GTX 1080ti FE vs aib

Koween

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 24, 2012
Messages
486
I ordered a evga 1080ti founders edition but it's still not in stock here and I've been thinking if I should cancel it and get something like the Asus strix or some other "better" model.
The gpu will be watercooled with a universal waterblock so waterblock selection is not an issue. However, is there any reason to think that the aib partner cards will overclock significantly better (better pcb design, components etc.) than the FE model, or is it not worth it?
 
I wouldn't think so - the 1070 and 1080 cards were all basically the same. Doubly so if you put them under water and remove the temperature issue.
 
They shouldn't clock any better. If the price is the same, go with the FE. Also means IF you do find you want to change your universal block to something, well, not universal, it will likely work with the FE.
 
I ordered a evga 1080ti founders edition but it's still not in stock here and I've been thinking if I should cancel it and get something like the Asus strix or some other "better" model.
The gpu will be watercooled with a universal waterblock so waterblock selection is not an issue. However, is there any reason to think that the aib partner cards will overclock significantly better (better pcb design, components etc.) than the FE model, or is it not worth it?

I had a gtx 1080 strix and it was a piece of crap. I'd buy FE 1080ti (I own one myself) and if it's too loud then buy the evga watercooling kit for $120 when they come out.
 
I had a gtx 1080 strix and it was a piece of crap. I'd buy FE 1080ti (I own one myself) and if it's too loud then buy the evga watercooling kit for $120 when they come out.
I have the EK supremacy vga waterblock which I will be modding under the stock shroud (that's why I wanted the FE). Started having second thoughts that maybe the reference is worse at overclocking on water, but it seems the FE is a good choice.
 
Both are great but it depends on what you plan to do. My FE is right now at 1936 on the core at 69 to 70c with the fan at 70 to 73% in Ghost Recon and its still quieter than my 7970 was at 60%. I had it over 2,000 for a little bit with no issue but wanted to step it up slower.

To push OC on air with better cooling the AIB's would probably be better. The FE's do a great job on their own though and if you plan to go water they will most likely be more compatible without wasting cash on the big cooler you plan to toss.
 
I've found my FEs start to downclock from 2,000MHz to around 1900-1950 at anything over 60*C. Whether a Strix can maintain 2,000MHz (and 60*C or lower) remains to be seen I think.

But, to be fair, is the difference really worth it? As enthusiasts obviously we would all like to see 2,000MHz+ but in reality, is it a big deal and worth the extra £ / $? That's your call...
 
I've found my FEs start to downclock from 2,000MHz to around 1900-1950 at anything over 60*C. Whether a Strix can maintain 2,000MHz (and 60*C or lower) remains to be seen I think.

But, to be fair, is the difference really worth it? As enthusiasts obviously we would all like to see 2,000MHz+ but in reality, is it a big deal and worth the extra £ / $? That's your call...
No, i don't think it's worth it to me and I think it may be possible to have the gpu under 60°C as I will have 2x240mm + 420mm rads for the gpu and cpu, so I won't even see the difference.
I thought that maybe the aftermarket cards have better power delivery etc that would allow them to clock higher than the FE, but it seems nvidia's reference design is already quite good and most of the custom desings are overbuilt to the point where it does not make a difference unless the gpu is under ln2 or similar.
And nice name btw, reminded me of hours spent in front of the playstation :D
 
I had a gtx 1080 strix and it was a piece of crap. I'd buy FE 1080ti (I own one myself) and if it's too loud then buy the evga watercooling kit for $120 when they come out.
Why was it crap? I've heard mostly good things about the Strix series.
 
Why was it crap? I've heard mostly good things about the Strix series.

Was defective and I had to run it downclocked to be stable. Cheap build quality, lot of cheap plastic on it. And don't forget about the industry's worst warranty service.

Got an MSI 1080 later and the difference in quality was huge
 
I've been rolling with the FE cards for the 10xx series. They seem to be a nice little package. The fan gets a little noisy but oh well. I like dumping the heat out of my case.
 
