Watercooling GTX 1080 Ti Reference vs Aftermarket

[tikker]

I'm going to put a 1080 Ti in my system and I'll be watercooling it. I was wondering if it'd be worth it waiting for the aftermarket cards to arrive. On air I know it would make sense to wait for those, but will I get a tangible improvement in performace by going with an aftermarket one over a reference card if I watercool them?

[Princess Luna]

The FE usually have premium build and silicon, the PCB is usually the standard too so there will be more water cooling options available for it, I would definitely go for the FE in your case.

[Dang3r D3bbi3]

technically No, because the reference cards are usually easier to watercool, PLUS you should be able to OC the hell out of it with watercooling. However if you wait for an aftermarket card, they usually have better custom PCBs which have more powerphases and chips that manufacters put on boards to help "boost" it

[Noirgheos]

1 minute ago, Princess Cadence said:

The FE usually have premium build and silicon, the PCB is usually the standard too so there will be more water cooling options available for it, I would definitely go for the FE in your case.

FEs aren't bad, but some companies (ASUS, for example) have much better PCB quality than most companies.

[Dang3r D3bbi3]

so Yes I would water the FE card rather than an aftermarket and I would use EK water blocks since they are Quality 

[Dang3r D3bbi3]

Just now, Noirgheos said:

FEs aren't bad, but some companies (ASUS, for example) have much better PCB quality than most companies.

#ASUSfanboi

[Noirgheos]

2 minutes ago, Dang3r D3bbi3 said:

#ASUSfanboi

Sure

[Dang3r D3bbi3]

Just now, Noirgheos said:

Sure

 ahhaah Im just kidding bro ASUS is ALOT better for mobo's and video cards IMO than Asrock, sometimes EVGA, and most of the time MSI

[Princess Luna]

Just now, Noirgheos said:

FEs aren't bad, but some companies (ASUS, for example) have much better PCB quality than most companies.

That is up for debate really, Another way around if money is not an issue would be wait the Msi Sea Hawk X GTX1080ti coming in april:

 

[Noirgheos]

Just now, Princess Cadence said:

That is up for debate really, Another way around if money is not an issue would be wait the Msi Sea Hawk X GTX1080ti coming in april:

 

It isn't when you actually take a moment to examine the individual PCBs and their respective components.

[tikker]

7 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

The FE usually have premium build and silicon, the PCB is usually the standard too so there will be more water cooling options available for it, I would definitely go for the FE in your case.

 

5 minutes ago, Dang3r D3bbi3 said:

technically No, because the reference cards are usually easier to watercool, PLUS you should be able to OC the hell out of it with watercooling. However if you wait for an aftermarket card, they usually have better custom PCBs which have more powerphases and chips that manufacters put on boards to help "boost" it

Yeah the additional power phases are what got me wondering. But since this card is already a beast and my build has been on hold for too long already I'll wait until EK releases their blocks for it and without further option I'll probably get a reference edition then. I did plan on buying it directly from Nvidia instead of a partner (I'd like a box from them for once ) would this make a difference?

[Vellinious]

The real drawback for overclocking enthusiasts on the FE (reference boards), is that NVIDIA usually gives them a pretty low power limit, so you'll hit the power limit perf cap sooner than you would on a custom board.  If you're going to overclock, and not against doing a shunt mod.....the FE is a viable piece of hardware, even for overclockers.

I prefer the custom boards, myself.

[tikker]

11 minutes ago, Vellinious said:

The real drawback for overclocking enthusiasts on the FE (reference boards), is that NVIDIA usually gives them a pretty low power limit, so you'll hit the power limit perf cap sooner than you would on a custom board.  If you're going to overclock, and not against doing a shunt mod.....the FE is a viable piece of hardware, even for overclockers.

I prefer the custom boards, myself.

 

Hmm that's interesting to know. I'm not against modding anything, but that shunt mod seems a little risky to me for such an expensive card Maybe it is worth waiting then ...

Aaah I just want to finish my build so badly, but I also don't want to make rash decisions.

[Flavio hc 16]

Wait for a 1080ti that comes with 2 8pin power connector, so you will oc the hell out of it

[Mick Naughty]

The few extra fps doesn't make it worth it for me. I've done it both way. The fact that I can just go down the road and grab a card an and a block makes more sense. Also not waiting for a custom cards and thier blocks to show up. That's also for the people who can't wait and think that minor fps difference is gonna be worth the extra cost. 

[Remixt]

I'm waiting only because I won't be converting to water cooling until June anyhow. If you are going to put a block on it right away then it won't matter much.

[tikker]

15 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

The few extra fps doesn't make it worth it for me. I've done it both way. The fact that I can just go down the road and grab a card an and a block makes more sense. Also not waiting for a custom cards and thier blocks to show up. That's also for the people who can't wait and think that minor fps difference is gonna be worth the extra cost. 

Your first sentence makes me think you'd go for the reference but after that you say wait for aftermarket?

13 hours ago, Remixt said:

I'm waiting only because I won't be converting to water cooling until June anyhow. If you are going to put a block on it right away then it won't matter much.

Lucky you

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. If I'd go with aftermarket I would've gone for a HOF Edition one which I haven't even heard of for the Ti (and would undoubtedly be more expensive). So since there's no real release date for the aftermarket ones yet and the performace will probably not differ by extreme amounts I decided to get the Founders Edition I'm sure it'll not disappoint.

I'm also done waiting, I wanna finish the build

[Mick Naughty]

I'm not saying what I would. 

Theres gonna be a minor fps difference between them. It won't matter. Fe stuff is easier to get ahold of. Won't have to wait as long to get. The better power delivery is nice but the extra cost for a custom pcb card, then price difference for the water block an so backplate isn't with it to me. Won't be as bad with the ti as it doesn't appear to be as shitty at the 1080. 

[tikker]

3 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

I'm not saying what I would. 

Theres gonna be a minor fps difference between them. It won't matter. Fe stuff is easier to get ahold of. Won't have to wait as long to get. The better power delivery is nice but the extra cost for a custom pcb card, then price difference for the water block an so backplate isn't with it to me. Won't be as bad with the ti as it doesn't appear to be as shitty at the 1080. 

Ah yes that was my line of thinking as well. I just ordered an FE will be here next week I think.