GTX 1080 Ti Help Gigabyte vs MSI

[DeadlyTitan]

So, i am building a new rig and have all the parts except CPU, Ram, Motherboard and GPU, i held them off cause the CPU i wanted is just out of stock everywhere and its a long story. Since i have not picked the GPU yet i am looking at options and finally decided on these 2 models

Gigabyte Gaming OC
MSI Gaming X Trio

which one of them is better ? I mean i know Gaming X Trio is better, it runs cooler, but that thing is like $150 more than Gigabyte Gaming OC. Asus is just way too over priced for me and i do not have any other cards available other than Zotac which i really avoid cause my of previous experiences.


The reason i asked this question is cause they cost me a ton of money and i am just going to stick with this GPU for the next 5 years or 2 generations of GPU's which ever comes last. I know that Gigabyte Gaming OC is just good enough and would easily last me for 3 years but the better cooling on the MSI gaming X Trio will help it last longer ? am not sure. Is it really worth spending $150 extra for better cooling so the GPU lasts longer ? since am not going to upgrade anytime in 5 years? i have had GPU's died on me in the past cause of overheating (looking at you zotac) and no i do not overclock. I am not concerned about how well they would perform in 5 years in games cause i am kinda guy who would happily dial down the settings as long as its playable.I just want to know which one have a better chances of lasting me for 5 years. Their durability.

Parts i currently have
Case with really good direct airflow
Samsung 850 Evo 250 GB SSD
Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB SSD
2 x 2TB 7200 RPM HDD's
Corsair RM750x
Acer Predator XB271HU (1440p, 144hz IPS)

Hope they help.

Note - The links provided are for reference only, they are not the prices i am going to buy. The prices are vastly different where i buy.

 

[Toothless]

I love MSI but that Gigabyte will do you well too. All you have to do to overclock those cards is crank the power limit up and make a harder fan profile to be good to go.

 

[DeadlyTitan]

Ah yes, but am not concerned about how they perform in games, i am more concerned about how long they would last and which one of them would last me a few years more and not die of heat/failures. I have had previous gpu's die on me cause of overheating but then again they are not the high end gpu's and were easily replaceable. This is my first high end gpu and is costing me a significant amount of money.

 

[mobiuus]

MSI Trio is your choice...TRUST ME
i've been using msi gaming x series cards for years now and i had it all..gigabyte, asus....
msi has the best vga cooling

 

[Liviu Cojocaru]

In this particular case I would go for MSI, it has the better cooling. If you want Gigabyte I would advise to go for the Aorus one

 

[nhoughton]

I myself have got the GTX 1080 TI Gigabyte Gaming OC Card and managed to get a custom full cover block for it. I love the card and even with the default cooler. If the fan curve is tweaked you can get 2000mhz out the core at a nice load temp of around 60 Degrees C

 

[Assimilator]

Ah yes, but am not concerned about how they perform in games, i am more concerned about how long they would last and which one of them would last me a few years more and not die of heat/failures. I have had previous gpu's die on me cause of overheating but then again they are not the high end gpu's and were easily replaceable. This is my first high end gpu and is costing me a significant amount of money.

It's almost impossible for a GPU to die of heat nowadays. Apart from the ridiculously overspecced coolers on the cards (Gigabyte's are specified for something like 500W of heat dissipation), the GPU itself has thermal throttling built in to prevent it from ever getting too hot. You do have to watch out for the VRMs, especially when overclocking, but again almost all cards have that covered. It's really difficult to build a bad video card nowadays, especially with the reference designs from NVIDIA showing the way.

Personally, I'd buy the cheapest 1080 Ti with the fan-off-in-idle feature and a decent warranty. They'll all perform about the same, they'll all overclock about the same (obviously the more expensive ones will clock better, but there you're paying like 20% more for 2% more performance), they'll all give you the same amount fo enjoyment... but some will hurt your wallet less.

 

[EarthDog]

Both have an equal chance of getting there, really. Get which one matches your theme or is cheaper.

Also, the more expensive ones dont really overclock better. Its all really a crapshoot.

 

[Ramo1203]

I would go with the MSI model, it seems a tad higher end than the Gigabyte. The Aorus model would be the equivalent from Gigabyte.

 

[DeadlyTitan]

I myself have got the GTX 1080 TI Gigabyte Gaming OC Card and managed to get a custom full cover block for it. I love the card and even with the default cooler. If the fan curve is tweaked you can get 2000mhz out the core at a nice load temp of around 60 Degrees C

Really ? i was looking for someone like you with personal experience. Can you provide me some insight on the card?

It's almost impossible for a GPU to die of heat nowadays. Apart from the ridiculously overspecced coolers on the cards (Gigabyte's are specified for something like 500W of heat dissipation), the GPU itself has thermal throttling built in to prevent it from ever getting too hot. You do have to watch out for the VRMs, especially when overclocking, but again almost all cards have that covered. It's really difficult to build a bad video card nowadays, especially with the reference designs from NVIDIA showing the way.

Personally, I'd buy the cheapest 1080 Ti with the fan-off-in-idle feature and a decent warranty. They'll all perform about the same, they'll all overclock about the same (obviously the more expensive ones will clock better, but there you're paying like 20% more for 2% more performance), they'll all give you the same amount fo enjoyment... but some will hurt your wallet less.

