Should Be Better for $810: PCB & VRM Review of EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra

[@GamersNexus]

If you'd like to know how the thermal performance is of the cooler, or how its noise-normalized performance is, you can learn more here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3jCqX2Vp6hmjac Find Buildzoid's channel here! kzbin.info/door/rwObTfqv8u1KO7Fgk-FXHQ

[@maciejmazurczuk2736]

@@Mr.Unacceptable You really don't have any idea what you are talking about, man. 21:00 Of course those are THT caps (they have leads that go into holes, shape or polarity has nothing to do with it). 22:00 those ARE capacitors and the '330' marking means 330 microfarads of capacitance. To cite yourself: 'A dunning Kruger thing happening here.'

[@zdziseq]

@@Mr.Unacceptable dude, you are sooo dumb. Look at that: witcomputers.com/product/330uf-4tpb330m-notebook-smd-capacitors-330uf-6-3v-chip-ics/ and that shopee.co.id/Capasitor-Kapasitor-Cap-Tantalum-SMD-Slim-D-330uF-330-uF-2V-2.5V-2-5V-i.23223450.6826767244 and this shopee.co.id/Capasitor-Kapasitor-Tantalum-SMD-330uF-330-uF-330-D-330D-2V-2-Volt-Slim-Tipis-i.23223450.2344640992

[@maybelive765]

AHHHHHHH SENPAIIIIIII

[@silverphinex]

So do you have higher hopes for the 6800 XT PCB than what you are seeing with RTX 3000 series

[@jayr8282]

Colorful Vulcan OC RTX 3080 for the same price uses UPI 9512P and 22 phase vcore/uncore and 4 memory 26 total. No pass through hole caps, all SPCaps on the top of the board. 2 x array mlcs with 4 330uF back of the GPU.

[@thepolticalone961]

The mad scientist has returned

[@no-trick-pony]

He even has his own channel :P

[@thepolticalone961]

@@no-trick-pony he does

[@kylehagertybanana]

He posts all the time

[@thepolticalone961]

@@kylehagertybanana not here

[@kylehagertybanana]

@@thepolticalone961 He has a youtube channel but it's not called buildzoid it's called ActuallyHardcoreOverclocking

[@Retrox1989]

Me pretending to know about chips and capacitors "Ah yes"

[@thealien_ali3382]

Me: I wish I can put my Wang into it

[@cardoman3986]

lmao

[@amosk24]

Lol yes

[@CaveyMoth]

Me: "There's where that stupid coil whine is coming from."

[@sKumbag70]

Hmmm, yes the power phases are made of power phases.

[@drakelangham4412]

2021: An RTX 3080 for $810?! Holy crap, what a bargain! Buy it! Buy it as fast as you can!

[@MrViki60]

lel

[@rustymaples6986]

got mine from newegg $749

[@WTP_DAVE]

Nice the buildzoid collabs coming in

[@WTP_DAVE]

Should Be Better for $810 and prices going up again...

[@iamphil159]

"Should be better for 810 $" Market early 2021: How about 2000 $ ?

[@Baker.Matthew]

Getting close to 3k now

[@ffwast]

Early 2022: oh boy, they're in stock for $1300!

[@largelysubatomic]

This is my favorite 3080 because it's the only one I was able to buy at MSRP.

[@chillnspace777]

Lol

[@Sun-ut9gr]

😂👍

[@divertiti]

How did you get a FTW3 for $700?

[@christopherdiaz5846]

Same!

[@MrK133n]

Feels bad.

[@nick_pappagiorgio]

EVGA canceled their excellent laptop line, refuses to make an AMD motherboard, and now is skimping on the FTW series - sad to see

[@josephfowble196]

I kind of wonder if they don't have quite as many long supplier contracts locked in as other GPU makers (especially ones with more motherboard sales, laptops, monitors, etc) and EVGA got squeezed by human malware-related production issues/component price hikes. Or they struggle with only a $100 price premium over FE vs what they were able to charge on RTX 2080ti cards (+$250 over FE iirc).

[@olo398]

@@josephfowble196 good point since the pricing for all the stuff that make up the pcb is pretty much the same for all AIBs, the differences lie on their cooler design, how high end the card is etc etc etc. but yea.

[@selmopt]

give me evga rx please and take my mining money

[@siripfreely]

Their PSUs are also seemingly getting worse. The G1+ and G5 are worse than the G2 and G3. They also keep adding more models and it's at this point quite confusing. They have at least 11 models with 80+ Gold efficiency: G1, G1+, G2, G3, G5, GA, GD, GM, GS, GQ, GT

[@Sparksman23]

I'm not surprised, I've had nothing but issues with evga products. I'd sooner get a zotac product before an evga one.

