Pretty straight forward on this one. What do you guys think? Will it be that different in terms of performance? I'm loving the looks of the founders edition. Like an exotic car I'll never be able to afford only this one can run my games. Is it really worth losing that sexy design?
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Evga GTX 1080 Classified. Is the performance boost worth losing the looks of the Founders Edition?
- Thread starter lDreaml
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There's more to it than looks. It really boils down to your personal preference and also how your PC is setup. I always prefer blower-style coolers so I opted for the FE.
The Classified will certainly be faster but with all things aftermarket and OC - realize that the % gain is going to be fairly minimal.
However, we're in a unique situation where the FE cards are $100 more than the MSRP on "standard" cards - so there's a chance that the Classified may only be $25 to $75 more than the FE. Which further makes your decision difficult.
The Classified will certainly be faster but with all things aftermarket and OC - realize that the % gain is going to be fairly minimal.
However, we're in a unique situation where the FE cards are $100 more than the MSRP on "standard" cards - so there's a chance that the Classified may only be $25 to $75 more than the FE. Which further makes your decision difficult.
Well I don't plan to overclock at all as I've been away from pc building for far too long to mess around with that sort of thing. And my computer is fan cooled. If we're talking a 1-3 fps gain in games difference between the founders version and the classified version then my choice is FE all the way. But is that going to be the case or are we talking 10+ fps?
It remains to be seen. I will tell you that from the factory the Classifed will probably be around 2,000 Mhz or less - my FE OCs to that range easily...so you won't be missing out on much.
If you do not plan on tweaking or overclocking, I would buy the most inexpensive card or the one that you want based on whatever other criteria that you have.
Armenius
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EVGA showed the pricing of their 1080 lineup. I wasn't able to catch what the Classified was while it was up, but it is usually not much more expensive than the FTW version, which is listed at $679.99. The Classy is either going to be priced the same as the reference version or slightly under it. If you're not overclocking then I would just grab the standard or reference ACX version, which are much cheaper. Personally, I like the looks of the new ACX 3.0 cooler more than the FE. At this amount of money, though, I say go with whatever will make you happy.
That's why I've asked you guys on a guesstimate on what the functionality difference might be. I'm buying this card for gaming plain and simple. If the boost is a measly 1-3 fps then imo the looks of the FE are a far greater asset than an unnoticeable boost in what I intend to use this component for.
Then buy what you want based on your criteria. Best case scenario with OC you can gain like 10-15 fps, maybe a tinge more. However, the trade-off is always things like your fan on at 100% (loud) or water cooling (expensive, affects resale value). I OC to bench and test the limit and for fun. But when I game I tend to not OC or settle on a lower, super stable OC. In all my years of owning Lightning, Classified, Kingpin cards I have found them to be fun and cool but never worth the added expense for the gaming side of it.
The boost is like 15%. You will notice a difference from 1.7GHZ to 2.1GHZ. At the end of the day though you are paying a premium for a board that has less quality in every way but the heat sink. The one part that is REMOVABLE AND EXCHANGEABLE anyway.
My advice, FUCK THE FE edition.
My advice, FUCK THE FE edition.
It's times like this when I wish nvidia would just tell us in exact numbers how big of a difference it would make on a top end game or something. Fidels last line pretty much put me into a panic. I think I may as well go with the classified version since I don't plan to oc... 15% sounds huge...
Honestly? Because that thing looks like the lamborghini of gpus. But I'll think it over now at the very least. Since I won't be overclocking and since I'm running on air cooled the classified seems like the smarter choice all around. It's just the FE is so damn sexy.
It's just bad advice. Don't worry about it.
There is no proof that the FE card is inferior. The Classifed/Lightning/etc. cards are not even out yet. So even that is merely speculation. Well it is likely they will be better in some ways (cooling, power phases, etc.) - there is absolutely no truth to reliability issues. In fact, if anything, reference NVIDIA boards are less likely to be affected by minor things like coil whine, etc. that can affect the third-party aftermarket boards.
They all have warranties - so if you should have issues you are covered.
NukeDukem
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Is that you, Jen-Hsun Huang?
Armenius
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It may look like a Lambo on the outside, but it's a Beetle on the inside. You ever see Fast & Furious (4th movie in the series)? The R34 Skyline in that movie was the same way since they couldn't legally bring one into this country: Skyline body on the outside, Volkswagen Beetle on the inside.
