Which RTX 3000 brands do you expect will be good?

[Delicieuxz]

By good I mean things like, low noise / good cooling, few production issues, a relatively decent price.

 

It might be futile to wonder before reviews are out, but I haven't followed the generational trajectory and maybe the brands have reputation that are expected to hold.

 

If you were going to purchase a 3000 card ahead of reviews, which brand would you expect to offer a good proposition, and why?

 

Does the stock Nvidia cooler seem to you like it will perform as good as AIB partner coolers this time around?

[GuruMeditationError]

16 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

By good I mean things like, low noise / good cooling, few production issues, a relatively decent price.

 

It might be futile to wonder before reviews are out, but I haven't followed the generational trajectory and so don't know what the brands' reputations are.

 

If you were going to purchase a 3000 card ahead of reviews, which brand would you expect to offer a good proposition, and why?

 

Does the stock Nvidia cooler seem to you like it will perform as good as AIB partner coolers this time around?

This is a pretty good insight into that...
 

...as for the 3080 and 3090 coolers, I think if they're even just half of what Nvidia are claiming, then they'll probably give the AIB boards a run for their money.

Obviously you can't really say for certain until they're torn down and reviewed etc. and "AIB"'s have screwed things up in the past but for the most part they're generally reliable, and if they're not, we'll know why, and which ones, after the reviews. 

 

@Delicieuxz As for which offer a good proposition: 3070 definitely (although not sure about the cooling on that one) with 3080 and 3090 being good dependant on your use case, or if you have money to burn, at least in the case of the 3090. Not sure 3090's a good value proposition unless you're actually set up for 8K gaming. With the 3090 I'd say if you have to consider the cost you probably shouldn't buy it. If the sky's the limit re. what you have to spend, I'd say knock yourself out; get two. :0)

[AlexVeen]

7 minutes ago, Dean0919 said:

Gigabyte. Never went wrong with this brand.

Their Vega56 card was horrible though. But yeah, they still make pretty good cards.

[Senzelian]

18 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

If you were going to purchase a 3000 card ahead of reviews, which brand would you expect to offer a good proposition, and why?

My expectations are the same for all companies and products; they're sh*t until proven otherwise.

[SnowyMus]

Most generally make pretty decent cards with the occasional goof here and there. I still remember watching the video of one of EVGA's SC cards catching fire for a short period of time, but those cards have usually been pretty good.

 

All-in-all, yeah, we'll just have to wait for reviews and maybe a couple weeks after release when people have the cards.

[GuruMeditationError]

32 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

If you were going to purchase a 3000 card ahead of reviews, which brand would you expect to offer a good proposition, and why?

Personally going to be trying to get a 3080 as soon as possible, but I can ignore RDNA2/Big Navi because I still use Nvidia 3D Vision for 90% of my gaming (but no, 3D Vision is no longer supported and is a pain to keep running).

Ray tracing could tempt me away from 3D but I'm not going to be playing ray-tracing titles for probably another two years, I just desperately need a new graphics card and the 3000 series are priced competitively enough for me to purchase one instead of buying on the used market (another reason why they're probably going to be impossible to get your hands on until the new year, but fingers crossed I can get one at launch).

Also, I think the "AIB boards" are the ugliest things I've seen for a long long time, whereas the 3080 looks fantastic. What can I say, I pre-ordered an Atari VCS primarily for the industrial design and because I love modernised retro titles e.g. Pac Man Championship Edition, Retro Game Challenge / Game Center CX, M2 ShotTriggers etc. Hoping for lots of that type of thing with the VCS.

[Chris Pratt]

It's impossible to say. Every manufacturer has their hits and misses. When it came to the 5600XT lineup, Gigabyte literally had both one of the best and one of the worst SKUs... for the same GPU. You'll just have to wait for reviews.

[dfsgsfa]

sapphire makes the best cards

 

nvidia ?

1st, any base model is "just work" , nothing more, but some like msi armour is known flawed...

 

asus  (tax)

strix are nice, but price really isnt worth it, tuf really dont impress me

 

evga

good...? but not a chance, ...since not sold world wide

 

zotac

known for only long warranty

 

msi

only if the gamingx arent being that premium . used to be budget at gtx900 era

armours reputation is doomed by rx570, so ventus is left

 

gigabyte

no comment, its warranty service sucks

 

[Delicieuxz]

45 minutes ago, GuruMeditationError said:

This is a pretty good insight into that...
 

...as for the 3080 and 3090 coolers, I think if they're even just half of what Nvidia are claiming, then they'll probably give the AIB boards a run for their money.