[@twiggsherman3641]

Partners: "We'd be bankrupt!" Buildzoid: "About to End This Mans Whole Career"

[@carbonsx3]

Although it also lends credence to the story that the manufacturers can't afford this generation of nVidia GPUs...

[@twiggsherman3641]

@@carbonsx3 not really. Partners already said their best margins are in the high end. The fact they're squeaking away with a stretched reference PCB and passing it off as a high-end card, shows partners may be stretching the truth as well.

[@ps2232]

@@twiggsherman3641 hey now, you need to understand its always NVidia's fault no matter what...... because NVidia bad... did you miss the memo? logic and rational thought are not aloud... lol

[@Waldherz]

The most clear and honest title I have seen recently. On this entire planet.

[@titaniummechanism3214]

I'm supporting LTT on Floatplane and even there we almost never get such good titles. On YT it's even worse. I can't stand those clickbait titles.

[@witchdoc4185]

This is really clear and honest too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGG7koasnbmMmpY

[@titaniummechanism3214]

@@witchdoc4185 No, it lacks the context.

[@True_Christian]

The earth is not a 'planet' so your statement in the OP contains lie whilst you are supposedly praising honesty. That's quite hypocritical.

[@Waldherz]

@@True_Christian The earth is a planet in my book so I see no issue.

[@Thisguy56]

I do not understand most of what he is talking about but I love these videos and this is why I love Gamers Nexus! Such a deep insight with more information that I can comprehend but this is how you learn keep up with the awesome videos!

[@Ty4ons]

Why do you need high quality components when you’ve got ~RGB~

[@oldtimergaming9514]

Cause then it is the fastest!

[@greatestever5879]

Rgb=performance 🎭

[@TheMillz1994]

Just overclock the frequency of the the RGB! (Set it to ultraviolet)

[@NGHutchin]

You mean clown lips

[@TheAtomicSpoon]

Cannot wait till this RGB bullshit goes away.

[@alangarde2928]

I click a GN logo, I hear Buildzoids soothing tones and get very confused if I mis-clicked. I listen to the soothing tones all the way through not understanding most of it but being soothed.

[@jimzol]

I hear "Hey guys Buildzoid here" I slap the like button, I'm a simple man.

[@Marauder1981]

Because you use dead memes? You´re not simple, just a normie.

[@moment3380]

@@Marauder1981 ouch

[@specht2006]

@@Marauder1981 This is the best xkcd ever!

[@GearGolemTMF]

Threw me off when I heard him then my brain rebooted.

[@DerbyMods]

@@Marauder1981 stay mad + get ratio’d

[@toastpulver3422]

Steve with a cold sounds almost like buildzoid rambling about pc hardware

[@BoopLoopy]

Why when I decide to buy an FTW for the first time, it's the year when they don't make it as high end as previous FTW's...

[@Great_America]

This video is old. The FTW3 Ultra was significantly updated after release. Also, two of the POSCAPS were replaced by 20 MLCC caps, ensuring proper power delivery to the GPU. This was done prior to the main production release. The card you see here with 6 POSCAPS is a pre-production card.

[@begemottos]

What do you think about Palit Gamerock, Colorful Vulcan compared to Evga ftw3?

[@stevenm2656]

Sad how they cheaped out. I've had every EVGA Ti since 980 Ti. Going Strix this time.

[@justwatchinguboob]

Asus has been pretty decent to me on my new build

[@milchkopf3881]

its not a ti

[@YouroGamer]

Dude you need to either rewatch the video or learn something for fucks sake. If you had a 980 for this long you arn't into ln2 overclocking aka everything said in this video does not matter to you bc it's not going to make single difference "literally not a goddamn frame of difference" and if you really would go to a whole different brand because of this then you defiantly didn't have much of brain to begin with. This is partly due to the attitude took through this video, that vcore controller only fn matters to literally like 5 people that would actually need to manually adjust that. If youre still on a 980ti then anything else you get is going to be an upgrade without overclocking and if you do decided to overclock it i guarantee youre not doing anything else then a voltage unlock through msi afterburner and some minor core/ mem tweaks. I doubt most of the people saying stuff like this has ever even taken theyre graphics card apart.

