HeavyHemi

Audioboxer

Intoxicus

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talon951
They could definitely fix it by increasing the limits in the bios but it would also drive the 8pin power further out of spec. Maybe that's why they have not done anything too. But that's just speculation on my part.

For example the KP 1kw bios will raise the power limit on pretty much any 3090 whether it is 2x8pin or 3x8pin due to the limits being set sky high. Extreme example but shows what can be done.

What a layman like myself finds hard to understand here though is why a small number of 3080's seem to go up to 450w with this BIOS, but most, going by forums/Reddit complaints, struggle to get over 400w, or splutter up to maybe 420~430w.
 
EVGA released the BIOS so they must have at least, in theory, been happy to try and let these cards draw up to 450w.
 
A lot of people have mentioned power balancing, but I do have to say I don't really know what that is/what handles it. As in, what part of the PCB is the brains behind that. Something at the pins themselves? Is it purely hardware or is software involved?
 
With zero communication from EVGA people like me aren't knowledgeable enough to really get it on our own. So I'm left looking at an MSI BIOS that appears to draw up to 500w on my EVGA card, or the EVGA BIOS which hardwalls at 400w despite EVGA telling me I should be able to see up to 450w.
 
Obviously the safest advice for me is live with it, don't run an MSI BIOS if you aren't happy to take a risk. Which is fair enough, but I'd really have liked EVGA or Jacob to have actually responded about this, not ignore it. They, as in EVGA, released a 450w BIOS for this card, so for anyone to call us, the end users, uppity/unreasonable, for querying this, is unfounded.
 
If they hadn't released this 450w BIOS that would have been an answer in of itself, but they did, so they should at least respond to why some/most of these cards cannot handle it. Or, now as we've found out with this MSI BIOS, "cannot" handle it. While my 1 card is a small sample size, I've not seen a single problem across any games from crashing or anything with the likes of OCP/restarts or shutdowns.
 
Like, customer support actually ghosted me after saying they were away to talk to the BIOS team. That's the first and only time EVGA customer service has ever done that to me. Just adds to the feeling this is an enforced "black out" from up top or something. Which seems way overboard

Humor me and post a picture of how your power cables are plugged into the GPU.

?
 
The only way they can be https://imgur.com/a/z0p8FRu
 
Pics of the build from last month. Only changes since then have been minor.

Just noticed that it appears every single fan you have on your loops is intake.

It is, because it's for 4 rads.
 
Exhaust is at the front because I'm using a Lian Li custom front. If you thought the front fans were also intake, nah they're exhaust, don't worry.
 
Works great for temps on the basis of every rad has the coolest ambient air coming across them. Seeing as all my major components are watercooled, even memory, internal case isn't an issue.
 
And believe it or not, internal case temp isn't an issue, full stop. I monitor the actual temp inside the case with a sensor, let alone obviously look at VRM temps.

Audioboxer

HeavyHemi

Audioboxer

Intoxicus

Audioboxer

talon951
They could definitely fix it by increasing the limits in the bios but it would also drive the 8pin power further out of spec. Maybe that's why they have not done anything too. But that's just speculation on my part.

For example the KP 1kw bios will raise the power limit on pretty much any 3090 whether it is 2x8pin or 3x8pin due to the limits being set sky high. Extreme example but shows what can be done.

What a layman like myself finds hard to understand here though is why a small number of 3080's seem to go up to 450w with this BIOS, but most, going by forums/Reddit complaints, struggle to get over 400w, or splutter up to maybe 420~430w.
 
EVGA released the BIOS so they must have at least, in theory, been happy to try and let these cards draw up to 450w.
 
A lot of people have mentioned power balancing, but I do have to say I don't really know what that is/what handles it. As in, what part of the PCB is the brains behind that. Something at the pins themselves? Is it purely hardware or is software involved?
 
With zero communication from EVGA people like me aren't knowledgeable enough to really get it on our own. So I'm left looking at an MSI BIOS that appears to draw up to 500w on my EVGA card, or the EVGA BIOS which hardwalls at 400w despite EVGA telling me I should be able to see up to 450w.
 
Obviously the safest advice for me is live with it, don't run an MSI BIOS if you aren't happy to take a risk. Which is fair enough, but I'd really have liked EVGA or Jacob to have actually responded about this, not ignore it. They, as in EVGA, released a 450w BIOS for this card, so for anyone to call us, the end users, uppity/unreasonable, for querying this, is unfounded.
 
If they hadn't released this 450w BIOS that would have been an answer in of itself, but they did, so they should at least respond to why some/most of these cards cannot handle it. Or, now as we've found out with this MSI BIOS, "cannot" handle it. While my 1 card is a small sample size, I've not seen a single problem across any games from crashing or anything with the likes of OCP/restarts or shutdowns.
 
Like, customer support actually ghosted me after saying they were away to talk to the BIOS team. That's the first and only time EVGA customer service has ever done that to me. Just adds to the feeling this is an enforced "black out" from up top or something. Which seems way overboard

Humor me and post a picture of how your power cables are plugged into the GPU.

