Founders edition

[polycrac]

I know that PCS use a variety of cards and I know that rumours of a July launch for 1180 cards are just that - rumours!

But...

I assume that if there is a period where the founders edition are the only format of the new cards available, PCS would stock them. So, could anyone fill me in on the pros and cons of FE cards? I read a few discussions elsewhere but they tended to devolve into arguments.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I know that PCS use a variety of cards and I know that rumours of a July launch for 1180 cards are just that - rumours!

But...

I assume that if there is a period where the founders edition are the only format of the new cards available, PCS would stock them. So, could anyone fill me in on the pros and cons of FE cards? I read a few discussions elsewhere but they tended to devolve into arguments.

I’ve got an FE 1080 which I’ve modded with an EVGA hybrid closed loop water cooler. Founders are built really really well, very high quality materials. But, they’re really cut close to the bone when it comes to out of the box fan profiles. The 1080 FE allowed the card to reach throttling limits on the default fan profile which isn’t really an issue cos you can set your own using msi afterburner or EVGA Precision or something. Adding a custom cooler though does turn it into an absolute beast that I’ve been able to stable overclock past any of the aftermarket cards, got lucky with silicone lottery I guess.

Really, the FE’s are for people who want it NOW and can’t wait for the aftermarkets. But they are solid cards. You pay a premium for early adoption, and they’re not designed to run optimally out of the box, take some tweaking to get perfect performance.

 

[Oussebon]

The FE coolers are less efficient in terms of cooling vs noise compared to many twin/tri fan model.

You can adjust the fan profile to help maximise boost clocks and they're very, very competitive against other models in terms of performance once you do that. However, the cooler can be louder than other models once you've done that. Also being a blower cooler it doesn't spin down completely on idle. So if you're particularly sensitive to noise, then it might not be the best fit for you. However, if you game with headphones and/or don't really care, they're fine.

For some builds, especially some mini ITX builds, and blower cooler may even be preferable to an open fan design.

They're a fancy name and a bit of a premium for a 'reference' design. Reference GPUs have been around since forever, so there's nothing inherently dodgy about them as performers.

This is ofc speaking about Pascal ones. Make sure to check out how things are with the new series before purchasing ofc...

 

[polycrac]

Thank you, both, for that. I suspect it will come down to how eager I am to get my hands on one one once they are released! I'm guessing the aftermarket ones will be out fairly fast.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you, both, for that. I suspect it will come down to how eager I am to get my hands on one one once they are released! I'm guessing the aftermarket ones will be out fairly fast.

They're usually out within a couple of months. Often, the FE stocks are so limited in that time it's hard to get your hands on one anyway unless you pre order when they're announced.