Which 1080ti to Buy?

[jaysangwan32]

Hey guys!

So I've been planning a build for a while and I've been eyeing the GTX 1080ti line for a while.

Perusing the forums and watching countless benchmark videos, I get the sense that the effective performance difference isn't that much between the cards.

That being said, is it worth it to purchase a premium custom PCB, like a HOF, Poseidon, or Lightning, simply for that sweet, sweet 2100 mhz? 

Coming from a GTX 760, I'm sure any 1080ti will be a sizable upgrade. But is investing more in more mhz worth it? 

The main card I've been looking at right now is the FTW3 ICX due to tasteful RGB lighting, solid cooling, and reasonable OCing.

Would the aforementioned FTW3 card be powerful enough for some time? What are the benefits of the $850+ variants of this card?

Sorry if there are many questions in this one post, many of the reviews and benchmarks have been contradictory or confusing for a pretty new builder like myself, Really just looking for a solid 'final' answer.

Thank you so much for the help!

[WebPlayz]

3 minutes ago, jaysangwan32 said:

Hey guys!

So I've been planning a build for a while and I've been eyeing the GTX 1080ti line for a while.

Perusing the forums and watching countless benchmark videos, I get the sense that the effective performance difference isn't that much between the cards.

That being said, is it worth it to purchase a premium custom PCB, like a HOF, Poseidon, or Lightning, simply for that sweet, sweet 2100 mhz? 

Coming from a GTX 760, I'm sure any 1080ti will be a sizable upgrade. But is investing more in more mhz worth it? 

The main card I've been looking at right now is the FTW3 ICX due to tasteful RGB lighting, solid cooling, and reasonable OCing.

Would the aforementioned FTW3 card be powerful enough for some time? What are the benefits of the $850+ variants of this card?

Sorry if there are many questions in this one post, many of the reviews and benchmarks have been contradictory or confusing for a pretty new builder like myself, Really just looking for a solid 'final' answer.

Thank you so much for the help!

Get the FTW3. As you can overclock it to 2100. And it has effective cooling. 

[Brooksie359]

13 minutes ago, jaysangwan32 said:

Hey guys!

So I've been planning a build for a while and I've been eyeing the GTX 1080ti line for a while.

Perusing the forums and watching countless benchmark videos, I get the sense that the effective performance difference isn't that much between the cards.

That being said, is it worth it to purchase a premium custom PCB, like a HOF, Poseidon, or Lightning, simply for that sweet, sweet 2100 mhz? 

Coming from a GTX 760, I'm sure any 1080ti will be a sizable upgrade. But is investing more in more mhz worth it? 

The main card I've been looking at right now is the FTW3 ICX due to tasteful RGB lighting, solid cooling, and reasonable OCing.

Would the aforementioned FTW3 card be powerful enough for some time? What are the benefits of the $850+ variants of this card?

Sorry if there are many questions in this one post, many of the reviews and benchmarks have been contradictory or confusing for a pretty new builder like myself, Really just looking for a solid 'final' answer.

Thank you so much for the help!

Most of the cards you just listed are meant for liquid nitrogen overclocking so unless you plan to do that you are just wasting your money. I would go with the ftw 3 just because it will preform just as good as basically all the other good 1080tis but you get the evga warranty and customer service.

[Colin Donoghue]

mass drop had a drop on the aorus gtx 1080 ti the price went from 750 to 650 but that deal is over but they are trying to get another drop going

link https://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?utm_source=linkshare&referer=PYXQ7Lhttps://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?utm_source=linkshare&referer=PYXQ7Lhttps://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?1=1&utm_placement=0&referer=PYXQ7L&mode=guest_open&utm_campaign=Automated Daily Promotional 2017-08-24&utm_source=SparkPost&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily Promotional&utm_content=1503571768131.066752781163199896602253

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?utm_source=linkshare&referer=PYXQ7L

[Hiitchy]

I own the FTW3. It has amazing idle cooling that can range from 26 - 30 degrees Celsius. This also depends on how cold your room is so keep that in mind.

[Cyracus]

all pascal cards perform about the same provided their cooler can cool them well enough, unless you get a serious lottery loser. Some of the more expensive cards may have unlocked power limits or be designed with exotic cooling in mind, not worth the premium for regular people

[Jurrunio]

Higher clocked cards are more of a brag factor than performance factor. If you dont care about showing off then cheaper 1080ti with open air cooler like the EVGA SC model or Gigabyte Gaming model are enough.

