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30xx Series Founders Edition

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No one is saying the cooler is special in any way, it's an unusual design but most of us know that's mostly for aesthetics and not really for the cooling. With most of the decent AIB cards running cooler. But there's been loads of reported estimates that the cooler/shroud itself is $150 on its own, and that's just to produce it, not the R&D that went into it. That was leaked and reported on by loads of mainstream PC/hardware sites. All of the speculation at the time, prior to release made people assume that due to this the FE cards would be uniquely expensive and the reality turned out that they weren't, not only were they price fixed but they were basically as cheap or cheaper than AIBs.

All the evidence taken together it's super obvious this is just marketing, they want to be able to show you the slide I showed above and be able to claim that while not getting sued for false advertising. And so produce just enough of the card to maintain that illusion and drip feed them out. Meanwhile keep a lid on how many have actually been sold. We did get to see some leaked numbers of expected deliveries to 3rd party retailers such as the one picked to supply the UK and they were extremely small in number and in very infrequent drops. Who on earth price fixes their own products when they could make a killing on them?
 

A2B

A2B

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aw crap, I ordered 120x20 when I thought it was 120x120. Spent so much time hunting for them, I must've got mixed up at the last minute. So ignore the link I posted.

On the bright side, they turned up way faster than expected, looks like they upgraded the shipping (arrived here using RM Tracked 48).
 
Soldato
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Am I the only one who feels the FE HSF is pretty damn brilliant? Performs great and is quiet, especially for the size. The 3080FE that is, the 3090FE is huge and has the extra VRAM challenge of course.
 

A2B

A2B

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Most owners would agree. Yes AIB cards can trim cooler but those are huge in comparison.

Exactly, people forget how compact the FE's are, so their cooler can't be as effective as the better much larger AIBs', but I find those oversized and ugly. choices.
 
Soldato
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Am I the only one who feels the FE HSF is pretty damn brilliant? Performs great and is quiet, especially for the size. The 3080FE that is, the 3090FE is huge and has the extra VRAM challenge of course.

Yeah I think it is pretty good ranks with the best Nvidia cards I have owned

Most owners would agree. Yes AIB cards can trim cooler but those are huge in comparison.

I don’t see any other true two slot cards on the market.

Exactly, people forget how compact the FE's are, so their cooler can't be as effective as the better much larger AIBs', but I find those oversized and ugly. choices.

Lets not forget not all AIB cards cool brilliantly. Some have awful cooling and are worse than Nvidia's effort.
 
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Am I the only one who feels the FE HSF is pretty damn brilliant? Performs great and is quiet, especially for the size. The 3080FE that is, the 3090FE is huge and has the extra VRAM challenge of course.

Mine is very quiet up to a point but once fans start to become audible they are very loud. For some reason now and again they will spin up for a bit while gaming even though most of the time I can't hear them. Not quite sure why.
 

A2B

A2B

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OK let me correct myself. Cheapest 120x120mm Thermalright Odyssey 1.5mm pad on Ali Express with 10 day UK shipping: Thermalright ODYSSEY Heat Dissipation Silicone Pad CPU/GPU Card Water Cooling Thermal Mat 12.8W/mk 85x45mm 120X120MM|Fans & Cooling| - AliExpress (just over £16 all-in).

Google says the 1.5mm Odyssey pads are perfect for front and back on the 3080FE (3090 is different so check). They are said to be harder than squishy ones like Gelid Extreme, and so 2mm on the front will interfere with contact between die and hs and ruin your thermals.
 
Soldato
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OK let me correct myself. Cheapest 120x120mm Thermalright Odyssey 1.5mm pad on <snip>).

Google says the 1.5mm Odyssey pads are perfect for front and back on the 3080FE (3090 is different so check). They are said to be harder than squishy ones like Gelid Extreme, and so 2mm on the front will interfere with contact between die and hs and ruin your thermals.

Dont get why people are ordering them from China I could get same pack delivered tomorrow unless you dont like using that big etailer for some reason. Cheaper than the above too ?
From reading the Overlock.net post that started it off on here they always recommend 1.5mm for 3090FE and a mix of 2mm/1.5mm for the back of the 3080FE.


Cant link to the site as it could be classed as a competitor but just seen this
Bykski N-RTX3090FE-TC,Dual Active Cooling GPU Backplate Block For NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3090 Founders Edition,Double Water Cooler

fEx6TO7.jpg

Watercooling backplate for the 3090 ! Forget yer thermal pad mod :cry:
 
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A2B

A2B

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Dont get why people are ordering them from China I could get same pack delivered tomorrow

120 x 120? or 120 x 20?

