MSI Intros GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Armor and Aero Graphics Cards

[btarunr]

MSI today launched the two other custom-design GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards apart from its Gaming X series, the GTX 1080 Ti Armor series, and the GTX 1080 Ti Aero series. Both lines further have variants that are factory-overclocked, and ones which stick to NVIDIA reference clock speeds. The GTX 1080 Ti Aero will be MSI's cheapest GTX 1080 Ti offering, which could sell on-par with NVIDIA's $699 Founders Edition SKU. It features a lateral-flow cooling solution that pushes hot air out of the case, much like the reference-design cooler. MSI improved upon the drab black plastic cooler shroud design of previous Aero series products with streaks of NVIDIA's favorite shade of green, which lends the card a Quadro-like appearance. The base GTX 1080 Ti Aero sticks to NVIDIA-reference clocks of 1480/1582/11000 MHz (core/GPU Boost/memory), while the OC variant ticks at 1506/1620 MHz, leaving the memory untouched.

The GTX 1080 Ti Armor series is a little more exciting. Part of MSI's Arsenal Gaming family, the Armor series cards are positioned between the Aero series and the Gaming X series. These cards feature an aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by a pair of fans that spool down to zero when the GPU is idling. The card also appears to be using the same PCB as the GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X. The GTX 1080 Ti Armor sticks to NVIDIA-reference clock speeds, while the Armor OC variant does 1531/1645 MHz (core/GPU Boost) out of the box, which is a little behind the 1569/1683/11200 MHz the Gaming X ships with.



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[Prima.Vera]

So what's the difference between this ad Gaming X then. You can o.c. this to the same level if Im not mistaken...

 

[Vayra86]

So what's the difference between this ad Gaming X then. You can o.c. this to the same level if Im not mistaken...

Christmas lights and 'binning'. TwinFrozR is also a tad more beefy in cooling.

 

[Foxtrot1]

Christmas lights and 'binning'. TwinFrozR is also a tad more beefy in cooling.

I don't believe any of the 10xx series chips are binned by any manufacturer.

 

[jabbadap]

Christmas lights and 'binning'. TwinFrozR is also a tad more beefy in cooling.

+Gaming X has backplate, while armor does not.

 

[Jeffredo]

Twin Frozr HSF is so good its hard to get interested in these cheaper models.

 

[Vayra86]

I don't believe any of the 10xx series chips are binned by any manufacturer.

Yes. KFA2 HOF is binned, EVGA FTW/FTW DT is binned, gaming X and gaming Z, Gainward Phoenix GLH and Palit GameRock are as well...

In practice the advantage is very minimal, but still. I had an Evga FTW 1070 that clocked 2176mhz and managed 2140mhz ingame and stayed there.

 

[HopelesslyFaithful]

Yes. KFA2 HOF is binned, EVGA FTW/FTW DT is binned, gaming X and gaming Z, Gainward Phoenix GLH and Palit GameRock are as well...

In practice the advantage is very minimal, but still. I had an Evga FTW 1070 that clocked 2176mhz and managed 2140mhz ingame and stayed there.

proof otherwise hearsay

 

[dj-electric]

Theres something funny and odd about budget 700$ cards. Just dont buy em, they shouldn't exist. put an extra 30-40$ for sneekypete's sake

 

[sutyi]

Christmas lights and 'binning'. TwinFrozR is also a tad more beefy in cooling.

Armor has TwinFrozR V
Gaming Series has TwinFrozR VI + BackPlate

Also on the 1080Ti Gaming Series the cooler is 2.5 slot.

 

[GreiverBlade]

Christmas lights and 'binning'. TwinFrozR is also a tad more beefy in cooling.

Armor twinfrozr is the V and Gaming X is the VI, not much difference between them


also on the other difference iirc if it's like the 1070, they use the same PCB but the armor has a few less component (ie: 2 VRM/mosFET/caps and -1x 6pin) other than that both 1070 of each kind did OC quite similarly and only the lack of a backplate is a letdown (tho it has a frontplate that mitigate the sagging, if there would ever been one )

binning? not likely both sample (Armor/Gaming X) reached similar core clock speed and boost (my armor had a slightly higher sustained boost for a lower clock than a gaming X for some time )

 

[Air]

Why would anyone buy aero if its the same price as a FE, which is made in metal, has backplate, looks better and is likely much quieter?

 

[GreiverBlade]

and is likely much quieter?

mmhhh ... probably not.... specially "much" the FE cooler is only a metal reference cooler (again) with a fancy name, ok ... for the backplate ... tho it's not that nice nor it add something to the card ( i didn't follow the fooler's edition saga ... does that backplate is made of metal also? )


although usually Aero are cheaper than FE and a heck of a better deal for watercooling build over a FE... but in this case same price as a FE translate in : "thank you nvidiots for your greediness"
tho the sentence "which could sell on par with the fooler's edition" is unlikely ... imho

i suspect nvidia told MSI "price your Aero on par with our FE ... otherwise people will think it's a better deal and buy your ref card instead of our and we gonna not like it!"

