new graphics card question

polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
My work have some cash left over for this year I get to spend (I can't wait to spend it on 11 series graphics cards, has to be spent now). My PC Specialist build is below, already purchased. Would I be able to fit in a GTX1080ti? If not, what would I need to fix? (I'm thinking motherboard compatibility, case size, cooling, power etc.)

Case InWIN 503 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (WHITE)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4590 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z97-P: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) 8GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 2 x DVI, HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR
Ready!
1st Hard Disk 120GB KINGSTON V300 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

any help appreciated!

To add; yes I know it wouldn't make a good, balanced build! I do a lot of work from home (vr stuff) and they would be fine with me fitting a new graphics card. At zero cost to me, if offers even a little boost, I'd be daft not to take it if it works.
 
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Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Yep, should be fine. Case apparently supports over 400mm GPUs, and the longest 1080 tis will be something like 330mm. Power consumption should be fine too.

Are they giving you any choice over the model? If so I would ideally avoid anything with a blower cooler, and a few models like the Zotac Mini and MSI 'armor'. The cooling isn't ideal, and better cooling can help maximise your boost clocks and performance. I can see an EVGA SC for £650 at a glance, which is actually cheaper than any of the other models anyway at that price...
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
Thanks, both. Unfortunately I work at a Uni (I know I shouldn't be moaning, given the freebie) and they are obsessed with 'approved suppliers'. Basically, they limit where we can order from to places that give a discount/rebate. Of course, that discount never makes its way back to the research budget that bought the item, it gets diverted to the VC's cheese & wine fund, or similar.

That means if a big name like NVIDIA is involved, they'll probably get it from them, wherever I request. I'll have a good look around though, as I guess thermal throttling will be my main issue. Plus, price under £750 doesn't matter - we don't get to keep any savings from the budget.
 
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Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Thermal throttling is a term that should be used carefully with GPUs, especially Nvidia and Pascal ones. The cards will keep boosting themselves as high as they can, as long as the power and thermal headroom is there. Therefore, the Founders Editions were said to throttle with the base fan profile as this limited the boost clocks. However, the GPUs don't generally throttle below the specific boost clocks - with the possible exception of the MSI armor.

Kind of irrelevant if you've no discretion over what they give you, and any 1080 ti is going to be better than a 970.

But if they do give you a choice, or if you can have any input, something with a decent cooler is preferable.

If you do get an FE, however, you can just turn up the cooler fan profile and get nice boost clocks anyway if you're happy with the acoustics :)
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
Good to know, thanks. I may not get to pick but I can at least try to get to grips with running it. Acoustics are not an issue, I just need to think about the case as a whole running hotter (cpu has stock cooler, just one enrty and one exit fan)
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Replacing the CPU cooler and/or adding extra fans is all pretty simple, and cheap, should you need to.
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
Up until now all I ever did was add a case fan. Seeing how much people on this forum do themselves has got me more excited about tinkering!
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
Update:

The card arrived, I watched a few Youtube vids of other people changing theirs and just jumped in. My case fittings were different, around the graphics outputs but that's about all - it really was as easy as you said and I feel a bit daft now for worrying about it. Thanks to all on this thread for their advice and for encouraging me to have a go myself - I appreciate it and would urge others to do likewise.

SpyderTracks said:
That's where the obsession starts to take hold... there's no turning back now, you will become a MODDER!!!! :)
Click to expand...


Too true - it has now totally changed my view of what build I want to get and how to prioritise - now I'll be looking for a larger case, a bigger, modular PSU and anything else that will help me to upgrade as time goes on, rather than just getting the best available for my budget today and starting again in four years time!
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Great it hear it all went well! Grats on the upgrade :)

What model was it exactly, out of interest? GPU-Z has a lookup button that will tell you if you're not sure.

it has now totally changed my view of what build I want to get and how to prioritise - now I'll be looking for a larger case, a bigger, modular PSU and anything else that will help me to upgrade as time goes on, rather than just getting the best available for my budget today and starting again in four years time!
Click to expand...
This is very true, imo. I often try to steer people away from the most budget cases and the 350W PSUs to try to help keep their options open.

Upgrading really is simple, and much more cost effective than getting a whole new system. Especially when kind people buy you a GPU for free!
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
Nothing comes for free - with this card I can continue to bring my work home with me!

Here's the GPU-Z info:https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b4732/evga-gtx-1080-ti

Though I struggle to find actual reviews where I am sure they are talking about that exact card (so many variants).

I've tried it on Total War Warhammer 2: Results in a much smoother play, but I was already on very high graphics settings (and putting up with lower fps for the beautiful landscape!) and PUBG: Massive difference as I moved up to Ultra settings (though I'm still quite bad at the game!). Both of these are on a 1080 monitor, so I know I'm not really pushing it.

The major difference is in VR. I'm now using the Vive Pro (I know - overpriced, but again - work's money) where I'm seeing much more responsive and sharper visuals than with the 970. I guess my CPU is going to be the performance bottleneck from now on, so I've moved from hanging on every last whisper about the 1180 release, to obsessing about the anticipated Coffee Lake refresh! I expect that with the next wave of processors, I'll buy a new PC from PCS and fit the 1080ti into that, then start learning more about the different bits of hardware as I go.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
It's just a stock clocked 1080 ti with a blower cooler. EVGA warranty though. So you can claim 3 year warranty from factory date even without proof of purchase
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
That's fine by me, it seems to have some in-built Overclocking tool called XOC, which I might try. Never look a gift-card in the HDMI...
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
polycrac said:
That's fine by me, it seems to have some in-built Overclocking tool called XOC, which I might try. Never look a gift-card in the HDMI...
Click to expand...

It’s called Precision XOC, it’s very good although I haven’t used the latest iteration of it.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
See: https://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmviewfaq.aspx?faqid=55

Although overclocking your 1080 ti for 1080p gaming would be a bit lolworthy. Second only to those people who insist on playing games at ultra low settings to maintain 300fps on their 60hz monitors (and not those weird games where fps is linked to how the game runs, either).

Maybe for VR depending on the game, or benchmarks as an experiment I guess :)

Pretty sure EVGA's warranty is also fine with you doing things like removing the stock cooler and mounting a hybrid water cooler, as long as you restore the original should you need to RMA.
 
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polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
[QUOTE/]

Although overclocking your 1080 ti for 1080p gaming would be a bit lolworthy. [/QUOTE]

I guess. I've never done it though and I like to learn by doing. I'd be happy if I just learn something. I don't expect to see any performance gains - the lack of a *huge* difference between the two cards makes it clear that you are very correct to tell people there is no point in a top end card for 1080 gaming. I can look at a new monitor though, now I'll see the benefit!
 
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