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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti launch/review day - 2017/03/09

I joined the club with a Palit Jetstream. Haven't done extensive testing but it seems to run relatively cool and quiet hitting 70 deg C under load. The clocks hit up to 2076mhz in games after playing around with afterburner. Still a stupid amount to pay for just a GPU but free Destiny 2 kind of helps.
 

paskowitz

Member
Full review: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z Review

For those discussing the price:

I doubt that will be the final price since the Gaming X usually sells above or at that (unless they drop the price). I would guess $780-820. Seems like the cooler is pretty good though (as is usually the case with the Lightning cards).

That being said, it is a fact that, if you are spending near $800 for a 1080 Ti, the card to get is one of the EVGA/MSI Hybrids.

One thing to note is that EVGA's HydroCopper cards are very reasonably priced at between $820 (SC, FE board) and $870 (FTW3). That is a pretty solid price when you factor in how much an EK block costs.
 

paskowitz

Member
This is so not debatable that I'd put it in the realm of "fact" instead of opinion.

Anyone who chooses air over a hybrid at the same price is not being smart.

Fair.

I feel like the next GPU OT should have a big banner at the top stating this.

Something like...

"Which non reference card is the best?": "The cheapest or any water cooled card."
"Which card overclocks the best?": "They are all virtually identical."
"Which non reference card has the quietest/coolest cooler?": "Any of them in a case with proper airflow."
"Should I get a reference card?": "If you have an ITX case or plan on doing custom loop or bolt on AIO, yes. If not, no."
 
Fair.

I feel like the next GPU OT should have a big banner at the top stating this.

Something like...

"Which non reference card is the best?": "The cheapest or any water cooled card."
"Which card overclocks the best?": "They are all virtually identical."
"Which non reference card has the quietest/coolest cooler?": "Any of them in a case with proper airflow."
"Should I get a reference card?": "If you have an ITX case or plan on doing custom loop or bolt on AIO, yes. If not, no."

I don't get if this should be sarcasm or not.
Because 2 point are totally valid and 2 are just wrong
 

paskowitz

Member
I don't get if this should be sarcasm or not.
Because 2 point are totally valid and 2 are just wrong

Outside of maybe the Strix, all 1080 Ti's perform pretty much the same thermal/acoustically. Most noise thermal problems are not because of the card, but because of bad case airflow.

Given that, the best air card to get is often the cheapest, since given a well ventilated environment, they all perform about the same... with the Hybrids offering the only exception (for a price).

I'm not talking aesthetics here, which obviously changes things.

FE's are better suited for small cases. While AIB cards offer better noise/thermals when in a larger environment that can exhaust the hot air.
 
There are HUGE differences between custom designs when it comes to noise and cooling.
Maybe not for the 1080ti, because it's a big chip.
But if you look at the 1070 and compare a Jetstream / geamerock / pheoenix to a bad custom design you get big differences.


The RX480 also had one custom design, that was just horrible in any way and should've been avoided at any case
Herculez if i remeber correctly
 

dr_rus

Member
I doubt that will be the final price since the Gaming X usually sells above or at that (unless they drop the price). I would guess $780-820. Seems like the cooler is pretty good though (as is usually the case with the Lightning cards).

That being said, it is a fact that, if you are spending near $800 for a 1080 Ti, the card to get is one of the EVGA/MSI Hybrids.

One thing to note is that EVGA's HydroCopper cards are very reasonably priced at between $820 (SC, FE board) and $870 (FTW3). That is a pretty solid price when you factor in how much an EK block costs.

Retail price depends on a lot of factors so it's generally hard to say how much anything will cost for some person specifically.

I personally don't see the point in getting a hybrid as it's both less reliable being partially WC and quite noisy being partially AC - if you want WC then just get a proper closed loop full cover. For an AC solution Strix, Lightning or any card with low temps and noise is more preferable to me than a hybrid as it requires less maintenance while being as noisy or even less noisy.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
Is it normal for it to boost itself to 2ghz during use? I set mine to gaming when playing a game and I notice it just goes to that itself. I don't mess with anything.

Oh I'm definitely going Volta. Probably going for the mid-range or anything slightly better than this. I want a white GPU.
 
Is it normal for it to boost itself to 2ghz during use? I set mine to gaming when playing a game and I notice it just goes to that itself. I don't mess with anything.

Oh I'm definitely going Volta. Probably going for the mid-range or anything slightly better than this. I want a white GPU.
Depends on the stock OC but it's not unheard of.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
fe9oF6b.png


9lge8sg.png


Gaming mode only goes up to so and so yet when I do stuff it boosts to 2ghz by itself.
 
Is it normal for it to boost itself to 2ghz during use? I set mine to gaming when playing a game and I notice it just goes to that itself. I don't mess with anything.

If you're referring to a "Gaming" preset, presumably you're OC'ing.

Edit: now I see your pic. I think that's just Boost 3.0.
 

paskowitz

Member
Retail price depends on a lot of factors so it's generally hard to say how much anything will cost for some person specifically.

