Which custom card?

Nebell

2[H]4U
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Jul 20, 2015
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Based on the last couple of generations, which custom cards should I keep an eye on?

The store I usually buy cards from has so far only 3080/3090 Asus TUF.
3080 TUF looks interesting as it's not a massive 3 slot like Strix. But I heard only good things about Strix.

Previously, I owned two MSI Gaming X 1080Ti's. I liked those cards. But, but quiet most of the time. However I read that 1080Ti Gaming X had a terrible cooler, so I'm not sure what to think.
I'm probably not interested in hybrids as I play to upgrade to 3080Ti and I'm not looking to water cool the GPU.

EDIT:
I'm mostly interested in getting good overclocks.
 
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I enjoyed my previous card, RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio. It was incredibly quiet, but huge and kinda ugly - which seems to be the case for most of the 3000 AIBs. One thing that I like about MSI is their serial number based transferable warranty (which I haven't had to use, so no idea how they handle RMA).

EVGA is usually a safe bet, I haven't tried one yet, but I've read good things concerning their performance and warranty support. Their upcoming FTW3 and XC3 are on my short list.

Asus Strix is almost always good. I don't know if they released a poor Nvidia-based Strix - I remember there being some duds on the AMD side for Strix (Vega version was hot, 5700 XT had poor mounting pressure, iirc) but believe they've been stellar for Nvidia.
 
Thanks. I forgot to write that I'm mostly interested in overclocking on air.
 
Had a Strix 1070 (now my in-law's) and it rocked. Don't remember really hearing it over my CPU's 212 EVO (which I hated).

Build quality was very solid and it looked amazing (pre-RGB bs). It was quite big though, can't imagine how big a Strix 3090 would be.

Never had to deal with ASUS' customer service (and I've had many ASUS mobos) so I can't speak for that but it's supposedly not the best...

I have a soft spot for EVGA though (loved BFG too...). Would probably go Hybrid or Copper this time around for size.

Currently using a MSI Gaming X 1080Ti and I have no complaints about it (was lucky on the coil whine). Not a big fan (pun maybe intended) of MSI designs overall though (bought this one used for a good price so didn't really get to be too picky).
 
I had Asus cards die on me (couple 670s). Weren't Strix but those DirectCU II cards.
Their mobos are great though.

Now that you mention it, I did have coil whine on my 1080 Ti Gaming X, but I don't recall it being bad, only during high fps.
 
Im keeping my eye out for the evga kingpin, msi lightning and asus rog strix, I'm also not in a huge hurry as my current 2080Ti is perfectly fine.
 
I would guess most cards will be fine. Some cards will have a slightly better cooling solutions, others are better for watercooling or overclocking.
I think Asus designs good cards but if you ever have a problem, you will hate, hate, hate them (IMHO / my experience). For that reason, I will probably pick a company that treats customers well - i.e. EVGA or Nvidia directly. MSI is OK too.
 
Currently, Asus TUF is about €120 more expensive than FE and Strix €200 more than FE.
Are those coolers really worth the price difference?

I'm thinking about ordering both 3080 FE and 3080 Strix and then decide which one to keep and which one to sell.
I anticipate low stock so FE will probably sell for more (not planning to scalp, but maybe make back the extra money on Strix).
 
My Strix 1080Ti was pretty quiet unless I cranked it up to Benchmark and my 2080 Super is dead-silent with ZERO fan noise...mainly because it has no fans. I think I'll wait until the 3090 Ti is out before buying, and then get one that's watercooled.
 
Based on my case (Nano S) I've narrowed it a little bit based on dimensions.

My favorite design is the FE (to my knowledge the smallest 3080), and it looks to me like it might work great in the Nano S.

I also really like the EVGA XC3 model, for the design itself or maybe it is the lack of RGB. By far my favorite design compared to the TUF and the like.

Something bugs me a little about the FTW3 (the red accents? Decadent RGBs? Not entirely sure) but of the "big cards" it seems like its size is not too bad at 300mm length (STRIX for example is 319mm IIRC).

STRIX and AORUS fit as well if I make the bottom front intake fan a slim one.

Not sold on the others (and MSI cards I believe are too long anyway).

If I can't grab one by the time the Hybrid comes out I might look into it. A little letdown by the 240mm rad instead of 120mm. Doesn't fit the case as much but is entirely doable.
 
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