAM: 32gb
Power Supply: 1000w

As far as I can tell, the dimensions of the 1080ti look very similar to the hd7870 I have now, so I think the measurements are fine, and my power supply is more than enough. I'm a bit confused about the 8-pin/6-pin power connector with the 1080Ti, does this mean it needs both connected? Not really sure. Also, I noticed there are a ton of versions for the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, does anyone have recommendations on which specific version might be best with my rig?

Thanks!
 
Solution

maxalge

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if a card has more than one pcie plug, all must be populated



that cpu is not strong enough for a 1080 ti at stock speeds, you will need to overclock it
 
It is compatible with your build, yes. For measurements, you can always check the graphics card length of the model you finally decide upon buying, and see if it'll fit or not. Different cooler designs from different companies will have different sizes, so it cannot be said if they're compatible or not right now, size-wise.

As for the 8-pin/6-pin, again, different models have different power needs based on their designs. Some of them will require one 6-pin and one 8-pin, while high-end ones may even require two 8-pins. I'm not sure if there's one that'll run off of just a single 8-pin, though I doubt there is. And yes, that means that both the 6-pin and 8-pin must be connected - all power connectors must be connected for the card to function.

As for which model you should buy, that's a personal preference - based on your circumstances, likes, dislikes, budget, compatibility, etc you can choose the card which suits you the best - they all have the same GPU chip, just different coolers and features like RGB, water cooling, larger heatsinks, custom PCBs, etc. Most of them lie very close to each other in performance, so any card you buy will give you roughly the same performance, except a few extremely overclocked ones, which come overclocked from the factory, and may perform slightly better, though the difference isn't much.

Any of the versions will be fine with your PC as long as it fits in your case.

As for bottlenecking the GPU, it depends on what resolution you'll be running at - at 1080p, yes, it will be a bottleneck, most likely. At 1440p, in some game , yes, but you can remove the bottleneck by turning up the settings. At 4K there will be no bottlenecking of the GPU by the CPU.
 

classicus

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Nov 17, 2013
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Thanks for the information Shektron. As of now, my monitor only supports up to 1080p, but I'm looking into upgrading a few things over the next few months. Do you know which CPUs might work well with the GTX 1080 Ti while being compatible with my motherboard?

Another possible (and much more inexpensive) option is to get a different videocard and hold onto my current CPU and monitor. But I'd like to get something that can handle high-demand games for years. I'm wondering if this might be best for now, or just get the GTX 1080 TI and upgrade my CPU and/or monitor over the next few months. I haven't been keeping up with hardware for a while now so not really sure. Any recommendations is appreciated!

edit: In regards to bottlenecking, I know the GTX 1080 TI is overkill at 1080p, but would I experience stuttering if I limited my FPS to 60 or something? If I decide to go with the GTX 1080 TI, I'm wondering if I should do this to avoid stuttering until I upgrade my CPU and/or monitor.
 


If you want the graphics card to last for a long time, then it may be worth it to get a 1080 Ti. It's overkill right now, yes, but it's also more future-proof. However, do note that you'll be wasting the card's potential since at 1080p 60 FPS it won't get stressed much. Upgrading your CPU will not help since it's the monitor that will need upgrading, to a higher refresh rate. So, to fully utilize the potential of the 1080 Ti, you can either keep the current CPU and get a 4K monitor, or get a 1080p 144 Hz monitor+ a CPU upgrade to perhaps the upcoming i7 8700K(not launched yet).

My recommendation would be to upgrade the monitor to a 1440p monitor, and get a GTX 1080 for $500-$550. The monitor can be 60 FPS, I think that's a good match for your current CPU. Do note, though, that at 1440p, the GTX 1080 will not last as long as a 1080 Ti would at 1080p(obviously - it's a higher resolution, and a weaker graphics card). It should go through 3 years, but only if you're willing to lower the settings to achieve 60 FPS in the future.

If you want to stick with the 1080 Ti, then there's no need to change anything else - at 1080p 60 Hz, that beast will last quite a while. A GTX 780 Ti, launched 4 years ago, still pulls of 1080p Ultra perfectly fine(barring the low VRAM issues - the 1080 Ti probably won't have VRAM issues, since it's got 11 gigs of it), so you can trust the 1080 Ti to last at least that much, probably more.

I've provided you with choices, now it's up to you to choose.
 
Solution

classicus

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Nov 17, 2013
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Update: Got the EVGA 1080 Ti SC2, plugged it in but my motherboard is not detecting it. I get one long beep followed by 3 short beeps. Tried reseating it several times, resetting CMOS, my BIOS is updated to the latest stable version, not sure what else I can try.


edit: Tried another pci-e slot and it works with no issues. PCI-E slot 1 keeps giving me the beep code for no vga detected. PCI-E slot 2 works like a charm. Not sure why.

With my old GPU, PCI-E slot 1 and 2 both work fine. Any ideas? I have to remove my wireless card if I use pci-e slot 2 because it's in the way. I'd prefer to use PCI-E slot 1, but worst case scenario, I'll just keep it on PCI-E slot 2. I'm currently using a LAN cable anyway.


edit2: Getting a buzzing noise from speakers using the new GPU as soon as Windows 10 loads. While booting up or using safemode, there is no buzzing. Besides the buzzing, no other sound is coming through. Can't figure it out. Even if I mute the volume in Windows, the buzz is still happening. Tried both front and back audio jacks, different speakers, but same problem. Tried moving cables around in the case to see if anything was causing interference but didn't notice a difference.
 

classicus

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Nov 17, 2013
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Just tested a USB audio device and it works great. Any audio device plugged in with aux cable gets buzzing. What a pain, I never did a motherboard upgrade before. Seems like a difficult thing to do.

edit: No, I don't have a sound card. Could one help in this case?
 


It might. It seems like your motherboard audio is getting interference, and adding a sound card may eliminate this interference.

And yes, a motherboard upgrade is a bit of a pain, because you'll have to redo almost every connection in your PC.
 

classicus

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Nov 17, 2013
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Yea that's what it seems like. I wonder if it has something to do with the GPU being in the 2nd slot instead of the first. Later I'll try using the old GPU in the 2nd slot to see if there is still interference. For now I'll just use this usb device. Thanks again Shektron!
 

classicus

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Nov 17, 2013
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10,510
Update: Not necessarily related to topic at this point, but including just in case someone else happens to experience this issue. I installed a sound blaster card for my stereo and it works great. Also using a USB device in the front of my PC with aux jacks for audio + mic for my headphones, this is also working great. I suppose this will do until I decide to upgrade the MB some years down the road.