Honestly? Because that thing looks like the lamborghini of gpus. But I'll think it over now at the very least. Since I won't be overclocking and since I'm running on air cooled the classified seems like the smarter choice all around. It's just the FE is so damn sexy.
Dude there are photos showing the PCB compared to PCBs from other AIBS and yes its not as good compared to the AIB boards... Every single fucking one had better quality hardware on the damn PCB.
My lord I cannot believe you posted that...
Parja
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Yeah, just like a Lamborghini...gaudy as fuck.
I stand by it. You are giving bad advice. Read what the dude has posted. He is not Kingpin Jr. He likes the FE style. He doesn't want to OC. Why would he go buy a Classified/Lightning/Kingpin card because it has better components on the PCB?
Of course. Those cards aren't even out yet. You're going off of photos. It's just speculation today.
The photos of the bare PCB that show the components on the cards...
OP here you go.
Comparison of custom GeForce GTX 1080 PCBs | VideoCardz.com
OP here you go.
Comparison of custom GeForce GTX 1080 PCBs | VideoCardz.com
Parja
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Well yeah, buying a Classified/Lightning/Kingpin makes no sense at all if you're not going to overclock. Something like a Strix OC, EVGA SC, MSI Gaming would be preferable since they come with higher clocks out of the box and should all be well under the price of an FE.
I'm afraid this is far beyond my understanding and flew so far above my head that I'm left somewhat lightheaded.
Haha well at least you are honest!
Well if it means anything I'm going to cancel my order of the FE and put some thought into this. The idea of a card having better cooling and better performance out of the box is really appealing to me as I honestly don't even plan to oc. I just hope the boost in noticeable is all.
Hornet
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The FE board gets the job done, there's nothing wrong with it. If you are not going to OC, then it makes no difference to get those custom boards with extra power phase or whatever. Might as well just go with the card that is aesthetically pleasing for the user.
It doesn't make sense to pay 100 more for less of anything.
Parja
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Most custom boards will have higher "stock" clocks...and will cost less than the FE.
Flexion
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It really does... LMAO. XD
Holy shit LMAO
Digital Viper-X-
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Wow @ that Zotac card
There is strong indication that all 1080s are VBIOS locked to 1.25v. Meaning that no matter how well you cool it, or how many power plugs you have, you can never get past that 2.1Ghz wall. So at that point you just buy the cheapest card you can find that can sustain ~2Ghz without being as loud as a lawnmower. Meaning that the cheapest reference PCB with essentially any AIB cooler would do.
That said it's an indication from limited sample sizes, not yet proof. I pre-purchased an EVGA FTW myself.
That said it's an indication from limited sample sizes, not yet proof. I pre-purchased an EVGA FTW myself.
Flexion
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Jen would be proud. XD
Napoleon
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Sounds like the hybrid variants will be able to get the best sustainable boost. I do hope the power limits can be solved but if not the hybrid 1080/1070 plus boost 3.0 will still be impressive
Not at all. Even the reference cooler can cool the GPU sufficiently to get ~2Ghz, which is where you hit the wall from voltage and power. Of course you need to push the reference blower >70% to do that, which is supposed to be pretty loud. So beyond saving the extra charge for a "Founders Edition", there is a reason to get AIB cooling... but maybe not the extra power plug or power phases. Maybe. (Because again, the VBIOS lock and wall aren't confirmed yet.)
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5150Joker
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Based on AIB cards not crossing 2100 MHz despite all the extra phases and cooling, I'd say no, you're just fine with the Founders Edition. There seems to be a physical barrier to crossing 1.25v for Pascal and no amount of modding (bios or hardware) it seems will overcome it.
Performance vs Looks. The classic battle 
Out of the box performance will be quite a bit better on the Classified I would bet. If you don't care about noise, I suppose the FE can get pretty close to the Classified out of the box performance with overclocking.
So, I guess the actual battle is Performance vs Looks with more noise
Out of the box performance will be quite a bit better on the Classified I would bet. If you don't care about noise, I suppose the FE can get pretty close to the Classified out of the box performance with overclocking.
So, I guess the actual battle is Performance vs Looks with more noise
Armenius
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Not only that, but the better power delivery in AIB cards results in a more stable Boost clock, if not a better overclock. A sustainable Boost is reason enough to skip the reference card, in my opinion.Performance vs Looks. The classic battle
Out of the box performance will be quite a bit better on the Classified I would bet. If you don't care about noise, I suppose the FE can get pretty close to the Classified out of the box performance with overclocking.
So, I guess the actual battle is Performance vs Looks with more noise