Evga 3080 2x8 pin vs 3 x 8 pin, why?

MelonSplitter

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Why does the Evga 3080 ftw3 ultra have 3x8 pin connections vs the XC3 ultra that has 2x8 pin? They both have identical specs other than the ftw3 having about 55 more Mhz of boost clock.
 
Why does the Evga 3080 ftw3 ultra have 3x8 pin connections vs the XC3 ultra that has 2x8 pin? They both have identical specs other than the ftw3 having about 55 more Mhz of boost clock.
Product differentiation. The FTW3 has an XOC BIOS available that allows the board to draw over 450W of power, which 2x 8 pins cannot deliver.

PCI-E slot can deliver 75W.
6 pin can deliver 75W.
8 pin can deliver 150W.

The XC3 model will have problems drawing over 375W, the FTW3 models can theoretically draw up to 525W.
 
Product differentiation. The FTW3 has an XOC BIOS available that allows the board to draw over 450W of power, which 2x 8 pins cannot deliver.

PCI-E slot can deliver 75W.
6 pin can deliver 75W.
8 pin can deliver 150W.

The XC3 model will have problems drawing over 375W, the FTW3 models can theoretically draw up to 525W.
I guess what I'm asking is , if you OC the XC3 55 Mhz would you get the same performance as the FTW3?
 
The extra power lets the card boost higher so no the same true overclock frequency between the two cards won't necessarily be the same. The more expensive card will also have better cooling which will effect performance.
 
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The extra power lets the card boost higher so no the same true overclock frequency between the two cards won't necessarily be the same. The more expensive card will also have better cooling which will effect performance.
So your saying by OC the XC3 Ultra by 55 or 60 Mhz would not put it in the same class (performance wise) as the ftw3 ultra?
 
I suppose the ftw3's might be binned better?
What I gathered from EVGA Jacob’s tweets is that EVGA doesn’t “bin” their FTW3 chips any further than just testing to ensure they are stable at their advertised boost clock (1800MHz). Which is below what the majority of Ampere cards are hitting anyway at stock (1900MHz+). They likely do more extensive binning on their KlNGPlN variants though if I had to guess.
 
So your saying by OC the XC3 Ultra by 55 or 60 Mhz would not put it in the same class (performance wise) as the ftw3 ultra?

The difference you should be looking at is the potential max overclock and boost consistency of each card. The ftw3 has a whole lot more power overhead for overclocking. It likely has better cooling too, but I doubt you'll be taking significant advantage of the increased power limit on stock cooling.

If you are looking at stock vs stock performance then the ftw3 is probably not for you.
 
The difference you should be looking at is the potential max overclock and boost consistency of each card. The ftw3 has a whole lot more power overhead for overclocking. It likely has better cooling too, but I doubt you'll be taking significant advantage of the increased power limit on stock cooling.

If you are looking at stock vs stock performance then the ftw3 is probably not for you.
I'm not trying to OC a FTW3 ultra. I would like to OC the XC3 to reach the ftw3's GPU boost clock of 1800 Mhz. The XC3 ultra's stock boost clock is 1755 Mhz. So with a 45 Mhz OC, which should be easy, I would get a FTW3 ultra performance for $100 cheaper.
 
I'm not trying to OC a FTW3 ultra. I would like to OC the XC3 to reach the ftw3's GPU boost clock of 1800 Mhz. The XC3 ultra's stock boost clock is 1755 Mhz. So with a 45 Mhz OC, which should be easy, I would get a FTW3 ultra performance for $100 cheaper.

That's my point, your OC'd XC3 would match stock FTW3 performance. If your only concern is hitting a boost clock of 1800Mhz then the XC3 is the way to go.

However a max overclocked FTW3 is still likely to OC farther than a max overclocked XC3. That's what the extra power connector is for, that's where the extra cost comes into play. If you OC both of the cards as far as they will handle, the FTW3 is probably going to be faster.
 
To get people to buy the more expensive cards. If you look at reviews, overclocking the 3080/3090 is worthless because it barely adds any performance.
 
EVGAs been doing this for a while, my 1070 has dual 8pin and so does my 1080Ti.
Reference 1070 is a single 8 pin if i recall correctly and 1080ti is 8+6.

On a related note, i've seen my 1080Ti hit over 330watts if I really really want to push it, but the performance simply wasn't there and the heat level was absolutely insane. (I usually keept it around 290w, reference TDP is 250w).

I don't have the numbers on how far I can push the 1070 wattage because i've been running it in my wifes box for a while and haven't looked.
 