I've been rolling with the FE cards for the 10xx series. They seem to be a nice little package. The fan gets a little noisy but oh well. I like dumping the heat out of my case.

This is the first FE card I've owned, and I'm very happy with it so far. No way I would have paid a price premium over an AIB card, but now that reference price is lower, I would much rather save the $80 over something like a strix. I've never even heard my fan, afterburner shows it never goes over around 50% and it stays 80C or below all the time and maintaining a boost clock ~1985ish. The strix and some of the other AiB cards do look cool as hell though. The green lighting on my FE does not look good with the red lighting on the rest of my system.
 
Why was it crap? I've heard mostly good things about the Strix series.

I've ran a Strix for a while now and had absolutely no issues. Card is well made and has run completely solid.

P.S. Plastic isn't a bad thing, you don't want to add more weight than absolutely needed. My old Titan X started to get a slight bend to it from the weight of it's back end.
 
I had some time with my FE tonight and it seems to spool up quicker and get louder with the same fan profile I used on my 1080 (non ti). I know it's a more stout card with basically the same cooler so the cooler is going to need to work harder to cool that beast. I am probably going to want to put one of those eVGA water kits on this thing at some point.
 
I don't understand why people buy FE cards with inferior blower coolers and design. AIB cards are always better for less.

Except for strange brands like KFA2, Palit, Gainward etc... As far as I'm aware the boards and performance are exactly the same. You just pay less because of the lack of marketing.
Personally, I got the FE because I know there are waterblocks to suit from basically every manufacturer, whereas the special edition AIB cards are always a bit behind.
 
I don't understand why people buy FE cards with inferior blower coolers and design. AIB cards are always better for less.

Better for less? Pretty sure the FE's are cheaper this time around (as they should be).

And define inferior, as that is very subjective. If one plans to straight water cool it why waste extra cash on a custom cooler you are going to bin. Others of us much prefer to vent the hot air out of our cases. I have pretty good air flow through my case and in running Ghost Recon Wildlands on ulra thus far I peak at 70c. Boosts to 1974 MHz on the core, memory at 5557 with the fan peaking at 76% . Could not hear the fan at all from my seating position with the game, voice chat, computer location and such. Would not take much at all to get it at 2000 MHz.

I KNOW that the custom cards cool better, but I'm damned impressed with how this performs. Saved some money, great performance, easy to water cool if I decide to add it to my loop and its so much more quiet than my 7970 at any fan speed.

My situation does not apply to everyone, both FE and AIB's are great and people buy what they want or what suits their needs, cant be that hard to understand :)
 
The higher end AIB cards almost always have upgraded power delivery then the reference models. Whether or not that leads to higher overclocks is debatable, but they do have better power delivery, and a BIOS to actually make use of >250watt TDP provided the GPU itself isn't the limiting factor.
 
I don't understand why people buy FE cards with inferior blower coolers and design. AIB cards are always better for less.
Well, the FE 1080ti cost me around 100usd less than any of the aftermarket cards. Since I was going to watercool it was the best choice
The higher end AIB cards almost always have upgraded power delivery then the reference models. Whether or not that leads to higher overclocks is debatable, but they do have better power delivery, and a BIOS to actually make use of >250watt TDP provided the GPU itself isn't the limiting factor.
After looking at some pcb breakdowns it became quite clear to me that the reference power delivery is really good and most aib ones are overbuilt. The power limit is 120% or 125% and seems to be more than enough to overclock.
IMO aib cards are good if you need that air cooler and if you need the bios switch. Otherwise for watercooling the reference is a good choice. Especially since 1080/1070s in all flavors overclock to pretty much the same level if cooling is not an issue.
 
I don't understand why people buy FE cards with inferior blower coolers and design. AIB cards are always better for less.
Would make sense in a mini itx build where space is a premium where you cannot put additional fans.
 
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