nice sided moderating sajin. pls make me a favor and delete this thread.

aeareg34
nice sided moderating sajin. pls make me a favor and delete this thread.

I don't really see what the argument is. It is an objective fact that given 1000  GPU dies of the same model, there will be a range of clocks they obtain. All that is meant by the "silicon lottery" is that the average person may or may not get one that clocks higher than average.  This is not a point to dispute. Your other point that you may have got a return, is just your theory, it may or may not have happened. There is no way for us to know that. And lastly, it is true there is a certain group of bottom feeders that buy and return perfectly functional items looking to increase their odds.

baconinabun

LittleGuy
You can call it what you like.  If all silicon was the same then my 2 1080 FE's would boost/overclock the same, but they dont in the same PC with the same drivers. One clocks higher so, if it is not silicon lottery then what ever you want to call it, they are not the same. You have the same thing that everyone else has so call it what ever you like.
 
Mature drivers and bios updates can get you higher overclock, but can very and will very from pc to pc. 
 
 

 
top card 08G-P4-6286-KR (v1.0)(doggy version 2016), bottom card 08G-P4-6286-KR (v1.1)(not dodgy version 2017) cards have different VBios hardware, both are on same version of bios firmware, both clock up to 2126 in SLi(GPUs(+115) n (+112) Memory +800 on both) and remain firm and steady :) EDIT: the tube going from GPU1 to CPU is no longer there and the GPUs are now connected on a separate loop connected to 420mm pull radiator to themselves
 
Now i don't work in the computer industry and no i'm not as knowledgeable as most, but i do know how to make my GPUs and CPU scream in unison without deluding myself that i had won one some sort of lottery, i suppose that is why most overclockers would class what they do as skill, not pot luck!
 
 
 

I'm not sure what your argument either is as it really has nothing to do with the fact that GPU dies are not identical and will not all reach the same clock and/or using the same voltage.  There is variance in pretty much every electrical device. Why do some motherboards and processors clock higher? Is it all just the skill of the user? Of course not.  Do you think the top overclockers like KingPin just use random retail parts? Nope they get their pick. So barring those exceptions, it IS a matter of luck if you get a GPU that is a dud or exceptional. My 1080 Ti FE is 'almost exceptional'. I can run all day at a solid 2100 with stock volts and +500 or 12ghz on the memory. My benches are right up at the top of the ladder for single GPU.  Is that all skill? Nope, mostly luck. My last system my X58 980X was a dog...4.3 on a good day on a quality motherboard. 

HeavyHemi
And lastly, it is true there is a certain group of bottom feeders that buy and return perfectly functional items looking to increase their odds.

 
... and then they return them to Amazon and some poor schmuck buys them as new.
 

baconinabun
i don't really have argument, buying a card a bit cheaper from amazon will always give you a bit of worries

 
Thank the bottom feeders.
 

HeavyHemi
 My 1080 Ti FE is 'almost exceptional'. I can run all day at a solid 2100 with stock volts and +500 or 12ghz on the memory. My benches are right up at the top of the ladder for single GPU.  Is that all skill? Nope, mostly luck. 

 
Same here.  I'm a stable 2076 with a few clicks of MSI Afterburner and my benches are in the same range as yours with a single GPU.
 
I'll take it... sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
 

EDIT: Sorry I thought you had a 1080 Ti.  My old 1070 SC wouldn't even hit 2000 without crashing so 2050 isn't too hateful.
 
I think it's important to know 1080 Ti's generally don't clock as high as the rest of the Pascal lineup due to the sheer amount of CUDA cores.  It's not a coincidence the core frequency records of 3Ghz+ were achieved on 1060's.  Another thing to note is FE cards seem to clock higher than others.  It makes sense really since nvidia make the chips and can choose all the best silicon for their own cards and sell off the crust to their partners.  If moving away from air cooling the best option is always to buy and FE and put it under water.  I bet 2100 is almost guaranteed.
 
My FTW3 does about 2050 at most before locking up.  That seems to be right around where most other non FE cards will go on air.  Some a little higher but very few can sustain 2100+ from what I've seen.  Many of us came from a 1070 or 1080 to the Ti.  Those cards generally clock higher and it's not because we lost the silicon lottery.  I'd say if you can't break 2000, well then you lost the lottery lol.

True, I'd say about 1950-2150 for any Pascal card.  Most sit in the middle at around 2050.  Still that's only about 200mhz (probably even less) separating the bottom of the barrel to the golden chips.  I saw Vince (Kingpin) say he's seen 1080 Ti's do 2150 on air.  Hopefully those are the ones to become Kingpin cards although I've heard they're only guaranteeing 2025 so that alone shows about what these cards can do for the most part.  

baconinabun
@HeavyHemi n @TravisPNW
 
you might call it luck, judging by the specs on both your machines i would say lots of Cash is more the factor than luck  

I paid the same for my GPU as everyone else, so cash has no bearing at all.

TravisPNW

FscuderiaX
Another thing to note is FE cards seem to clock higher than others.  It makes sense really since nvidia make the chips and can choose all the best silicon for their own cards and sell off the crust to their partners.  If moving away from air cooling the best option is always to buy and FE and put it under water.  I bet 2100 is almost guaranteed.
 
My FTW3 does about 2050 at most before locking up.  That seems to be right around where most other non FE cards will go on air.  

 
Yeah I've noticed that as well.  A lot of non-FE cards aren't reaching the 2076 I hit with the FE.
 
BTW, I hit that on air prior to installing the hybrid.  What's keeping me from going past that is hitting the power limit...  maybe I could hit 2100 with a custom voltage curve.  I haven't tried... been too busy gaming.  
 

 

arestavo
I've got a 1080 Ti FE, and no 2100 is not guaranteed under water. Still, it's not bad as I can bench at 2064 but I clock it at 2012 just for piece of mind.
 
Regardless of opinion the FACT remains that the variance in GPU quality that affects overclocks, known as the silicon lottery, is a very real thing. 

Absolutely... and yes, 2100 isn't a guarantee under water.  
 
 

HeavyHemi
I paid the same for my GPU as everyone else, so cash has no bearing at all.

If only it did... because I spent nearly $5000 on my rig and accessories.  I deserve a better OC!
 -

To be clear, you can buy more performance as an aggregate, and you can actually buy prebinned and delidded CPU's if you want. My point was more, that buying retail is the luck of the draw as far as individual components unless you go third party enthusiast like say...https://siliconlottery.com/  Where did they come up with that name?