RTX 2080 TI Black Edition worthwhile at $999 MSRP?

Arioch

Limp Gawd
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Are the EVGA RTX 2080 TI black editions worthwhile if they can be had at $999? It seems they come at standard spec speeds - just don't want to get a neutered card. I have no real plans to do any overclocking or anything.
 
Are the EVGA RTX 2080 TI black editions worthwhile if they can be had at $999? It seems they come at standard spec speeds - just don't want to get a neutered card. I have no real plans to do any overclocking or anything.
What is your current card and what resolution are you playing at? Without those it's hard to really know if it's worth it. Also if you waited this long you might just want to wait for the next refresh due next year.
 
What is your current card and what resolution are you playing at? Without those it's hard to really know if it's worth it. Also if you waited this long you might just want to wait for the next refresh due next year.

I have 2x1080GTX in SLI but hardly anything works in SLI anymore. I play mostly on my 4K television, and most games get 30ish FPS at 4K on one card.
 
I have 2x1080GTX in SLI but hardly anything works in SLI anymore. I play mostly on my 4K television, and most games get 30ish FPS at 4K on one card.

Well SLI has always been a issue, if it's supported it's great if not, it's almost useless or causes issues. A 2080TI will get the job done but it's a hefty premium, if you plan to sell the two cards then it would be worth it. However if it's not killing you I would wait until next year and see as both Companies should have flagship cards out at the same time so hopefully prices will be lower then they are now and ray tracing features might actually be usable at 4K then.
 
I have 2x1080GTX in SLI but hardly anything works in SLI anymore. I play mostly on my 4K television, and most games get 30ish FPS at 4K on one card.

A single RTX 2080 Ti is a substantial upgrade from a single 1080 Ti. Often times, even though the frame rates are lower the experience is smoother and more consistent.

Well SLI has always been a issue, if it's supported it's great if not, it's almost useless or causes issues. A 2080TI will get the job done but it's a hefty premium, if you plan to sell the two cards then it would be worth it. However if it's not killing you I would wait until next year and see as both Companies should have flagship cards out at the same time so hopefully prices will be lower then they are now and ray tracing features might actually be usable at 4K then.

If you take that attitude, you will never upgrade as you'll always be waiting. I would buy the card now and sell it closer to the release of the newer cards and offset the cost of the upgrade.
 
If you take that attitude, you will never upgrade as you'll always be waiting. I would buy the card now and sell it closer to the release of the newer cards and offset the cost of the upgrade.

See I only upgrade if it's bothering me, never felt the need to upgrade every generation. Also this is the lower end 2080TI and will of course hold a even lower resale value then a higher end 2080TI when the next generation releases. It has worked out for me as crypto took off and the value of my 290x skyrocketed so the resale was high and at the time the 1080 cards were in less demand so I got one of those with the cash I got for the 290x. Was a nice upgrade but I only did it because it was becoming a struggle to keep the fps high enough in the games I was playing at the time. For me it's all about how much it's bugging me. Also with both companies releasing cards next year it's not a terribly long wait to find out.
 
See I only upgrade if it's bothering me, never felt the need to upgrade every generation. Also this is the lower end 2080TI and will of course hold a even lower resale value then a higher end 2080TI when the next generation releases. It has worked out for me as crypto took off and the value of my 290x skyrocketed so the resale was high and at the time the 1080 cards were in less demand so I got one of those with the cash I got for the 290x. Was a nice upgrade but I only did it because it was becoming a struggle to keep the fps high enough in the games I was playing at the time. For me it's all about how much it's bugging me. Also with both companies releasing cards next year it's not a terribly long wait to find out.

I upgrade if there is a performance advantage. When you run higher resolution displays, there is always more performance to be gained. That said, I only upgrade where it makes sense. I won't spend $1,000 on a CPU that won't benefit me or only adds one or two FPS. I won't buy a $700+ video card for a 5 to 7% advantage etc.
 
I bought mine a couple of months ago to replace my 1080ti. For 4K gaming on the newer games it makes a big difference.