 

[Air]

mmhhh ... probably not.... specially "much" the FE cooler is only a metal reference cooler (again) with a fancy name, ok ... for the backplate ... tho it's not that nice nor it add something to the card ( i didn't follow the fooler's edition saga ... does that backplate is made of metal also? )

Ok, not a lot maybe, but the FE is for sure the best blower you can get, with the vapor chamber and all. Ya, i think the backplate is also metal. For lower end GPUs the FE has a price premium, so the cheap blowers make sense, but i cant see it in this case.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Armor has TwinFrozR V
Gaming Series has TwinFrozR VI + BackPlate

Also on the 1080Ti Gaming Series the cooler is 2.5 slot.

I would love a comparison test with max possible overclocking on both cards to see what is the real difference!

 

[GreiverBlade]

For lower end GPUs the FE has a price premium

technically the FE is a lower end ... it's just a reference with a premium for a fancy cooler ... vapor chamber or not (iirc the Aero has the same thermal performances as a FE )

prime argument is : watercooling and the Aero overruled them on that with the previous iteration, on the 1070 and 1080 Aero were cheaper than FE and, also, a better deal than a FE for watercooling (well ... if you have to take a gimped reference design for universal reference waterblock, you better take the cheaper one which has the real value of the card, over one that has an inflated price )

another thing is: the Aero has a factory OC version also, well you can manually OC a FE nonetheless, but at last with a factory OC model you don't have to pay more for a FE and have to do it manually, unless the price is same tho even there if the price is same for a FE and a Aero OC : the choice should be the Aero

the Aero cooler is not bad looking at all and also have the LED on the side (MSI logo instead of Nvidia ... a plus ) on the 1070 version the Aero max temp was under 78° FE: 82° ~

 

[Vayra86]

proof otherwise hearsay

Go on the manufacturer's websites and you will see that is what they say about these cards.

EVGA's FTW and FTW DT also definitely show a max clock difference, the DT version has been released for the sole purpose of chips that didn't make the ASIC rating for a FTW version, as a result they're slightly cheaper. (source: EVGA reps).

Besides, I don't have anything to prove to you, your loss if you don't want to trust me ^^

As I also pointed out, the actual result/advantage of binning these chips is extremely limited, but I'll challenge you to find me an MSI Armor 1070 OR 1080 that can get a 2200mhz max boost clock. My EVGA FTW 1070 pulled 2176mhz/2144mhz stable in game, and I see most chips top out at 2020-2070 sustained.

In the end what really matters is the clock that these chips can HOLD ON TO, not the max achievable boost, and you'll definitely find it to be slightly (!) higher on the top cards. There will also be a little bit more headroom in TDP budget to push a higher memory clock alongside a high core OC, as you know Pascal is TDP limited through BIOS, so a more efficient chip does net some advantages.

 

[Air]

technically the FE is a lower end ... it's just a reference with a premium for a fancy cooler ... vapor chamber or not (iirc the Aero has the same thermal performances as a FE )

By lower end I meant GTX 1060-1080. Sure both coolers are enough, but I bet the FE is quieter at the same performance level.

prime argument is : watercooling and the Aero overruled them on that with the previous iteration, on the 1070 and 1080 Aero were cheaper than FE and, also, a better deal than a FE for watercooling (well ... if you have to take a gimped reference design for universal reference waterblock, you better take the cheaper one which has the real value of the card, over one that has an inflated price )

OK, at lower prices it makes sense, sure.

another thing is: the Aero has a factory OC version also, well you can manually OC a FE nonetheless, but at last with a factory OC model you don't have to pay more for a FE and have to do it manually, unless the price is same tho even there if the price is same for a FE and a Aero OC : the choice should be the Aero

Only if you are removing the cooler, in which case you will probably overclock it much more than the factory overclock, so it does not make a diference. But ok, for a consumer that does not care about noise and don't want to bother moving a slider in afterburner its the best option at the same price.

the Aero cooler is not bad looking at all and also have the LED on the side (MSI logo instead of Nvidia ... a plus ) on the 1070 version the max temp was under 78° FE: 82° ~

Ok, thats subjective.

 

[Solaris17]

YESSSSS This is the one I want! Love the black and white.

 

[Vayra86]

By lower end I meant GTX 1060-1080. Sure both coolers are enough, but I bet the FE is quieter at the same performance level.


OK, at lower prices it makes sense, sure.


