Arct1c0n

Way back when, before a lot of you were born or shitting your diapers, AMD/ATI ruled over Nivida due to their epic failure of the 5800/5950 ultra and the 9700 and 9800 Pro series ruled the land and the Hercules 9800 Pro AGP was one of the best and good looking cards ever built, especially for Half Life 2's launch
 
 

 
 

Welll, back in my early young days of computer pimping...
 
 

Why the fuck would you do that? There are computers that are over decade old running on shit paste from the factory that still work fine

Just moved the 4790k into HTPC setup on H97 mobo and it fires up no problem and runs PRIME95 and fuck tons of other apps via multitasking and no problems. So that that pretty much means mobo is fucking toast, due or not due to overclocking these past 3.5 years.

Depends are you talking entire setup age or  particular component? A lot of people spread out upgrades vs entire system overhauls

Well in that case, my core setup below has not changed since I built in in Feb of 2015 cause it still handles anything I throw at it. Only GTA 5 gets close to maxing put the CPU 
 
i7 4790k @ 4.7ghz "Devils Canyon"
Asus Maximum Hero VII Mobo 16gigs
G.Skill Trident X DDR3 2400 RAM Soundblaster Z
Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power 
 
 
However, I have upgraded since then:
 
GPU 4 times from a 980, two 980Ti's, a 1080 and now a 1080Ti,
SSD from 500gig 840 Evo to 1 Terabyte 850
PSU from 850watt Corsair to 1050watt Seasonic
Cases from HAF XB EVO to Evolv ATX TG
24'' Dell 1200p monitor to 27'' Dell 1440p
 
And now its at this state after finishing my "NightFire" case mod project last weekend
 

 

Over two years ago I did a LED replacement and painted my SBZ and it looks much better to go with my systems Asus ROG theme.

 
 
 
But the backside was still just so....boring...

 
 
But thanks to the awesome guys at coldzero.eu, I got a custom backplate made to fix this!

 
 
Oh yeah, much better!

 
 

Over two years ago I did a LED replacement and painted my SBZ and it looks much better to go with my systems Asus ROG theme.

 
 
 
But the backside was still just so....boring...

 
 
But thanks to the awesome guys at coldzero.eu, I got a custom backplate made to fix this!

 
 
Oh yeah, much better!

 
 

Don't care, don't want external DAC taking up space on my computer desk and don't wanna spend the money. Got SBZ used for $40, and drive my $200 DJ headphones better then most onboard solutions with no static or interference issues. End of discussion
 
 
I am a bass whore

Not everyone is an audiophile and many people like bass more than anything.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Look, I can give my friend my Sennheiser HD650 with my AMP/DAC and he will say they are shit because his Koss in-ear headphones have more bass.
 
Get over it.
 
PC Sound cards are usually heavy on bass and while yes, you get better audio with external... whatever if the person that is going to use it does not care.

Over two years ago I did a LED replacement and painted my SBZ and it looks much better to go with my systems Asus ROG theme.

 
 
 
But the backside was still just so....boring...

 
 
But thanks to the awesome guys at coldzero.eu, I got a custom backplate made to fix this!

 
 
Oh yeah, much better!

 
 

And why should it matter to him if he likes bass?
 
Audio is about what you like not about what is better in specs.

Lol, dude, what the fuck ever. I am not an audio engineer so I don't care. 
 
Why do I like bass so much? Well, because when I fire my 18 inch guns in World of Warships, it fucking booms nice and deep to the point where my headphones shake on my head, it sounds awesome.
 

i7 4790k @ 4.7ghz "Devils Canyon"
Asus ROG 1080 Ti STRIX @ 2040mhz core
Asus Maximum Hero VII Mobo
16gigs G.Skill Trident X DDR3 2400 RAM
Soundblaster Z
1Tb Samsung 850 Evo
640gig Western Digital Caviar Black
Seasonic SnowSilent 1050watt
Phanteks Evolv ATX
Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power heatsink

Wtf is ninite? 

