EVGA 1080 Ti FTW3 Tear-Down & Preliminary PCB Specs

Our tear-down of the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 with info on the cooler and PCB/VRM. We'll have a full PCB analysis & review next week.
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[@GamersNexus]

Thanks for watching. Article & tools linked in the description, along with the GPU itself. We'll be working on a PCB analysis and review of this in short order. Titan Xp Hybrid content is also nearing conclusion and will go live within a few days: www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2894-evga-1080ti-ftw3-teardown-and-pcb-info

[@renesav]

Gamers Nexus do you have an idea of when the review will be up? i presume there is a NDA until May 1 or near

[@GamersNexus]

DragonKiller Ryu There's no embargo, hence this coverage. It'll be up when we're done testing.

[@jchambers2586]

is there water blocks for the card?

[@G4m3m4st0r]

It still could use your beard though, to make it extra manly. (Yes I'm the same guy from Pax stream) Been waiting since December, EVGA teases me. D: Oh yeah nice showcase by the way. Good to see EVGA stepped up to address the concerns people had after the GTX1080 'problem', even though it wasn't a problem but a mosquito being blown up into a negative media festival. But I don't blame them, they have their name to hold high, and media can influence a lot for those that mindlessly read articles and believe it. (90%+ likely) The outcome is even better coolers that can stick to a 2-slot design, which I really like to see. I don't need them to become unnecessary big and heavy causing sag or extra risk of bending overtime to itself or other components, and neither have it blocking any other add-in slots. This way configuration possibilities stay the same as a Founders Edition (the whole reason to use the blower cooler is for this reason) and people with ITX cases and such don't need to worry. (except if the FTW3 is too lengthy, but then you have the SC2) EVGA - customer satisfaction = #1, that's for sure, not only in built quality but also in aftersale services.

[@Jirekianu]

Did you guys try removing the plate around the fans? I'm curious because it seems like one of the easier ones to do that with at first glance. And the reason I'm curious is to consider painting it.

[@WinkelManBearPig]

Still useful in 2021 for teardown to reapply pads and paste. Thanks Steve!

[@Luwinkle]

Yeah I just found this when tempted to re-paste my 1080ti ftw3 as well.

[@namAlexander]

same using the 1080 ftw 2 , pads on both sides and new paste. the so called paste evga use is not that good and its a good brand that's been told had same issue with paste on the evga 980 unless its down to the passive mode but still should be good tim

[@MrShushpan4ik]

Hi, can u please tell sizes of thermal pads for this card (i mean thikness) if u still remember it. Can i use like - Thermal Grizzly Minus Pad 8 (100x100x1.5)? Its would be unough for just for front plate? thanks in advance!

[@brucerain2106]

@@MrShushpan4ikhey did you figure it out?

[@guyintheally]

7yrs, 2024 and this teardown saved my bacon with a thermal throttling FTW3. Appreciate the dedication to superb coverage ❤

[@FPSkillerPC]

Damn they're really going balls out with the thermal pads. I see they took the overheating issues really seriously.

[@Jester_1]

I don't think they used enough thermal pads.

[@rars0n]

They even included a pad for the missing RAM chip.

[@khmergodhobbies]

they always do that now

[@JChamberlin]

Or enough screws on the backplate.

[@Ramski07]

I like the vinyl wrap on the tower behind you.

[@rars0n]

I love the editing at 3:40.

[@Taifuuni89]

First thank you for the tear-down! Any possibility to include the thickness of used thermal pads in your future videos. That would help the overclockers who want to change the stock pads to something else. Don't have to order every thickness just for testing when you can know what to order.

[@Omkarah]

Steve, you are getting much better at this!

[@johntotten4872]

I have been waiting to see this card. Cant wait to see the full benches on it

[@tristang4880]

Love your content, helped my tear down my sc2 and replace paste and pads working better than ever much love gamers nexus

[@TheOlneyandrewl01]

Duude.. I'm getting ready to tear down my icx sc2 tomorrow night. Anything I need to look out for or be careful with? I took took apart a 970 and 1660 super but those seek simple compared to watching this! Any help is greatly appreciated!

