GPU Zotac GTX 1080 Mini

[craigbru]

Prices are going way up on this card, bought mine three days ago for $520 off the egg, now they are going for $640 everywhere (without a free copy of Destiny 2). The 1070 mini also looks like it is going out of stock. Not sure when supplies will come back, but seems odd. Bitcoin miners?

Yeah, I noticed the jump in price since I bought mine even a week ago as well. The 1070's are better for mining ethereum, but the 1080 can mine other altcoin's fairly well. I think with the ethereum mining 'gold rush' happening, people are simply buying whatever they can even it if takes longer to get a return. The RX 470, 480, 570, and 580's were the first to go. The 1070 and 1060's were next. Now with 1070's going for the price of a 1080 or more, that really only leaves the 1080 if you're in need of a card now, whether for mining or gaming.

 

[3lfk1ng]

Ethereum Miners

 

[craigbru]

Ethereum Miners

Exactly this. Speculation is that Vega may relieve some of the RX and 10X0 series demand, but until benchmarked with miners, no one really knows for sure yet. Of course, then good look getting your hands on one of those cards...

 

[wiretap]

I'm mining Zcash with mine, and converting to ETH and LTC. Profits are pretty awesome right now. ^_^ Mining ETH is a little silly with Nvidia, when other coins pull a better profit margin. Between just my 1080 and 1080Ti, I'm getting between $17-22 per day depending on the market fluctuations. I told my co-workers, and they're all built mining rigs with 6x 1070's, haha.

 

[iFreilicht]

I'm getting between $17-22 per day

Pfft peanuts, I got a mail today that I could earn $2000 a day working just from home. They only need a few hundred bucks up front from me to start with, but that's a worthwhile investment.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Pfft peanuts, I got a mail today that I could earn $2000 a day working just from home. They only need a few hundred bucks up front from me to start with, but that's a worthwhile investment.

Gotta spend money to make money!

 

[Reldey]

Got mine in today, it is whisper quiet at load. I have heard some people criticize the noise, but I haven't heard much of anything. I have it installed in my Node 202 about 3 feet from my head and can't hear a thing. I'll keep testing though...

EDIT: OK, I was wrong. It must have been the ambient noise in my apartment ealier, but now in the dead of night this thing makes a decent amount of noise. Not sure I want to flash a BIOS< but is there a tool you guys have used to just adjust fan curves?

 

[Broxin]

On the testbench (meaning parts just laid out on my desk without an enclosure at all,) the gtx 1080 mini was a boss at handling whatever I threw at it, I like it! Current build teaser with the 1080.

Wow, which mainboard is that?? Supersmall

 

[chx]

Wow, which mainboard is that?? Supersmall

No it's a normal ITX board just the photo tricks your eye. Perhaps you missed the power connectors on the far edge? Compare to for example this pic: http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/images/Products/large/H110I-C4P_LGA_1151_Intel_Motherboard_2.jpg same arrangement: PCIe x16 almost touching the DIMM slots, the DIMM slots as long as one edge almost. And, the GPU and the MB PCB is the same length, 170mm both.

 

[Broxin]

Oh, yeah still the connectors are not on the RAM slots side, pretty space saving. So which mobo is it in your build?

 

[Josh | NFC]

Oh, yeah still the connectors are not on the RAM slots side, pretty space saving. So which mobo is it in your build?

I think it is a Biostar board (looks like a Hi-Fi B85N 3D). The layout you are referring to is an "older" style from the earlier days of mini-itx. In my opinion I am very happy that most manufacturers have adopted the newer layout that puts the power block and connectors opposite the I/O.

Peace!

 

[Reldey]

So in my Fractal Node 202, I decided to remove the fans from my 1080 Mini and place a Noctua NF-A12x15 in its stead. When removing the heatsink, I noticed some pretty pad scratch marks on the copper plate which made contact with the GPU. Not sure if that was normal. I cleaned the paste off, and repasted with Arctic Silver 5 (only decent thing I had around). Using the standard fan mount in the Node 202, I was able to get great temps, 28c idle, 68c load. Excited to place this in the S4 Mini. These temps were captured with the case basically open, I'll try it with the case enclosed, and will report back later.