[@jabroni6199]

@@YouroGamer doesn’t change the fact this is evgas higher end skew and it’s really no better than the cheaper XC3. so overclocking or not, no reason to buy a FTW3 over a XC3

[@YouroGamer]

@Luke Purse wow good one

[@johnpatz8395]

I love these breakdowns, although I have to admit that much of it goes over my head, but I understand enough of the basics to make watching worthwhile, plus of course I learn more from each video

[@lewis.hiranrujirawirote9235]

Same. I previously feel like chimpanzee watching GN and Buildzoid. Now I've evolved to Neanderthal.

[@omegacon4]

This review makes me glad I pulled the trigger and bought the EVGA XC3 Ultra 3080 when EVGA notified me that it was my turn in the queue instead of waiting indefinitely for a FTW3!

[@dirtswimmer]

I was surprised that buildzoid was still alive, but I checked and for some bizarre reason I was unsubscribed. I corrected that.

[@mzpedro1450]

lmao

[@jintsuubest9331]

KZbin is doing an experiment to remove the subscribe system entity.

[@denios36]

Love these super detailed analysis from Buildzoid, thanks and keep 'em coming!

[@azsdghg]

Fuses are extremely underrated though. Sometimes due to the lack of fuses (e.g. msi) the failure might fry the card into oblivion and certain manufactures (e.g. msi) would do everything to refuse RMA, leaving you with a peace of unrepairable hardware. Also there are cases where manufacturers don't have an office in a customer's country, thus when they RMA a card paying for custom clearance to get a fixed card/replacement back might cost more than an actual repair. Not to mention, that a warranty will expire at some point anyway. Realistically these little fuses can be a difference between having to a buy a new 800$ gpu vs paying ~100-200$ for a repair.

[@MedicB142]

Bluidzoid, love from Minnesota good sir!

[@Nobody-vr5nl]

I like how the abbreviation "ftw" takes longer to say than just saying "for the win"

[@SparkY0]

I thought it stood for "eff the world"

[@RichardJRussell]

My favourite example of this is VW. If you're writing it then yes VW is quicker but when talking it's quicker to say Volkswagen.

[@calypsovega420]

@@RichardJRussell Vee-Dubbya?

[@MotoCat91]

@@RichardJRussell Here in Australia it's generally just 'veedub'. Everyone knows what that means without further clarification

[@RichardJRussell]

@@MotoCat91 See, that makes perfect sense but many people seem to still think that it's quicker to fully say VW than Volkswagen >_

[@excalibur3311]

This video should make people start to think: "Well how premium and high quality is an AIB card really if price and branding aren't indicative whatsoever of quality?" There's a lot more AIB cards just like this with a considerable premium fee over the founders, yet offer truly little, nothing, or less than the Nvidia design.

[@Bellissima2k]

They offer better heatsink/fan and run ~10C cooler than the Nvidia FE editions. In fact almost every AIB card runs cooler than the FE edition.

[@qfan8852]

@@Bellissima2k on open test bench or inside some standard testing case, or both?

[@ZombieLincoln666]

@@Bellissima2k Sometimes at the cost of more noise

[@Blacksadify]

@@ZombieLincoln666 I never even hear mine at all, even under full load.

[@MotoCat91]

Would love to get the founders edition as the price is good, it looks nice, runs well and I have no intention of watercooling it this time.. But alas, Lord Jensen says Australia can't have any One company somehow got like.. 20 of them, and held a raffle for the privilege of being able to buy it, but that was it. I wish the majority weren't so ugly.. Gigabyte Vision looks great but I doubt it's worth a 30% price hike

[@daviddebroux4708]

"The Stretched PCB" Yo I think you mean WIDE PCB

[@creativestarfox]

PeepoWidePCB

[@daviddebroux4708]

@@creativestarfox Wideputin.mpeg4

[@CaveyMoth]

Goatsy PCB

[@bartthetreeguy4764]

Thicc PCB

[@weltsiebenhundert]

Wide screen monitor?

[@troymeredith521]

Any reason this breakdown is being done on a prototype board? It may have broken the World Record for LN2, but it's still a prototype. I haven't checked, but are the rest of the components truly 1:1 on the retail release beyond the MLCC cap change?

[@_--_--_]

Usually with going from preproduction to final production boards the components *if* they are changed are more "cost optimized" ie. cheaper/worse. The decoupling cap change is the exception, because it got public attention. I would bet good money that nothing changed at all except the decoupling caps.

[@phaylanx5]

This is the same thing i was wondering, does Buildzoid mention this at all?