Only if you are removing the cooler, in which case you will probably overclock it much more than the factory overclock, so it does not make a diference. But ok, for a consumer that does not care about noise and don't want to bother moving a slider in afterburner its the best option at the same price.


Ok, thats subjective.

You're trying to find reasons to prefer the FE, but there really are none. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Maybe looks, but if you keep the FE shroud you're doing it wrong the first place, you get a handicapped card.

 

[Air]

You're trying to find reasons to prefer the FE, but there really are none. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Maybe looks, but if you keep the FE shroud you're doing it wrong the first place, you get a handicapped card.

I would have no reason to do so, as i have an open air cooler and wouldn't buy a blower. But come on, even disregarding the backplate and construction materials, performance at same noise levels will be higher. Using a blower cooler is doing it wrong? I dont think so, as many people use them, specially in SFF. I get it that it doesn't make difference for those water cooling it, but i think you are overestimating the number of people that does it.

 

[Vayra86]

I would have no reason to do so, as i have an open air cooler and wouldn't buy a blower. But come on, even disregarding the backplate and construction materials, performance at same noise levels will be higher. Using a blower cooler is doing it wrong? I dont think so, as many people use them, specially in SFF. I get it that it doesn't make difference for those water cooling it, but i think you are overestimating the number of people that does it.

Still, even in SFF cases... if you have regular case airflow you'll be better off with the open air cooling. It just pushes a lot more air through/past the GPU and that is where the heat buildup actually can cause throttling. I've had dual blower style SLI setup GTX 660's and it was throttling like no tomorrow, and that was even in a large case (FD Define R4) with more than sufficient airflow. The problem with blower style is inherent to its design, I haven't seen a single one that doesn't throttle.

 

[sutyi]

I would love a comparison test with max possible overclocking on both cards to see what is the real difference!

In case of same quality GPU the gaming should OC a tad higher. At least in the case of the the GTX 1080 Armor and Gaming the PCB is virtually the same in theory, but the Gaming has better VRM cooling. Also on the TwinFrozR VI cooler the fins are denser and it has an extra heatpipe iirc. If you don't need the back plate desperatly tho, I think you are fine with the Armor series.

Armor:

Gaming:

 

[GreiverBlade]

By lower end I meant GTX 1060-1080. Sure both coolers are enough, but I bet the FE is quieter at the same performance level.

nope, the FE was running hotter than the Aero in all the reviews i saw (mostly youtube live record of benchmarks)

Only if you are removing the cooler, in which case you will probably overclock it much more than the factory overclock, so it does not make a diference. But ok, for a consumer that does not care about noise and don't want to bother moving a slider in afterburner its the best option at the same price.

then the Aero OC is the best option, even in case of removing a cooler, since you can always OC more over a factory OC, my 1070 Armor OC is a good example of that, +150/+250 over factory OC and 2100mhz sustained boost, and it did cost less than a FE but has the same PCB as the Gaming X which make it less comfortable in case of watercooling (well ... at launch ... now it's easy to find a block for it, altho not needed at all )

Ok, thats subjective.

agreed, subjective but ultimately true (in case of the temps which relate to the 1st part of my actual post ... run hotter at same performance level thus not quieter )

In case of same quality GPU the gaming should OC a tad higher. At least in the case of the the GTX 1080 Armor and Gaming the PCB is virtually the same in theory, but the Gaming has better VRM cooling. Also on the TwinFrozR VI cooler the fins are denser and it has an extra heatpipe iirc. If you don't need the back plate desperatly tho, I think you are fine with the Armor series.

Armor:

Gaming:

oh... less differences than between the same version of the 1070 ... that's a surprise then the Gaming X has only a backplate and TwinFrozr VI to value over the Armor, since, unlike the 1070 variante, no VRM/mosFET/PCIeX power are missing.

 

[Air]

nope, the FE was running hotter than the Aero in all the reviews i saw (mostly youtube live record of benchmarks)

Running hotter is just a consequence of the default fan curve. Did they also measure sound pressure levels? If so and its lower than the FE, then I was wrong and the Aero is great (and that would be big fail by nvidia). I couldn't find a review in any know site.

then the Aero OC is the best option, even in case of removing a cooler, since you can always OC more over a factory OC, my 1070 Armor OC is a good example of that, +150/+250 over factory OC and 2100mhz sustained boost, and it did cost less than a FE but has the same PCB as the Gaming X which make it less comfortable in case of watercooling (well ... at launch ... now it's easy to find a block for it, altho not needed at all )

Yes, thats what i said. For the 1070 specially it makes a lot of sense, since the FE for this GPU has a price premium.

agreed, subjective but ultimately true (in case of the temps which relate to the 1st part of my actual post ... run hotter at same performance level thus not quieter )

I was talking about looks. For me there is no comparison. See above for comment on performance. Hotter does not mean louder.