Nvidia GeForce GTX 1000 Series (Pascal) MegaThread: FAQ and Resources

[Eximo]

Why would Nvidia lock the voltage of the 1080 Ti?

That's with all the pascal cards though. Regardless of the fancy aftermarket coolers or whether they're 6x8, or 8x8. Supposedly, those crazy 8x8x8pin cards like 1080ti lightning can on LN2, but that's not a common application anyway.

And Maxwell.

They are hard locked, but can be bypassed by tricking the current shunts on the boards with some conductive tape or a pen, or solder. Kingpin has an interesting article covering adding custom circuitry, mostly potentiometers, to really fine tune a card.

I think 'not common' is an understatement of epic proportions. More like sponsored events these days.

 

[axlrose]

Eximo, tell me about the process of taking off a cooler and adding a water block. I really don't want to do it, but it seems like there are few boards factory installed and about eleventeen hundred blocks out there now for after market application.

 

[axlrose]

Is that galax on white pcb???

 

[renz496]

Why would Nvidia lock the voltage of the 1080 Ti?

to serve nvidia interest?

 

[axlrose]

https://videocardz.net/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11gb-aorus-waterforce-wb-xtreme-edition/

Thinking this might be it if I can't get that MSI to match my board. If I can get one whenever they come out.

 

[renz496]

Why would Nvidia lock the voltage of the 1080 Ti?

That's with all the pascal cards though. Regardless of the fancy aftermarket coolers or whether they're 6x8, or 8x8. Supposedly, those crazy 8x8x8pin cards like 1080ti lightning can on LN2, but that's not a common application anyway.

And Maxwell.

They are hard locked, but can be bypassed by tricking the current shunts on the boards with some conductive tape or a pen, or solder. Kingpin has an interesting article covering adding custom circuitry, mostly potentiometers, to really fine tune a card.

I think 'not common' is an understatement of epic proportions. More like sponsored events these days.

i heard pascal have even more sophisticated hardware inside them that even with hard moded it cannot easily bypass the limitation put by nvidia.

 

[Math Geek]

Just found a really good article with cards I have never seen. Probably can't buy them, but some more resources if you are still searching like me.

https://videocardz.net/evga-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11gb-ftw3-hydro-copper/

(Scroll below the card for a stupid ling list of cards)

i've skimmed that list before myself and can't even find a website for some of the companies listed there. they are asian market mostly and seem to have very little net presence. but it should be pretty complete as that is what the site focuses on is gpu's

 

[Eximo]

Eximo, tell me about the process of taking off a cooler and adding a water block. I really don't want to do it, but it seems like there are few boards factory installed and about eleventeen hundred blocks out there now for after market application.

I'm sure there are better guides out there. I know Jayztwocents and Gamer's Nexus on Youtube have pretty good ones for various waterblock installations. Jay also has some good guides to overall watercooling. I used the Tom's Hardware water cooling sticky for getting the basics of my first water cooled build together.

But the basics for a GPU are pretty simple.
1)Clean flat surface/workbench/table.
2) If you can get to any fan/led connectors before disassembly, do so.
3) Remove all the screws from the back of the card, making note of any that are shorter/longer than others.
4) Remove backplate, if applicable.
5) A light twisting motion can often get the heatsink to pull off the PCB more easily. Don't pull straight away, check for Fan and LED wires to unplug (this is really the only awkward part)
6) Many newer cards have a heatspreader on the VRMs and memory, that will probably have to go too.
7) Clean the GPU of all thermal compound. And remove any leftover thermal pads, assuming you aren't re-using them.
8) Water block kit should include new thermal pads, place these in the indicated places on the memory, VRMs, and chokes.
9) Apply thermal compound to the GPU.
10) Place waterblock onto the PCB and line it up with the screws.
If the original backplate is compatible install it, if not add your own or leave it bare.
11) Re-install screws, don't overtighten any particular one at a time, you want to ease it down slowly going from corner to corner, to opposite corner. Like changing wheel on a car.

Pretty much it. The Razor block uses some nuts to take the place of some spots where the old heatsink held on the backplate, and I believe one screw goes through the I/O shield. Only two oddities I encountered.

