Got my new 1080ti FE...what is RL differrence tween aftermarket?

[brighttail]

Hey all,

 

Most of the time I would buy a card like the 980 Poseidon or the seahawk that had a waterblock pre-installed on it.   This time I got a standard founder's edition 1080ti and an EK waterblock.  I should be getting the waterblock by Friday so in the meantime I have been reading the various reviews.  I just wanted to make sure I'm reading correctly what I'm reading...

 

- Main issue with the FE cards is the throttling. Their coolers aren't as effective as the aftermarket cards so they throttle quicker. The offset is you can ramp up the fan to keep it from throttling but then you deal with the noise.

- The after-market cards often come already overclocked but the FE can pretty much handle the same overclock within 2-5%.

- On water the FE cards will OC to within 2-5% of the aftermarket cards

 

Bottom line I'm getting that when cooling with water the FE is pretty much on equal standing with the aftermarket cards.  What you are paying for with the aftermarket cards is the pre-set OC and the better thermals?  I was reading that using the FE cards on air, people couldn't really crack the 2.0Ghz mark as the card was constantly throttling.  On water however I see that it hit 2.1Ghz with little problem, which is about what I'm seeing that aftermarket cards hitting.

 

So in the end I guess I'm asking that when it comes to watercooling the better method is the DIY method.  No need to pay the premium for the aftermarket waterblocks and the only down side is if there is ever an issue, you have to put the FE card back to the original condition with all the thermal pads, cover and fan, whereas with a card like the seahawk you don't have to do anything but send it back as is.

 

Am I missing something?  I have never done a waterblock on a GPU but I'm pretty confident it isn't a big deal.

 

Thanks.

 

Oh I get a free game now. Which do you suggest?  For Honor or Ghost Recon Wildlands?

[ARikozuM]

Most of the tests and benchmarks are done open-air which is where the blowers do the least amount of good. If you have a small chassis or SLI config, the FE will pull ahead of some of the AIB cards. 

 

Game: Wildlands.

[brighttail]

Just now, ARikozuM said:

Most of the tests and benchmarks are done open-air which is where the blowers do the least amount of good. If you have a small chassis or SLI config, the FE will pull ahead of some of the AIB cards. 

 

Game: Wildlands.

I got a Phanteks enthoo Primo.

[ARikozuM]

Just now, brighttail said:

I got a Phanteks enthoo Primo.

Terrible case for an FE/blower. Also, full tower. Ew.

[brighttail]

2 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Terrible case for an FE/blower. Also, full tower. Ew.

One of the reasons for the EK waterblock and full watercooling.

[Deli]

With watercooling, FE will perform/overclock the same as aftermarket cards with water cooling. Boost clock will be more stable and possibly slightly higher than aftermarket air cooled cards.

 

However, silicon lottery still plays the biggest part. If you get a lemon, no amount of waterblock can save you.

 

With GPU Boost 3.0. Those aftermarket factory overclock has zero meaning.

[Ithanul]

Yep, the cards like staying cool.  Pascal is like Maxwell.  Both like being put under water or a big beefy air cooler.

 

Though, some aftermarkets will have more power phases and 8+8 pins instead of the 8+6 pins.

 

On putting a water block on GPU, it is not hard.  Just take your time and ensure the thermal pads are the correct thickness.  EK puts really good instructions with their blocks.

[JoostinOnline]

13 minutes ago, Deli said:

 

With GPU Boost 3.0. Those aftermarket factory overclock has zero meaning.

As opposed to the 5% "meaning" it had before

[Deli]

15 minutes ago, Ithanul said:

Yep, the cards like staying cool.  Pascal is like Maxwell.  Both like being put under water or a big beefy air cooler.

 

Though, some aftermarkets will have more power phases and 8+8 pins instead of the 8+6 pins.

 

On putting a water block on GPU, it is not hard.  Just take your time and ensure the thermal pads are the correct thickness.  EK puts really good instructions with their blocks.

For some unknown reason, Nvidia puts an really good VRM on the FE 1080Ti this time, unlike the crap the 1080 and 1070 FE have. It has even better Mosfet than the Titan XP. So aftermarket cards VRM will not give better overclocking even though they have more phases unless you're doing LN2..

 

The two extra cables 8-pins have over 6-pins are for ground, and carry no extra current. it is better for voltage regulation. 6-pins can carry as much power as 8-pins in practice.

[Ithanul]

9 hours ago, Deli said:

For some unknown reason, Nvidia puts an really good VRM on the FE 1080Ti this time, unlike the crap the 1080 and 1070 FE have. It has even better Mosfet than the Titan XP. So aftermarket cards VRM will not give better overclocking even though they have more phases unless you're doing LN2..

 

The two extra cables 8-pins have over 6-pins are for ground, and carry no extra current. it is better for voltage regulation. 6-pins can carry as much power as 8-pins in practice.

Yep.  Though, you still got people going nuts for 8+8 pin.

 

Only reason I did not go ref, no DVI-D port on them.  Otherwise, I would of bought a ref myself.

[brighttail]

Welp I get to work on it tomorrow. I also like that it has a 6+8 pin combo just like my last card. That means my custom extension doesn't need to be messed with.

 

Now I just gotta drill a couple of holes in my Phanteks Enthoo Primo case so I can get this Mountain Mod vertical GPU bracket secured properly.  My dremmel is ready too!

 

I had gotten a CoolerMaster Vertical GPU mount that went where the PCI-e cards go.  While it worked in my case it had one serious drawback, by making all the PCI-e lanes unusable.   Even with a mini or 1/2 pci-e card won't fit.  Phanteks will be coming out with a Vertical GPU bracket that is a dual bracket used in their Enthoo Elite series. From the looks of that, if you are only using one GPU and you place it in the slot furthest from the MB then you may be able to have a 1/2 or mini bracket.

 

Either way by using this Mountain Mod bracket, I will have access to all my PCI-e slots.   I hope it works. It has been a long while since I modded/drilled/dremmeled anything.