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

[simon12]

I just looked at UK prices and the Strix 1060 is only £60 cheaper than the cheapest 1070 over 50% more than a cheaper 1060

 

[TechyInAZ]

Hey math geek, what is the difference between the FTW and FTW+ GTX 1060s? Is it just clock speed?

 

[RobCrezz]

I think it's more important than cooling the GPU. Look at how long CPUs last. Silicon like that doesn't seem to die; on most GPUs it seems to be the VRMs, memory, or fans that fail first. I think this is mostly with the newest Strix cards not the older ones.

Any reports of actual VRM or memory failures on strix cards because of this though?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I think it's more important than cooling the GPU. Look at how long CPUs last. Silicon like that doesn't seem to die; on most GPUs it seems to be the VRMs, memory, or fans that fail first. I think this is mostly with the newest Strix cards not the older ones.

Any reports of actual VRM or memory failures on strix cards because of this though?

They're new cards, I wouldn't expect them to fail yet. All I know is in the RX 470 review with the Strix cooler the memory was way beyond its maximum temperature.

 

[RobCrezz]

I think it's more important than cooling the GPU. Look at how long CPUs last. Silicon like that doesn't seem to die; on most GPUs it seems to be the VRMs, memory, or fans that fail first. I think this is mostly with the newest Strix cards not the older ones.

Any reports of actual VRM or memory failures on strix cards because of this though?

They're new cards, I wouldn't expect them to fail yet. All I know is in the RX 470 review with the Strix cooler the memory was way beyond its maximum temperature.

Link?

 

[Math Geek]

Hey math geek, what is the difference between the FTW and FTW+ GTX 1060s? Is it just clock speed?

as far as i can tell, it's only clock speed. rather minor bump as well. seems to be the same pcb with 8-pin power connection and 6+1 power phases. i need to update the 6 gb version to page 1 as well. did not see that one when i went looking for 3 gb models...

i have not seen any pics for the 3 gb ftw model pcb yet but i don't see why they would make a new pcb for a 12 mhz clock increase.

 

[Math Geek]

I think it's more important than cooling the GPU. Look at how long CPUs last. Silicon like that doesn't seem to die; on most GPUs it seems to be the VRMs, memory, or fans that fail first. I think this is mostly with the newest Strix cards not the older ones.

Any reports of actual VRM or memory failures on strix cards because of this though?

They're new cards, I wouldn't expect them to fail yet. All I know is in the RX 470 review with the Strix cooler the memory was way beyond its maximum temperature.

the rx models are the most disappointing for me from the new strix cards but it does look like the nvidia models are lacking as well from the reviews i read. not junk level but not living up to the high end price they are asking. they could be better for the money they are asking. vram temps is a major concern to me with the rx cards and was also evident on the 1060/70 card if i recall right. i'll go back and check a couple reviews to be sure, but i recall it being a concern for the cards other than the 1080 card.

 

[Math Geek]

here's an interesting product. an MSI "30th anniversary edition" gtx 1080 http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/msi-working-on-gtx-1080-30-anniversary-edition-(photos).html

no specs known but it's watercooled and is not a seahawk reference board card. more than likely a gaming x/z pcb since it has a 6 and 8 pin power connection.

 

[Math Geek]

1070 mobile laptop vs 1070 desktop from computerbase.de https://www.computerbase.de/2016-08/geforce-gtx-1070-mobile-test/

not quite FE performance but VERY close.

 

[king3pj]

The Strix 970 I had had a noisy fan that needed replacing. I think it's shameful for such an expensive card.

I'm sure there are always cases where some people get a lemon and usually those people are the most outspoken on forums like these. It sucks that you had an issue with your 970 STRIX but that doesn't make all ASUS STRIX cards bad.

Warmacblu, it's because they don't cool the VRMs and memory well.

Okay, thanks. Is this actually vitally important though? I've owned plenty of GPUs that have lasted well over 5 years that did not have the VRMs and memory cooled directly. Sure, ASUS should have probably included the extra cooling for the asking price but if the core temp doesn't even reach 70C during prolonged gaming sessions while boosting to 2,000MHz is it really necessary?

We don't necessarily know if the Asus Strix not cooling the VRM and memory will shorten the life on the GTX 1060/1070/1080 because the cards haven't reached a point in there useful life where this would start to happen yet.

Here's the thing though, if there are other cards like the Gigabyte G1 that do cool the VRM and memory for the same price or less why would you not buy one of those instead? If it turns out that cooling this stuff doesn't matter you aren't out anything. If it turns out to be important your GPU might have a longer lifespan.

 

[Warmacblu]

The Strix 970 I had had a noisy fan that needed replacing. I think it's shameful for such an expensive card.

I'm sure there are always cases where some people get a lemon and usually those people are the most outspoken on forums like these. It sucks that you had an issue with your 970 STRIX but that doesn't make all ASUS STRIX cards bad.

Warmacblu, it's because they don't cool the VRMs and memory well.

Okay, thanks. Is this actually vitally important though? I've owned plenty of GPUs that have lasted well over 5 years that did not have the VRMs and memory cooled directly. Sure, ASUS should have probably included the extra cooling for the asking price but if the core temp doesn't even reach 70C during prolonged gaming sessions while boosting to 2,000MHz is it really necessary?

