EVGA vs. Gigabyte vs. ZOTAC which GeForce GTX 1080 Ti card is best?

[Arnold_14]

I am currently looking at three different graphics cards:

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Gaming ($779.99)
Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme Edition ($749.99)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP Extreme Core Edition ($749.99)

They are all basically the same price point and seem to get good reviews. Is there any card that stands out above the rest and would be a noticeably better choice? Or is there another card I should be looking at that would be better?

 

[Phaaze88]

Performance-wise, no. Prioritize price, then narrow it down between noise level, cooling, and aesthetics.

 

[Hellfire13]

They all perform around the same range, but the Zotac AMP Extreme is supposed to be the fastest clocked out of the box.

 

[Froge]

Like the other two said performance wont be affected, I'd just go by the price tbh.

 

[raisonjohn]

I am currently looking at three different graphics cards:

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Gaming ($779.99)
Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme Edition ($749.99)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP Extreme Core Edition ($749.99)

They are all basically the same price point and seem to get good reviews. Is there any card that stands out above the rest and would be a noticeably better choice? Or is there another card I should be looking at that would be better?

All of these cards will basically perform within the same graphics range, as they are all GTX 1080 Ti. The main differences among the three aforementioned GPUs are:

Performance and physical differences:
Base Clock Speed: EVGA: 1569MHz | Gigabyte: 1607MHz-1632MHz(OC) | ZOTAC: 1607MHz
Boost Clock Speed: EVGA: 1684MHz | Gigabyte: 1721MHz-1746MHz(OC) | ZOTAC: 1721MHz
Memory Clock Speed: EVGA: 11016MHz | Gigabyte: 11232MHz-11448MHz(OC) | ZOTAC: 11216MHz
Memory Bandwidth: EVGA: 484GB/s | Gigabyte: 494GB/s | ZOTAC: 493GB/s
Pixel Rate: EVGA: 148GP/s | Gigabyte: 151GP/s | ZOTAC: 151GP/s
Texture Rate: EVGA: 377GT/s | Gigabyte: 385GT/s | ZOTAC: 385GT/s
Floating Point: EVGA: 12064 GFLOPS | Gigabyte: 12336 GFLOPS | ZOTAC: 12336 GFLOPS
Power Phases (GPU + Memory): EVGA: 10 + 2 | Gigabyte: 12 + 2 | ZOTAC: 16 + 2
Rated Power Draw: EVGA: 280W | Gigabyte: 375W | ZOTAC: 320W
Outputs: EVGA: 3x DP, 1x HDMI, 1x DVI | Gigabyte: 3x DP, 2x HDMI, 1x HDMI/DVI | ZOTAC: 3x DP, 1x HDMI, 1x DVI
Length Clearance: EVGA: 300mm | Gigabyte: 293mm | ZOTAC: 325mm
Thickness (Slot Clearance): EVGA: 2-slot | Gigabyte: 2.5-slot | ZOTAC: 2.5-slot
Fan Sizes: EVGA: 3x 100mm | Gigabyte: 3x 100mm (stacked) | ZOTAC: 3x 90mm
Heat Pipes:
EVGA: 6 [2x 8mm and 3x 6mm (VRMs) + 1x 8mm (GPU)]
Gigabyte: 6 [5x 8mm (VRMs) + 1x 6mm (GPU)]
ZOTAC: 6 [2x 8mm and 3x 6mm (VRMs) + 1x 6mm (GPU)]

Other aesthetic (non-performance) differences:
Frame Color/Motif: EVGA: Black+Silver | Gigabyte: Black+Orange | ZOTAC: Black+Yellow

Texts at Side (*Italized/Bold means illuminated):
EVGA: "EVGA | GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti" "EVGA | iCX" "FTW3"
Gigabyte: "GEFORCE GTX" "(Aorus Logo) AORUS" "FAN STOP"
ZOTAC: "GEFORCE GTX" "ZOTAC" "PUSH THE LIMIT"

Markings at Backplate (all illuminated):
EVGA: "EVGA" "GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti" | Gigabyte: (Aorus Logo) | ZOTAC: "ZOTAC"

Given the above differences, the EVGA FTW3 (the most expensive at $779.99) would have the least performance/price, as its only advantage among the GPUs being considered is its low power draw, slightly shorter length, and full 3x 100mm fans (non-stacked) -- and, subjectively, aesthetics (if you are opting for a neutral color theme).

The Gigabyte AORUS Xtreme and the ZOTAC AMP! Xtreme Core (both the same price at $749.99) appears to be neck-and-neck based on performance specs:

The Zotac has better power phases, consumes less power, but, slighly smaller fan sizes and cooling pipes, and requires longer spatial clearance.

The Gigabyte has good fan sizes with its stacked fan layout (but may produce more noise), larger heat pipe for thermal dissipation, more output port options, but, has lesser power phases and is the most power-hungry GPU of the bunch.

 

[Arnold_14]

Thanks everyone for the replies 🙂 I ended up ruling out the EVGA first as it seems to be the lowest performer and I am not going to use SLI so it doesn't matter that it only takes up two slots, leaving room for another card. I looked into the Gigabyte because I was shocked at the power draw, but from what I understand the 375 Watt number is the maximum power draw you can push it to, with the factory target draw is actually 250 Watts and the maximum you are actually going to be pushing it to being closer to 330 Watts. So I'm not worried about the power consumption now.

In the end I ordered the Gigabyte today! Special thanks to raisonjohn for that excellent breakdown of the cards! 🙂