Lost in GPUs

[vlb6]

Hi there,

 

Firstly just want to say I've been doing research around my PC build for several months now and Linus' platform and videos have been the go-to for every question I've had. Brilliant site, amazing resource, a big thank you!
 

I'm currently building a PC for GPU rendering/3D animation/video editing/visual effects etc.
I was set on having two GTX 1080 Ti FE's however I have heard that there have been some overheating issues with these.
I've been looking around for alternatives which have cooling included and came across another three which interest me:

Zotac GTX 1080 Ti Amp Extreme

GTX 1080 Ti SC2 HYBRID GAMING iCX

GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 GAMING

 

I am genuinely lost in the hype-term marketing bullshit of the hardware world and would appreciate if someone could just advise me on which one to get for general 3D animation/dynamics/GPU rendering/video editing etc. I've seen all three being branded as 'gaming' cards at some point or another , regardless I know they can still be used for 3D animation, but is there a 1080Ti out there which is more tailored to what I do?? If not, apart from price and clock-speed why should I buy one over the other?

 

Any help is appreciated,

many thanks in advance.

[Guest]

Hybrid Gaming is a water cooled card which gives you best temperature under heavy gaming load. The drawback is the water cooling loop which could be a problem for beginners and they take up lots of space too.

Amp Extreme and FTW3 are all good cards, but as majority of people here will agree EVGA does excellent in terms of customer support. So the FTW3 is nicer.

Amp Extreme is heavy and large so that should also be noted.

Other cards to consider: Asus Strix, consistently being one of the coolest (temps) and quietest card and has a really nice looking RGB light. MSI Gaming X is closely followed by too. They doesn't cost a fortune like the 3 cards you listed.

 

Clock speed should always be ignored when comparing those cards as you can easily overclock it to the same clock speed that others reach.

 

Overheat is not really a correct term to describe FE cards. They run hot since the fan design is blower style and there is nothing much you can do about it. It's not an issue, it's what it is. Same goes to any similar style card like MSI Aero, Asus Turbo...

 

For me I would get the cheapest one out there, something like Gigabyte OC would do fine but because I am not that picky in cards.

[Bananasplit_00]

you buy the card with the best VRM and cooler, thats about it unless you also want looks in which case you buy the card you think looks the best

[Technomancer__]

i would get he Zotac GTX 1080 Ti Amp Extreme

i have the 1070 variant and it cools amazingly well

 

but the best will be this GTX 1080 Ti SC2 HYBRID GAMING iCX but it will be much more expensive so its not worth it.

also if the pump dies it will be more expensive to replace than a fan

[vlb6]

On 22/05/2017 at 5:56 PM, deXxterlab97 said:

Hybrid Gaming is a water cooled card which gives you best temperature under heavy gaming load. The drawback is the water cooling loop which could be a problem for beginners and they take up lots of space too.

Amp Extreme and FTW3 are all good cards, but as majority of people here will agree EVGA does excellent in terms of customer support. So the FTW3 is nicer.

Amp Extreme is heavy and large so that should also be noted.

Other cards to consider: Asus Strix, consistently being one of the coolest (temps) and quietest card and has a really nice looking RGB light. MSI Gaming X is closely followed by too. They doesn't cost a fortune like the 3 cards you listed.

 

Clock speed should always be ignored when comparing those cards as you can easily overclock it to the same clock speed that others reach.

 

Overheat is not really a correct term to describe FE cards. They run hot since the fan design is blower style and there is nothing much you can do about it. It's not an issue, it's what it is. Same goes to any similar style card like MSI Aero, Asus Turbo...

 

For me I would get the cheapest one out there, something like Gigabyte OC would do fine but because I am not that picky in cards.

brilliant! many thanks for all the info

 

thanks mate!

[vlb6]

On 22/05/2017 at 6:24 PM, Ethocreeper said:

i would get he Zotac GTX 1080 Ti Amp Extreme

i have the 1070 variant and it cools amazingly well

 

but the best will be this GTX 1080 Ti SC2 HYBRID GAMING iCX but it will be much more expensive so its not worth it.

also if the pump dies it will be more expensive to replace than a fan

thanks for this, will take it on board!

[Technomancer__]

1 minute ago, vlb6 said:

thanks for this, will take it on board!

no problem

[thewipyk]

If you don't want to spend +200$ on watercooler, there might be an other solution. The ASUS ROG STRIX 1080Ti has 3 pwm headers on the inside of the card, so you can hook up case-fans on it. This can considerably cool down your case by venting out the hot air and supplying fresh cooler air.
Otherwise, all cards run within 5% performance to each other, so picking either is a good choice, whichever fits in your build.

[vlb6]

On 5/27/2017 at 11:41 AM, thewipyk said:

If you don't want to spend +200$ on watercooler, there might be an other solution. The ASUS ROG STRIX 1080Ti has 3 pwm headers on the inside of the card, so you can hook up case-fans on it. This can considerably cool down your case by venting out the hot air and supplying fresh cooler air.
Otherwise, all cards run within 5% performance to each other, so picking either is a good choice, whichever fits in your build.

right! so using the '3 pwm headers' hooked up to the case-fans will keep the overall temperature of the case low so no need for a CPU cooler. 

this is interesting - I was leaning towards the ASUS STRIX as I've watched online that it is supposedly the quietest of them all but now that you've told me this it seems like the way to go!

 

thanks for the info!