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So, EVGA allows you to upgrade to a better GPU within 90 days of purchase, and I'm planning on using this option to replace my GTX 1070 with a 1080Ti: http://www.evga.com/support/stepup/

Right now they only offer a 1080Ti Founders Edition as an upgrade option, but at least one custom cooler variant will be added to this list in the future.

My question is: should I wait? I don't really overclock my GPUs and am mildly noise sensitive (tiny Manhattan Studio apartment). I know that the first round of FE GPUs was inferior to custom solutions; is that still the case?

I say wait. Stock cooler solutions make me cry.

The blower style heatsink isn't bad if you've got a small case - it will push a lot of heat right out of it. But it's also configured so the card will basically run quietly and maintain ~ 80C all the time when in use.

That's not bad, but you'll probably see higher clock speed, lower temps and still low noise levels from the custom cooler versions. I haven't heard the iCX one in person but if noise levels are anything like the ACX 3.0 heatsink/fan it'll be really quiet and also keep temps lower than the ceiling NVIDIA has set. So I'd recommend waiting.

EVGA is also usually pretty good about responding to messages, so you may want to email them and find out when estimated availability is, so you don't miss your step-up window.

Thanks for the feedback. EVGA has indicated that the only eligible 1080Ti will be FE, so I've applied to upgrade to that version. My system is a small ITX build, so the blower is probably the best fit possible. Looking forward to the upgrade!

Yes, for mITX cases a blower style will be best.

Out of curiosity, how much do they offer you in trade-in? Is it equal/more than you can get on Ebay?

DPete27 wrote:

Yes, for mITX cases a blower style will be best.

Out of curiosity, how much do they offer you in trade-in? Is it equal/more than you can get on Ebay?

You upload the receipt. You get the full value of what you paid minus things like tax or shipping.

DPete27 wrote:

Yes, for mITX cases a blower style will be best.

Out of curiosity, how much do they offer you in trade-in? Is it equal/more than you can get on Ebay?

Like Ryu said, you apply your full purchase price at time of purchase, excluding Tax and Shipping and subtracting MSRP.

This program is really cool if prices drop after your card is released. So even though GTX 1070s are theoretically $<350 now, I can apply the full $380 paid against my upgrade. Since GTX 1080s MSRP for $500, I'd only pay $120 to step up to a GTX 1080 (despite them being $300 more in January when I purchased).

The GTX 1080Ti step up would be $320 + tax + shipping, which is not bad at all for an upgrade (pay 84% more than a GTX 1070 for ~60-75% more performance). I'd likely have to wait a few years to get GTX 1080Ti performance for that $320, so why not step up now and get the faster performance years early for the same price? The 1080Ti is so much better that I'm breaking my usual advice of "break your GPU budget into two pieces and upgrade every 2-3 years instead of one huge card every 4-6 years). When you're looking to hit 3440x1440x100FPS, it's the only game in town.

Kretschmer wrote:

The GTX 1080Ti step up would be $320 + tax + shipping, which is not bad at all for an upgrade (pay 84% more than a GTX 1070 for ~60-75% more performance). I'd likely have to wait a few years to get GTX 1080Ti performance for that $320, so why not step up now and get the faster performance years early for the same price? The 1080Ti is so much better that I'm breaking my usual advice of "break your GPU budget into two pieces and upgrade every 2-3 years instead of one huge card every 4-6 years). When you're looking to hit 3440x1440x100FPS, it's the only game in town.

I don't agree with that. The 980 Ti and 1070 are REALLY close in performance most of the time and they aren't nearly "a few years" apart.

Obviously the 980 Ti isn't what a 1080 Ti is, but the situation is very similar. Similar enough, IMO, to be applied here.

If yow want to do any overclocking I'd say wait. Pascal cards are mostly power limited, and all major vendors will come out with 2 x 8-pin powered cards.

