Which NVidia 1080 card to buy?

[iliekgames]

Hello! I like PC gaming, but my knowledge in building a good rig is quite limited. I've been waiting to buy a powerful gaming rig which supports all the latest games in max settings for many MANY years, but was limited by my gaming budget. Having spent so much time waiting, I decided to buy a mid level card to play my favorite games (Witcher 3, GTA V, etc, all of which are sitting unused in my steam account because I got them at a sale & my current setup won't run them). I decided to buy & build the gaming rig I want in stages, or else end up spending a lot more time waiting to save up. The first step is always the hardest lol.

I've decided to buy an NVidia GeForce 1080 (I can't afford a 11 GB Ti version). But there are way too many choices for an NVidia 1080 8GB card, from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Zotac, PNY, etc. And to complicate matters, each company has different versions of the same! (MSI has ACX, ICX; Asus has Strix, Turbo, Zotac has Amp!, etc etc) I don't know what these editions mean, and how to choose. Can you please have a loo on Amazon USA and guide me as to which one I can buy? I want a very stable card, rough & tough card with the best cooling, as I live in a hot climate. My budget is $550 ($600 max)

Also, I have an ancient system, and don't know whether I can run the card well with my old CPU, RAM & motherboard.

My Current Setup:
MoBo: Intel DH67BL
Processor: Intel i5 2500K @3.30 GHz (4 cores)
GPU: NVidia GTX 460 (1GB)
PSU: Seasonic 750W 80+ Bronze
RAM: 2 x 4GB Corsair XMS 3 1600MHz DDR3
HDD: 2 x 2TB Western Digital WD20EARS
Monitor: Dell 22" TFT
Keyboard: Logitech G510
Mouse: Dragon War Leviathan

You might be wondering why I'm not buying a cheaper card & buying a better MoBo/RAM/CPU. It's because I'm planning on upgrading them later, in staged upgrades, as and when I save money (MoBo 1st, followed by RAM & CPU last). I already bought the PSU last year, hoping to upgrade the other components this year. The motherboard should be much cheaper than the card, and also the RAM. The CPU will be expensive, so I plan to buy that last.

So my questions are:

1. Which 1080 to buy? (From Amazon or similar reliable online seller)

2. Will the other components affect my gaming experience too much? How badly will it bottleneck the card? There is a video on youtube with a guy using the 1060 card with an i5 2500K and saying that it performs flawlessly on most games. I won't be playing on a 4K resolution till I upgrade the comp fully. I'll be glad if I get 60fps on a resolution of 1920x1080 with this setup + 1080 card.

3. Will I be harming my card by installing it on my old system? (I plan to upgrade the MoBo + CPU next.)

Please note, I prefer the NVidia cards, as I'm more comfortable with them & like their features & the GeForce experience. So I'm not keen on looking at AMD cards as an alternative. I heard AMD runs hotter than NVidia. I don't want AMD to burn down my gaming rig

Sorry for the long post, and looking forward to advice & suggestions.

PS: I live in India & I'm importing the card from the US as the price is incredibly high here.

 

[jankerson]

I own a EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2, it's been solid, quiet and fast.

 

[richiestang_78]

Honestly unless you are going to be doing 4k gaming a 1080 is over kill. A 1070 or 1070ti(which has nearly the same performance as a 1080 when overclocked) would be more then enough for you

As far as brands I personally prefer EVGA, they have excellent quality and a great warranty, although being in India and buying from the US the warranty of any card from any manufacturer may not be valid.

You wont harm the card by installing it in your current system.

You shouldn't be too bad on bottlenecking but yeah it would be smart to upgrade the mobo and processor when ever you can.

 

[iliekgames]

I own a EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2, it's been solid, quiet and fast.

Thanks for the quick response! That's good to know.

Honestly unless you are going to be doing 4k gaming a 1080 is over kill. A 1070 or 1070ti(which has nearly the same performance as a 1080 when overclocked) would be more then enough for you

I'm not looking to do 4K gaming anytime soon. But I imagine I'll use the VR feature in a year or two. And I plan to use the card for a minimum of 3-4 years, thus I'm going for the 1080. I don't wan't to reduce the settings for gaming in the future.

As far as brands I personally prefer EVGA, they have excellent quality and a great warranty, although being in India and buying from the US the warranty of any card from any manufacturer may not be valid.