I wont be overclocking initially, but i might when i find the card insufficient to give me the frames i want in future. That thermal throttling is my issue, it does reduce the performance of the card especially in future titles, while i am perfectly fine in dialing down the details to high/med to get playable frames i hate to do that cause my card is thermal throttling.

The choice of card will effect the choice of my board, If i am going for the Gigabyte card then am going to buy the gigabyte Z370 HD3P, but if am going for the MSI card then i'll go with the Asus Strix z370-F. Reasons being the gigabyte card is not much of a looker and hence i do not need a fancy looking board, a board that covers basic features will do, while the MSi one is a looker and will require a fancy looking board.
I am getting a i7 8700(non k chip) so any board will do me good.

Asus board costs $100 more than the gigabyte board, so if am going with the gigabyte GPU then i'll be saving a good $250 along with the board.


i had some people suggest me to go with the MSI card as it have backplate and it reinforces the card and helps support its weight better by shifting the weight from the card to the case frame rather than PCIe slots. Am not sure how true it is nor i know the uses of backplate.

 

[EarthDog]

Yikes....

1. The guy shared his experience...what more do you want to know? Be specific.
2. No card will thermally throttle if its working properly. Think about it for a second.
3. The backplate on a gpu is NOT mounted to the case, it is mounted to the back of the pcb. Therefore it does not transfer squat to the case. Also another logic exercise.

 

[nhoughton]

You'll not find a massive difference with this card over the others. Looking back now in my personal circumstance where I've opted for high end cooling also I wish I'd gone with a card with more power headroom as temps for me are not an issue. The card itself is fantastic and I use a 4K 60Hz display also and I play everything Maxed out pretty much. (Assetto Corsa, Project Cars 2, F1 2017, BF1, COD WW2) I cant fault the card and I wont upgrade for some time!

 

[Vayra86]

At 150 bucks its not worth going for the MSI, but at a 50-75 gap I would definitely spend the extra. Gigabyte is just mediocre in terms of GPU cooling, always has been, and MSI just keeps improving year over year and its already pretty great.

At 150, you can even consider custom water and end up in a similar area.

 

[eidairaman1]

MSI, after reports of Gigabyte denying RMA claims due to product damaged in shipment even though people wrapped product properly tells me there are some crooked people there.

 

[John Naylor]

You can never make a whole sale ranking as it changes by model series and model line .. and also year to year. Outta the 'big 4", I would rank the "most popular 1080 Ti cards" generally in this order:

MSI Gaming X > Gigabyte Aorus > Asus Strix > EVGA SC

The Trio is a puzzle to me as it puts the Lightning cooler with Gaming X's PCB. Not that the Gaming X's PCB is a slouch by any means, but if I had to give up one or the other from the Lightning, I'd give up the cooler instead of the PCB. With a throttling point at 82C, getting to 69C from 72C really doesn't excite me in any way.

When doing price comparisons, make sure to look behond the obvious. You will typically see as much as a 7% difference in overclocked fps best to worst. So you might be tempted to get the cheapest card (say $720) when the one ya really want is $770, thinking for thet extra 7% cost, I am only getting a 4% speed increase. That's false logic. It's not just your video card tho that benefits from the extra money spent it's you .. it's your system. So if you new rig costs $1750, your **system** is going 4% faster, **you** are experiencing 4% more speed and your system needed to cost only 2.8% more... That is a "postive return on your investment or the proverbial "no brainer" .... assuming of course that budget allows.

 

[EarthDog]

Id rather have the better cooler than pcb. This isnt 4 gens ago where board vrm matters and you can unlock and push until it dies. All boards top out around the same clocks, really. If a gpu runs 10c cooler, its running higher boost bins/clockspeeds, remember.

 

[eidairaman1]

Id rather have the better cooler than pcb. This isnt 4 gens ago where board vrm matters and you can unlock and push until it dies. All boards top out around the same clocks, really. If a gpu runs 10c cooler, its running higher boost bins/clockspeeds, remember.

Gigabyte makes a better pcb, hmm their rmas are ridiculous.

Yikes....

1. The guy shared his experience...what more do you want to know? Be specific.
2. No card will thermally throttle if its working properly. Think about it for a second.
3. The backplate on a gpu is NOT mounted to the case, it is mounted to the back of the pcb. Therefore it does not transfer squat to the case. Also another logic exercise.

Only if the case is stuffy or poor wire management or in Desert climate without AC

 

[EarthDog]

I dont worry about RMAs really... i mean consider 95%+ of the time your parts wont break until after the warranty, how worried should one really be whwn the chances are overwhelmingly in favor of it not?

Yes, sure, stuff it in a tiny case, or in an oven... they will. Decent airflow i would have to imagine is assumed for enthusiasts.

 

[eidairaman1]

I dont worry about RMAs really... i mean consider 95%+ of the time your parts wont break until after the warranty, how worried should one really be whwn the chances are overwhelmingly in favor of it not?

Yes, sure, stuff it in a tiny case, or in an oven... they will. Decent airflow i would have to imagine is assumed for enthusiasts.

We can't just assume they all are enthusiasts, some are wam bam thank you ma'am.

Heck most here wouldn't consider me an enthusiast with my "antiquated" hardware

 

[EarthDog]

We can think of exceptions to just about anything, cant we...

Im certain my point is clear, particularly as it pertains to context i responded to.