Founders vs Reference 2080 TI for OC on Water

[Substance]

I am looking to upgrade to 2x 2080 TI (s). They will be on a dedicated(CPU on another loop) custom loop with Bitspower water blocks and 2x 480mmx60mm radiators in push/pull. My MB is Asus Rampage VI Extreme. I like the fact that Asus Strix O11G comes with their own Asus Aura RGB headers (for the Bitspower wb) so I am leaning towards these cards. I hear Nvidia keeps the best performing GPUs for their Founders Edition. Would I get better OC performance from FE or Reference cards such as Asus Strix O11G? How about reliability? Thank you

[SkyHound0202]

Indeed Nvidia kept the best GPU silicon ("A" suffixed, can boost to slightly higher clocks under default condition) exclusively for their Founders Edition cards, but a non-A overclocked AIB card with better cooling (plus better VRM, board design, etc.) can be effectively faster than a Founders card. In this case, Asus Strix O11G has a boost clock of 1665 MHz, which is faster than the 1635 MHz found on Founders Edition card. (Though silicon lottery still applies, not all cards will be exactly the same in terms of max sustained boost frequency and voltage. It all depends on individual GPU/card quality)

 

In terms of longevity and reliability, as long as you are using a sensible overclocking config with good cooling, there should be no difference between both cards.

[cried22]

3 hours ago, Substance said:

I am looking to upgrade to 2x 2080 TI (s). They will be on a dedicated(CPU on another loop) custom loop with Bitspower water blocks and 2x 480mmx60mm radiators in push/pull. My MB is Asus Rampage VI Extreme. I like the fact that Asus Strix O11G comes with their own Asus Aura RGB headers (for the Bitspower wb) so I am leaning towards these cards. I hear Nvidia keeps the best performing GPUs for their Founders Edition. Would I get better OC performance from FE or Reference cards such as Asus Strix O11G? How about reliability? Thank you

I would get EVGA FTW cards. They also let you take the cooler off without voiding the warranty, unlike reference cards. The OC is tied to the power limit, so FTW is the best.