[@tristang4880]

@@TheOlneyandrewl01 its relatively straight forward my hardest task was just putting it back together could be a pain getting shit plugged in but used some tweezers and i was good, also you need a ifxit knockoff or kit cause you have to take the VGA screws out and thats the only thing that had the screwdriver for me

[@tristang4880]

@@TheOlneyandrewl01 replaced all the pads and cleaned it up and used some thermal grizzly and card is now being overclocked at 2025 mhz and 6003 at 1.093 v with fans at max speed card barley gets hot max i seen is like 63

[@TheOlneyandrewl01]

@@tristang4880 what thermal pads did you use? How thick? Were they a kit or cut your own. I'm a noob sort of.. lol

[@tristang4880]

@@TheOlneyandrewl01 I used a 145 x 145 x 1.0mm artic thermal pad off Amazon and just lined up the old thermal pad and cut it to size on the new one and kept it all stored which thermal pad goes where, def a tedious process

[@G4m3m4st0r]

I'm still wondering, and this question has gone unanswered by EVGA, what size are the fans themselves? 100mm? 90mm? Media have been saying 100mm spinners from the early announcement days, but seeing the card is barely 300mm I doubt that they are 100mm, maybe 95mm in diameter.

[@dustinkuhlmann9869]

These fans are 90mm in diameter each.

[@HasXXXInCrocs]

best looking 1080ti 😍😍 hope it performs!

[@lucianodebenedictis6014]

what I'd like to see in the future in this series of videos are the cheaper models of a card, a teardown would be instructive in what they are lacking, if they are. By the way still enjoy this: I learnt what makes the difference when the gpu is the same

[@PlugItIn-nj3jl]

Hi Steve, How did you go about unscrewing the four silver spring screws that attach the heatsink to the baseplate and PCB? They are a difficult to access as the fan shroud obstructs them quite significantly and I had quite a bit of difficulty with them. As far as I could tell they are the main screws attaching the heatsink to the baseplate and PCB and have to be removed. Was there any special way you approached that?

[@yaaweehoo]

This really helped me rejuvenate my card, thanks dude.

[@sleezy0510]

Can we get a PCB and VRM analysis video with buildzoid on this card ? I find those videos to be very interesting and informative.

[@nenno6748]

pin fin heatsinks are extremely efficient. on my diy led light I made, they allowed me smaller heatsinks and cooler led diodes.

[@DanielRichards644]

can't wait to see how thermals and noise levels play out, so far I believe the MSI Gaming X is winning in those departments

[@swedneck]

When will we get a screw throwing montage?

[@profix25lo]

hallo gamersnexus. What would happen if you solder a 1gb Vram module on the missing place. Would that work without the need of changing any software?

[@federicosalemi4924]

profix25lo its disabled in the die also

[@profix25lo]

Federico Salemi what if you solder it parallel to an other module

[@aliabdallah102]

profix25lo nothing

[@JohnDoe-qm5uo]

profix25lo That's not how it works

[@Bowhdiddley]

Gamers Nexus, First of all great video; it was very informative! I've been looking into buying this card for a while now. I'm shooting for a black and white build and I missed the boat on the ELITE versions of this card that can ship with a white or black shroud. In your disassembly, did you ever take of the shroud? Is it as easy as removing the hex screws you pointed out in 1:47? Are there any cables attached to the shroud that I would need to perform a full disassembly to disconnect? I'm trying to avoid taking the entire card apart to paint or PlastiDip just the shroud.

[@taipeitaiwan10]

Been waiting for this tease...

[@renesav]

taipeitaiwan10 me too...

[@ace_of_spadesgaming9674]

Steve, what is that cold plate made of? Aluminum, or nickel covered copper?

[@2ASupp0rter]

+gamers nexus, is the coldplate nickel plated copper? Looks like aluminum.

[@aneleace8061]

Can you please show us how to install an EVGA FTW3 1080ti hybrid water block on this gpu

[@SRTChrisS1]

Any plans on reviewing the Zotac 1080 ti AMP Extreme edition? It is the highest pre overclocked air cooled 1080 ti I know of.