Obviously you can't really say for certain until they're torn down and reviewed etc. and "AIB"'s have screwed things up in the past but for the most part they're generally reliable, and if they're not, we'll know why, and which ones, after the reviews. 

 

@Delicieuxz As for which offer a good proposition: 3070 definitely (although not sure about the cooling on that one) with 3080 and 3090 being good dependant on your use case, or if you have money to burn, at least in the case of the 3090. Not sure 3090's a good value proposition unless you're actually set up for 8K gaming. With the 3090 I'd say if you have to consider the cost you probably shouldn't buy it. If the sky's the limit re. what you have to spend, I'd say knock yourself out; get two. :0)

According to that video, the 2080 Ti generally didn't show appreciably-better performance between the cards (especially between the 2-fan models). But Jay says the AIB use better components and that the EVGA 2-fan cooler is much quieter than Nvidia's 2-fan cooler.

 

For the sake of the noise-reduction, I'd buy EVGA's over Nvidia's, in that case.

 

There's a comment for that video which says, "the 3000 series is the first time that the reference card Nvidia provided to all of their third party partners is drastically different from their actual Founders Edition card. They kept that cooler tech and PCB layout to themselves which tells me they may be onto something big".

 

I guess that's an argument that performance and noise can't actually be compared this round based on past examples. Which means reviews will be needed.

 

I expect Nvidia's noise-level to be worse than AIBs, but I think that's just conditioning based on the historical precedence. Since this is a new cooler design, and with those large heatsink fins, I guess it might be better.

 

Is the 3080 PCB smaller than previous series' PCBs, or just designed differently with the GPU and power sections separated, but overall the same size or larger? The fact that Nvidia uses a unique cooler and PCB setup could be a reason to get an AIB, as if there becomes an issue with the Nvidia cooler during the card's lifetime, replacing it to keep using the GPU could be trickier. Or, are AIBs also using the same dual PCB design?

 

 

When are reviews expected to be available for 3080 AIBs?

[Delicieuxz]

37 minutes ago, Kavawuvi said:

Most generally make pretty decent cards with the occasional goof here and there. I still remember watching the video of one of EVGA's SC cards catching fire for a short period of time, but those cards have usually been pretty good.

 

All-in-all, yeah, we'll just have to wait for reviews and maybe a couple weeks after release when people have the cards.

I recall that. And I got some thermal pads from EVGA to manually add to my 1070.

 

I think I recall there was something about maybe the company owners' son, or some person in particular, designed the cooling for that card and it was the first one they did. And they didn't give it sufficient heat treatment.

[GuruMeditationError]

21 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Is the 3080 PCB smaller than previous series' PCBs, or just designed differently with the GPU and power sections separated, but overall the same size or larger? The fact that Nvidia uses a unique cooler and PCB setup could be a reason to get an AIB, as if there becomes an issue with the Nvidia cooler during the card's lifetime, replacing it to keep using the GPU could be trickier. Or, are AIBs also using the same dual PCB design?

 

 

When are reviews expected to be available for 3080 AIBs?

I don't know about reviews, I heard it might be the 14th but that might only be for Nvidia's card and even then I'm not sure about that date.

Nvidia's 3080 PCB is more or less cut in half, so yes it is smaller and yes, unless third party vendors produce cooling solutions for it you'd be dependent on Nvidia's warranty if something went wrong.

Also, here's a bit of an "inside baseball" deep dive by BuildZoid as to why he's not getting a 3000 series card: 
 

 

Edit: Actually this is quite a compelling argument (mainly the bit about them potentially coming down in price).... :0P

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1245560-brand-of-nvidia-cards/?do=findComment&comment=14011039

[Delicieuxz]

10 minutes ago, GuruMeditationError said:

I don't know about reviews, I heard it might be the 14th but that might only be for Nvidia's card and even then I'm not sure about that date.

Nvidia's 3080 PCB is more or less cut in half, so yes it is smaller and yes, unless third party vendors produce cooling solutions for it you'd be dependent on Nvidia's warranty if something went wrong.

Also, here's a bit of an "inside baseball" deep dive by BuildZoid as to why he's not getting a 3000 series card: 
 

 

 

If the Nvidia 3000 series card is smaller, does that indicate that it might have issue with heat due to components being closer together? Maybe the power delivery is on a separate PCB to keep its heat away from the GPU PCB.

 

The 3080's TDP is twice that of the 1080. Do you think that will translate pretty directly into a lot more heat and fan noise, regardless of how good a fan cooler is?

 

I was hoping to, when I build my next PC, finally not have a PC that contributes significantly to temperature in the room. But with the 3000 TDPs, I don't know if I'll have that pleasure.