I get a nice overclock out of it without increasing the voltage- +250 clock/+1000 mem. That’s with the standard fan profile as well.
 
I got one used recently, really impressed with the cooling considering the size. It's considerably smaller than my 1080TI STRIX card.

It runs a bit warmer, but not much, also it's almost as heavy.

20190525_214925.jpg
 
I got one used recently, really impressed with the cooling considering the size. It's considerably smaller than my 1080TI STRIX card.

It runs a bit warmer, but not much, also it's almost as heavy.

View attachment 163869

Does it run at similar clocks? A zotac twin fan model I have I run @ 80% power and did a fan mod to keep it in the 1600s but I'm going to have to use an AIO to really get it to the 1900-2000 mhz.
 
Does it run at similar clocks? A zotac twin fan model I have I run @ 80% power and did a fan mod to keep it in the 1600s but I'm going to have to use an AIO to really get it to the 1900-2000 mhz.

I don't really know what clocks it should run at, but @ 100% power, it boosts up to the 1800s when gaming, and temps stay in the 60s (though it's running in an open air case)

mining @ 100% it sits around 1500mhz
mining @ 75% it sits around 1300mhz
 
I don't really know what clocks it should run at, but @ 100% power, it boosts up to the 1800s when gaming, and temps stay in the 60s (though it's running in an open air case)

mining @ 100% it sits around 1500mhz
mining @ 75% it sits around 1300mhz

Ah, open air case makes a difference. Not far from my experience. The truth is that the heatsink is just not large enough for the 2080 ti on my card, but that's the compromise for a 2 slot card I suppose. It reminded me of the jet engine blower cards from previous gens.
 
Ah, open air case makes a difference. Not far from my experience. The truth is that the heatsink is just not large enough for the 2080 ti on my card, but that's the compromise for a 2 slot card I suppose. It reminded me of the jet engine blower cards from previous gens.

FYI, in terms of temps, I get similar temps with my Strix Card :) I think EVGA did a great job on this thing, I was surprised at how heavy it was, I can't even tell the difference between the 3 fan 2.5 slot STRIX 1080ti and this in terms of weight, when holding in my hand
 
FYI, in terms of temps, I get similar temps with my Strix Card :) I think EVGA did a great job on this thing, I was surprised at how heavy it was, I can't even tell the difference between the 3 fan 2.5 slot STRIX 1080ti and this in terms of weight, when holding in my hand

I doubt that, the strix should be able to maintain near 2k mhz clocks @ near silent fan speeds.
 
I doubt that, the strix should be able to maintain near 2k mhz clocks @ near silent fan speeds.

Can't really compare the clocks, one is a 1080Ti one is a 2080Ti, just comparing temps based on 75% load

I can't hear either while mining in core P3, but I do hear the strix when mining in a closed case.
 
The clocks will roughly be the same. My 1080 ti triple fan boosted to 1900s at silent fan speeds, staying near 70C. This 2080 ti can boost there but thermal throttles big time to the 1500-1600 once it starts hitting 80C.
 
Knowing me i'll probably upgrade my 2080Ti once something more substantial comes out.
Of course, i'll then sell the card for a few hundred to one of my family or relatives since they can't seem to afford any kind of computer upgrades it seems. :wacky:
 
The clocks will roughly be the same. My 1080 ti triple fan boosted to 1900s at silent fan speeds, staying near 70C. This 2080 ti can boost there but thermal throttles big time to the 1500-1600 once it starts hitting 80C.

I'll run superposition when I get home, I'm in the basement, where either AC is on in the summer, or window is open on cooler days, it stays around 20-22 deg down there in an open case
 
I'll run superposition when I get home, I'm in the basement, where either AC is on in the summer, or window is open on cooler days, it stays around 20-22 deg down there in an open case

Loop it until it levels off. Takes a couple loops of heaven for it to get there.
 
Will do, I played World of Warships for nearly 2 hours, it was still boosting to 1860~ and temps were at 68. I wonder if you have an airflow issue :p

I can assure you I do not. The only difference is you are using an open case and the EVGA probably has a slightly better heatsink. As I said I have taken off the stock heatsink and modded it. I'm quoting temps though from stock.

https://thepcenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Zotac-GeForce-RTX-2080-Gaming-Review-10.jpg

Edit: Meant to say I took off the stock fan shroud not the heatsink.
 
