Buyer's Remorse: Just purchased a second hand 1080ti...

sherminator1995 · 11 Sep 2019 at 10:39

I made an account here after a long time of being a lurker/dedicated customer just so you guys can either validate me, or unreservedly call me an idiot.

As I'm moving abroad soon to a place where GPU's are mind-bogglingly marked up, I thought I would upgrade my 1070 to something a bit "more". After way less research than I usually put into PC part components (say, a couple of hours instead of a few weeks of losing sleep), I pulled the trigger on an EVGA FTW3 1080ti for around £400 after selling my 1070 for £200. I specifically chose this card because of its cooler, and the fact that it can only just fit in my Dan Cases A4. I considered the Asus trade in, but none of their cards (apart from the blower) would fit in that case. Also, due to logistics of moving, I am somewhat (but not super) strapped for cash.

Now, as the card is in transit, I'm starting to somewhat regret my decision after more carefully watching videos and reading articles of comparisons with the 5700XT and 2070 Super.

Did I actually make a bad decision on this? I don't know, honestly - it seems to be a little faster at the moment, but I now realise there will be driver updates to newer cards which will maybe push them up and above in the coming years and months.

Looking on eBay, I could probably flip this 1080ti for a little more cash (given there's another £1 selling promotion). However, is it worth the hassle? I don't have much time left before I leave the country so action must be done quick...

Thanks guys, and sorry for being an idiot like this in my first post here.

chroniclard · 11 Sep 2019 at 10:48

1080ti is still a decent card, however the 2070S looks to be a better buy at the moment though it is more expensive.

Spyhop · 11 Sep 2019 at 10:50

What's the worst case scenario? That you end up having lower bang-per-buck ratio by a small fraction? Pretty meaningless in the scheme of things.

Not worth stressing over. Especially since you have bigger things going on.

Phixsator · 11 Sep 2019 at 10:50

First of all, you are not an idiot. Don't be that harsh on yourself. The 1080 ti has more grunt than the 5700xt but not much more so I understand your position. However the drivers for the 5700xt could be better (and they will certainly get better) where as the 1080 ti has a mature set of drivers available. What you should do is not really for us to tell but I think its fairly obvious that if you cant sit down and enjoy a gaming session without constantly worrying about your purchase then perhaps you should flip the item and get a new card (if you can make use of the warranty since you are moving), otherwise game on and be happy. The 1080 ti is a solid card.

TonyTurbo78 · 11 Sep 2019 at 11:51

1080ti is still an absolute beast of a card, dont stress it. I use one in a second rig for sim racing, it has enough grunt to run triple 1440p monitors with ease.

bigmike20vt · 11 Sep 2019 at 11:56

sherminator1995 said:
I made an account here after a long time of being a lurker/dedicated customer just so you guys can either validate me, or unreservedly call me an idiot.

As I'm moving abroad soon to a place where GPU's are mind-bogglingly marked up, I thought I would upgrade my 1070 to something a bit "more". After way less research than I usually put into PC part components (say, a couple of hours instead of a few weeks of losing sleep), I pulled the trigger on an EVGA FTW3 1080ti for around £400 after selling my 1070 for £200. I specifically chose this card because of its cooler, and the fact that it can only just fit in my Dan Cases A4. I considered the Asus trade in, but none of their cards (apart from the blower) would fit in that case. Also, due to logistics of moving, I am somewhat (but not super) strapped for cash.

Now, as the card is in transit, I'm starting to somewhat regret my decision after more carefully watching videos and reading articles of comparisons with the 5700XT and 2070 Super.

Did I actually make a bad decision on this? I don't know, honestly - it seems to be a little faster at the moment, but I now realise there will be driver updates to newer cards which will maybe push them up and above in the coming years and months.

Looking on eBay, I could probably flip this 1080ti for a little more cash (given there's another £1 selling promotion). However, is it worth the hassle? I don't have much time left before I leave the country so action must be done quick...

Thanks guys, and sorry for being an idiot like this in my first post here.

The 1080ti is still a monster GPU and will outperform everything up to an rtx2080 (which is trades blows with). It has more memory than the RTX cards and for a net outlay of £200 I think is a nice upgrade.

You lose out on RayTracing and the sharpening filter of turing. I am biased as I have a 1080ti but I am more than happy with it and expect it to put me on allowing me to skip this generation and buy something in a few years time which does a much better job of raytracing and then there will be more software to support it to.

Personally I would not bother selling but if you do, I would say no point going AMD the 1080ti is more than a match for any of their cards...

Poneros · 11 Sep 2019 at 12:33

2070S is like 200 more, and the 5700XT is noticeably slower & less vram, as well as expensive. No point imo. £400 for 1080ti is good, and a FTW3 no less!

varkanoid · 11 Sep 2019 at 12:37

Unless you must have RTX for the games that use it the 1080ti is a very good GPU.

