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3060ti Z Trio (used) vs 3060ti TUF OC (outlet/from consumer return) vs 2080ti Strix Advanced (used, 12-mo seller warranty) at the same price?

NewbieOneKenobi

NewbieOneKenobi

NewbieOneKenobi

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7 Sep 2020
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Long story short, I can't really delay the purchase any more because I need to return my interim GPU to its owner, as his current GPU is dying. Plus, the prices here are unmistakably back to their mid-June levels, meaning approx. 20% higher than they were in early July. So it looks like the evil GPU market is reverting to its evil ways and bouncing back, and I'd rather not be left without a GPU for a second or third time in vain hopes of outlasting the awful situation.

So, I can buy the cards mentioned in the title.

Links:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Graphics-Cards/TUF-Gaming/TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING/
https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-RTX-3060-Ti-GAMING-Z-TRIO-8G-LHR
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-strix-oc/

As far as 3060ti TUF vs Trio is concerned, Trio has a 60MHz higher boost clock and 2x8pin versus TUF's 1x8pin. Both have poor power limits. The 2080ti is slightly faster, draws noticeably more power and has more VRAM (11GB vs 3060ti's 8GB). And apparently also has a poor power limit.

All are from companies. The TUF is from a consumer return in a normal retail shop (normal 24 mo warranty), the Trio is from a used-GPU trader (1 mo unspecified warranty), the 2080ti is from another used-GPU trader (12 mo seller warranty).

I'm inclined to go with the Strix 2080ti because of the extra RAM and slightly faster performance, meaning I could hold off the next upgrade for longer or even play The Witcher 3/Dragon Age 4/Mass Effect 5 when it comes out in 2025 or so, provided the card doesn't die on me by then. However, the card's age is a significant drawback compared to the two 3060tis, especially the TUF.

Between the tis, I suppose the Trio would normally be the (marginally?) better choice, but the TUF is almost unused and with full warranty from a normal retailer and not a used dealer, hence a better choice.

There are some alternatives, but they don't look particularly appealing, coming down to either a weaker card with a better performance-to-cost ratio (tempting, but I'll pass unless the price is a complete steal) or the least overpriced 3070 (less tempting, and I'll pass unless I stumble on a great outlet deal unexpectedly overnight). Realistically speaking, these are the only contenders. If the 2080ti was new, there would be no contest. But since it's not, I'm hesitating.
 
All the same price I'd go with the 2080Ti, I wouldn't overthink it too much.

Also iirc the Turing card has more tensor cores so when DLSS is used the gap widens.
 
I would definitely not get the trio, a 1 month unspecified warranty = no thanks.

If the retail shop is reliable about warranties and likely to stick around, then I'd take that one, with a 24 month and you say it's almost unused which is another bonus.
 
Thank you, gentlemen.

… And just as we talked, the 2080ti Strix went away, but different 2080tis appeared (for just under the same price, though without the same nice 12 mo warranty), and suddenly the place also became teeming with 3070s suddenly at relatively nice prices.

So, it seems I can buy a used TUF 3070 for the price of these three cards, or even a shiny new Palit Gaming Pro / used 3070 Master with 12 mo warranty for 20% extra (and an outlet ti for a further 10% on top of that, and for a little less than 20% on top of that, an actual 3080 12GB… KFA but still). Going in the opposite direction, I could get a 2080 non-ti for a little more than a half of the ti's price. Things are becoming complicated again, sigh. It looks like not a great idea to buy a 2080ti for the same price one could get a 3070, which is a bit faster, uses less electricity and is probably quieter, but the 11GB instead of 8 could make a difference. Or I could grab the regular 2080, put my Accelero on it, play everything in my library I can max out with it, then sell it on and buy something more current. Unfortunately, one thing is sure: I can't wait because I need to return my interim card ASAP.
 
JediFragger said:
If this has some warranty then get it and enjoy it, it uses a very good cooler.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Well, the seller is a company, but as far as warranty is concerned, 'if something goes bad before the end of 2022, we'll try to get manufacturer's warranty to apply,' and that's it. The card has worked in a 'data centre'. So I'm a bit worried about the possibility that the VRAM's may've been driven hard to the point that perhaps not in half a year but more like a year and a half artifacts might start to appear. If the risk was small, I'd be happy to get this at the lower price. I do get the usual 14 days to test it and return it if I don't like it.
 
Hi there

Not sure what your budget is and if your strictly after NVIDIA only but don't forget about the AMD 6700 cards which are available from OcUK for £349-379 with the Sapphire in stock.
We also have 3070's in stock from £489 which is £20 above MSRP for an AIB card.
 
Gibbo said:
Hi there

Not sure what your budget is and if your strictly after NVIDIA only but don't forget about the AMD 6700 cards which are available from OcUK for £349-379 with the Sapphire in stock.
We also have 3070's in stock from £489 which is £20 above MSRP for an AIB card.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I tend to be a local patriot (paying tax in my country, etc.), but supporting this upstanding community would be a noble cause. Interestingly, the £499 KFA2 (1-Click) 3070 plus shipment would actually still come out cheaper than buying from a local retailer here in Poland. The reason I prefer nVidia is that it has better RT support, so it will buy me more time before the next upgrade — I won't have to upgrade because of RT when I get around to playing games that support it — plus it handles DSR better AMD handles VSR, and that's important to me in older games with a 32'' 1440p monitor (very often fake 4K, while not as good as real 4K, looks better than normal 1440p). So I would definitely consider something like the cheapest 6600XT with warranty as an alternative to buying a used 1080ti for a couple dozen quid less, but when making a more expensive purchase and hoping for it to last me a long time, I'd prefer nVidia. Still, the thought of a 6700XT has crossed my mind due to its splendid cost per frame in pure rasterization, given that it's going to take me a year or two before I'm finished with the backlog in my Steam and GOG libraries, going all the way back to 2015 in some cases. For cheap 4K without RT in older games, I suppose the 6700XT would be ideal. Still, the difference between 6700XT and 3070 in price is not so large as not to actually buy a 3070 just to have the peace of mind about RT. I've also considered buying a cheap blower 1080ti and putting my Accelero on it for the oldest games and buying something newer only when I'm done with those games it can max out. After that, I might want to look at RX 7000 rather than RTX 4000, if the 7000 series manages to avoid having an RT handicap compared to nVidia, as that would be my target GPU for a very long time.
 
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