 

FTW3 is one of the best, though I would also consider the Asus Strix card since it also has good cooling and RGB.

[Spuriae]

It's not worth buying them based on VRM for ambient overclocking; the silicon lottery makes a bigger difference than power delivery at these frequencies.

 

Just get whatever's cheap and looks good/cools well. Maybe spend a bit more for a good VRM if you want (essentially just MSI and EVGA at the budget level), but it's not worth spending significantly more for.

[Bcat00]

I say go for the lightning from msi, that cooler is beast and it comes pushed to the limit. 

 

Kingpin too hard to come by and cost more than everything else.

[xsimplyjosh]

I won't say the kingpin is even worth it. Assuming the pascal limitation is put into place, most cards would run the same or another.

Only thing you have to decide is asthetics, cooling, temps... pretty much. find your priorities then adjust accordingly...

[jaysangwan32]

8 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Higher clocked cards are more of a brag factor than performance factor. If you dont care about showing off then cheaper 1080ti with open air cooler like the EVGA SC model or Gigabyte Gaming model are enough.

 

FTW3 is one of the best, though I would also consider the Asus Strix card since it also has good cooling and RGB.

I looked at the STRIX but honestly, I thought the FTW3 had more tasteful RGB. The logo on the side is too small for me on the STRIX.

I've also been considering the GALAX EXOC White.

Thank you for the help!

[jaysangwan32]

5 hours ago, xsimplyjosh said:

I won't say the kingpin is even worth it. Assuming the pascal limitation is put into place, most cards would run the same or another.

Only thing you have to decide is asthetics, cooling, temps... pretty much. find your priorities then adjust accordingly...

I know a lot of binned cards can hit around 2100 such as the Poseidon. Does hitting that 2100 affect performance noticeably?

[jaysangwan32]

8 hours ago, Bcat00 said:

I say go for the lightning from msi, that cooler is beast and it comes pushed to the limit. 

 

Kingpin too hard to come by and cost more than everything else.

Is there a difference between the Lightning regular, X, and Z? Also are they binned?

Thanks for the suggestion though!

[jaysangwan32]

9 hours ago, Colin Donoghue said:

mass drop had a drop on the aorus gtx 1080 ti the price went from 750 to 650 but that deal is over but they are trying to get another drop going

link https://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?utm_source=linkshare&referer=PYXQ7Lhttps://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?utm_source=linkshare&referer=PYXQ7Lhttps://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?1=1&utm_placement=0&referer=PYXQ7L&mode=guest_open&utm_campaign=Automated Daily Promotional 2017-08-24&utm_source=SparkPost&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily Promotional&utm_content=1503571768131.066752781163199896602253

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/aorus-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11g?utm_source=linkshare&referer=PYXQ7L

That's a nice deal but honestly the orange/copper accents would clash with my build

Thanks for the heads up though!

[jaysangwan32]

9 hours ago, Brooksie359 said:

Most of the cards you just listed are meant for liquid nitrogen overclocking so unless you plan to do that you are just wasting your money. I would go with the ftw 3 just because it will preform just as good as basically all the other good 1080tis but you get the evga warranty and customer service.

The only thing making me hesitant to purchase the EVGA card is that they aren't binned.

I'd like this system to last a few years into the future ( I can upgrade the CPU but ideally would like to keep the 1080ti for a while) so having a binned card would be ideal so I don't get a 'loser' in the lottery.

Thanks for the help though!

[Eduard the weeb]

9 hours ago, jaysangwan32 said:

Probably the ZOTAC AMP 1080ti or MSI Gaming X 1080ti both are probably the most powerful 1080ti but in general 1080ti is a very powerful hard.

[Jurrunio]

Just now, jaysangwan32 said:

they aren't binned.

I'd like this system to last a few years into the future ( I can upgrade the CPU but ideally would like to keep the 1080ti for a while) so having a binned card would be ideal so I don't get a 'loser' in the lottery.

I dont think those half a frame (at most 1-2) per second justify the price premium. A 1080ti itself is a [profanity] powerful card. Even the worst example (I have seen one that gets unstable at 1973MHz at most, but most go past 2GHz) has enough performance to last 3-4 years. Just look at the old 980Ti. 2 years old and still relevant (often compared to the 1070). The 5-year-old 780Ti, rarely discussed nowadays, but still (performance-wise) clinging on to the 1060 66GB, which is a great card for the average consumer.