I have blurry pictures in the link in my signature. Less blurry pictures on my old build with the 980s.

 

[TMTOWTSAC]

Why would Nvidia lock the voltage of the 1080 Ti?

to serve nvidia interest?

It's probably just down to numbers. If you're selling chips, and you get yields that allow a range of clockspeeds at a range of voltages, you'll zero in on the voltage and clockspeeds that allow you to get the maximum number of usable chips. Maybe X% of the cards top the range and can accept a higher voltage/speed, but if you do that you can't sell the other Y% at the bottom of the range. Or if you do, people can fry them by manually setting that voltage. So you set a hard limit to protect the Y%.

 

[renz496]

Why would Nvidia lock the voltage of the 1080 Ti?

to serve nvidia interest?

It's probably just down to numbers. If you're selling chips, and you get yields that allow a range of clockspeeds at a range of voltages, you'll zero in on the voltage and clockspeeds that allow you to get the maximum number of usable chips. Maybe X% of the cards top the range and can accept a higher voltage/speed, but if you do that you can't sell the other Y% at the bottom of the range. Or if you do, people can fry them by manually setting that voltage. So you set a hard limit to protect the Y%.

for me it think it just the way nvidia to protect themselves (from having to replace cards that was burned because of overclocking) and protect the consumer (from going too far because of lack of experience). so in the end it was win-win situation for majority people but definitely not for extreme overclockers out there. some overclockers out there voicing their displeasure with how nvidia do this even go as far saying nvidia is holding the industry back but when inexperience people burn out their card it is not their money to replace the broken card but nvidia. so in the end it is just business as usual? nvidia have much more strict guide line for board partner to follow since kepler generation. some of them might made some noise about how strict nvidia can be but when nvidia said board partner will have to replace the broken card themselves (no warranty from nvidia) if they did not follow the guide line they still to choose to have that warranty than to pocket their own resource for the replacement. so in the end it is still about money haha.

 

[axlrose]

Eximo, tell me about the process of taking off a cooler and adding a water block. I really don't want to do it, but it seems like there are few boards factory installed and about eleventeen hundred blocks out there now for after market application.

I'm sure there are better guides out there. I know Jayztwocents and Gamer's Nexus on Youtube have pretty good ones for various waterblock installations. Jay also has some good guides to overall watercooling. I used the Tom's Hardware water cooling sticky for getting the basics of my first water cooled build together.

But the basics for a GPU are pretty simple.
1)Clean flat surface/workbench/table.
2) If you can get to any fan/led connectors before disassembly, do so.
3) Remove all the screws from the back of the card, making note of any that are shorter/longer than others.
4) Remove backplate, if applicable.
5) A light twisting motion can often get the heatsink to pull off the PCB more easily. Don't pull straight away, check for Fan and LED wires to unplug (this is really the only awkward part)
6) Many newer cards have a heatspreader on the VRMs and memory, that will probably have to go too.
7) Clean the GPU of all thermal compound. And remove any leftover thermal pads, assuming you aren't re-using them.
8) Water block kit should include new thermal pads, place these in the indicated places on the memory, VRMs, and chokes.
9) Apply thermal compound to the GPU.
10) Place waterblock onto the PCB and line it up with the screws.
If the original backplate is compatible install it, if not add your own or leave it bare.
11) Re-install screws, don't overtighten any particular one at a time, you want to ease it down slowly going from corner to corner, to opposite corner. Like changing wheel on a car.

Pretty much it. The Razor block uses some nuts to take the place of some spots where the old heatsink held on the backplate, and I believe one screw goes through the I/O shield. Only two oddities I encountered.

I have blurry pictures in the link in my signature. Less blurry pictures on my old build with the 980s.

How would you rate the difficulty level? Putting my own loop together wasn't too bad, but was very time consuming the first time through. I was also told everyone messes up their first loop, and true to form, I over ratcheted my cpu water block and had it leak all over my system. What type of skill level is needed for custom installing a water block on a gpu?

Thanks again.

 

[Eximo]

Eximo, tell me about the process of taking off a cooler and adding a water block. I really don't want to do it, but it seems like there are few boards factory installed and about eleventeen hundred blocks out there now for after market application.