[@killerm12]

"Any reason this breakdown is being done on a prototype board?" because that's what they got

[@arturpaivads]

Actually its not a prototype board, it wouldn't make any sense sending a prototype board to reviewers because the production would be so different than the prototype that all analysis done would be invalid. So this is a pre-production board, which means its basically at the latest validation tests and only minor changes would be done, like fixing a capacitor issue for instance. Its whats called in the dev world "release candidate", its basically ready to ship unless we find any last hour bug. Imagine that you make tables, okay? Then you send to a table reviewer your prototype table, but your first impression is that L shaped tables use better the space of the room, so you make a prototype that its in L shape and send to the reviewer. But in the development process of that table design you see that the corner is not used, so the L shape is scratched to a normal flat design, and then the reviewer did analysis of a L shaped table but your costumer would receive a flat table, so the review of a L table is completely pointless, it maybe even be hurting for your business since your customer is expecting a L table according to the review. But, if you send a pre-release version, a version that is basically ready but you didn't do to much testing on it and its already a flat design the reviewer will analyze a table that is mostly what the consumer will get. But during the testing you check that the feet are damaging wooden floor, you decide to change to a softer type of feet without change the overall usability or visual of the table. the end user probably won't notice the difference at all, and even if they notice, it would be a better experience than the advertised by the reviewer, since now the table doesn't scratch floors without any down side effect.

[@stormblessed2673]

Your criticisms makes a lot of sense considering it's pricing in the US, it doesn't justify it's markup and it seems to have some issues. Just thought I'd mention that in Australia it's one of the cheapest 3080 you can buy, and so when many brands - even ones such as zotac and galax - are going for $100-$400(AUD) more expensive than the FTW3, it's a no brainer which to buy. Edit: I say buy, but in reality, i mean preorder with Queue's that likely reach into 2021.

[@jlgroovetek]

Ha... anyone feeling sad about buying this card - don't. If you're going to mod the card, wait for the Kingpin. Here in Australia the FTW3 Ultra is well priced, alot cheaper than even ASUS TUF Gaming. For out of the box, normal overclocking, this card is one of the best.

[@ryanvasei8412]

I preordered the 3080 from Canada Computers and the way their system works is that you get a first choice and second choice card. I had the Strix as first and FTW3 as second. They called me yesterday to let me know that they had absolutely to ETA on the Strix but that they had an FTW3 ready to go. I bit the bullet and went with the FTW3. Now Im kicking myself.

[@EdR640]

GN Video #1: Board partners saying Nvidia is hurting them with MSRP price requirement (which determines prices up and down the ladder)! GN Video #2: Why is the board partner skimping out wherever they can on this Nvidia card? There's a connection here somewhere...

[@reginalb124]

This card isn't anywhere near MSRP, and that video wasn't about the 3080. You'd have more of a leg to stand on if the other partner upgrade boards didn't do things differently, but they did...

[@ps2232]

@@reginalb124 hey now, you need to understand its always NVidia's fault no matter what...... because NVidia bad... did you miss the memo? logic and rational thought are not aloud... lol

[@ThatShandyBear]

Buildzoid: EVGA basically took a reference board and stretched it while asking for more money Steve: But before that, buy this water block from EK that's also compatible for the FTW3 😂 😂😂

[@KalebQi]

Whoa wasn't expecting the entire outro from Buildzoid. Nice

[@Fate025]

Oh yeah! Buildzoid was literally talking about this review a few days ago at his own stream, while he was trying to overclock that prebuilt APU. He was wondering if his review will ever get released as he was afraid he was being a little bit too harsh on EVGA

[@josephfowble196]

Past 2080ti FTW3 cards had a ~$250 price premium over FE. This 3080 card is just ~$100 over FE. I think that should have tempered expectations a bit. Hopefully the 3090 k|ngp|n cards don't disappoint.

[@easy4breezy]

Yep, I asked about this and he actually replied :D

[@ifidiediwouldsay]

@@josephfowble196 Well the 3090 FTW3 cards have a $300 price premium, and probably same-ish pcb and components.

[@josephfowble196]

@@ifidiediwouldsay The MSRP of 3090FE is $1499 vs 3090 FTW3 starting at $1729 in USA. You're correct that components in them aren't that much different according to techpowerup.

[@justifythewinner]

Is this the pre-consumer card you guys reviewed? My capacitors are different than the ones in this video! Sad to see where EVGA cheaped out but after GN’s vid on Nvidia not giving these guys room for profit, it had to have been done somewhere!

