Water cooling: 2080 FE or ASUS turbo?

[Zandvliet]

Hi all,

 

I'm going to buy a 2080 this week but I'm still debating which one to get.

I'm leaning towards the Asus Turbo 2080 since I can make a single slot card from it, but I've also heard that Nvidia keeps the 'best' cards for the FE series.

 

Cheers.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

If you are going to watercool it, it would depend on the waterblock that you will be using since not all blocks fit all PCBs. I would go with the FE since waterblock manufacturers tend to base their first ones off of that. 

 

If the Turbo is using the FE PCB (I'm not sure), then just pick whichever is cheaper and/or available.

[Zandvliet]

1 minute ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

If you are going to watercool it, it would depend on the waterblock that you will be using since not all blocks fit all PCBs. I would go with the FE since waterblock manufacturers tend to base their first ones off of that. 

 

If the Turbo is using the FE PCB (I'm not sure), then just pick whichever is cheaper and/or available.

I already checked, I'm getting the EK block which fits both FE and Asus card.

 

I figured as much, but I thought Nvidia keeps the best binned PCBs, which I can then probably overclock further. That's what I'm thinking anyway...

[Dissitesuxba11s]

Just now, Zandvliet said:

I already checked, I'm getting the EK block which fits both FE and Asus card.

 

I figured as much, but I thought Nvidia keeps the best binned PCBs, which I can then probably overclock further. That's what I'm thinking anyway...

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but unless the AIB manufacturer provides added better power delivery, most GPUs perform relatively the same since we are taking the cooler out of the discussion.

 

 

[Mick Naughty]

If the block fits them both, they are the same card. Custom cards provide better power and such but none of that would really matter as they are so still so limited.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

My choice would be the FE based on waterblock availability

[Zandvliet]

24 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but unless the AIB manufacturer provides added better power delivery, most GPUs perform relatively the same since we are taking the cooler out of the discussion.

 

 

But isn't this also related to the silicon die itself. Higher graded dies will perform better, which as far as I know Nvidia keeps for themselfs to make the FE cards.

 

12 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

If the block fits them both, they are the same card. Custom cards provide better power and such but none of that would really matter as they are so still so limited.

 

I understand what you mean, you're also saying (like most) that for water cooling it doesn't really matter which card to get.

 

I suspected that the performance margins are very low between the cards, but it never hurts to ask  

[Dissitesuxba11s]

2 minutes ago, Zandvliet said:

But isn't this also related to the silicon die itself. Higher graded dies will perform better, which as far as I know Nvidia keeps for themselfs to make the FE cards.

What I've heard is the opposite. AIBs usually get the better ones for their higher end cards, ex. Asus Strix 2080.

[Zandvliet]

5 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

What I've heard is the opposite. AIBs usually get the better ones for their higher end cards, ex. Asus Strix 2080.

Hmm that also makes sense.. I was planning to go with the Turbo card, so hopefully you're right 

[Mick Naughty]

Wont matter who gets luck with the lottery. Safest bet is to go with a custom board just for the power delivery. If you can get a block for custom go for it. If its still gonna be reference, just get the cheaper one.

[Parptarf]

I would take the FE over basically anything else that has a reference PCB when you are gonna watercool it. Their chips are binned and will be better than the AIB versions that doesn't have a custom PCB. Well, in most cases at least.

[Zandvliet]

1 hour ago, Mick Naughty said:

Wont matter who gets luck with the lottery. Safest bet is to go with a custom board just for the power delivery. If you can get a block for custom go for it. If its still gonna be reference, just get the cheaper one.

 

1 hour ago, Parptarf said:

I would take the FE over basically anything else that has a reference PCB when you are gonna watercool it. Their chips are binned and will be better than the AIB versions that doesn't have a custom PCB. Well, in most cases at least.

I think the (personal) benefits for going with a AIB card outweigh the benefits for the FE card. Thanks for the input.

[Mick Naughty]

Yea if you can get a block for them, sure. The little bit of extra power will be a benefit. I’m just used to not having blocks for custom boards for months after release. And the extra cost for the block. 

 

 

[Zandvliet]

4 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

Yea if you can get a block for them, sure. The little bit of extra power will be a benefit. I’m just used to not having blocks for custom boards for months after release. And the extra cost for the block. 

 

 

I guess it's possible this time because the AIB cards were released the same day as the FE cards and they basically only changed the cooler and not the PCB. 

[Mick Naughty]

37 minutes ago, Zandvliet said:

I guess it's possible this time because the AIB cards were released the same day as the FE cards and they basically only changed the cooler and not the PCB. 

Didn’t really follow which are and aren’t custom. If they aren’t, they won’t be any better than fe. Would just come down to price and warranty. I believe evga still carries the best as far as putting a block on it.