1080 vs 1080ti

JoshieWebster · 14 May 2018 at 15:42

Hi guys,

I know this debate has been long drawn out for a while now but I need some advice for my current situation...

I have a gaming computer at home that I regularly use for Arma 3, Assetto Corsa and recently X Plane 11. I’ve upgraded my RAM to 32gb HyperX Savage after realising I needed more RAM.

Next in turn was GPU... my gaming PC is nearly 4 years old and although I’ve never had trouble running anything, I know I need to future-proof my system a little and start upgrading things.

I have a GTX 970 SC at the moment.

I ordered a brand new, sealed in box ASUS ROG Strix 1080 8GB on Ebay for £550 which I think was quite a good deal. It hasn’t even been taken out of the secondary cardboard box and still sealed with plastic straps around the cardboard.

Shortly after ordering it I got buyer’s remorse and started looking at 1080ti’s - saw a good deal on a lightly used second hand Gigabyte 1080ti Black OC 11GB for £575.

They are both on order and due to arrive in the coming days. Now having done my research I’ve realised the Gigabyte 1080ti Black OC is a cheaper 1080ti card and doesn’t come with a back plate etc. This does kinda bother me as I have a clear window in my Coolermaster HAFX case and like to keep to black/red theme and no ugly stuff going on... the 1080ti does look ugly with no back plate but would I forgive that for the extra performance vs the ROG 1080?

Do I keep the ASUS ROG Strix 1080 (much nicer looking, better quality and brand new card, and also still a beast of a card) and sell the Gigabyte card, or do the opposite and keep the 1080ti although it’s a “cheaper”(!) variant and enjoy the extra 3gb memory it has vs the 1080?

I have a fairly unimpressive system, but working on updating it. Currently I have...

Intel i7 4790k Processor oc’d to 4.4ghz (watercooled)
ASUS Z97-A motherboard
32gb HyperX Savage RAM
Corsair 750W PSU
ROG 144hz monitor and gaming mouse/keyboard etc

I’m not a tech genius so please don’t blow up at me! Just your thoughts would be cool and what you’d do in my situation. Thanks!

tamzzy · 14 May 2018 at 15:44

well the 1080ti is 35% faster than the 1080...so your choice.
i know which i'd pick.
(you don't look at the insides of you case when you game)

DJ85 · 14 May 2018 at 15:49

How are they warranty wise? Take it the ti won have and also “lightly used” anybody could really say that. I’m sure I seen a thread on here last week with reduced cards at a really good price

JoshieWebster · 14 May 2018 at 15:53

David Flett said:
How are they warranty wise? Take it the ti won have and also “lightly used” anybody could really say that. I’m sure I seen a thread on here last week with reduced cards at a really good price

Both cards have their warranty as all papers are included with both cards. I’m a bit funny with having a “budget” 1080ti that’s all. I’d rather have a top of the line 1080. But am I being stupid? appreciate all opinions!

tamzzy · 14 May 2018 at 15:55

David Flett said:
How are they warranty wise?

well firstly, asus warranty is a joke. the fact that op bought it off ebay means that asus won't honour their "warranty" anway.
gigabyte cards are based off their serial number, they do occasionally ask to see the original proof of purchase though. also, gigabyte has a uk rma depot.

JoshieWebster said:
But am I being stupid?

yes.

JoshieWebster · 14 May 2018 at 15:56

tamzzy said:
well firstly, asus warranty is a joke. the fact that op bought it off ebay means that asus won't honour their "warranty" anway.
gigabyte cards are based off their serial number, they do occasionally ask to see the original proof of purchase though

yes.

Thanks for your honesty! Looks like I’ll be keeping the 1080ti and selling the 1080!

tamzzy · 14 May 2018 at 15:58

JoshieWebster said:
Thanks for your honesty! Looks like I’ll be keeping the 1080ti and selling the 1080!

this is coming off someone (me) running a 3770k with a 1080ti

DJ85 · 14 May 2018 at 16:02

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...070ti-399-1060-6g-249.18819599/#post-31802351

I don’t have one but Im sure any 1080 would play anything thrown at it anyway surely?

tamzzy · 14 May 2018 at 16:03

JoshieWebster said:
doesn’t come with a back plate

if you need: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-fc-1080-gtx-ti-backplate-black

energizer123 · 14 May 2018 at 16:34

1080 ti all day!