[@gioXLVI]

20:00

[@justifythewinner]

@@gioXLVI thank you sir, literally did not listen to that part I guess lol

[@YouroGamer]

Yeah I took that into account with that fact that other than better capacitors none of the rest matters unless your ln2 overclocking. And I wouldn't call it cheaping out if it doesn't make a single difference in the performance of the card stock or normal oc.

[@alexwang007]

For those wondering, inductors gets higher energy densities as the switching frequency increases due to higher di/dt. The downside is the inductor losses, and MOSFET turn-on losses (the more you turn it on then off, the higher the loss). Almost all losses manifest as waste heat.

[@_--_--_]

Right and the main benefit resulting from this is the better line regulation given the same inductor and capacitor (provided the inductor has a high enough self resonating frequency and that the capacitors have a low enough impedance at the switching frequency) or the same line regulation but with smaller inductors and capacitors. High frequency switching converters are really neat, i have implemented a few in designs with around 10ish MHz switching frequency and for the current they can deliver they are *tiny* .

[@alexwang007]

@@_--_--_ oh yeah i also forgot about the ripple that decreases with increasing frequency. WOW 10 meg... i was messing around designing with 4 MHz phase shifted full bridge, using the PC200 ferrite, tiny 500W fit on the palm of your hand and thought that was pushing it... what material are those bad boys you are using made from?

[@_--_--_]

@@alexwang007 Actually nothing fancy, standard SMD chip ferrites and X7R dielectric MLCCs. The magic was in the IC, it was a TI TPS54A20 which comes in a small QFN package. They somehow managed to decrease losses in the FETs with such high switching frequencies. Though to be fair, technically it is a 2-phase synchronous converter, so 10MHz effective, but actually 2x5Mhz. But it implements like a simple single phase, with the exception of needing 2 ferrites instead of one.

[@allnamestakenlol]

Always happy to see (hear) Buildzoid.

[@RecordedYou]

Haven't had better content to nap to on a desk since high school! Big like

[@SparkY0]

"Hey we need you to do a deep dive on this hardware" "Cool, will you send me the hardware" "Nah, we'll send one picture instead"

[@tuna_6548]

In Australia they are sold by PLE Computers at the same cost as Founders MSRP, would that change your view on the card?

[@solid_snake9708]

Yes its a very good card for that price, Given you use it in just normal gaming circumstances.

[@sKumbag70]

You mean preorder only and delivery isn't expected until next year because there is nearly 1000 on backorder for just EVGA alone :(

[@MarshallSambell]

I asked at the PLE computers store and they said that most EVGA 3080’s aren’t due in until feb 2021

[@ledoynier3694]

Here they are all out of stock and fetch well over 1000€, no matter what brand it is... soooo yea.. I'll wait for Q1 2021 to even look at prices. Right now it's madness.

[@jayleaf201]

@@sKumbag70 Got mine today from PLE, ordered on release day. Pretty happy with it

[@yaej]

its like someone's flipping buildzoid's accent switch every once in a while

[@titaniummechanism3214]

Now that we know what Nvidia pushes the AIBs to do, we can speculate where that price and that PCB quality came from. Thanks for the good reporting, GN!

[@PulsarTECH]

That's a super detailed review of the PCB and the components. EVGA probably thought no-one would dig that deep 😂😂😂

[@samgoff5289]

You would be wrong there Steve is in pretty close contact with evga, they know 😂

[@66777jason]

@@samgoff5289 Go to evga.com lol

[@Clobercow1]

They should all be assuming this by now. Examples have been made, so either they don't care, or they can't because of other reasons.

[@PulsarTECH]

@@Clobercow1 they are probably just trying to justify the price and make as much money as possible per card. At the end if it works at advertised specs that's all they are responsible for, any manipulations or overclocking would solely lay on the end user. 😒

[@tacklefatkids]

@@Clobercow1 it is many many many factors. I believe Nvidia became way too controlling this time around on what aib partners could do and how they are designed. On top of that manufacturing during a pandemic and for a company the size of EVGA which isn't a global titan of a company like MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte who might I add all have their pre-builts desktops, laptops and monitors. I still think for hardcore overclockers it's a letdown but for a normal user this will do them fine. Just sucks EVGA seems to have been shot in the foot and in a way shot themselves in the foot as well.

[@TeslaDev]

Actually quite disappointed in my evga 3080 ftw3 ultra. Seeing $700 tuf's beat it stock. It doesn't OC hardly at all, and what I do get out of it, it's still beat by many tuf's running stock boosting with no offsets. Runs very hot. I always go with cheaper variants...but talked myself into spending more this time to get higher power limits and better cooling. My card doesn't even take advantage of this power limit...I need to undervolt just to hold a 1935 clock. This is my 3rd, but last EVGA card.

