Would it be possible to make a silent 4080 build?

[JuicyMullet]

Budget (including currency): Depends

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Just want the best graphics, decent FPS, and the lowest noise

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

EDIT***

This is the response from MonsterLabo and seems to fit with what YoungBlade said beow:

 

Hello Harrison, It is hard to say at the moment, but the optimization will remain the same than with the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3090 for example. We optimize the voltage (via MSIAfterBurner from our side) to fit with the thermal capacity of the cooler. At the same time, it is also a very good way to avoid having coil whine. You can still use the 4 slots for the 4 fans if needed. This way you can stay fanless most of the time but silent all the time. But The Beast has a very special philosophy. The idea is to get a powerful fanless PC, not the most powerful PC In the ends, it really depends on your needs. Have a great day!

 

So my EVGA AIO was making a very high pitched whining noise. After downloading the official software called Flow Control to support it, it completely killed it and now I'm down a PC. After watching the video below, I thought that this is exactly what I would love to have as my next build. A nearly silent gaming rig and still be able to game at 4K and a high FPS. My only concern about purchasing this case called The Beast, is that it's only rated to cool 250 W. The 3080 that Linus stuck inside requires 320, but through the addition of a fan and some tinkering, he was able to get it pretty close to normal. 

 

So my question is this: With the upcoming RTX 40 series coming out, and their power draw requirements WAY higher, would it be stupid to purchase this now? Could any amount of tinkering or fans get the GPU to perform close to its potential, or would it be a waste? I've heard that the 4080 could draw as much as 400-450W, but I would gladly go for a 4070 if the power requirements were lower and as long as I could still get 4K 60-70 FPS. 

 

Just without a gaming rig now and wanted some advice before I pulled the trigger on my next big purchase. 

 

[YoungBlade]

Undervolting and underclocking would be the answer. The reason that the 4000 series are rumored to be catalysts for silicon fusion is that they are going to be pushed to the absolute limit in terms of clockspeed and die size in order to counter AMD's multi-chip competitor. This means that the RTX 4080 will be well outside the efficiency window, and by reducing the power limit and doing some undervolting, you would probably end up with about 75% of the performance at half the power or even less. In that case, it would only be a 200-225W part, yet would give you performance comparable to or better than what the current 3080 has at 320W.

[ELSknutson]

This is kind of a loaded question with out having actual numbers, brands, styles and info for any 40 series cards. 

[JuicyMullet]

2 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Undervolting and underclocking would be the answer. The reason that the 4000 series are rumored to be catalysts for silicon fusion is that they are going to be pushed to the absolute limit in terms of clockspeed and die size in order to counter AMD's multi-chip competitor. This means that the RTX 4080 will be well outside the efficiency window, and by reducing the power limit and doing some undervolting, you would probably end up with about 75% of the performance at half the power or even less. In that case, it would only be a 200-225W part, yet would give you performance comparable to or better than what the current 3080 has at 320W.

This helps a TON. Thank you. I figured it would be worth it, even with losing a bit of performance, I could still hopefully beat the 3080 and get any newer tech benefits they throw in with the new cards. 

 

I'm not experienced at all with undervolting or underclocking, but I'm sure I could find some good articles on here or on YouTube to help. 

[JuicyMullet]

4 minutes ago, ELSknutson said:

This is kind of a loaded question with out having actual numbers, brands, styles and info for any 40 series cards. 

I understand. I may have worded it poorly. 

 

I guess a quick and dirty way to ask would be: If I had to undervolt a GPU from 350 or 450W to 250W, would the performance loss still be worth it if it was a next gen GPU compared to a current gun GPU. 

 

...That still may not be the best wording, but it's the best I can think of now. 

[Robchil]

well.. you can do all that or have a custom loop watercooled rig with temperature probe in the loop, and set up fan's to adjust to water temperature... 

the more radiators, the less the fans need to blow to keep your loop cool. 

 

[JuicyMullet]

1 minute ago, Robchil said:

well.. you can do all that or have a custom loop watercooled rig with temperature probe in the loop, and set up fan's to adjust to water temperature... 

the more radiators, the less the fans need to blow to keep your loop cool. 

I've considered water cooling, but custom pipes scare the crap out of me, and the prices can get out of hand quickly. If there was a great water cooling solution, I would absolutely consider it. 