JediFragger · 14 May 2018 at 20:49

energizer123 said:
1080 ti all day!

**** yeah!!!!!!!! :devilhorns:

voidshatter · 15 May 2018 at 02:45

You'll get buyer's remorse again soon when GTX 1180 becomes available, making the GTX 1080 Ti obsolete.

I usually think the Ti versions to be bad choices for me. It doesn't get me more days to chop games, but it does draw 250W TDP with more noise. I prefer to only upgrade upon the launches of non-Ti versions (180W TDP, much quieter, and much easier to sell as second-hand).

voidshatter · 15 May 2018 at 02:51

David Flett said:
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...070ti-399-1060-6g-249.18819599/#post-31802351

I don’t have one but Im sure any 1080 would play anything thrown at it anyway surely?

Not necessarily true for games like Final Fantasy XV though. FXAA causes artifacts, and TXAA would drop below 60fps at 1080p.

TheGentry · 15 May 2018 at 16:06

1080ti without a doubt.

southernorth · 15 May 2018 at 16:38

voidshatter said:
You'll get buyer's remorse again soon when GTX 1180 becomes available, making the GTX 1080 Ti obsolete.

I usually think the Ti versions to be bad choices for me. It doesn't get me more days to chop games, but it does draw 250W TDP with more noise. I prefer to only upgrade upon the launches of non-Ti versions (180W TDP, much quieter, and much easier to sell as second-hand).

How has the creator of that table worked out GTX 1180 performance before release?

KungFuSpaghetti · 17 May 2018 at 09:14

I don't think I'd be having any buyers remorse at £575 for a 1080ti! After adding an AIO on my 1070ti it stands me only £65 cheaper, so that 1080ti is a total bargain in the current landscape. Keep it, get the water block cover if you're bothered about aesthetics, or just get a solid side panel for your case lol.

Pocah · 17 May 2018 at 10:34

The largest different would be going from a 970 to a 1070. The 1070 is just so, so much faster than the 970. So either the 1080 or the 1080ti will show a spectacular improvement in performance. But so much of this comes down the games you play, the monitor you have, and the performance you expect. There is such a gulf between the 970 and the 1070 that it's really difficult to say how much additional performance you need when you go above a 1070. One thing you will notice though is even with a 1070 the 4790K will be holding it back. Not much, but it will be.

I would never actually buy anything second hand for my main gaming PC. The problems are that firstly you have no idea of the history of the device. It could be coming from a mining rig or been heavily overclocked. Honestly you have no way of knowing whether it has been abused or not. It's really easy to clean up a card and make it look almost new. Not only that but the seller might not take any anti-static precautions so the card could be damaged in a way that you won't find out for three months! Just personal, I know, but for my no.1 PC there is no way that I would install components with unknown history. Ebay, too, you have very little comeback at a later date if things go wrong. So honestly I would stick with the sealed device.

KungFuSpaghetti · 17 May 2018 at 10:59

Is a 4790k really going to hold back a 1070 or even a 1080ti though? I game at 1080p on my rig and generally run every game I play on max everything and every game bar pube-g is running at least the same or beyond my 144hz refresh rate at all times. I'd imagine my CPU is not in the same league as a 4790k. Even pube rarely dips below 100fps hough, Overwatch I've had to use the in game FPS limiter as in EPIC settings it was screen tearing massively.

CaptainRAVE · 17 May 2018 at 11:04

1080Ti is a beautiful card. Saying that, in some titles at 1440p my 4770k is bottlenecking. AC Origins being one of the first.

KungFuSpaghetti · 17 May 2018 at 11:08

When people say bottleneck, I'm not really clear on what this means. Does the bottleneck mean the CPU cant handle the frames being thrown out by the gpu so drops them, effectively giving dips in FPS? Just curious to the meaning and how to spot it. The only game I've noticed an FPS dip is pube-g, where I have a variation from around 100fps minimum to 144fps max.