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I can assure you I do not. The only difference is you are using an open case and the EVGA probably has a slightly better heatsink. As I said I have taken off the stock heatsink and modded it. I'm quoting temps though from stock.

https://thepcenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Zotac-GeForce-RTX-2080-Gaming-Review-10.jpg

Edit: Meant to say I took off the stock fan shroud not the heatsink.

Gotcha, it's possible that it is a different heatsink, I want to throw mine up on a scale to see what it weighs :)
 
Gotcha, it's possible that it is a different heatsink, I want to throw mine up on a scale to see what it weighs :)

Yeah I'm not sure weight is going to be very useful for our comparison. I bet the EVGA one is just designed better or a bit thicker. I could take a pic and show you how cheap this fan shroud was.
 
I just played Assassin's Creed Origins @ 4k, everything maxed out with the overclock for >3hrs (game sucks you in), everything was perfectly stable. If AC Origins doesn't tax the GPU I don't know what will.

The overclock @ 4k makes a huge difference, I average ~6fps more. I have a [email protected].
 
Yeah I'm not sure weight is going to be very useful for our comparison. I bet the EVGA one is just designed better or a bit thicker. I could take a pic and show you how cheap this fan shroud was.

So right after mining(ultimate 18 hour heatsoak), I reset the power / clocks and ran superposition, it sat at 1695mhz average , temps were hovering around 67-69. average fps was 59.78 on 1080p extreme windowed.
 
Looped that's what it levels off at?

That's after 18 hours of mining at 67 degrees, I just killed the miner and ran the test, I can run a loop a bit later, time for some actual gaming now :D

I also re-ran the test with 112% power target +100 core +400 memory, the temps were 1 degree higher, and clockspeeds were 100mhz higher (1800 was lowest, 1965 was highest, but it hung out around lower 1800s most of the time)
 
That's after 18 hours of mining at 67 degrees, I just killed the miner and ran the test, I can run a loop a bit later, time for some actual gaming now :D

I also re-ran the test with 112% power target +100 core +400 memory, the temps were 1 degree higher, and clockspeeds were 100mhz higher (1800 was lowest, 1965 was highest, but it hung out around lower 1800s most of the time)

I just installed it and ran it (power 100%) and your results are similar to mine. It definitely throttles though just like your card does.
 
I just installed it and ran it (power 100%) and your results are similar to mine. It definitely throttles though just like your card does.

I read somewhere that they are voltage limited as well, due to the smaller cooling solution, I just ran a round of WoWs the clock was hovering around 1905mhz, 72deg c =)

upping the voltage 30mv adds 50mhz to the stable clock, 1950 now

so core +150 / Mem +400 gets me 2000mhz boost(leveled off to 1980)

upload_2019-5-28_22-58-14.png
 
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I read somewhere that they are voltage limited as well, due to the smaller cooling solution, I just ran a round of WoWs the clock was hovering around 1905mhz, 72deg c =)

upping the voltage 30mv adds 50mhz to the stable clock, 1950 now

so core +150 / Mem +400 gets me 2000mhz boost(leveled off to 1980)

View attachment 163966

Yeah WoW is not a very good stress test. Way too old. The voltage limitations are really not an issue, it's the heat for these cards. People that do bios mods get a very little bit of performance in gaming but can get a lot higher benchmark scores. Since I don't give a shit about benchmark scores I don't think I'm going to bother with that.
 
Yeah WoW is not a very good stress test. Way too old. The voltage limitations are really not an issue, it's the heat for these cards. People that do bios mods get a very little bit of performance in gaming but can get a lot higher benchmark scores. Since I don't give a shit about benchmark scores I don't think I'm going to bother with that.

I don't think it has to do with heat in this case, I tried it at 100% fan, 63 degrees, and it still wouldn't go higher, same with gaming. (WoWs = world of warships, not world of warcraft :D ) , I'll try some Witcher 3 later today.