From reading the Overlock.net post that started it off on here they always recommend 1.5mm for 3090FE and a mix of 2mm/1.5mm for the back of the 3080FE.

depends which pads you use, the Odyssey are too hard for 2mm front by all accounts (the softer ones will deform to fit).

Watercooling backplate for the 3090 ! Forget yer thermal pad mod :cry:

Sure if I could be bothered to spend a month researching and building a custom loop (never mind the cost) ;).
 
Man of Honour
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Lets not forget not all AIB cards cool brilliantly. Some have awful cooling and are worse than Nvidia's effort.

Most of the cards of late seem to have average cooling shoved on them with a bunch of marketing words. The only card I've had which compares to the current FEs is my old 780GHz which also looks much nicer in the flesh and feels well built, though not as premium as the FE cards look in the flesh but had better cooling/quieter. Most of the previous cards I've had haven't even been close to the build quality and presentation of the FE cards in the flesh even when they had good/better cooling performance.
 
Soldato
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Hertfordshire
Mine is very quiet up to a point but once fans start to become audible they are very loud. For some reason now and again they will spin up for a bit while gaming even though most of the time I can't hear them. Not quite sure why.

Are using a custom fan curve? I don’t think my fans go more than 65% with what I’ve got set.
 
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Are using a custom fan curve? I don’t think my fans go more than 65% with what I’ve got set.

No using default. I'm not sure what is going on with it as I'll be playing a game and suddenly become conscious the fans are spun up and it is definitely the GPU fans but after a bit they will subside again - doesn't seem to be a reaction to GPU core temperature not sure if it is memory temperature related or something - as there has been an issue with that on FE cards.
 
Soldato
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Hertfordshire
No using default. I'm not sure what is going on with it as I'll be playing a game and suddenly become conscious the fans are spun up and it is definitely the GPU fans but after a bit they will subside again - doesn't seem to be a reaction to GPU core temperature not sure if it is memory temperature related or something - as there has been an issue with that on FE cards.

On the 3090FE it can get toasty but the 3080FE is fine where memory temps are concerned. Check using HWiNFO I’ve never seen 90c in the most challenging of gaming sessions (hit 92c just today, lol) and set a manual fan curve, it’s the way to go for sure.
 
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Soldato
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27 Feb 2015
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Mine is very quiet up to a point but once fans start to become audible they are very loud. For some reason now and again they will spin up for a bit while gaming even though most of the time I can't hear them. Not quite sure why.

My 3080 is quieter than the 1080ti Auros I sold. Which says a lot considering this thing is a higher TDP card.
 
Associate
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Leeds
My 3080 is quieter than the 1080ti Auros I sold. Which says a lot considering this thing is a higher TDP card.
I had the same card and I was also surprised how much quieter the founders edition was. It was also running cooler until I updated the drivers and then seemed to run hotter for some reason.
 

Stu

Stu

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Wirral
There is varying discussion about warranty cover after taking off the cover (e.g. for thermal pad upgrade or watercooling), so I thought I'd get into the mix and contact Nvidia support. There was a lot of "we do not recommend modifying the card in any way" from the support rep, but I repeatedly pointed out that is a recommendation and not binding, and asked where this is referenced in the warranty (which it is not in my opinion). The guy clearly did not have an answer and referred my query to level 2.

Level 2 support have been more measured in their wording... they have not said removing the cover voids warranty, however, "for any sort of a warranty claim the card would need to be returned to us int he same condition as it left the factory; for example, andy water blocks removed and the stock cooling solution replaced." I don't know if this means the stock pads... is this viable after pad mod? He also added that any damage caused by the user would void the warranty.

In my original post I specifically referred to adding after market cooling, and said there are reports of temps dropping up to 30 degrees, which will be good for the health of the card and boost will work better. I've also done a little mining on the side, which really increases memory temp, though I did not share that. The Level 2 support rep has said the following, "I can't recommend you replace the thermal pads. If anything happens to the card, warranty eligibility would be handled on a case by case basis. Are you seeing and particular issues with the card right now or just concerned with the temps?"

The fans are definitely loud for short periods when gaming, which I would love to mitigate. Do cards boost better when cooling is improved? Question, do I share high temps during mining? Nvidia may say this is not normal use, and the card temps are safe during all other operations; however, I believe there is nothing that says mining is not appropriate and invalidates warranty.

Opinions before I reply to Nvidia?
 
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