I personally don't see the point in getting a hybrid as it's both less reliable being partially WC and quite noisy being partially AC - if you want WC then just get a proper closed loop full cover. For an AC solution Strix, Lightning or any card with low temps and noise is more preferable to me than a hybrid as it requires less maintenance while being as noisy or even less noisy.

Custom loops can be pretty expensive and are really only worth doing with a ~$500 investment. The main advantage of a Hybrid card is that it doesn't dump heat into the case. Second, under load, they are significantly quieter (with idle being a bit louder due to pump noise). It depends. $100 premium for a Hybrid... ok. $150+ not worth it.
 
Forgot to post this a while ago but I found out the issue with the Zotac spinning up to 100% fans once it hits 45C then going back to normal. Seems to be an issue with a setting in the Firestorm software that you need to turn off that is kind of hidden.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1624521/nvidia-gtx-1080-ti-owners-club/6380#post_26032887

Seems there is an option under the "Spectra" tab called fan stop setting that doesn't play nice with custom fan curves. I turned it off and am able to use MSI Afterburner custom curves without issue.

I was getting that 100% spin up every few sets when playing Tekken 7 and needed to find a way to get rid of it as it was getting rather annoying.
 

Leeroy605

Member
Upgraded from a 1070 to ones of these today. Old card had been struggling keeping up with the 4k TV I bought earlier in the year!

Gone from a mix of medium to ultra settings with 83% resolution scale and some drops on BF1 to full 4k ultra with locked 60fps.

Feels good :)
 

Xyber

Member
Haven't checked in on this thread in awhile, is there a consensus on what the best 1080ti variant is? Strix?

Strix and Gaming X seems to have the most pleased users.

I definitely don't have any complains with my Gaming X at least. Runs cool, quiet and at 2GHz just fine.
 

Smokey

Member
Strix and Gaming X seems to have the most pleased users.

I definitely don't have any complains with my Gaming X at least. Runs cool, quiet and at 2GHz just fine.

What I figured. I'm considering selling my FE 1080Ti and getting either the Strix or the Lightning Z that was reviewed above.
 

Pro

Member
Coming up on 2 months in queue for EVGA Step Up to 1080 Ti Black Edition. Anyone else been in queue this long?
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
I'm considering selling my Strix for a water cooled one. One of those hybrids. It looks like it will fit in nicely with my parts.
 
I think I'm about maxed here with the full 1.093V at 2101/6003. First time I've gone over 50C. This is a water-cooled EVGA FE with EK TXP block. 7700k is running at 5Ghz.


I've seen scores higher than this with lower voltage but can't complain about 11k+ on Time Spy!

Edit: should have mentioned this is on a XOC BIOS.
 
I think I'm about maxed here with the full 1.093V at 2101/6003. First time I've gone over 50C. This is a water-cooled EVGA FE with EK TXP block. 7700k is running at 5Ghz.



I've seen scores higher than this with lower voltage but can't complain about 11k+ on Time Spy!

Damn 2.1 GHz on a ti is awesome, congrats.
 

Metalic Sand

who is Emo-Beas?
Just wanted to update on my 1080ti FTW3 since its been awhile. I sent mine back to EVGA and ended up with one that works great. Almost never goes above 70c now unlike my previous one where it would hit 80c+ no matter what. Easily takes +70 on CC and +500 on memory.
 
I just graduated from a 980 to a 1080ti. I use a 1080p display, so is there an easy way to set games to render at 4K and downsample?

A lot of modern games have built-in resolution scaler so you can let the game render at a higher resolution, for other games you can use DSR, however it only works in exclusive full screen mode.
 
A lot of modern games have built-in resolution scaler so you can let the game render at a higher resolution, for other games you can use DSR, however it only works in exclusive full screen mode.

You can also set your desktop resolution to the DSR resolution if you still want to play in Borderless windowed.
 

Fess

Member
The MSI Lightning not only manages to be better than the other air-cooled GTX 1080 Ti's that we've reviewed, it was regularly better than the water-cooled ones too.
The cool temperatures remain stable throughout no matter how long you've been running the test, which mean that the average boost clocks are very close to the peak speeds, giving insane performance in every benchmark.
we saw the lowest temperatures we've seen from anything other than the water-cooled Poseidon.
So it's hilariously fast and seriously cool. It's also built like a tank. There is no flex, no wobble, nothing at all that is anything other than a premium component. If MSI had told us it was hewn from granite we wouldn't have been surprised.
The MSI GTX 1080 Ti Lightning isn't just the best air-cooled Pascal card we've reviewed, it's the best graphics card we've reviewed full stop. Cool, quiet, looks the business, built like a brick outhouse and goes faster than a thoroughbred race horse.
https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx_1080_ti_lightning_review/19

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 TI Lightning Z
Overclock3d.net Review

Impressive!
 
Got the Corsair Hydro variant and definitely my best Pascal overclocker so far. Staying consistent at 2113mhz and a temp of 53c, all this in a relatively small case.
 

Fess

Member
How do I connect three screens and get 144hz with this thing if I only have one Display Port capable screen?