And you don't have to deal with any SLI bullshit either

So I FINALLY got around to opening my sexy box that has been sitting and taunting me for the last 5 days after being busy with anime convention, Easter, work and just plain not having energy at work.  Finally was able to unbox my own Ti glory and join the ranks of fellow Ti peeps at last!
 
Opened at last!
 



I was anxious to finally see the GPU's side by side and let me say, pictures of the difference don't do this hunk of  a GPU justice. The STRIX 1080 was pretty hefty and solid to begin with, but the 1080Ti feels like your holding something epic and powerful, like Thors hammer lol!  There is a noticeable weight difference between the two, sadly I don't have a scale for exact weight comparison but you can likely look that up on asus's website anyway. The size difference between the two is noticeable, this bad boy has an epic heatsink compared to the 1080!
 



 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
First things first, lets remove this stupid thing. We know its a Geforce GTX nvidia, piss off

 

So the big question comes up with these large and hefty GPU's, how bad is the GPU sag? The  STRIX 1080Ti answers "What sag my child?" The added internal brace definitelyhelps a lot! Properly screwed and positioned, sag basically does not exist with this GPU. Take notes ZOTAC...
 

 
 
 
The internal brace the STRIX 1080 lacks
 

 
 

Dunno about you but I always hold my breath firing up a new GPU for the first time in worries of a DOA, but thankfully, she fired right up and blazed in RGB glory in my new work in progress case project
 

 

 

 
 

So, lets test and see what this thing can do! First off, lets do a burn in and see how well that beast of a HSF works!  With a custom fan curve that I ALWAYS do with my GPU's, even with the case closed up minus the front intake panel as its getting water cut, a 15 minute Heaven benchmark and the temp never hit 60c! Wow! I took of the side glass panel and the temps only fluctuated by 1-2c. Putting my hand to the top the GPU, I could REALLY feel that heat being blown off that heatsink!  ASUS's decision to get rid of that stupid direct heatpipe contact and maybe even their maxcontact marketing gimmick is working really well!
 
As far as coil whine for my STRIX, I can hear some shreiking/whining at very high FPS in menu's and such in games and some while doing benchmarking in Heaven, but only if I put my head less then a foot away from GPU, 3 feet away it's barely noticable and with the glass phantek panel on, I can't hear a thing, just fan noise. Considering I will be running Adaptive VSYNC in all my games as I only use a 60hertz monitor, it won't be an issue
 

 

Compared to the STRIX 1080, the 1080Ti is even quieter in the 60% fan range, only when it passes 70% does it start to get bit noisy but its SHIT tons better then the crap EVGA Founders Edition!
 

 
 

Now lets overclock! Well....sadly, the silicon gods didn't smile on me, AGAIN!  With power limiter maxed out in Afterburner, I was only able to get a 60mhz core increase that wouldn't immediately crash Heaven, which resulted in a GPU core that bounced between 2025-2012-2000-1987mhz  I may try getting the 4.4 beta Afterburner and increasing core Voltage, but I dunno if it will help me any unless someone has ideas. I left memory alone as I prioritize core overclocking vs memory for game FPS increase
 
Now the real test, how well does she run my custom modded Witcher 3 vs my STRIX 1080? I'll let the chart speak for itself.  I run a heavily modified config file which increases shadow, foliage, distance rendering in the game as well as texture sharpening, increased grass distance by 100% vs stock game which REALLY pounds any GPU but it looks soooooo good in game!** Needless to say, my Witcher 3 demands more GPU horsepower then stock settings, so its been a battle of framerates for the last 2 years and the 1080Ti finally conqures it with flying colors!
 
 You can find a lot of the tweaks I did at
 
 http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-graphics-performance-and-tweaking-guide 
 
http://forums.cdprojektred.com/forum/en/the-witcher-series/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/tech-support/pc-aa/36300-a-compendium-of-tweaks-and-fixes-for-the-pc-version#post36300)
 

So I FINALLY got around to opening my sexy box that has been sitting and taunting me for the last 5 days after being busy with anime convention, Easter, work and just plain not having energy at work.  Finally was able to unbox my own Ti glory and join the ranks of fellow Ti peeps at last!
 