Product differentiation. The FTW3 has an XOC BIOS available that allows the board to draw over 450W of power, which 2x 8 pins cannot deliver.

PCI-E slot can deliver 75W.
6 pin can deliver 75W.
8 pin can deliver 150W.

The XC3 model will have problems drawing over 375W, the FTW3 models can theoretically draw up to 525W.

The cards max clock is all silicon lottery. I've seen people with really nice 2 pin cards and crappy Strixes. And vice versa.

I'm drawing 530W on my shunt modded 3090 FE :/

PCIE slot is at 90 watts (the card thinks it's 68W) and if I re-tapped off the PCIE shunt mod, I should be able to reach 540W since then the highest of the 8 pins should trigger the new power limit.
The PCIE slot is triggering the power limit.

The plugs can handle more than is given. What is given is simply official max specifications.
It's not much different than me pushing 230W through a GTX 1070's laptop MXM port and it hasn't melted yet, when the port is "officially" rated up to 150W max sustained and 195W maximum burst (which is why 200W MXM GTX 1080's come with an auxiliary power connector while 150W 1080's do not).
 
The cards max clock is all silicon lottery. I've seen people with really nice 2 pin cards and crappy Strixes. And vice versa.

I'm drawing 530W on my shunt modded 3090 FE :/

PCIE slot is at 90 watts (the card thinks it's 68W) and if I re-tapped off the PCIE shunt mod, I should be able to reach 540W since then the highest of the 8 pins should trigger the new power limit.
The PCIE slot is triggering the power limit.

The plugs can handle more than is given. What is given is simply official max specifications.
It's not much different than me pushing 230W through a GTX 1070's laptop MXM port and it hasn't melted yet, when the port is "officially" rated up to 150W max sustained and 195W maximum burst (which is why 200W MXM GTX 1080's come with an auxiliary power connector while 150W 1080's do not).
Yeah, this is more YMMV territory however. I understand it's all silicon lottery with the modern boost algorithms.
 
It isn't just the 3080 FTW3 and FTW3 Ultra's power draw that cause it to need the extra 8-pin PCI-E power connector. There's also this: it needs the 3rd 8-pin connector to power the card's LED extravaganza! Out!
 
Much to my amazement: I got the email from EVGA an hour ago and pulled the trigger on the XC3 Ultra. This thread was one of several things in helping me dial in that decision properly. Thanks, all. :)
I just OC my XC3 ultra to match FTW3 ultra performance. My fans are only at 30% and I can't even hear them. I'm sure I could go higher but whats the point. I like where it's at.
 
Much to my amazement: I got the email from EVGA an hour ago and pulled the trigger on the XC3 Ultra. This thread was one of several things in helping me dial in that decision properly. Thanks, all. :)
Grats, when did you sign up for the notification?
 
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This is the one I want:

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=10G-P5-3899-KR

Says coming December. Hopefully there won't be a run on these open loop cards but that's probably wishful thinking...

It is quite a bit larger than it's XC3 cousin:

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=10G-P5-3889-KR

Is this really only going to be $850? That seems like a good deal considering a water block alone is at least $100 and then FTW 3 Ultra is over $800 by itself. I may try to get this because I was goin to water cool a 3080 anyways, but have not been able to source any.

The GPU is the only part I have not been able to get, the 6800XT looks to have even less inventory than the 3080 did on launch.
 
How's the quality on those hydro copper blocks? I thought about waiting to try and snag one of those cards, but I pre-ordered a Heatkiller V block instead. XC3 Ultra should be here tomorrow :D
 
Why does the Evga 3080 ftw3 ultra have 3x8 pin connections vs the XC3 ultra that has 2x8 pin? They both have identical specs other than the ftw3 having about 55 more Mhz of boost clock.
The real reason is that, thanks to social media influencers like Buildzoid and GamersNexus who do "PCB breakdowns" where they discuss the details of each board design, there is a marketing advantage to using a third connector on higher priced cards, in that those guys will talk about how robust the design is.

For anyone who is not a competitive overclocker, there isn't really an advantage to this, since the standard firmware will not allow you to exceed a predefined power budget, which easily falls well within the range that can be supported by just two connectors. This changes if you're willing to modify the card in certain ways, and the extra power provided by the third connector can then become useful, but if you're just playing games, it's the cooler design that makes premium cards worth the extra money, and not the extra power connector.
 
Nice, there is still hope for me yet.
I signed up for notification on release day and got my purchase link a few weeks ago. Still waiting on a 2070S to 3080 step up though. The XC3 is semi quiet although you can hear it under load when it’s being stressed. No complaints here.
 
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