Which 1080 Ti are you getting and why?

[EpIckFa1LJoN]

So a lot of the new 1080 Ti models are coming out, several already out, and more on the way. I am fairly certain I have made my decision on which one I want, but I want to ask other people which card they are getting and why?

For me it was a very tough decision. The Asus ROG Strix looks great and from what I have seen so far of benchmarks it looks cool enough and quiet enough to suit my desires. The overclock isn't as high as some other cards and it falls behind by a few fps over the Inno3d X3, but still looks great and has decent cooling and silence. It does get beat out by the Inno3d in pretty much every capacity. I can only assume the X4 brings even more to the table but the aesthetics and LED lighting are a must for me (petty I know). And then there's the EVGA FTW3, which packed in 11 new patented cooling solutions in it. I am very interested in seeing those reviews. And of course there are the new liquid cooled cards. I would absolutely LOVE to have one, but I just cannot justify spending an extra $150 for the card itself and then another $500 on the custom EK loop I want to do and if I am going to do a custom loop I'm going to go all out and cool my whole system.

In the end I decided on what I know and love already, the Zotac AMP! Extreme. It features the highest clock speed yet of any 1080 Ti (The Aorus is the only thing in the same small range but overclocks the memory more), but I can also assume it won't be as cool or as quiet as the Inno3d X3 or even the Asus ROG Strix. But I LOVE how the AMP! Extreme looks. The Spectra lighting, even though the programming is limited and not nearly as expansive as the Asus as far as color selection, it POPS much more, and with the addition of the black backplate without that hideous yellow striping job makes it that much more intriguing. So in the end I am willing to sacrifice the cooling and silence for a BA looking card with awesome LED lighting (although disappointingly limited). In addition the Zotac 1080 I have now is riddled with its own problems pretty much entirely software related. Hopefully the different fans fix the weird hum noise that the fans produce, and hopefully Zotac changed the fan profile so that unbearable spin-stop cycle is fixed.

None of this is to mention what the Aorus, MSI Gaming X, or EVGA FTW3 bring to the table. And of course none of this even takes value into effect.

So basically my decision came down to the AMP! Extreme based almost entirely on looks and the high factory OC, since I don't do much tweaking myself, and since I know how to deal with the software issues, assuming they don't add any more.

But I want to know what you are getting (or what you would get) and why?

 

[sosofm]

Zotac AMP! Extreme is an amazing card.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

From the two reviews on TechpowerUp, which is all I have read so far, if I'm going to speculate, gotta take the MSI over the Asus, if for nothing else, the $30 price difference.

MSI hit 214.3 in the OC test to 214.2 for Asus so that performance not a factor. The Asus at 11.8 in is a bit big, but then MSI isn't exactly a shortie at 11.0 inches. That extra length allows a 3rd fan which helps the Asus win the Temp / Noise battle by 2C and 2 dbA but have not as yet seen VRM temps. Both cards are 2.5 slots which can be a problem w/ SLI instalattions.

And that's a thing because the 1080 Ti is a bit much for 1440p and yet is not quite enough for next month's 2160p 144 Hz screens. No sense paying the price premiums for 4k @ 144 Hz and for the hardware module which lets G-Sync cards use ULMB if ya can't reach fps rates high enough to use ULMB

As for LED lighting, I'd turn the bling bling off ... kinda cool for a day or two but, I have found folks outta their teens tend to back off on the lighting after a few weeks, even when it's rater sedate.... at least on the builds we've been involved with. Son Nos. 2 and 3 both have LED options on the cards and both have them turned off. The interior LEED strips

In the end tho, the chosen card has to meet these criteria.

a) On custom loop projects, it's gotta fit, and that means leaving room for a 60mm diameter reservoir ... this will tend to work against the longer cards like the Giga Extreme and Asus Strix.

b) On Open Loop AIOs like the Swiftech, the reservoir is part of the rad / pump package and length isn't a factor. Main thing there is availability of a full cover ware block.

c) CLC type hybrid cooling with aluminum rads is off the table ... The Asus Poseidon again looks interesting but not enough detail as yet to make a decision as to whether interesting enough to open the wallet.

d) The MSI Seahawk EX X w/ pre-applied water block, now that I really like .... saves me the time and effort of installing the block, fully warranted and cheaper than buying separately and no fit issues either lengthwise or thickness wise.

e) For the air cooled cards, much remains to be seen. Need the opportunity to see some good tear down articles and see what's on the PCBs and who made the big mistakes (i.e. EVGA SC 9xx and 10xx).

