Which of these two GTX-1080's should I get today?

Hello

I have a choice between two different GTX-1080's and would like to hear opinions on which one to pick and why.


Thank you ahead of time for your input and opinions on the matter.

The Zotac is $50 cheaper.


Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Edition 8GB GDDR5X PCIe Video Card


MSI GeForce GTX 1080 ARMOR 8GB Overclock PCIe Video Card

Zotac. It's $50 cheaper and will OC the same.

I had a bad experience with ZOTAC customer support. Also, my ZOTAC GTX 680 had issues from day 1 (fan blades hitting the shroud). I had mixed experience with MSI customer support. It replaced a 6950 that I killed, but lowballed me for x79 Big Bang board that failed (sent me a check instead of replacing board as they have no stock, which did come back in stock later).

As for the card, I would go with MSI if you plan to OC as they will both likely hit 2100MHz. The warranty is transferable and adds to the value. I don't know where you could save $50 with the ZOTAC? That seems like a lot.

Microcenter had the Zotac for 50 less. I went with the Zotac. I don't overclock my video cards much if any at all and the Zotac has higher clocks out of the box.

Thanks for your input

If either of these is a reference PCB design, I'd go with that one. Better availability of water blocks, replacement coolers, etc, and JayzTwoCents seemed to think the Founders Edition PCB design overclocked better than the board partner designs.

Otherwise get the Zotac. $50 is $50, and you'll likely know pretty early on if there's something horribly wrong with the card, in which case you just return it.

OC wise it's a lottery. There is no guarantee (mine only hit 2000). I'd just get the cheaper one.

The MSI has a waterblock for it by EK. That means the MSI is more valuable because of this watercooling path.