DVI port - screen 1
Display Port 1 - screen 2
? - screen 3

DP to DVI adapters are single link and limited to 60hz iirc. There are active signal converters to DVI dual link but doesn't that cause latency and mess it all up for Nvidia surround?

I know HDMI 2.0b can handle 144hz but can my screens handle HDMI 2.0b?

I'm not at the PC at the moment but going by memory I have these screens and connectors.

ASUS VG248 (DVI, HDMI, VGA)
ASUS VG248 (only DP, Gsync upgrade)
BenQ XL2411 (DVI, HDMI, VGA)

So...
Can I get this to work somehow or do I have to get new screens too?
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Just wanted to update on my 1080ti FTW3 since its been awhile. I sent mine back to EVGA and ended up with one that works great. Almost never goes above 70c now unlike my previous one where it would hit 80c+ no matter what. Easily takes +70 on CC and +500 on memory.
Mine goes to 80C. I don't want to send it in, but I think I should. 😕
 
So im buying one of these to put in my first pc, any specific brand i shouls buy from? I was going to get the asus one, i was told evga tends to run hotter? I dont know much about pc parts haha
 

Fess

Member
Quoting myself here...

How do I connect three screens and get 144hz with this thing if I only have one Display Port capable screen?

DVI port - screen 1
Display Port 1 - screen 2
? - screen 3

DP to DVI adapters are single link and limited to 60hz iirc. There are active signal converters to DVI dual link but doesn't that cause latency and mess it all up for Nvidia surround?

I know HDMI 2.0b can handle 144hz but can my screens handle HDMI 2.0b?

I'm not at the PC at the moment but going by memory I have these screens and connectors.

ASUS VG248 (DVI, HDMI, VGA)
ASUS VG248 (only DP, Gsync upgrade)
BenQ XL2411 (DVI, HDMI, VGA)

So...
Can I get this to work somehow or do I have to get new screens too?

I've been investigating this today and talked to a computer shop and it really seems like I only have two options.

1. Buy a new screen with a Display Port.

2. Buy an expensive dual link DVI to DP converter, which seems to add latency according to this thread, seems a bit unreliable too. Which probably means that triple screen gaming is out of the picture.

This sucks.

Why get rid of DVI?
Seriously, why??

My screens aren't THAT old, and triple screen gaming isn't THAT unusual. There must be lots of people in similar situations which have screens without DP ports that are now forced to either go down to 60hz or buy new screens just because the cards only have 1 DVI port.

I feel like I'm just at the edge of 4K too. Buying a 1080p screen today almost seems dumb.

But buying three 4K screens to jump into 4K is crazy expensive and will probably force me to go down to 60hz since 4K screens usually are 60hz today. I'm not sure if a 1080ti is enough for triple screen 4K either.

Again, this sucks. :(

Almost makes me want to forget all about getting a 1080ti and wait for Volta instead. Almost. But I guess I would have to get 3 DP capable screens by then. :p

Edit!!!
I'm out of the house and only went by (apparently bad) memory here. Googled a bit and it turns out that the non gsync ASUS actually have a DP! So I think it's gonna work out alright after all! =)
 

Fess

Member
Holy hell. I'm glad I didnt wait for that, the Gaming X barely fit in my case.
Yup that might be a problem for sure...

1080 ti Lightning Z :
320 x 140 x 61 mm

1080 ti Gaming X :
290 x 140 x 51 mm


My old Gigabyte 980ti G1
295 x 129 x 43 mm


..but I'll just swap the case if needed, can't let the case restrict my upgrades.
 

Fess

Member
Whoa. The Strix is already a tight fit in my case (the length of course). To compare:

298 x 134 x 52.5
Yup my 980ti is tiny in comparison. I'm not at my house right now but googled the case and saw that the HDD brackets tower at the front could be split and removed giving room for a 450mm long graphics card. Phew!


About the screen connector issue I moaned about before...
I also googled the non G-sync ASUS and it seems to have a Display Port. Didn't think it had that.
So double Phew!
And time to order that beastly Lightning Z!! =D
 

Fess

Member
I really want a 1080 Ti, but I'll just stretch my 980 Ti and hope that Volta releases relatively soon.
Yeah it's totally doable, I have a 980ti too. But I'm weak lol

Seriously though running triple screens constantly remind me that I should upgrade. 6000x1080 is a bit too much for my trusty old 980ti. I'm sure I'll be pissed when Volta comes out completely slaughtering the 1080ti but playing the waiting game on PC always put you in that position no matter when you jump in.


To everyone, a side note and a tip depending on your interest in the stock market:
It's always a risk... but I've currently been lucky enough to make almost $2000 in less than a year from the nvidia stock alone just buying and selling! There is no guarantee that it'll keep going up but you all should seriously check out the stock market. Their earnings report for Q2 goes up in august, my hope is that it'll go up again after that considering that AMD haven't really put out anything that competes during this quarter, I'm currently at a loss for my latest purchase but I hope it'll turn after the report.
Still, whatever happens, buying a new card just from the earnings from investing in their stock is kind of crazy!
 
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