We don't necessarily know if the Asus Strix not cooling the VRM and memory will shorten the life on the GTX 1060/1070/1080 because the cards haven't reached a point in there useful life where this would start to happen yet.

Here's the thing though, if there are other cards like the Gigabyte G1 that do cool the VRM and memory for the same price or less why would you not buy one of those instead? If it turns out that cooling this stuff doesn't matter you aren't out anything. If it turns out to be important your GPU might have a longer lifespan.

I agree but at the time the 1070 STRIX was the only one in stock and I wanted matching components as I have an ASUS motherboard. Also, in my opinion the Gigabyte card is the least aesthetically pleasing out of any other manufacturer and I believe the ASUS card is one of the better looking ones. Most of my reasons were obviously not geared towards cooling performance or common sense.

 

[king3pj]

And you will most likely be fine. Most of these cards come with decent warranties that will cover you if something fails because of this in the first couple years. Beyond those first couple years you may be ready to upgrade to a new GPU anyways so a long lifespan might not matter. Also we don't even know for sure whether this will lead to a shorter lifespan.

 

[Eximo]

Not sure FinFET, and particularly these smaller process nodes, have been around long enough to say anything about the longevity of today's silicon ICs. Only have a 14 year history, and only production volume in the last four years from Intel, TSMC, Global Foundries, and a few others. Also all slightly different configurations.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

So the GTX 1060 3GB has 1 SM disabled... egh-uhm, what's an SM and can it be enabled through the BIOS?

 

[Zaxx420]

It'll be locked out one way or another 99% of the time...either logically or physically. Every once in a while a board maker will slip up...pretty rare tho.

oh and SM is short for shader model I believe...

 

[TechyInAZ]

So the GTX 1060 3GB has 1 SM disabled... egh-uhm, what's an SM and can it be enabled through the BIOS?

I'm almost absolutely sure that you can't enable it thru the BIOS. Plus why would you? You would probably get lots of crashes since that SM is most likely faulty.

 

[Eximo]

Don't they laser off the non-working chunks of the GPU? I think only AMD occasionally does it through software.

 

[RobCrezz]

Don't they laser off the non-working chunks of the GPU? I think only AMD occasionally does it through software.

Yeah I think so, otherwise we would have had loads of 970s turned into 980s, 980tis turned into Titan X, 1070 turned into 1080 etc etc.

 

[Zaxx420]

Don't they laser off the non-working chunks of the GPU? I think only AMD occasionally does it through software.

I think they cut the traces leading to the unused areas. Every so often they'll try and wing it on some secondary iteration of a card and some eagle eyed bios wizard will jump all over it. Got lucky with that once way back with an X800 card I think. As mentioned, in a lot of cases they use chips that didn't make the cut for a full 1060, for example, and disable the bad SMs or CUs or whatever the case may be, and use them for the 3gb 1060s instead of scraping them and losing money.

 

[-Fran-]

Just a couple of points for the ongoing discussions:

Video Card longevity has many variables and, obviously, you have to look at the weak links in the chain for addressing if a card is worth buying or not. Particularly, the STRIX cards. I agree Asus made a mistake overlooking the VRM arrangement, since most components are not meant to be working close to 95°C, so stacking VRMs so close to *any* other component is a risk. I won't say "time bomb", because there's no set time for something like a failure under those circumstances. Remembering history, and one of nVidias' most embarrassing mishaps IMO, there was a time when they chose a solder for the GPU that wasn't up to par to the thermal requirements (8K GTX/GT series) and they fused off at times killing the GPU instantly from thermal death. I had a couple of friends with notebooks that suffered from it. So, point is, you have *plenty* of failure points, so trying to simplify it by blaming a single component is usually fruitless.

Enabling disabled stuff depends on how each company does it in the GPU itself. From what I remember nVidia fusses off stuff so it can't be enabled through other means. And AMD has a history of using BIOS to restrict access to resources. That being said, you also have OEMs taking decisions around the components that accompany the GPU that could alter how it behaves with the disabled stuff.

Cheers!

 

[Zaxx420]

Well the 3gb 1060s have arrived at NewEgg...except for the short 'mini' cards...the price gouging continues. This is getting egregious...and until the 480s show up its gonna continue.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709%20601210955%20600286741

 

[Math Geek]

really the prices are not that bad. they start at $199 and go up from there. $229 not bad for the G1 and $10 more for a gaming x. not bad for custom cards at $30 more than starting price. but the evga looks like a winner to me at $199.

no FE card at all for this card so couple at $199 is not bad at all so far.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

So are we all still in a guessing game as to where the GTX 1060 3GB model will fall in performance?

 

[TechyInAZ]

So are we all still in a guessing game as to where the GTX 1060 3GB model will fall in performance?

Pretty much. From what Nvidia says there is only a 5% performance difference.

But, that's if the game is below 3GB of vram usage on both cards, so I'm assuming more like a 20% nerf to performance if vram usage is above 3GB.

 

[Math Geek]

a few sites said they had a card or 2 and should have reviews out early nest week. i'm expecting the usual cards we see like the strix, gamin x and the other ones they seem to send out to just about everybody. no FE card this time at all so only custom cards.