?
 
The only way they can be https://imgur.com/a/z0p8FRu
 
Pics of the build from last month. Only changes since then have been minor.

Just noticed that it appears every single fan you have on your loops is intake.

It is, because it's for 4 rads.
 
Exhaust is at the front because I'm using a Lian Li custom front. If you thought the front fans were also intake, nah they're exhaust, don't worry.
 
Works great for temps on the basis of every rad has the coolest ambient air coming across them. Seeing as all my major components are watercooled, even memory, internal case isn't an issue.
 
And believe it or not, internal case temp isn't an issue, full stop. I monitor the actual temp inside the case with a sensor, let alone obviously look at VRM temps.

I preach the same thing all the time. Been doing the same for about a decade.
 
A rad with intake air is a happy rad.  It won't turn into a furnace in there as some people believe like a hot blow dryer right before the fuse trips.

GTXJackBauer

Audioboxer

HeavyHemi

Audioboxer

Intoxicus

Audioboxer

talon951
They could definitely fix it by increasing the limits in the bios but it would also drive the 8pin power further out of spec. Maybe that's why they have not done anything too. But that's just speculation on my part.

For example the KP 1kw bios will raise the power limit on pretty much any 3090 whether it is 2x8pin or 3x8pin due to the limits being set sky high. Extreme example but shows what can be done.

What a layman like myself finds hard to understand here though is why a small number of 3080's seem to go up to 450w with this BIOS, but most, going by forums/Reddit complaints, struggle to get over 400w, or splutter up to maybe 420~430w.
 
EVGA released the BIOS so they must have at least, in theory, been happy to try and let these cards draw up to 450w.
 
A lot of people have mentioned power balancing, but I do have to say I don't really know what that is/what handles it. As in, what part of the PCB is the brains behind that. Something at the pins themselves? Is it purely hardware or is software involved?
 
With zero communication from EVGA people like me aren't knowledgeable enough to really get it on our own. So I'm left looking at an MSI BIOS that appears to draw up to 500w on my EVGA card, or the EVGA BIOS which hardwalls at 400w despite EVGA telling me I should be able to see up to 450w.
 
Obviously the safest advice for me is live with it, don't run an MSI BIOS if you aren't happy to take a risk. Which is fair enough, but I'd really have liked EVGA or Jacob to have actually responded about this, not ignore it. They, as in EVGA, released a 450w BIOS for this card, so for anyone to call us, the end users, uppity/unreasonable, for querying this, is unfounded.
 
If they hadn't released this 450w BIOS that would have been an answer in of itself, but they did, so they should at least respond to why some/most of these cards cannot handle it. Or, now as we've found out with this MSI BIOS, "cannot" handle it. While my 1 card is a small sample size, I've not seen a single problem across any games from crashing or anything with the likes of OCP/restarts or shutdowns.
 
Like, customer support actually ghosted me after saying they were away to talk to the BIOS team. That's the first and only time EVGA customer service has ever done that to me. Just adds to the feeling this is an enforced "black out" from up top or something. Which seems way overboard

Humor me and post a picture of how your power cables are plugged into the GPU.

?
 
The only way they can be https://imgur.com/a/z0p8FRu
 
Pics of the build from last month. Only changes since then have been minor.

Just noticed that it appears every single fan you have on your loops is intake.

It is, because it's for 4 rads.
 
Exhaust is at the front because I'm using a Lian Li custom front. If you thought the front fans were also intake, nah they're exhaust, don't worry.
 
Works great for temps on the basis of every rad has the coolest ambient air coming across them. Seeing as all my major components are watercooled, even memory, internal case isn't an issue.
 
And believe it or not, internal case temp isn't an issue, full stop. I monitor the actual temp inside the case with a sensor, let alone obviously look at VRM temps.

I preach the same thing all the time. Been doing the same for about a decade.
 
A rad with intake air is a happy rad.  It won't turn into a furnace in there as some people believe like a hot blow dryer right before the fuse trips.

Pretty much, hot air will find its way out of a case unless you seal up every single gap in the case. That being said, some external fans at the front really do help me shift the case air out a bit quicker. I mean, I can feel the heat myself of the air. I now have a nice front-facing heater for my room lol.
 
Only challenge with all rads intake is dust in the case, but I use the Lian Li filters myself and they do a decent job at catching most of the dust. I'm going to buy this kit at some point https://www.demcifilter.com/lian-li-pc-011-dynamic-xl-filter-kit-2 Better quality.

I researched those filters at one point. They do work well to filter out dirt, but hurt airflow significantly I think. If your priority is keeping out dust then they are a good choice. If you're more interested in the best temps then they are probably not the way to go.

talon951
I researched those filters at one point. They do work well to filter out dirt, but hurt airflow significantly I think. If your priority is keeping out dust then they are a good choice. If you're more interested in the best temps then they are probably not the way to go.