[@buzz3890]

Is it really necessary to pull the back plates off to pull the cooler off like you did? This card runs a little hotter then I like and I was thinking of changing the thermal paste if any of you all think it will help. Does EVGA already use very good thermal paste? I just want to get the gpu or power a little cooler as VRAM seems to cool fine. Thank you

[@janguitarw2023]

Nice video, but can somebody tell me if its possible to turn the side label upsidedown, because i´m using an inverted atx case.

[@tadi7847]

Thanks for the video. I like this card a lot.

[@phazeshifta]

Is the DVI port removable to make this into a single slot card with a waterblock?

[@GoldenEagle17551]

I wonder if it would be possible to take off the front plate and paint it a different color without taking the whole thing apart, I'm going for a white, blue, and black build, and I'd like to see about painting it white.

[@volodymyrvolkiz2434]

Thanks, cool video. G P M led indicators, what are theese for??

[@anttiolavihelin]

Nice video. Thanks! I would like to know thickness of each pads. I would also like to know what type of pads those green really is because Im not sure if grey 14,8w/mk pads would be much better?! It's almost 2022 allready, but I quess im getting one of those similar cards and I could upgrade the pads if grey 14,8w/mk is much better. What I've seen, that green/yellow stuff if more soft and slimy than the grey one. Im not sure if grey 14,8w/mk pad is more pro stuff?!

[@thechannelitrollwith1645]

I’m asking everywhere I can: Just stripped a bunch tiny heads on the 1080 FTW2 (iCX) backplate because they were tight af and I didn’t even realize I’d stripped them until I looked closely. Obviously it’s my negligence, but do you have any graphics-card-specific solutions for this situation? Rubber band didn’t work, and the rest of the typically suggested techniques seem to be unsafe for a graphics card. Any and all suggestions welcome, thanks :) EDIT: the screws that came off easily did so by using #0 and #1 screwdrivers, depending on the screw. They were all the same size so I don’t even know how that’s possible.

[@MrApplewine]

I need to pick an EVGA 1080 TI ICX card, but it is confusing with the SS, SS2, FTW3 and all that. If there could be a comparison video that would be great. I think I just need the lowest one. I did see the FTW3 is 2 slots instead of 2.5 though.

[@ericqhochuli6004]

Will you be doing a hybrid mod for this one? Or is the titan Xp basically the same?

[@paskowitz]

I know it's would be expensive, but I'd like to see a comparison of this card on water vs a reference card on water. When core temp gets to ~40c, does the added vrm and power target net any increase?

[@sandflesh]

I really wanna see that xfx rx580 tear down.. also like to see if the xfx 480 gtr black edtion can be flashed with the 580X gtr-s bios and end up being the same.. im pretty sure most of the GTR's can overclock to 1400mhz.

[@mrawesomelemons]

Just wondering. Why does he remove the I/O plate? Most of the time no screws or only 2 are needed to be removed.

[@bouchraaouni7864]

Hello, can I ask, I can buy the evga GTX 1070 FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 graphics card. It has faults?

[@oldatarigamer]

Will you have the SC Black? Would like to see that compared to the SC 2.

[@ViolatioNVibratioN]

Can JUST the silver/aluminum shroud come off if I wanted to paint it?

[@oo-ef2eq]

ty for the video. now i can disconnect LED wire which is annoying while asleep

[@cubeqgen5927]

This is copper or aluminium heatsink? Can i change to liquid metal on this card?

[@terrablader]

Hi can a NVIDIA blower be put on this instead of the EVGA heatsink will it work?

[@lightnang2064]

whats the exact size and length of the thermal pads and where to purchase them?

[@foreignsgamingtech]

That's really expensive I think. Will be cool to see your comparison to the likes of the Gaming X and maybe even Strix?

[@tylerdavis4875]

will you have a pcb review of aorus comming up???

[@florianjaklitsch8363]

Still waiting for a 1080ti FTW Hybrid.

[@patrickm.4754]

If the GTX 1080 Ti FTW edition is this beefy, can't imagine what the Classified and Kingpin editions will look like.

[@au50350]

Wow, that's a nice card.