[@natesnetwork8306]

Anyone else notice pin 1 (top left) of the left PCI-E power connector doesn't even look soldered. You get a good view at 9:07 The pin beneath it is almost as bad.

[@JocPro]

That's not pin 1, those are pins 4 and 8, and they're ground and sense, and you already have 3 grounds for the 3 power pins, so they're not that critical (That's why they're usually piggybacked from the other six). Still, they are through hole components so the "shiny perfect blobs of solder" are on the back of the card, so no biggie. And even then, 3 x 8 pins deliver about 450W of power by themselves...

[@catcalamity105]

Well, it might be terrible for the US, but it’s great value for AU. It’s selling at 1229 & 1259 AUD for the non & ultra versions, whilst the MSRP of the FE was 1139 AUD. The FE was a limited run sold via raffle draw to win a chance to purchase, & for comparison the TUF non OC is 1399 and the Strix OC is 1799.

[@jaydnisevil]

It is worth noting that in Australia, the FTW 3 is basically the cheapest 3080 you can get at $1260AUD Even the Asus tuff oc is $1490 (Strix OC is $1800) If it were $1500 here I'd be disappointed, but it's basically the closest thing to reference cards price wise which we didn't really get.. expected the components to reflect that)

[@YouroGamer]

Yeah and people in America down the street from a microcenter are complaining about another 100$ on a what gonna be close to that 1000$ gpu anyway. Did people suddenly forget how much the 20 series was when it launched? Absolutely triggering.

[@ryanspencer6778]

I don't necessarily mind if they used cheaper components to save costs as long as they're as reliable and perform around the same. It's things like the VRMs and other critical power delivery components that I'd mind if they skimped out on.

[@michaelandrews4783]

Electric component parts is one of the rare areas where "you get what you pay for" is not a complete lie for example like people using the saying for an apple product.

[@thesandman775]

Why would you do this against a pre-release PCB sample? As you yourself mentioned, they updated the capacitors for production. What's to say they didn't upgrade other components?

[@RichardJRussell]

Love the work that you and Steve's team do but given the purpose of sending these pics to you, I 'd have thought Steve would've cleaned off all the TIM. He usually has the parts to replace it.

[@evan5848]

I don't have a clue what this guy is talking about, but he exudes confidence. Therfore, like smashed.

[@Aaron-iz3hk]

I don't really know sh*t, but I have watched enough of these that I had a good idea that UP9511 would be one of your "complaints" on this type of card. I think it was one of your Strix cards analysis on your home channel when you touched on the differences. I have memory with bad sectors so I might have that part confused... Also, THANK YOU for these videos. They help with purchase decisions for myself and others. Love these vids.

[@swollos3859]

You guys should make a video explaining all of the components on these PCBs

[@Losimantom]

Sick video as always GN staff and Buildzoid!

[@askopte]

Maybe this is a side evidence of "Nvidia shouldn't set the msrp too low and charge a lot for the chip/vram simultaneously". For a card that is $100 over MSRP this is kinda unusual.

[@Apollo-Computers]

The 3090 ftw3 ultra is $300 over msrp

[@Lillowh]

Or maybe board partners are being greedy because of the HEALTHY margins they miss that they were making on the 2000 series cards being so overpriced

[@Simon-gc6uf]

@@Lillowh Yes let's give Nvidia the benefit of the doubt because it's not like they have a history of screwing over partners....

[@JP_RS6]

Always love the buildzoid vids :)

[@brendenweaver5107]

I appreciate BZ's honest opinion sucks to see evga slipping a little as of late. Hope the KPE is worth it.

[@TheEternitySnow]

The high end was all about that RGB lighting lol

[@hellishgengar2473]

Can you guys do a video on the EVGA 500W XOC Bios not working on FTW3 3090s. It is a huge issue over on the EVGA forums right now because EVGA's own bios is not getting to 500W on their own FTW3 cards despite the same bios working perfectly on the cards of other brands. It appears similar to what is said in the video, EVGA cheaped out on components on their $1800 card which gimped its performance.

[@fredocuomo5386]

by the title of the video i thought savage steve was on the prowl..but instead its snarky buildzoid..fuck yes!!!