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have any views on the Asus Strix & Gigabyte windforce? I will seriously consider EVGA as two of you are happy with EVGA, but I'd like to keep options open, as I cannot predict the availability. And I have no choice unfortunately, and am forced to import it from the US, as the same card will cost $100 to $150 more here

You wont harm the card by installing it in your current system.

That's a relief! This allows me to atleast keep gaming till I can get the other components. I heard a rumor that the 1080/1070 cards sometimes don't run on older motherboards. Is that true? I don't want to find out that my motherboard won't support the 1080 after I buy it.

You shouldn't be too bad on bottlenecking but yeah it would be smart to upgrade the mobo and processor when ever you can.

Great! If I can run GTA V & Witcher 3 at 60 FPS and 1080p resolution & max settings (till I upgrade the rest), I'll be happy.

 

[richiestang_78]

You should be fine. Asus and Gigabyte both make good cards as well as MSI. Basically I would just look at features the cards have as well as cost and decide that way and not worry too much about brand.

 

[Scibility]

1070TI is probably the best choice, also be aware of bottleneck with your i5 2500k possibly you want to upgrade your motherboard aswell.

 

[iliekgames]

You should be fine. Asus and Gigabyte both make good cards as well as MSI. Basically I would just look at features the cards have as well as cost and decide that way and not worry too much about brand.

If it's not too much of a trouble, could you go through these 5 cards I've shortlisted? They are similarly priced, but vary in clock speeds & architecture for cooling. I am unable to decide between them.
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Windforce OC (3 fans, supports upto 8k, meaning its powerful, right?)
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Windforce-GV-N1080WF3OC-8GD-Graphics/dp/B01IR6LMLO/ref=redir_mobile_desktop/143-8842633-8283825?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=1080&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&psc=1&qid=1510615665&ref_=mp_s_a_1_10&sr=8-10&th=1

ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8GB ROG STRIX ($30 cheaper, but the next version says 11GBPS?)
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-GeForce-STRIX-Graphics-STRIX-GTX1080-A8G-GAMING/dp/B01K5F8MJK/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&dpID=51JaCX3Oe1L&dpPl=1&keywords=1080&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&psc=1&qid=1510615665&ref=plSrch&ref_=mp_s_a_1_2&sr=8-2&th=1

Asus ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 8GB 11Gbps OC Edition (this says its 11GBPS, sort of like the Ti version, right? Plus a free AC Origins game!)
https://www.amazon.com/ROG-STRIX-GTX1080-O8G-11GBPS-GeForce-11Gbps-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B072BHBRLJ/ref=redir_mobile_desktop/133-5240263-5548354?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=1080&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&qid=1510615665&ref_=mp_s_a_1_12&sr=8-12

MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1080 8GB (claims Zero Frozr Technology, double ball bearings, but seems less powerful... Only 6pin connector?)
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-1080-GAMING-8G/dp/B01GLYD7MG/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&dpID=51C5RA6JJ2L&dpPl=1&keywords=1080&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&psc=1&qid=1510615665&ref=plSrch&ref_=mp_s_a_1_6&sr=8-6&th=1

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW2 GAMING, 8GB GDDR5X (iCX Technology, 9 Thermal Sensors & RGB LED G/P/M, Aysnch Fan, Optimized Airflow Design. What you and jankerson have)
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-GAMING-GDDR5X-Technology/dp/B06X3QRQJR/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&dpID=51KJjeRxpyL&dpPl=1&keywords=1080&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&psc=1&qid=1510615665&ref=plSrch&ref_=mp_s_a_1_4&sr=8-4&th=1

1070TI is probably the best choice, also be aware of bottleneck with your i5 2500k possibly you want to upgrade your motherboard aswell.

I'm sorry, can you elaborate? Are you saying that the 1070Ti is better than the 1080, or that its more optimal for my current system? If it's the latter, it shouldn't be a problem as I plan to upgrade the motherboard, CPU & RAM within the next 6 months.

 

[richiestang_78]

Of the cards you listed the EVGA has the fastest stock clock speed and I owuld pick that one, of the other choices i would buythe MSI over ASUS. And the gbps just means the memory speed, all 1080s are 11.

The 1070ti is a good card but since you plan on doing VR for the next couple years the 1080 is a better choice. Plus the price of 1070tis are high right now.

 

[iliekgames]

Thank you so much. I thought the Asus 11gbps was the better one among all of them. I'll keep EVGA as my first choice. You've been a great help!