I specifically chose this card because of its cooler, and the fact that it can only just fit in my Dan Cases A4.

I think your own statement vindicates your purchase.

Psycho Sonny · 11 Sep 2019 at 12:40

Spyhop said:
What's the worst case scenario? That you end up having lower bang-per-buck ratio by a small fraction? Pretty meaningless in the scheme of things.

Not worth stressing over. Especially since you have bigger things going on.

What's the worst case scenario you say?

Some noob miner used the card at stupid temps for the past 3 years and it has no warranty and it dies within a few weeks of use.

I'd much rather spend £400 on a 5700XT or £500 on a 2070 super that has 3 years warranty.

keylion · 11 Sep 2019 at 12:46

I'd keep it and certainly wouldn't risk a sale on eBay, theres too much that can go wrong and leave you out of pocket.

wellibob · 11 Sep 2019 at 13:22

1080ti. Keep it. Brilliant card then and today.

CuriousTomCat · 11 Sep 2019 at 13:52

It's not all about performance. I'd rather have a slightly slower card with a few years warranty.

What if your card dies in six months?

sherminator1995 · 11 Sep 2019 at 13:54

Thanks for all the info guys, I feel *slightly* better about it now.

Honestly, I don't really care that much during games. Most of the time I've had my 1070, I've been at 1080p and only recently moved to a 1440p monitor (so the 4K thing isn't an issue). I usually leave the games at the default setting and change bits to taste (e.g. I dislike motion blur) or to get a more stable FPS (e.g. slightly less AA). I know the 1080ti can bash out 100+ FPS without problems at 1440p in most games.

Raytracing isn't an issue for me: I don't particularly care for it at this time because it seems to be at its infancy in the gaming realm. I like DLSS, but I wasn't sure if the premium was worth it.

Psycho Sonny said:
What's the worst case scenario you say?

Some noob miner used the card at stupid temps for the past 3 years and it has no warranty and it dies within a few weeks of use.

I'd much rather spend £400 on a 5700XT or £500 on a 2070 super that has 3 years warranty.

Yeah, this was one thing I'm afraid of... Well, it's arriving tomorrow so I'll give it a spin and see if it keels over and dies.

With what you guys are saying, and thinking about it more carefully, post-lunch, I can say the following:

1) I don't care too much about ray tracing yet, and DLSS shouldn't matter too much because this card should get me more FPS than my screen can take (human eye can't see more than 24 anyway hyuk hyuk).

2) The 2070 super will be getting faster in the coming years, but the extra frames I would have got really won't matter because it's going to be like 140 Vs 150 maybe.

3) It was a grand total of £200 in the end for way more performance, for a pretty good card (the exact one my broke student arse dreamed about in 2017).

4) As long as I can turn all the sliders up in Cyberpunk 2077 next year, you can bet I won't give a flying falafel about price/performance.

Thanks guys! Looking forward to the card now! Let's hope it isn't a dud...

Edit: to reply to the new comment - I'm going abroad, so the warranty may not even be valid (depending on the manufacturer). Either way, it's not, overall, as huge an outlay as it would have been if I dropped £600 on a 2070 super.

sunshinewelly · 11 Sep 2019 at 14:25

The fact you have buyers remorse suggests that you are aware you have made a mistake and are after reassurance that you have not - i have been there and done the same myself.

personally i would have gone for a 2070 super (not sure if the 2 free game promotion is on which if it is makes it even worse a decision).

so it would be £100 extra (less if games are included ) to step up to a decent 2070 super. (zotac with 5 year warranty)

depending on the games you play RTX is a game changer even now .

Control for example has next gen rtx implementation. Metro exodus not so much - however i would not go back to playing metro without rtx now

the 1080ti is still a very good card though and its a good price at £400. But i think the 2070 super is a better card at £475 to £500 as its more future proof

also i assume that when you decide to upgrade again you would probably be able to sell a 2070 super at a higher price than a 1080ti as you would still have a warranty in 2 years time with a new 2070 super purchase

willhub · 11 Sep 2019 at 14:40

I switched FROM a 1080Ti to a 2070S. I'm glad.

Webzta · 11 Sep 2019 at 14:52

1080Ti is a great card, enjoy it.

nomadd · 11 Sep 2019 at 15:04

varkanoid said:
Unless you must have RTX for the games that use it the 1080ti is a very good CPU.

Nah, it's a terrible CPU.

Disco_P · 11 Sep 2019 at 18:16

No gtx 1080 ti from evga will be out of warranty for another 6 months.

Vexr · 11 Sep 2019 at 18:35

willhub said:
I switched FROM a 1080Ti to a 2070S. I'm glad.

Explanation required

XeNoNF50 · 11 Sep 2019 at 18:40

willhub said:
I switched FROM a 1080Ti to a 2070S. I'm glad.

What?! That seems mental lol