I'm sure there are better guides out there. I know Jayztwocents and Gamer's Nexus on Youtube have pretty good ones for various waterblock installations. Jay also has some good guides to overall watercooling. I used the Tom's Hardware water cooling sticky for getting the basics of my first water cooled build together.

But the basics for a GPU are pretty simple.
1)Clean flat surface/workbench/table.
2) If you can get to any fan/led connectors before disassembly, do so.
3) Remove all the screws from the back of the card, making note of any that are shorter/longer than others.
4) Remove backplate, if applicable.
5) A light twisting motion can often get the heatsink to pull off the PCB more easily. Don't pull straight away, check for Fan and LED wires to unplug (this is really the only awkward part)
6) Many newer cards have a heatspreader on the VRMs and memory, that will probably have to go too.
7) Clean the GPU of all thermal compound. And remove any leftover thermal pads, assuming you aren't re-using them.
8) Water block kit should include new thermal pads, place these in the indicated places on the memory, VRMs, and chokes.
9) Apply thermal compound to the GPU.
10) Place waterblock onto the PCB and line it up with the screws.
If the original backplate is compatible install it, if not add your own or leave it bare.
11) Re-install screws, don't overtighten any particular one at a time, you want to ease it down slowly going from corner to corner, to opposite corner. Like changing wheel on a car.

Pretty much it. The Razor block uses some nuts to take the place of some spots where the old heatsink held on the backplate, and I believe one screw goes through the I/O shield. Only two oddities I encountered.

I have blurry pictures in the link in my signature. Less blurry pictures on my old build with the 980s.

How would you rate the difficulty level? Putting my own loop together wasn't too bad, but was very time consuming the first time through. I was also told everyone messes up their first loop, and true to form, I over ratcheted my cpu water block and had it leak all over my system. What type of skill level is needed for custom installing a water block on a gpu?

Thanks again.

Fairly simple if I am honest. Not terribly different from taking a heatsink off and re-applying thermal compound. A few more steps and a lot more screws, but the basics are pretty much the same. Less than 30 minutes I would imagine. Adding it to an existing loop is going to take longer, as you'll have to drain it and refill and get all the bubbles out again.

 

[U6b36ef]

I was wondering what folk think of whether crypto-mining has effected the prices of GTX 1080 Ti, and GTX 1080.

I have read that it's put a £50/$50 premium on the GTX 1060. The GTX 1070 is said to be reasonable bang for buck for miners.

However GTX 1080 Ti prices have fallen slightly since release. As have 1080 and 1070 prices fallen very slightly. I was wondering though whether folk think prices should have fallen a bit more. The cards have been out for a good while now and I thought prices might have changed a bit more. Maybe it's just me being hopeful though. ... Or maybe mining has kept prices form dropping a bit more.

It's sad state of affairs when mining rips into PC gamers fun. Nvidia are however building cheaper more efficient mining cards which is very good thinking all round.

 

[Eximo]

That question probably deserves its own thread. From what I understand AMD cards are superior to Nvidia for mining purposes, despite the extra power draw. Cards above the GTX1070 don't make financial sense (cost doesn't scale linearly with performance), so they are less effected by mining demand.

 

[Math Geek]

the 1070/1080 and ti cards also did not perform as well as the 1060 cards. bang for the buck is nowhere as good. which is why they never saw the massive price jumps as the lower cards. why we saw 1060 cards as high as 1070 cards.

 

[U6b36ef]

When I read about NVidia cards being used by miners, I panicked and almost bought a new card. However I noticed the prices were as they always seemed to be for 1080 or 1080 Ti. I calmed down and started reading about what cards were being used.

Anyway I still have the thought to buy one of these cards. My GTX 980 can't always hold 60 fps @1080p, in all games. However it does really well. The option is to wait for the next gen of cards from Nvidia. Then buy a next gen, or see how the 10-series reduce in price.

I asked about what folk though, because I am interested in a purchase. Maybe not now, but I would jump and buy now, if mining suddenly caused a big price increase. .... I couldn't help thinking that because the 10-series were so pricey due to massive performance increase over 9-series. There might be more room for price reduction over time, but I have not seen any substantial price drops.