[GuruMeditationError]

7 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

 

If the Nvidia 3000 series card is smaller, does that indicate that it might have issue with heat due to components being closer together? Maybe the power delivery is on a separate PCB to keep its heat away from the GPU PCB.

 

The 3080's TDP is twice that of the 1080. Do you think that will translate pretty directly into a lot more heat and fan noise, regardless of how good a fan cooler is?

 

I was hoping to, when I build my next PC, finally not have a PC that contributes significantly to temperature in the room. But with the 3000 TDPs, I don't know if I'll have that pleasure.

I don't know to be honest. Gamers Nexus have suggested heat might be a problem with the 3080 because of the "cramped" components, and they're going to be looking into its thermals quite extensively.

It's been suggested the 3080 venting upwards might affect RAM overclocks too, and if you have an air cooler, it'll basically be feeding hot air into the vicinity of its front fan.

Also, it does just have one PCB.

So...yeah, it's an interesting one...

...just have to wait for the reviews or take a chance on it. It could very well run hot...sounds like BuildZoid's expecting it to (run hot) although I've not had time to really sit down and listen to that video yet so I can't really comment on it.

 

Got to go AFK now. :0)

 

[Delicieuxz]

1 hour ago, GuruMeditationError said:

I don't know to be honest. Gamers Nexus have suggested heat might be a problem with the 3080 because of the "cramped" components, and they're going to be looking into its thermals quite extensively.

It's been suggested the 3080 venting upwards might affect RAM overclocks too, and if you have an air cooler, it'll basically be feeding hot air into the vicinity of its front fan.

Also, it does just have one PCB.

So...yeah, it's an interesting one...

...just have to wait for the reviews or take a chance on it. It could very well run hot...sounds like BuildZoid's expecting it to (run hot) although I've not had time to really sit down and listen to that video yet so I can't really comment on it.

 

Got to go AFK now. :0)

 

According to this image, it looks like the Nvidia version has 2 PCBs - one for the GPU, and one for the power delivery:

 

Though, that also shows the power connector as being at the rear, so I'm guessing that image isn't official and is incorrect.

[SPCFHT]

Hard to say...Just wait for benchmark and it is quite unlikely to get the card this year without paying extra money. At least in my country.

[SolarNova]

Depends on what ur after.

 

Nvidias 'founders' cards are the same price as AiB cards, we wont know if there's any difference in the chips being used (binning) until reviews are out.

 

If ur like me and plan on water cooling anyway then ull just get what ever card is actually available, be it a founders, or a KFA, or a Zotac, or a EVGA, so long as its £650 (UK MSRP) and fits ur intended Block, just get which ever.

 

However since im going to be waiting till the end of the year at the earliest, im more interested to see how much of a performance difference there is this generation between a bog standard 'reference' design £650 cards vs a custom £750-£850 card be it a RTX 3080 or Big Navi.

 

Additionally if benchmarks indicate a sizable difference in performance between the 3080 and 3090, ill likely end up waiting on the inevitable 3080ti, so long as Nvidia doesnt fk us over and price it at something stupid like £800+. (they 'should' slot it in at £700 and lower the 3080 price, as they have done in previous generations)

[ewitte]

Up to this point Strix has been my preferred.  I don't know about design, performance and flaws for the 3000 series yet but they have opened up the board power to 400W.

[Delicieuxz]

Strix is such a nonsensical-sounding name, though. What is it supposed to mean?

[MedicGarou]

I'll admit I've been an Asus fan for quite some time and have a system that is mostly ROG Strix including a Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic XL so I will of course recommend them. When I built my case I am using an AIO and I was chastised for having "Too much space" in my case and now that the heat from these monsters seems to be an issue for some more compact cases, I'm going to claim I just had some wicked Jedi foreknowledge 

[spartaman64]

5 hours ago, Dean0919 said:

Gigabyte. Never went wrong with this brand.

yep afaik they are the ones that sort of started the triple fan design and its become the standard for beefy cooling

[GuruMeditationError]

5 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

 

According to this image, it looks like the Nvidia version has 2 PCBs - one for the GPU, and one for the power delivery:

 

Though, that also shows the power connector as being at the rear, so I'm guessing that image isn't official and is incorrect.

I think that was probably an early render. It's been revised since then. There are pictures of the PCB around on the internet and it's definitely one single piece. At this point the power connectors have been merged into one and are on the side of the card.

 

3 hours ago, SolarNova said:

If ur like me and plan on water cooling anyway then ull just get what ever card is actually available, be it a founders, or a KFA, or a Zotac, or a EVGA, so long as its £650 (UK MSRP) and fits ur intended Block, just get which ever.