Opened at last!
 



I was anxious to finally see the GPU's side by side and let me say, pictures of the difference don't do this hunk of  a GPU justice. The STRIX 1080 was pretty hefty and solid to begin with, but the 1080Ti feels like your holding something epic and powerful, like Thors hammer lol!  There is a noticeable weight difference between the two, sadly I don't have a scale for exact weight comparison but you can likely look that up on asus's website anyway. The size difference between the two is noticeable, this bad boy has an epic heatsink compared to the 1080!
 



 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
First things first, lets remove this stupid thing. We know its a Geforce GTX nvidia, piss off

 

So the big question comes up with these large and hefty GPU's, how bad is the GPU sag? The  STRIX 1080Ti answers "What sag my child?" The added internal brace definitelyhelps a lot! Properly screwed and positioned, sag basically does not exist with this GPU. Take notes ZOTAC...
 

 
 
 
The internal brace the STRIX 1080 lacks
 

 
 

Dunno about you but I always hold my breath firing up a new GPU for the first time in worries of a DOA, but thankfully, she fired right up and blazed in RGB glory in my new work in progress case project
 

 

 

 
 

So, lets test and see what this thing can do! First off, lets do a burn in and see how well that beast of a HSF works!  With a custom fan curve that I ALWAYS do with my GPU's, even with the case closed up minus the front intake panel as its getting water cut, a 15 minute Heaven benchmark and the temp never hit 60c! Wow! I took of the side glass panel and the temps only fluctuated by 1-2c. Putting my hand to the top the GPU, I could REALLY feel that heat being blown off that heatsink!  ASUS's decision to get rid of that stupid direct heatpipe contact and maybe even their maxcontact marketing gimmick is working really well!
 
As far as coil whine for my STRIX, I can hear some shreiking/whining at very high FPS in menu's and such in games and some while doing benchmarking in Heaven, but only if I put my head less then a foot away from GPU, 3 feet away it's barely noticable and with the glass phantek panel on, I can't hear a thing, just fan noise. Considering I will be running Adaptive VSYNC in all my games as I only use a 60hertz monitor, it won't be an issue
 

 

Compared to the STRIX 1080, the 1080Ti is even quieter in the 60% fan range, only when it passes 70% does it start to get bit noisy but its SHIT tons better then the crap EVGA Founders Edition!
 

 
 

Now lets overclock! Well....sadly, the silicon gods didn't smile on me, AGAIN!  With power limiter maxed out in Afterburner, I was only able to get a 60mhz core increase that wouldn't immediately crash Heaven, which resulted in a GPU core that bounced between 2025-2012-2000-1987mhz  I may try getting the 4.4 beta Afterburner and increasing core Voltage, but I dunno if it will help me any unless someone has ideas. I left memory alone as I prioritize core overclocking vs memory for game FPS increase
 
Now the real test, how well does she run my custom modded Witcher 3 vs my STRIX 1080? I'll let the chart speak for itself.  I run a heavily modified config file which increases shadow, foliage, distance rendering in the game as well as texture sharpening, increased grass distance by 100% vs stock game which REALLY pounds any GPU but it looks soooooo good in game!** Needless to say, my Witcher 3 demands more GPU horsepower then stock settings, so its been a battle of framerates for the last 2 years and the 1080Ti finally conqures it with flying colors!
 
 You can find a lot of the tweaks I did at
 
 http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-graphics-performance-and-tweaking-guide 
 
http://forums.cdprojektred.com/forum/en/the-witcher-series/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/tech-support/pc-aa/36300-a-compendium-of-tweaks-and-fixes-for-the-pc-version#post36300)
 

The large heatsink and totally flat heat speader on the Ti vs the smaller heatsink and shitty direct heatpipe is about a 4-6c decrease in temp vs the 1080 model in my case
 
1080 heatsink

 
1080 Ti heatsink