2017 Hardware Thread

essenbe · 24 Apr 2017

sygnus21 said:

I'm of the adage that if you wait for the latest tech you'll never buy any tech.

I mean I get it, I'm in that boat now waiting to see if Microsoft is going to release a new Surface Book (Pro 2). But on the other hand I'm not going to wait out the latest GPU or CPU because as soon as one is released another is on its heels.

That's me :)

Drew, I don't disagree with you at all. But in this case there are too many rumors floating around the net to completely ignore. With all the different rumors, I can't believe all of them. But one recurring one was that Nvidia is going to announce, at the end of May, that they are going to release Volta in June. If that is the case I can get a better card if I am willing to wait 6 weeks or so. If it isn't true, I can get the TI at the end of May instead of the middle of May. Either way, the wait won't matter that much to me and that's a lot of money for either one. I just want to know all my options before I decide what to do. The card I have right now won't benchmark in the ballpark of the cards that have already been released. But I do not own a game that will make it strain real hard. So, I'm not in that big of a hurry. I have a few other priorities I need to deal with too. On a fixed income, this computer stuff is a real balancing act. But, in the end, I have a 1080 TI pre ordered. I can cancel that and have to wait an extra 2 weeks or an extra 6 weeks. I don't see either on as a big deal. Other than that, I happen to agree with everything you said and have said the exact same thing myself.

specialkone · 24 Apr 2017

I agree with what has been said as well. But Nvidia is hard at work trying to ensure our current systems can't play games at max settings. Give Watch Dogs 2 a spin with HFTS shadows enabled. It's quite beautiful. But if you can believe this, my rig with a GTX 1080 and only running at 1080P can't handle it. It will drop frames into the low 30's. Gamers Nexus finds the hit so absurd they don't include HFTS in their ultra benchmarks. Now look at this, we have "new fire" coming in Nvidia Gameworks Flow. Wonder what that will do to FPS? BTW I have HFTS turned off now in WD2. The heck with that stuff.

NVIDIA Gameworks FLOW DX12 Demo

So they are saying Volta GTX won't have HBM2. Guess it will take a $2,000 Volta Titan to get that. Interesting to see them mention with GDDR6 a 45% increase in Volta memory bandwidth compared to 1080TI. Hey. I wonder if Vega with HBM2 is hastening the release of Volta. Guess we will soon see Vega benchmarks and find out.

What in the world is going on with EVGA? By the time they do release 1080 TI FTW3 to reviewers for benchmarks, maybe we will indeed be at 1080 EOL.

specialkone · 25 Apr 2017

They have a review out on the EVGA 1080TI SC2.

Not surprised EVGA is addressing cooling big time now.

"The EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2’s robust iCX cooling solution keeps the GPU a whopping 15 degrees Celsius cooler than the Founders Edition under load, and it stays far quieter while doing so. It’s not just the GPU staying chilly, either: Checks with Precision XOC showed the PWMs and memory running nice and cool. "

They mention in that review ocers should wait to take a look at the flagship - FTW3 TI

EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2 review: A ferocious graphics card with a radical cooler | PCWorld

essenbe · 25 Apr 2017

Yes, they started shipping the 17th I think. The FTW3 starts May 1.

specialkone · 25 Apr 2017

Ya I saw Jacob on the EVGA forum confirm May 1 shipping on the FTW3. Hopefully we will see a review soon. That's what I'm impatient about, not your delivery

.

I mentioned on the EVGA forum long ago when the Vram heat issue was being posted everywhere, that the next generation (TI) owners would likely benefit big time with EVGA aggressively addressing heat.

They definitely wanted to get away from the bad publicity of the ACX coolers. Funny thing is take a look at the Superposition numbers. Thing I like about that is you see the max temp being hit by our benchmarkers. Look at mine with the simple and free thermal pad mods. Overclocked to hit 2100MHZ and the card never goes beyond 68C in the benchmark. There really isn't an issue with heat on the 1080, especially after the thermal mod. But ICX cooler owners are benefiting, which is great.

essenbe · 25 Apr 2017

So far, it sounds good, my friend.

sygnus21 · 25 Apr 2017

essenbe said:

Drew, I don't disagree with you at all. But in this case there are too many rumors floating around the net to completely ignore. With all the different rumors, I can't believe all of them. But one recurring one was that Nvidia is going to announce, at the end of May, that they are going to release Volta in June. If that is the case I can get a better card if I am willing to wait 6 weeks or so. If it isn't true, I can get the TI at the end of May instead of the middle of May. Either way, the wait won't matter that much to me and that's a lot of money for either one. I just want to know all my options before I decide what to do. The card I have right now won't benchmark in the ballpark of the cards that have already been released. But I do not own a game that will make it strain real hard. So, I'm not in that big of a hurry. I have a few other priorities I need to deal with too. On a fixed income, this computer stuff is a real balancing act. But, in the end, I have a 1080 TI pre ordered. I can cancel that and have to wait an extra 2 weeks or an extra 6 weeks. I don't see either on as a big deal. Other than that, I happen to agree with everything you said and have said the exact same thing myself.

Steve, timing being everything I guess I should add my post was in a general way. And not meant to criticize.

That said, given the timing of potential releases, I too would wait, and honestly it would be stupid not to wait unless you were in dire need of a card or were sure the current crop offered all you needed. Example - I feel like the 1080 is all I need and thus don't really see a need to wait for the "new". But...

Anyway as I said, I'm in a similar boat in waiting for announcement of Microsoft's new line of notebooks seeing I'm in need of one. I could get one of the current offerings now, but for the money I intend to spend, and rumors of a new Surface Book Pro to release this year, I'd feel stupid not to wait. In both yours and mine instances, this is an exceptions to the rule as there is a high probability that a new model will be released in less than 6 months. We'd both be stupid not to wait and see :)

Anyway my last postings was just what I was feeling at the moment and not meant to be critical.

Peace

specialkone · 25 Apr 2017

If you do go for the FTW3, let me know the clocks achieved at stock and in game. That's what impresses me more than OC benchmark numbers. Oops, don't tell dude I said that.

My gamer friends seeing this FTW 1080 often hit 2,000 MHZ in game, on its own, is what impresses them the most.

essenbe · 25 Apr 2017

No problem Drew. I didn't take any offense at all. I completely agree with what you said and have said the exact same thing myself.

essenbe · 25 Apr 2017

specialkone said:

If you do go for the FTW3, let me know the clocks achieved at stock and in game. That's what impresses me more than OC benchmark numbers. Oops, don't tell dude I said that.

My gamer friends seeing this FTW 1080 often hit 2,000 MHZ in game, on its own, is what impresses them the most.

Will do, my friend. I am inclined at this point to wait and not get the pre order. I want to see what the heck Nvidia is going to do next.