Question would be, worse than the default Lian Li filters? If so, how much worse vs how much better at keeping out dust.
 
Default Lian Li dust filters have bigger holes. The Demci filters are incredibly fine.
 
But I guess the one reason I haven't rushed out to buy them is, well, the Lian Li ones are OK. Every few weeks I wipe them down to remove the dust that has built up on them. Within those few weeks, if I look at the nickel backplate of my GPU, there tends to be a few specks of dust here and there sitting on it.
 
So, any sort of serious build-up, even with 4 intakes, would take a long time as is. Which is probably perfect to leave alone. I just like buying things and tinkering lol.

Almost any filter that has a finer mesh and hence traps more dirt will be more restrictive. It's a trade off for performance vs dust filtering. You could also bump your fan speed up if you don't mind a little more noise to get the same temps.

I thought my lian li filters were bad restrictive when using on the floor with intake fans, but having like the side filters and having a gap before the filters made a huge difference in not affecting the flow. I made spacers for the floor fans then scratched that idea because the floor got a 360 SE and seems to be fine as either intake or exhaust. If I was to try an intake again, I might try a foam filter or thin carbon like on an air purifier.

talon951
Almost any filter that has a finer mesh and hence traps more dirt will be more restrictive. It's a trade off for performance vs dust filtering. You could also bump your fan speed up if you don't mind a little more noise to get the same temps.

That would make sense. Instead of buying the whole kit, I might just buy the pieces needed to do the back of the case.
 
I've tried running my setup without any dust filters and I just don't notice a difference. But that's maybe just because of 4 rads and using Noctua fans that can probably handle restriction pretty well.
 
My environment is not really dusty or anything, but even if you clean often you still get dust/lint/hairs floating about. 4 intakes, no matter your environment, is just going to be dust magnet for the insides/radiator fins.
 

kraade
I thought my lian li filters were bad restrictive when using on the floor with intake fans, but having like the side filters and having a gap before the filters made a huge difference in not affecting the flow. I made spacers for the floor fans then scratched that idea because the floor got a 360 SE and seems to be fine as either intake or exhaust. If I was to try an intake again, I might try a foam filter or thin carbon like on an air purifier.

I've always read having your case on the floor is like the worst thing you can do for dust lol. So yeah, on the floor I would definitely be using filters of some sorts for intakes.

Audioboxer

talon951
Almost any filter that has a finer mesh and hence traps more dirt will be more restrictive. It's a trade off for performance vs dust filtering. You could also bump your fan speed up if you don't mind a little more noise to get the same temps.

That would make sense. Instead of buying the whole kit, I might just buy the pieces needed to do the back of the case.
 
I've tried running my setup without any dust filters and I just don't notice a difference. But that's maybe just because of 4 rads and using Noctua fans that can probably handle restriction pretty well.
 
My environment is not really dusty or anything, but even if you clean often you still get dust/lint/hairs floating about. 4 intakes, no matter your environment, is just going to be dust magnet for the insides/radiator fins.
 

kraade
I thought my lian li filters were bad restrictive when using on the floor with intake fans, but having like the side filters and having a gap before the filters made a huge difference in not affecting the flow. I made spacers for the floor fans then scratched that idea because the floor got a 360 SE and seems to be fine as either intake or exhaust. If I was to try an intake again, I might try a foam filter or thin carbon like on an air purifier.

I've always read having your case on the floor is like the worst thing you can do for dust lol. So yeah, on the floor I would definitely be using filters of some sorts for intakes.

Ya I meant the floor of the case, I was saying the the fans on the grill with the screen on them was bad but if you have space, like the thickness of the rad it doesn't seem to impead the flow very much, the fins straighten out the flow and give the fan a bit of a plenum I guess .

Well, I am another EVGA 3080 Ti FTW3 disappointed buyer you can add to the list.  The card almost never breaks 400w even under stressful test conditions that pull other cards to that limit.  It is not "normal" behavior, even if it does sound nice (or sound true) to say that cards "don't need to stay operating at the very limit just because that is the stated limit". That might be true, but the behavior of these cards in the past is that they DO operate close to the power limit when your power limit slider is at 100%.  And when you have a bios that goes beyond 100%, the average power draw goes up!
 
Not so with these cards, and I would say it is a defect.  I even have voltage headroom (supposedly the voltage limit is 1.09v on these) at like 1.05v when hitting the 400W power limit.  So my card NEVER goes beyond 1.05 or so, even if I lock the voltage higher in Afterburner.  This is because its hitting the 400W power limited sooner than the voltage limit.
 
I wish EVGA would release a BIOS with this fixed.  But, since they are no longer in the GPU game, they probably will do nothing.  I consider it to be false advertising.  The reason I got this was because of the stated power limit of 450W lending to better overclocking headroom.  Well, based on what I've seen others go through when discussing this with EVGA, it seems like pretty terrible and apathetic customer service.