In any case, we won't install any 1st stepping cards; can be fun being the first on the block so to speak as you explore the new capabilities but have been bitten too many times on the arse in last 25 years. Come June, prices will be down from "short supply days", bugs will have been worked out and corrected, later steppings will be out, drivers will have matured and we'll have enough feedback from early adopters to avoid the lemons.

f) Must be SLI capable ... not too thick so that inadequate spacing between cards., in case adding a 2nd card is a viable option at some point.

Advertised specs are fun to read and speculate but until the cards are out and about and we can access statistically reliable numbers of user feedback, won't be ale to cut the wheat from the chaff. In addition, want to avoid the growing pains that come with all 1st stepping cards ... for example... MSI Fan sticker, 1st few steppings of (Gigabyte 9xx, EVGAs heat pipe missing the GPU and weak VRMs, EVGAs missing thermal pads).

g) Not much interested in published specs ... because a vendor decides to put x% OC on the card in the box is not necessarily an indicator of how good it will perform.

 

[EpIckFa1LJoN]

Yeah Asus' OC is not as great as it has been in the past. It looks like the real battle over raw performance will be between the Aorus Xtreme and the Zotac AMP! Extreme.

I am dead set on the Zotac, Gigabyte cards are just ugly AF in my opinion. Only other card I would consider is Asus but they aren't exactly blowing me away as far as performance is concerned. I can only buy through Amazon though and the Asus just popped up on there today, I am extremely tempted to just go for it lol. But I WANT THAT EXTREME, LOL.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Yeah Asus' OC is not as great as it has been in the past. It looks like the real battle over raw performance will be between the Aorus Xtreme and the Zotac AMP! Extreme.

I am dead set on the Zotac, Gigabyte cards are just ugly AF in my opinion. Only other card I would consider is Asus but they aren't exactly blowing me away as far as performance is concerned. I can only buy through Amazon though and the Asus just popped up on there today, I am extremely tempted to just go for it lol. But I WANT THAT EXTREME, LOL.

We rarely choose a card based upon appearance or advertised performance levels:

a) The looks are not visible w/ a riser card
b) the coolers are oft replaced by water blocks.
c) If not WC'd, they are painted and / or custom made backplates are applied.

I am a bit surprised by Zotac's color choice for their highlighting .... which is similar to the old MSI Lightning. Only now, options are less than slim for MoBos / RAM with matching color accents. We usually custom paint the shrouds but of late these are getting harder to disassemble the different colored parts.

At 12.8 inches long ... and again with a 2.5 slot thickness, users have to be aware of these limitations.

We used Asus exclusively up thru the 6xx series, but for 7xx and 9xx they just weren't competitive once you did a tear down and identified the componentry. They made a comeback w/ 10xx ... tho it was a catch-up rather than a return to dominance thing.

Due to Boost 3 I presume, most manufacturers have abandoned their super model line... at least so far. Will we see an Asus Matrix, MSI Lightning, EVGA Classified ... The extra $100 on the price tag that went with these cards has become difficult to justify when Boost 3 nerfs the performance. In fact, we often see now that higher clocks result in lower fps.

Asus scored a higher OC (core, memory and boost) than MSI did in TPUs review and yet, MSI barely edged out Asus in the fps results when overclocked. This is no longer an 'exception" and has become common. And when ya look at all the AIB cards, every vendor has 3 or 4 cards for each nVidia GPU with higher clocks corresponding to higher costs but yet the fps differences between the cards are smaller than you would expect and sometimes indistinguishable..

Was a time when we would recommend the Lightning, Classy and Matrix as, with water and BIOS tweaking, substantial gains could be made, but with Boost 3 nerfing performance, until a BIOS editor comes along, we are unable to take real advantage of the premium componentry and cooling options available for higher end cards.

But, while all this is fun, it remains speculation until we see reviewers tear these things down and get them on the test bed

Giga's garnered the best rating so far on TPU ... Zotac Extreme topped the Giga on the 1080, will have to wait and see if they can do it again.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_1080_Ti_Xtreme_Gaming/