ravenfrost
Hey guys,
1. Just got a new 65" 4k Samsung KS8000 that I plan to do 4k gaming on. I currently have a 770 4gb card that I plan to keep as a dedicated PHSYX card, however, I have heard this is probably overkill...is it worth it/will it increase any performance paired as PHSYX with the 1080 TI 11gb or should I just sell the old card, run the 1080 TI 11gb alone and try to get some money for the old 770 4gb card?
2. I am interested at the EVGA all in one hybrid water cooling kits for the 1080 TI 11gb here: https://www.evga.com/products/productlist.aspx?type=18&family=Accessories+-+Hardware&chipset=Hybrid
Trying to decide, do I just get a Founders Edition or should I get one of the SC or FTW editions and put on the all in one hybrid waterblock?
Making sure I understand this, the FE is a reference card and SC or FTW editions aren't, is this correct? The SC and FTW are non reference cards because they are already overclocked? Is it the same chip or has something changed?
I know there is a slight cost difference between the two($20-50). Is it worth it to get a card that isn't FE? Basically will this hybrid water cooling kit allow me to run at the same overclock speeds regardless of the card being a reference card or will the SC/FTW editions allow for higher overclock?
From doing some research I believe that if I get the hybrid water kit and overclock it will allow me to get a much higher overlcock than what the SC/FTW editions run at, just trying to figure out if it will be higher if I go with SC/FTW or if founders will do about the same.
I appreciate any input you can provide.
Good choice of TV! (I've got the same one)
The 1080 Ti FE and the SC black are reference cards. Well, the SC Black has an added fuse so it is 99.9% reference. All other EVGA 1080 Ti models are EVGA custom PCBs.
I've tried running a dedicated PhysX card with a single 980 Ti (it was a 650 Ti) and the results were mixed. I did have better minimum frame rates in the
VERY few titles that run GPU PhysX (not CPU Physics which is much more common, and no you can't force it to run on the GPU). The downside were the BSODs and random lock-ups. Running two different families of cards was what it probably was, because I did not have that issue when I (temporarily) ran a second 980 Ti as a PhysX card (which was super overkill, the 650 Ti did fine with 70 to 80% GPU usage).
A dedicated PhysX card actually really shines when you run SLI. It likely has something to do with the fact that PhysX calculations will only take place on one card, unbalancing the SLI performance. Gains when adding a dedicated PhysX card with SLI are quite tangible. Much, much more so than with a single card setup.
For AIO cooling - go with what you want. The new AIO coolers from EVGA appear to be quite good for cooling, but they will only carry a warranty of 3 years (when you buy the Hybrid card) unless you buy the extended warranty - and even then stock levels won't be high after 2 years due to limited production. So you may get an equivalent performance, but air-cooled, newer model as a replacement should you need to RMA later on, should the need arise and you haven't purchased a new card.
If you get EVGA's AIO watercooler and not a 1080 Ti Hybrid card, remember that they carry only a 1 year warranty. I've had four different AIO coolers with two year warranties die right outside of their warranty period - the pumps stopped working or worked intermittently. I've also had a nice H115i develop issues within 8 months of purchase, well within its 5 year warranty.
I went with the Kraken line since their AIO coolers come with a 6 year warranty and I can move it from card to card as needed. I've got a Kraken G10 bracket (the G12 looks good too) with a Kraken X61 (used to use a X41), and I love the
Noiseblocker eLoop 140mm fans that I invested in (they are $28 each but whisper silent at full speed (non-PWM)). I have PWM versions in 120mm and they are significantly louder due to their smaller size and trying to push similar CFM. I've used the G10 bracket and X41 (now X61) on two different models of 980 Ti, a 1080 ACX 3.0, and now my 1080 TI FE - and it works beautifully with the only hiccup being that sometimes I have to remove a mid-plate or a back-plate because the GPU retention screws are a bit short for the G10 (and can be swapped out for longer screws if needed) or the mid-plate blocks contact with the GPU die without a copper shim (which I've found adds a few degrees C).
The bonus to getting a separate AIO water cooler is that if it ever dies, you have the stock cooler to fall back on while you RMA the AIO cooler. If you get a hybrid model, you'll likely have to RMA the entire card (and possibly get back a card that doesn't OC as well, or maybe one that OCs better).
Oh, and airflow still matters for AIO coolers. I forgot to turn on the fans on the side of my case (three big 200mm fans set as intake) and the temps were ~49 to 51C.
TLDR - an AIO is great for keeping a GPU cool and more quiet than any stock cooler offered by EVGA. My temperatures range from 29 to 30C at idle to 38C to 43C under load running at 2064/6000 Mhz on my 1080 Ti.
Oh, and no - getting a water cooler on your 1080 Ti won't let you overclock much higher, if at all. What it does is allow for consistent clock rates without the steady downclocking due to rising temps that GPU Boost 3.0 does. So instead of starting out at 2064 and dropping down to 1900 due to 84C temps, you stay at 2064 or 2050 at 40 to 50C.
post edited by arestavo - 2017/04/21 12:40:22