Here, mining.

upload_2019-5-29_8-44-15.png
 
Yeah WoW is not a very good stress test. Way too old. The voltage limitations are really not an issue, it's the heat for these cards. People that do bios mods get a very little bit of performance in gaming but can get a lot higher benchmark scores. Since I don't give a shit about benchmark scores I don't think I'm going to bother with that.
I read somewhere that they are voltage limited as well, due to the smaller cooling solution, I just ran a round of WoWs the clock was hovering around 1905mhz, 72deg c =)

upping the voltage 30mv adds 50mhz to the stable clock, 1950 now

so core +150 / Mem +400 gets me 2000mhz boost(leveled off to 1980)

View attachment 163966


I'd actually have to somewhat agree with you both in that both voltage and temps play the biggest roles for higher clocks with these cards. I've done extensive testing with mine(Strix not black edition) and ultimately use two settings now. Biggest issue is temps. If I keep it under 60c the card can hang in the 1900's to low 2000's on it's own. The closer to 50c the higher it will go. Please understand that my case is large and I've got about a dozen different fans inside it so its a virtual wind tunnel in there. That being said if I keep the card fans at 72% it will keep the card in that sweet spot of 55-60c. I don't use any other changes to settings on the card. This is what I use for about 95% of the time. If I really want to push it for benching or demanding DXR stuff then I've got more aggressive settings that include the fans at 100% and then voltage/power limit increases and more mem speed. These settings can get me 2033mhz to 2115mhz(on a cold day).


At the end of day temps rule these cards but if you go to extremes, or simply want to lock in that higher speed, then voltages/power limits play the next roles. So for $999 it should be fine, chip lottery withstanding, but you've still got to keep it cool. 72c will get some results but really 60c or under is where some magic begins to happen.
 
I don't think it has to do with heat in this case, I tried it at 100% fan, 63 degrees, and it still wouldn't go higher, same with gaming. (WoWs = world of warships, not world of warcraft :D ) , I'll try some Witcher 3 later today.

Here, mining.

View attachment 164020

Games that I use for testing/playing are Witcher 3, SOTTR, Metro Exodus, RE2, Crysis 3, and -cough- BFV.
 
Games that I use for testing/playing are Witcher 3, SOTTR, Metro Exodus, RE2, Crysis 3, and -cough- BFV.

Those are excellent test games. And I know my card can do higher clocks but if I want to keep it pretty silent then that stock fan shroud had to go and I had to tone it to 80% power. Even with everything stock on the card and @ 80% power it was still the loudest thing by far in the case.
 
Those are excellent test games. And I know my card can do higher clocks but if I want to keep it pretty silent then that stock fan shroud had to go and I had to tone it to 80% power. Even with everything stock on the card and @ 80% power it was still the loudest thing by far in the case.

Totally true about that silence. Recently the noise has been the one thing starting to get to me. I've even been doing heavy research into liquid cooling for it but to achieve the numbers I want it's looking to be a major project and even then I have my doubts about how quiet it will be.
 
Totally true about that silence. Recently the noise has been the one thing starting to get to me. I've even been doing heavy research into liquid cooling for it but to achieve the numbers I want it's looking to be a major project and even then I have my doubts about how quiet it will be.

In the next couple of weeks I'll attempt doing a hybrid mod on it. I bought an H90 and G10 from another forum member recently. From videos I've watched it should not be a problem.
 
In the next couple of weeks I'll attempt doing a hybrid mod on it. I bought an H90 and G10 from another forum member recently. From videos I've watched it should not be a problem.

Just some pointers on what I've read for these 2080TI's and I apologize if you already know this info.

From what I've read the best approach seems to be a minimum 240mm radiator but a 560mm can really help in holding upwards of 2100mhz or higher. I haven't actually done it but I've been reading as many reviews or posts as I can regarding it. A 120mm or 240mm will work for stock or minimum OC but they work harder for it. I also read it's not necessarily a good idea to have it combined with a CPU AIO but it can be done if planned properly. Kyle made a really sweet rig with his.
 
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