[@golkeganac4339]

The UP9511 and UP9512 are exactly the same voltage controller aside from the external I2C control. So many GN viewers are watching this and thinking the PCB is "cheap" when it's just an extreme overclocker lamenting the lack of voltage modding. Shame on GN for publishing this without fact checking it. They are subcontracting BuildZoid for cheap content without vetting it and it's totally reckless "tech journalism" to do so. I expect so much more from this channel.

[@seanmcd72]

It's humorous to read some of the comments stating they are glad "they read this before buying" - even though most reviewers say this is the best 3080 out there.

[@chstewart3715]

Here we are in 2022 and I just scored one from the EVGA wait list for $919 before taxes and shipping

[@0Harriz0]

Good info GN & Buildzoid. I know it's all about corporal image and stuff but the blue pen just makes it way harder to read stuff on a black pcb would have preferred BZs orange tbh. But good content nonetheless

[@pharmeee]

I had one but it ran way hotter than I would like so I sold it. I do love what EVGA has done with the que system though

[@brianbecking1]

I really like these series. Thank you

[@PieterPatrick]

I copy-pasted your comment. I'm lazy, sorry.

[@johnuferbach9166]

@@PieterPatrick Lol

[@brianbecking1]

@@PieterPatrick NP aslong as they can see it and keep making these videos I am fine, really like the in-depth look at the boards

[@RenickRidingMoto]

So, you said this was a prerelease PCB when you were looking at the back. Could there be any other changes since then? Or was the only change those faulty caps?

[@leviathanpriim3951]

thanks GN and BZ for these overviews.

[@mengs9365]

Excellent video. 2 cents: phase count matters, but 8 maynot be that bad. 600khz is per phase switching frequency, "paralleling" 8 phases, looking at 600khz*8=4.8Mhz Fsw sufficient for transient full loadstep response, plus it is the outputMLCC capacitor banks first line of defense to catch the transient load step anyway VRM close loop BW can't react that fast intentionally.

[@_Tamas]

so the pcb you had on there seems to be the first one that you received before they changed it a bit with MLCCs on the back, was there no other change than just the pos and mlcc between the one you have here and the ones on retail shelves now?

[@KevTheHunter1]

That's what I wanna know. I get If this is the original card and not the one post launch, because now everyone thinks evga is skimping out when, in reality, nvidia screwed them over and were left to scramble to put everything together. I love mine and get the right amount of power for the games I play. But I would like others to benefit from this card as well with proper info

[@GamersNexus]

Other than caps on the back, there is zero other difference.

[@_Tamas]

@@GamersNexus thank-you for the reply 😊

[@syncmonism]

I don't understand why there aren't more models (of all video card types) with two bioses. That one feature is extremely useful. Not having to worry about messing up your bios when trying out a different bios is extremely useful, but it's also useful to be able to have two bioses, to be able to quickly switch between two different power and performance profiles. I don't care about being able to push the card hard with overclocking, I just want some basic useful features, like easily replaceable fans, adequate memory cooling, decent, reliable power delivery, decent fuse design, the absence of major design flaws, etc..

[@Falkentyne07]

Buildzoid, The fuses are bad for modders. Specifically the PCIE slot. It's only 10 amps. 10A * 12v= 120W. So if you are shunt modding the card to allow it to draw more power, if you draw more than 120 watts from the PCIE port, the fuse will blow and you can't use the card anymore. I believe the ratio of PCIE slot to a single PCIE plug is 1.25x or something close to it. So if you tried modding for more than 600W total (e.g. stacking 5 mOhm shunts on top of the originals, or removing the original shunts and maybe using 3 mOhm replacements, that fuse is going byebye. The other AIB's have 20 amp fuses on both the PCIE slot and power PCIE plugs (afaik). The Founder's Edition does not have fuses at all. I've shunt modded mine for 530W TDP @ 114% power limit, and a few others have modded their FE's as well.

[@martindarlington3862]

he hath spoken! glad I didn't go for the evga this time, certainly cheaped out this time, it just looks cheap, many thanks for your input/output! cheers.

[@Nicolas_Cage_Bees]

It's always entertaining trying to predict where the ad spot will go while Buildzoid rambles.

[@Blacksadify]

I haven't seen an ad in years. lol Ublock Origin FTW

[@Nicolas_Cage_Bees]

@@Blacksadify Ublock Origin doesn't block the ads that they run in every video. You know, the ones where Steve is like "Before that, this video is sponsored by..."