 

[Broxin]

Is the noctua fan much more quiet than the stock gpu fan?

 

[Reldey]

Is the noctua fan much more quiet than the stock gpu fan?

Yes, by a good margin. There is some noise, but I attribute that to the poor cutouts for the fan on the Node 202 that is blocking a portion of the fan blades on the right side. I don't have tool to measure the DB, but it has been noticeably quieter.

 

[fminus]

@Reldey I had a 1080 mini and took it apart. I didn't notice any scratch marks on the copper plate. I do not think this is normal. I also replaced the fans with Noctua fans. You should get one of these to run the fans directly off of the GPU. Another user posted you can also flash the bios with another Zotac 1080 card to get 0db below 65c.

 

[Josh | NFC]

So in my Fractal Node 202, I decided to remove the fans from my 1080 Mini and place a Noctua NF-A12x15 in its stead. When removing the heatsink, I noticed some pretty pad scratch marks on the copper plate which made contact with the GPU. Not sure if that was normal. I cleaned the paste off, and repasted with Arctic Silver 5 (only decent thing I had around). Using the standard fan mount in the Node 202, I was able to get great temps, 28c idle, 68c load. Excited to place this in the S4 Mini. These temps were captured with the case basically open, I'll try it with the case enclosed, and will report back later.

@Reldey I had a 1080 mini and took it apart. I didn't notice any scratch marks on the copper plate. I do not think this is normal. I also replaced the fans with Noctua fans. You should get one of these to run the fans directly off of the GPU. Another user posted you can also flash the bios with another Zotac 1080 card to get 0db below 65c.

I usually remove the heatsink from all my GPUs. Some are better than others, but in my experience this is pretty normal. The cold plates don't come out perfectly flat and they don't want to put the time into perfectly lapping them, so you see variation in how they are quickly leveled. Sometimes they don't sand at all, but others they do...like yours, Reldey.

 

[Reldey]

I usually remove the heatsink from all my GPUs. Some are better than others, but in my experience this is pretty normal. The cold plates don't come out perfectly flat and they don't want to put the time into perfectly lapping them, so you see variation in how they are quickly leveled. Sometimes they don't sand at all, but others they do...like yours, Reldey.

Interesting, is this a bad thing? Should I do anything about it? I guess cleaning the cold plate and adding more paste is all I can do. My temps are looking good at least.

EDIT: also, is it ok if my sleeved GPU fan header to PWM case fan adapter cable rests on the heatpipe of the GPU, or should I reroute it? Not sure if the temps were enough on the pipe to cause damage to the cable.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Interesting, is this a bad thing? Should I do anything about it? I guess cleaning the cold plate and adding more paste is all I can do. My temps are looking good at least.

EDIT: also, is it ok if my sleeved GPU fan header to PWM case fan adapter cable rests on the heatpipe of the GPU, or should I reroute it? Not sure if the temps were enough on the pipe to cause damage to the cable.

You could lap it but it would be a waste of time really. Your temps are fine.

As for the heatpipe...no, those stay fairly cool, and even if it got as hot as your core it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Reldey]

Also noted today, my card has mean coil whine on load when GSync is disabled. With GSync enabled, the coil whine is still present but inaudible at about 3 feet away while playing games. I have a 144hz monitor for reference. Pretty disappointed honestly in the overall build quality of the card, but what can you do when you want a 1080 at this size?

 

[Josh | NFC]

Also noted today, my card has mean coil whine on load when GSync is disabled. With GSync enabled, the coil whine is still present but inaudible at about 3 feet away while playing games. I have a 144hz monitor for reference. Pretty disappointed honestly in the overall build quality of the card, but what can you do when you want a 1080 at this size?

out of curiousity what happens when you crank up or force AA to 8X?