lukeman3000
n00b
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2010
- Messages
- 19
Hi guys -
Recently I RMA'd my 2080 Ti XC2 Ultra with EVGA. They apparently didn't have any direct replacements so they've offered me a choice between these two cards. They originally sent the 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra but it was too long for my system. So they said they could do a 3070 Ti, which would fit. Here are spec sheets for the two cards:
2080 FTW3 Ultra
3070 Ti XC3 Ultra
However, I became aware of the fact that these two cards are apparently quite close in terms of real-world gaming performance, and the 3070 Ti is lacking 3 GB of VRAM (with 8 GB total) as compared to the 11 GB of the 2080 Ti.
And from what I understand, the 2080 Ti has excellent overclocking potential - especially perhaps given that we're talking about the FTW3 Ultra variant. So it just got me thinking. I play at 2560x1440 and it seems like I've used more than 8 GB VRAM in the past (like with GTA 4/5 for example). And I know that Halo Infinite uses damn near 8 GB on ultra settings at 2560x1440. So if this is the case, then it would seem that I might have to make a compromise in terms of fidelity in order to accommodate the lower VRAM of the 3070 Ti in certain cases.
A compromise that, on the face of it, seems pretty unnecessary given that the 3070 Ti seems to only get roughly 10 FPS more than the 2080 Ti on average across various game benchmarks I've seen - and that's without any overclocking.
So does my logic track here? To me it would seem that, even without overclocking, the 2080 Ti barely underperforms the 3070 Ti. And due to the lower VRAM, I might not be able to enjoy the higher fidelity textures and such in certain games. Granted, the frame rate would be higher but not by what would seem to be a very significant amount when we're already in the 80-90+ FPS range (that is, I'd rather have 80 FPS and ultra settings than 110 FPS and non-ultra settings).
Then there's the subject of DLSS - I like DLSS. And I've heard that it's better on 3000 series cards (compared to 2000 series). But it already seems pretty damn good on 2000 series and it's not like I would get to use DLSS 3.0 with a 3070 Ti, so I'm not sure if I'm missing out on anything too significant here in light of everything else.
What does the community think about all this? I feel like I'm leaning toward the 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra, overclock or not, but I'm very willing to change my mind if it makes sense. There are just so many variables and I'm not knowledgeable enough to make an informed decision on my own.
Oh btw, how possible/affordable might it be at this point in time to get a water block for that 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra and some kind of 120mm AIO solution? I'm not interested in a full loop (I prefer the lower maintenance of AIO), but I'd be willing to entertain this idea if it meant lower noise level + better overclock. Are there any good options for this? What about overclocking using the default air cooler - would the fan speed be ungodly loud?
Recently I RMA'd my 2080 Ti XC2 Ultra with EVGA. They apparently didn't have any direct replacements so they've offered me a choice between these two cards. They originally sent the 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra but it was too long for my system. So they said they could do a 3070 Ti, which would fit. Here are spec sheets for the two cards:
2080 FTW3 Ultra
3070 Ti XC3 Ultra
However, I became aware of the fact that these two cards are apparently quite close in terms of real-world gaming performance, and the 3070 Ti is lacking 3 GB of VRAM (with 8 GB total) as compared to the 11 GB of the 2080 Ti.
And from what I understand, the 2080 Ti has excellent overclocking potential - especially perhaps given that we're talking about the FTW3 Ultra variant. So it just got me thinking. I play at 2560x1440 and it seems like I've used more than 8 GB VRAM in the past (like with GTA 4/5 for example). And I know that Halo Infinite uses damn near 8 GB on ultra settings at 2560x1440. So if this is the case, then it would seem that I might have to make a compromise in terms of fidelity in order to accommodate the lower VRAM of the 3070 Ti in certain cases.
A compromise that, on the face of it, seems pretty unnecessary given that the 3070 Ti seems to only get roughly 10 FPS more than the 2080 Ti on average across various game benchmarks I've seen - and that's without any overclocking.
So does my logic track here? To me it would seem that, even without overclocking, the 2080 Ti barely underperforms the 3070 Ti. And due to the lower VRAM, I might not be able to enjoy the higher fidelity textures and such in certain games. Granted, the frame rate would be higher but not by what would seem to be a very significant amount when we're already in the 80-90+ FPS range (that is, I'd rather have 80 FPS and ultra settings than 110 FPS and non-ultra settings).
Then there's the subject of DLSS - I like DLSS. And I've heard that it's better on 3000 series cards (compared to 2000 series). But it already seems pretty damn good on 2000 series and it's not like I would get to use DLSS 3.0 with a 3070 Ti, so I'm not sure if I'm missing out on anything too significant here in light of everything else.
What does the community think about all this? I feel like I'm leaning toward the 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra, overclock or not, but I'm very willing to change my mind if it makes sense. There are just so many variables and I'm not knowledgeable enough to make an informed decision on my own.
Oh btw, how possible/affordable might it be at this point in time to get a water block for that 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra and some kind of 120mm AIO solution? I'm not interested in a full loop (I prefer the lower maintenance of AIO), but I'd be willing to entertain this idea if it meant lower noise level + better overclock. Are there any good options for this? What about overclocking using the default air cooler - would the fan speed be ungodly loud?