Best RTX 2080 TI for water cooling?

[afkiller369]

Hello everyone,
I am doing a build that I want to have custom water cooling in. This will be my first build with water cooling so I am using EKWB's configurator which will take the case, motherboard, cpu, gpu, and amount of ram as inputs and will show what components I will need. Right now I have the:

Motherboard - Asus ROG Maximus XI Hero
CPU - Intel i9-9900K
GPU - ?
Ram - Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro (8x4)

I am looking for a good RTX 2080 TI that will be good with overclocking. I might not OC it immediately but I want the option to OC if I need it in the future. From what I have heard, overclocking can shorten the life of the GPU or CPU which is why I won't do it immediately. I was planning on going with a non-reference card and one that doesn't come overclocked just because it might shorten the length of the GPU (not sure if this is true or not so feel free to prove me wrong). Some of the cards don't work with the configurator so I was just wondering if anybody has any recommendations. If one of the best options is to go with the reference card then I will, but I was wondering if there is a better option that's better for overclocking.

Thanks!

 

[Dunlop0078]

Well they certainly have water blocks for reference PCBs. It looks like they are not yet making water blocks for custom PCB cards.

In terms of a 2080 ti a pre overclock is not going to impact it's lifespan. Heat and excessive voltage are what kills cards not their clock speed. And since the 2080 ti is voltage locked that wont be a problem, heat wont be either with stock cooling or water cooling. If you are going to spend a bunch of money water cooling everything it would be in my opinion a total waste not to overclock.

 

[afkiller369]

Well they certainly have water blocks for reference PCBs. It looks like they are not yet making water blocks for custom PCB cards.

In terms of a 2080 ti a pre overclock is not going to impact it's lifespan. Heat and excessive voltage are what kills cards not their clock speed. And since the 2080 ti is voltage locked that wont be a problem, heat wont be either with stock cooling or water cooling. If you are going to spend a bunch of money water cooling everything it would be in my opinion a total waste not to overclock.

Ok thanks for the extra information! I know ekwb offers a few different waterblocks for card such as the Gigabyte RTX 2080 TI Gaming OC unless that has the same PCB as the reference card. Is there any specific RTX 2080 TI that you would recommend?

 

[1LiquidPC]

Are you planning to OC the 2080 Ti at some point? Namely, some recommend non-reference models for extended OCing to due added circuitry to handle the extra stress. That said, even the top-end non reference models aren't really much faster than reference in FPS in most cases, especially custom watercooled ones.

For reference, I always have used reference designed models in my builds due to block availability. My card is the EVGA RTX 2080 Ti XC Gaming version. I can say with no adjustments, it boosts to about 2010Mhz on core in games and benches when under load. This is due to lower temps.

 

[afkiller369]

Are you planning to OC the 2080 Ti at some point? Namely, some recommend non-reference models for extended OCing to due added circuitry to handle the extra stress. That said, even the top-end non reference models aren't really much faster than reference in FPS in most cases, especially custom watercooled ones.

For reference, I always have used reference designed models in my builds due to block availability. My card is the EVGA RTX 2080 Ti XC Gaming version. I can say with no adjustments, it boosts to about 2010Mhz on core in games and benches when under load. This is due to lower temps.

So your recommendation would be the EVGA card? It makes sense because of the same design and everything. Do you think it's worth it to spend the extra $50 to get the ultra?

 

[1LiquidPC]

I recommend EVGA and have generally always had them for main system and HTPC. Had other brands for basic test cards. EVGA is known for top notch warranty service in the rare case you may need. A big EVGA plus is putting on a waterblock does not void the warranty. Other brands have other policies.

If you plan to watercool, save the $50. Its same card as mine but a larger cooler and 2.75 slot design and needs three slots from rear IO to mount. Only benefit is likely higher boost clocks from larger cooler if you used it stock aircooled. Boost goes higher the lower the temps. However, full-cover waterblock is far superior temp wise than air cooling. Highest temp mine has been is about 40C full gaming loads. This can vary though depending on each person's cooling loop setup.

 

[afkiller369]

I recommend EVGA and have generally always had them for main system and HTPC. Had other brands for basic test cards. EVGA is known for top notch warranty service in the rare case you may need. A big EVGA plus is putting on a waterblock does not void the warranty. Other brands have other policies.

If you plan to watercool, save the $50. Its same card as mine but a larger cooler and 2.75 slot design and needs three slots from rear IO to mount. Only benefit is likely higher boost clocks from larger cooler if you used it stock aircooled. Boost goes higher the lower the temps. However, full-cover waterblock is far superior temp wise than air cooling. Highest temp mine has been is about 40C full gaming loads. This can vary though depending on each person's cooling loop setup.

Ok thank you so much!!!

 

[ARozay]

You should looking to 2080 to that come with a waterblock on them, that’s what I’m in the process of doing

 

[sizzling]

I’m sure I read that the best RTX overclocking GPU’s are the reference cards if you upgrade the cooling solution. From memory the claim was NVIDIA had kept the best binned gpu’s for themselves.