Anyway thanks for the chat folks.

 

[TechyInAZ]

When I read about NVidia cards being used by miners, I panicked and almost bought a new card. However I noticed the prices were as they always seemed to be for 1080 or 1080 Ti. I calmed down and started reading about what cards were being used.

Anyway I still have the thought to buy one of these cards. My GTX 980 can't always hold 60 fps @1080p, in all games. However it does really well. The option is to wait for the next gen of cards from Nvidia. Then buy a next gen, or see how the 10-series reduce in price.

I asked about what folk though, because I am interested in a purchase. Maybe not now, but I would jump and buy now, if mining suddenly caused a big price increase. .... I couldn't help thinking that because the 10-series were so pricey due to massive performance increase over 9-series. There might be more room for price reduction over time, but I have not seen any substantial price drops.

Anyway thanks for the chat folks.

At 1080P? Sheesh, games have gotten demanding.

 

[James Mason]

When I read about NVidia cards being used by miners, I panicked and almost bought a new card. However I noticed the prices were as they always seemed to be for 1080 or 1080 Ti. I calmed down and started reading about what cards were being used.

Anyway I still have the thought to buy one of these cards. My GTX 980 can't always hold 60 fps @1080p, in all games. However it does really well. The option is to wait for the next gen of cards from Nvidia. Then buy a next gen, or see how the 10-series reduce in price.

I asked about what folk though, because I am interested in a purchase. Maybe not now, but I would jump and buy now, if mining suddenly caused a big price increase. .... I couldn't help thinking that because the 10-series were so pricey due to massive performance increase over 9-series. There might be more room for price reduction over time, but I have not seen any substantial price drops.

Anyway thanks for the chat folks.

At 1080P? Sheesh, games have gotten demanding.

The problem is some "max settings" provide 0 visual improvement but a humongous performance hit.
Game companies should really finer tune their display presets, remove any "max" preset that just pointlessly maxes all the video technologies and actually set ones they feel best represent their games.

 

[Math Geek]

not just poorly made "max" settings. but too many folks feel like they're not really playing unless they have that setting checked. just not that important overall if you objectively look at what you get from each setting.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Agreed, even with my beefy 1080, I still run a couple of games at high settings and not ultra...since i don't notice the difference in quality.

 

[-Fran-]

I have a hate list of my own:

- "Soft shadows" -> So, I'm running trying to kill stuff and the game thinks I'll stop and say "damn, that is a very soft and very rounded shadow of that round thing".
- Global shadowing occlusion (or something) -> I don't even know what it does!!!!! I can see it adds some shadows in the wrong places and take performance, other than that, no idea.
- Global Illumination (Codemaster games) -> I have zero clue on what it changes from the light sources, but I haven't seen any differences with it off or on; takes a way a good chunk of FPS'es.
- FXAA -> I use glasses already, I don't want my screen to be blurry!
- Smoke shadows -> Really? I mean, neat, but... Why is it so damn expensive to FPSes?

And I'm probably forgetting some other ones related to shading, but I always use the highest shaders and particles effects if they don't make my FPS to tank.

I like higher FPS'es more than nice looking diaporamas.

Cheers!

 

[James Mason]

Motion Blur should be on everyone's list.
It's only purpose is make everything look worse.

 

[TechyInAZ]

I'm like the only person that insists on motion blur. I'm not kidding, i hate games that don't have motion blur.

Specifically why is because motion blur hides screen tearing and stuttering really well when you have v sync off.

 

[-Fran-]

Well, then you need a faster response monitor, Techy, haha.

And depends on the motion blur. I agree with James that it should be avoided, since it makes everything look worse, but there are 2 (that i know of) techniques for it. The one that I found interesting is in DOOM. It feels "natural", since it's just the right amount that doesn't blow out of proportion the sense of movement. I still disabled it! haha.

And the second one is the badly implemented one I remember from Need For Speed games... I think that is when I started avoiding it like the plague.

Cheers!

 

[TechyInAZ]

haha, well if you call 96hz slow.... 😛