 

However since im going to be waiting till the end of the year at the earliest, im more interested to see how much of a performance difference there is this generation between a bog standard 'reference' design £650 cards vs a custom £750-£850 card be it a RTX 3080 or Big Navi.

 

Additionally if benchmarks indicate a sizable difference in performance between the 3080 and 3090, ill likely end up waiting on the inevitable 3080ti, so long as Nvidia doesnt fk us over and price it at something stupid like £800+. (they 'should' slot it in at £700 and lower the 3080 price, as they have done in previous generations)

I thought water-cooling/overclocking required the more expensive cards for the high quality components?

Also, yeah, I'm thinking more and more about maybe just waiting and playing my steam backlog with my 970 while the 3000 series stuff shakes itself out. I'm going back and forth on it.
 

2 hours ago, ewitte said:

Up to this point Strix has been my preferred.  I don't know about design, performance and flaws for the 3000 series yet but they have opened up the board power to 400W.

They lost me at the redesign but I did have an RTX 2070 Strix that I ended up selling because I didn't quite get the performance I wanted from it. But yeah, I just don't like the design of the new 3000 partner boards, they're just not my thing, but of course stuff like that's a matter of taste.
 

2 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

Strix is such a nonsensical-sounding name, though. What is it supposed to mean?

Well you know what...I'm glad you asked me that:

"...Strix means the keenest hearing and sharpest eyesight. Strix means feeling your environment so that you detect and react to the slightest movement. Strix means survival on the very edge of instinct. Strix is in your blood, as it is in ours. [Taken from the ancient Roman and Greek word for owl]" Asus graphics cards, the very edge of instinct. 

;0P
 

1 hour ago, spartaman64 said:

yep afaik they are the ones that sort of started the triple fan design and its become the standard for beefy cooling

Yeah, I think that was Gigabyte. I've never owned a graphics card with a blower because I was always into "silent computing" and I always had Gigabyte graphics cards because of the open heatsink design. I used to use Nesteq PSU's also because they had heat pipes for passive cooling; now I've got EVGA SuperNovas in my daily and gaming rig.

[ewitte]

19 minutes ago, GuruMeditationError said:

The lost me at the redesign but I did have an RTX 2070 that I ended up selling because I didn't quite get the performance I wanted from it. But yeah, I just don't like the design of the new 3000 partner boards, they're just not my thing, but of course stuff like that's a matter of taste.

I care mostly about cooling capacity and acoustics.  I don't like loud or hot cards.

[GuruMeditationError]

1 hour ago, ewitte said:

I care mostly about cooling capacity and acoustics.  I don't like loud or hot cards.

I care a lot about acoustics, and more heat generally means more noise, so I guess I kind of do care about heat. I re-lidded my CPU with liquid metal and a Rockit Cool custom copper IHS. Every time a review showed that you only got two or three degrees advantage from each components I bought them anyway. 2 to 3 degrees on best scoring liquid metal, custom custom copper IHS, best scoring thermal grease, best scoring AIO, combines to about 10 degrees, and liquid metal on a 4790k gives a massive drop in temps anyway...but all of that doesn't come cheap...

...currently I've got my system overclocked but not excessively; more with an eye towards solid stability, and it's super low volume.

But yeah, I'm interested in the 3080 for the heatsink and what they're claiming for the acoustics...just worried about it potentially heating my RAM up.

Also, the more I think about it, the more I think I might wait and not get one of the first wave of 3080's. Maybe pick one up a bit further on, but I think it's definitely going to be a Founders Edition because of the design visuals. That is as long as the Founders Edition is not a total disaster. Just got to see the reviews I guess. 

[Scase]

2 hours ago, GuruMeditationError said:

They lost me at the redesign but I did have an RTX 2070 Strix that I ended up selling because I didn't quite get the performance I wanted from it. But yeah, I just don't like the design of the new 3000 partner boards, they're just not my thing, but of course stuff like that's a matter of taste.

When you can just turn all the RGB stuff off most cards are just muted and black with a backplate. Some AIBs do have some absolute gaudy looking 30xx series cards coming out. EVGA FTW series looks incredibly childish.

[GuruMeditationError]

58 minutes ago, Scase said:

When you can just turn all the RGB stuff off most cards are just muted and black with a backplate. Some AIBs do have some absolute gaudy looking 30xx series cards coming out. EVGA FTW series looks incredibly childish.

I know, it kind of looks like a toy. I think a lot of them do. :0/

 

I have to admit I do kind of like RGB but not how it's been used on the 3080 AIB's