[@TheMotlias]

I would argue that given the limited amount of time that the partners had to make their own cards its not surprising they heavily based their cards on the reference, but that also begs the question, should they be marketing them as "Premium" products with the accompanying price delta

[@HoshinoMirai]

Yeah, and I think that's what the title tries to encapsulate. Should be better for something that cost 810 bucks. If they don't have the time to actually make a better version work, they probably shouldn't release it or charge it as if it were a more robust design.

[@TheMotlias]

@@HoshinoMirai I do wonder how many peopke base their assumption of the quality of a card on the price of it

[@mckidney1]

I still think it is amazing EVGA did upgrade everything about the same or better than the FE. Since FE was probably not disclosed to partners.

[@Watzleroviak1210]

So, basically it comes down to this: If you are a "normal" user, and your overclocking goes as far as raising the Power Limit in Afterburner, the best thing to do is just to buy the cheapest 3080 you can get at the time and be happy. Because u are getting at least 90% the experience of someone who ponies up the big bucks for a high end model. Sounds about right?

[@norwegianshaggy4419]

No more like 98% of the experience, or maybe 99.999%. Considering that the RTX 3000 series is Nvidia's Vega moment, and the stock cards are already clocked right to the limit...

[@whiteandnerdytuba]

Love these. Looking forward to more

[@kylehagertybanana]

Prolly won’t see this but buildzoid is really increasing how much info he includes in the same time

[@MichaelSalaA]

Good work buildzoid.... did Steve try make you cut things out?

[@FinnishComrade]

Was so hyped for a FTW3 3090 Ultra. When I saw Asus had all 6 mlcc's. I have a Strix OC waiting for me this coming Friday

[@Targetlockon]

Buildzoid collab yey!

[@gucky4717]

Hey Buildzoid. I have to ask...do you know any way to reduce coilwhine of 3080 FEs? I choose the FE, because I listened to your rants. Especially about the blower-heatsinks being to large. The FE fixes that, by using a short blowerstyle. And the other FE Fan is a passthrough, meaning less trapped Heat under the Card and less recycling of hot air.

[@TANSTAAFL-]

How does the 3090 FTW3 fare in the component department? Similarly to the 3080, or did it get better treatment for giant price tag?

[@Mike504]

I got this card because It runs cool and quiet due to the massive cooler. Oh and I found it in stock lol.

[@Coltoj]

Would kill for a Gigabyte Turbo 3090 breakdown video, (don't tell the fuzz) thx

[@marklamutt]

A wild BZ appears from the shadows to impart his wisdom on the GN community! Great video as always Buildzoid!

[@dnakatomiuk]

The paste looks like cement, I love these videos

[@UndercoverPirate69]

The entire lineup also chickened out on VRAM amount upgrades compared to the 10xx series. WOuld have bought an EVGA 3070 10-12Gb, but now I want to wait till the 4070 unless there will be those models later schrug

[@burakokumus6040]

Nicely detailed review! Thanks!

[@Targetlockon]

Buildzoid breakdown yey

[@TheRealBix]

Is it actually possible to point out which components (and therefore which cards) would tend to whine under normal use ?

[@Weangered]

Great video, although I haven't finished it yet, I'd bet it's great.

[@InsaneFirebat]

Who would've known if not for Buildzoid? PS: orange was easier to read

[@makemoneynow5061]

Keep posting interesting contents like this!

[@chrisswing2294]

and thank you for the amazing content! to u and buildzoid(:

[@LKrieger]

Nice Analysis as always, thanks. But is your calculation about te vcore correct? I would assume around 30w of heat by 400 amps!?

[@emilethesnaar6604]

With regards tot he shunt resistor count, given the increase power draw of the card, you need to scale the current measurement range, at the cost of resolution. By splitting the power input over several shunt resistors, the current measurement range decreases per shunt decreases, increasing the effective measurement resolution. One can only think that the current measurement IS important enough to require high resolution for accurately calculating power draw, and whether it is safe to boost or not.

[@ApocDevTeam]

ASUS is basically the only AIB that has actually done interesting stuff with Ampere cards. Everyone else is just reference PCB with some minor upgrades here and there. I wonder if this is related to NVIDIA not informing the AIB's on time, or whether they're all cheaping out on us.

[@TrueThanny]

If I had to guess, it would be nVidia gouging the AIB's for the chips (GPU and RAM), and setting an unrealistically low MSRP. I think the claims about the upcoming mid-range card are no less true for the 3080. Maybe even the 3090, given nVidia's greed.

[@SeesSean]

i was gona say, i was looking for a buildzoid video then i come on here, GUESS STAR BUILDZOID xD ty for the pcb breakdowns STEVE this guy rocks plz help his channels, he is a legend!