[@atticusfoust6389]

What are the screws for the heatsink? Thanks @Gamers Nexus

[@7rich79]

What's the reasoning behind the back plate being in two parts?

[@samhuelsnitz1964]

I noticed they still have a thermal pad on the missing vram module. Does this help at all?

[@AlexandreHimself]

the best card imo

[@nikolalukarski5524]

7:40 When I look at it 1080Ti comes with 11 GB of VRAM thus the 12th memory slot is empty. Correct me if I am wrong.

[@juliuss2056]

10:50 They don’t increase surface area, but they cause turbulence which helps to mix the boundary layer (effectively the air flowing over them is cooler)

[@scare191]

can i change thermal pads for vrm heatpipes between cooler and first plate ? i noticed that stock pads is too thick

[@jeanbean691]

is this any better or worse than the MSI's in cooling ability or quality of the parts used?

[@TobyCowles]

Jean Chon the VRM will be way better then MSI, can't say anything about cooling through. See if you can find Temps online.

[@Hydrus96]

when are we getting benchmarks for this?

[@Dreadnaught1991]

Does anyone know how to unplug the fans ? I am trying different ways and I can't get them unplugged and the connector on the pcb that the fan plugs into is coming off the pins.

[@mdotcuzz]

How is this going to compare to the ASUS STRIX 1080 TI? Will the ASUS be the best card?

[@jaggafeen]

no

[@BoredFreedom]

nice 2 slot card. im sold by that already xd

[@nitro300]

Adding a water block is gonna be a task.

[@chrish0001]

Does anyone know if you can use a 1080 FTW Hybrid cooler on this 1080ti card? Since it seems like the 1080ti Hybrid kits are completely 100% sold out everywhere?

[@talls7096]

benchmarks with the FTW3 please!!

[@jakechuaweipeng]

What material is their coldplate made of?

[@iz723]

THAT THING IS MASSIVE

[@5ch4cht3l7]

when will the FTW3 be finally available? Preorders everywhere but nobody has the card (in germany)

[@FisterMantastic]

FightBiscuit They actually ship today (May 1st)

[@5ch4cht3l7]

Thats pretty nice

[@spartasmr4934]

dawm, even if im able to build a pc and are kind of familiar with electronics i would never desasemble a card like that hahah congrats man.

[@maxxabillionmaxxabillion8063]

I'm just here waiting for mine to ship on May 1

[@37Kilo2]

MaxxABillion MaxxABillion May 8th for mine.

[@maxxabillionmaxxabillion8063]

Tage Nasty it may be May 8th for me too

[@SynthLove]

PCB is massive wow.

[@helterskelter416]

that memory spot is empty because the 1080ti only has 11gb, but the titan has 12. on a titan it wouldn't be empty.

[@hapkimankb]

EVGA's gone overboard with the thermal pads because of the 1080 FTW debacle. Also I'm not convinced that the triple smaller fans push more air than the two regular size fans.

[@changeittowumbo8399]

I want this card

[@changeittowumbo8399]

Lol I already have a 1080 ti ftw but I'm going to return it when this card becomes more available

[@imalamma6283]

So for the grace of god. Does anybody know the size of this card after its torn down? Im trying to add a Kraken to it. And its a very tight squeeze in my case. I know a card that is 287mm will work. And I know this card with all those fans and things is longer. Like 300mm but im wondering after tearing it down. Will it trim the length a bit? Anybody ?

[@IND4GR0V3]

now that looks like a fucking beast

[@pam0077]

One of the reasons why prices of some graphics cards has gone up recently is because of memory chips being in ridiculously high demand. And that's because of all the mobile device users buying up smartphones that have more memory than is actually needed. As if we need another reason to loath social media addicts.

[@GabrielCamilo84]

I would like to have iFix tools with a good price/quality ratio here in Brazil. Most tools here are pretty garbage and very expensive stuff.

[@questbaz]

Can you please make any recommendations for buying the best 1080Ti based on various factors like build quality, cooling solution, stability, price etc.