DancinJack wrote:

Kretschmer wrote:

The GTX 1080Ti step up would be $320 + tax + shipping, which is not bad at all for an upgrade (pay 84% more than a GTX 1070 for ~60-75% more performance). I'd likely have to wait a few years to get GTX 1080Ti performance for that $320, so why not step up now and get the faster performance years early for the same price? The 1080Ti is so much better that I'm breaking my usual advice of "break your GPU budget into two pieces and upgrade every 2-3 years instead of one huge card every 4-6 years). When you're looking to hit 3440x1440x100FPS, it's the only game in town.

I don't agree with that. The 980 Ti and 1070 are REALLY close in performance most of the time and they aren't nearly "a few years" apart.

Obviously the 980 Ti isn't what a 1080 Ti is, but the situation is very similar. Similar enough, IMO, to be applied here.

The 1070Ti was also released at a higher MSRP than $980Ti/2, so we haven't arrived, yet. Will next year's GPUs match a 980Ti for $325? Probably, but Pascal was a quantum leap forward that may be difficult to replicate. I'm comfortable with frontloading my investment to run at 3440x1440.

Kretschmer wrote:

The 1070Ti was also released at a higher MSRP than $980Ti/2, so we haven't arrived, yet. Will next year's GPUs match a 980Ti for $325? Probably, but Pascal was a quantum leap forward that may be difficult to replicate. I'm comfortable with frontloading my investment to run at 3440x1440.

You mean a GTX 1070? That's all fine and dandy, but we're talking 379(MSRP)x2 and 649(MSRP). I wouldn't say that's enough difference to not have "arrived" IMO. If I'm not mistaken, weren't there 1070's below 379 within a week of release anyway? It's not all that important really.

DancinJack wrote:

Kretschmer wrote:

The 1070Ti was also released at a higher MSRP than $980Ti/2, so we haven't arrived, yet. Will next year's GPUs match a 980Ti for $325? Probably, but Pascal was a quantum leap forward that may be difficult to replicate. I'm comfortable with frontloading my investment to run at 3440x1440.

You mean a GTX 1070? That's all fine and dandy, but we're talking 379(MSRP)x2 and 649(MSRP). I wouldn't say that's enough difference to not have "arrived" IMO. If I'm not mistaken, weren't there 1070's below 379 within a week of release anyway? It's not all that important really.

A 1070 is weaker than a 980Ti and is more than half of the MSRP of the latter. And that will be a tough upgrade to replicate; Pascal a huge leap forward. YMMV, though.

Kretschmer wrote:

DancinJack wrote:

Kretschmer wrote:

The 1070Ti was also released at a higher MSRP than $980Ti/2, so we haven't arrived, yet. Will next year's GPUs match a 980Ti for $325? Probably, but Pascal was a quantum leap forward that may be difficult to replicate. I'm comfortable with frontloading my investment to run at 3440x1440.

You mean a GTX 1070? That's all fine and dandy, but we're talking 379(MSRP)x2 and 649(MSRP). I wouldn't say that's enough difference to not have "arrived" IMO. If I'm not mistaken, weren't there 1070's below 379 within a week of release anyway? It's not all that important really.

A 1070 is weaker than a 980Ti and is more than half of the MSRP of the latter. And that will be a tough upgrade to replicate; Pascal a huge leap forward. YMMV, though.

Did you read what I said? Also, please explain to me how a 1070 is slower, or "weaker," than a 980 Ti?

http://techreport.com/review/30413/nvid ... eviewed/12

Definitely go for the upgrade, assuming you have a display(s) capable of using more than a 1070. OEM customizations will undoubtedly be nice, but not so nice as to justify passing up a ~$400 credit towards a FE 1080Ti.

Just keep in mind the stock situation. EVGA has not even decided on specs or pricing for the custom-cooler models. The FE model has been out of stock and will remain out of stock for another month at this rate, and it may be a month before non FE models begin to even appear on their store.

I'm personally interested in a 1080 Ti hydro, but given there may not even be such a model it's become easier to resist and keep myself in check. Even if they did release one it would be 4+ months out, at that point I'm quite happy to wait for Volta anyway. But I know how ya feel.

Sent out my 1070 for a 1080Ti and will be on integrated graphics for at least a week. Intel IGPs don't seem to do well with 3440x1440, but Diablo 3 is smooth at 1366x768.