[Robchil]

Just now, JuicyMullet said:

I've considered water cooling, but custom pipes scare the crap out of me, and the prices can get out of hand quickly. If there was a great water cooling solution, I would absolutely consider it. 

use soft tubes and compression fittings.. it's quite safe and easy to work with. but use 90degree bends to direct the tube in the general direction. 

the only rule is to not make restricting bends on the tube. 

 

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, JuicyMullet said:

I understand. I may have worded it poorly. 

 

I guess a quick and dirty way to ask would be: If I had to undervolt a GPU from 350 or 450W to 250W, would the performance loss still be worth it if it was a next gen GPU compared to a current gun GPU. 

 

...That still may not be the best wording, but it's the best I can think of now. 

Well as long as you don't expect to play the next gen games, I guess using a next gen card undervolted with current gen games will work.

[JuicyMullet]

19 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Well as long as you don't expect to play the next gen games, I guess using a next gen card undervolted with current gen games will work.

Why wouldn't I be able to play next gen games?

[Blue4130]

36 minutes ago, JuicyMullet said:

Why wouldn't I be able to play next gen games?

You can, but it will be equivalent to right now using a current gen card undervolted to play current gen games. Can you run them to an acceptable level? 

[JuicyMullet]

7 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

You can, but it will be equivalent to right now using a current gen card undervolted to play current gen games. Can you run them to an acceptable level? 

In the video he's running an RTX 3080. That should smash any next gen games into the ground. I can't say for certain, but I'd think that even a slightly undervolted 4070 would be able to do the same if not better if the reports of double the performance over the current gen cards are true. 

[Blue4130]

1 minute ago, JuicyMullet said:

In the video he's running an RTX 3080. That should smash any next gen games into the ground. I can't say for certain, but I'd think that even a slightly undervolted 4070 would be able to do the same if not better if the reports of double the performance over the current gen cards are true. 

Lol, every release the rumors are "double performance" but guess what never happens? 

 

That aside, yes they will be fast, yes they will run the games, but in your initial post, it sounded like you were trying to get some magical performance by undervolting a next gen card. It will likely have the same performance skew (as a percentage) compared to a stock card as this generation does. 

 

Example - today let's say undervolting saves you 20% power use while you loosing 5% fps in today's games... (just making up numbers) 

 

Next gen should follow the same thing. More or less. 

 

Keep in mind, next gen games will be more demanding. Software advances as well as hardware. 

[JuicyMullet]

4 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Lol, every release the rumors are "double performance" but guess what never happens? 

 

That aside, yes they will be fast, yes they will run the games, but in your initial post, it sounded like you were trying to get some magical performance by undervolting a next gen card. It will likely have the same performance skew (as a percentage) compared to a stock card as this generation does. 

 

Example - today let's say undervolting saves you 20% power use while you loosing 5% fps in today's games... (just making up numbers) 

 

Next gen should follow the same thing. More or less. 

 

Keep in mind, next gen games will be more demanding. Software advances as well as hardware. 

I understand, I just think that even if I do undervolt a 4070, it should still be able to handle a game at 4K 60 FPS regardless if the game is next gen or not. Even if the new cards are only a 30% increase in performance and I lose that 30% performance, I would still be getting the new technology in the card and still beat the current loss of 5% on the 3080. 

 

I mean, I could be completely wrong. That's why I'm asking you guys, so please don't think I'm just arguing the point just to argue. I really do appreciate your input. 

[Blue4130]

4 minutes ago, JuicyMullet said:

I understand, I just think that even if I do undervolt a 4070, it should still be able to handle a game at 4K 60 FPS regardless if the game is next gen or not. Even if the new cards are only a 30% increase in performance and I lose that 30% performance, I would still be getting the new technology in the card and still beat the current loss of 5% on the 3080. 

 

I mean, I could be completely wrong. That's why I'm asking you guys, so please don't think I'm just arguing the point just to argue. I really do appreciate your input. 

Every release of a GPU for quite a while now has said that 4k60 is coming. Guess what happens? Games get harder to run and 4k60 across the board on new (at the time) games never happens. 

[JuicyMullet]

Just now, Blue4130 said:

Every release of a GPU for quite a while now has said that 4k60 is coming. Guess what happens? Games get harder to run and 4k60 across the board on new (at the time) games never happens. 

The 3080 can run most games at close to 4K 60 though.

 

Anyways, we're off of the subject. I think my question was answered.