[@NineToFiveGamer]

sami haq Most of them are identical in cooling and performance. At this point, go with whatever one you think looks the best. I like the design of the Aorus 1080ti, along with the internal hdmi for VR, but that's me.

[@questbaz]

I like Aorus too n its fr 720$ which is nice but its massive in size n i hv to get 2 cards for now n possibly 3rd in future. 03 aorus cant possibly fit in evga classic x11 board which i hv selected. so the problem. then i like evga sc2 but its out of stores n retail price has hust been increased to 750$.

[@CJW0056]

sami haq My white Gigabyte OC had unbearable coil whine so I'd steer clear of that one, I may try my luck with an EVGA

[@questbaz]

I check reviews on newegg and those are usually accurate. Aorus 720$ 1080Ti is the best selling and has the best reviews by the verified owners on newegg. So its a good idea to first check the user reviews. Only downside i hv seen from the reviews is its massive size.

[@f4z0]

That thermal pad is THICC

[@scottmartin6961]

Has anyone tried unplugging the RGB header to plug into their motherboard to sync with aura sync?

[@stevemisfit1]

1:25. Size 10 screwdriver I lmao'd

[@Advection357]

Damn that thing is beefy You can use it as a blunt weapon

[@dopez0rs]

Show us them benchmarks my friend :)

[@derschleichende]

it is still not available in Germany why??

[@michaelkreitzer1369]

I've been buying Asus Strix cards since the 680, and I'm a bit disappointed to see so many manufacturers moving to a 3 slot cooler. I suppose I'm in the minority with a pci-e x8 raid card in my other x16 slot. PCI lanes are expensive, and it bugs me seeing so many companies claiming 32 of them by making unreasonably large coolers. So, unless this one just bombs the benchmarks, it will be the one I get.

[@damienriot]

Asus didn't have strix back in gtx680 era. They had strix line up since 970 and those were significantly infetior to giga and Zotac. On 1xxx asus is doing a decent job

[@michaelkreitzer1369]

Ah well busted memory is busted. Looks like it was the "GTX 680 DirectCU II OC Edition". That was before my motherboard was crammed full of expansion cards as well. Back then I was buying more based on who I trusted more. It was the first time I'd ever been able to afford and bought a top of the line GPU. I'd never heard of zotac before at the time, and I'd had a failed gigabyte and evga card in my history. This purchase will be me giving evga a second chance. Hope I don't regret it, and they'd have never gotten it if the strix was a 2 slot.

[@eugene4637]

That missing vram module i think is the difference between Titan Xp 12gb and 11gb on this card.

[@GamersNexus]

Shuttle Munky Yeah. We're talking about the specific positioning, though.

[@eugene4637]

Shhh. For a few moments i looked like i knew about these stuff. You blew it :P

[@antonioinacioconceicaoreis9004]

This pcb is better than a gaming x pcb???

[@TrueRegulators]

Hoping to see a pcb analysis by Buildzoid o.0

[@GamersNexus]

TrueRegulators Monday.

[@TrueRegulators]

Noice! :)

[@azbebalen3588]

Here goes my plans for replacing the thermal paste..

[@MarleneMcCartney]

that thermal pad is THICC..

[@07wrxtr1]

LOLZ

[@MustangsbyMatt]

There's something oddly therapeutic about watching a GPU torn down.

[@coleplacemb]

20 FET's? The video footage was edited out on the final portion of the FET count.

[@GamersNexus]

coleplacemb Yes, and they are dual packages. Our VRM analysis will be up Monday.

[@vinyl7232]

11 dram = 11gigs ?

[@lucianodebenedictis6014]

Evol Eiggna in this case yes

[@TobyCowles]

Evol Eiggna it depends on the density of the chip, but in this case yes, there is 1gb a chip

[@AdamB5000]

My used 1080 to runs hot. Watching...

[@CoparGaming]

if only my 1080 FTW was like this :(

[@boostedremiska]

this one termal pad that stayed on vram was enoying me sooo much

[@RascalKGAtlas]

thermal and annoying. sorry to be that guy

[@Ziakel]

This or the Strix?

[@Ensaumneak]

Ziakel This has a dual bios so I'd go for this personally