Upgrade New Graphics Card to 5080 - Advice on which model is best?

[Stephen_UK]

Good evening peeps!

I brought a PC In November, and it was configured to welcome the 5080 / 5090 Graphics card when they was released. I purchased a cheap graphics card in the meantime. I notice that NVidia have several now in stock, and was wondering what the difference is in models?

My build is as followed:
Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) (B)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL40 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB XFX RADEON™ RX 7700 XT SWFT - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR MP600 PRO NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6850 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
NONE
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

Just wondering if there is some advice on the 5080 Graphics card's and if any should be recommended to work well on new machines?
The options Nvidia is giving is as followed:

1 - MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GAMING TRIO OC Blackwell Graphics Card
2 - ASUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB TUF GAMING OC Blackwell Graphics Card
3 - Inno3D GeForce RTX 5080 X3 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card
4 - Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme INFINITY 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card
5 - Inno3D GeForce RTX 5080 X3 OC 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card
6 - MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB VENTUS 3X OC PLUS Blackwell Graphics Card
7 - MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Ventus 3X OC PLUS 16GB GDDR7 Graphics Card
8 - Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card
9 - Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock OC 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card
10 - MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming Trio OC 16GB GDDR7 Graphics Card
11 - MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB VANGUARD SOC Blackwell Graphics Card
12 - ASUS ROG ASTRAL NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GAMING OC Blackwell Graphics Card
13 - MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming Trio OC White 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card
14 - MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Suprim SOC 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Prices go from Cheapest to most expensive, and around £220 difference from 1 to 14

Can some-one explain the difference, and if I should be purchasing a specific one?

Many thanks,

Steve

 

[Ekans2011]

Can some-one explain the difference, and if I should be purchasing a specific one?

Essentially, the performance variation among various customization models is negligible (2-5% at most), attributed to differing levels of overclocking and varying cooling solutions chosen (3 fans, AIO, etc.). My suggestion is to buy the one you like more

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Specs

NVIDIA GB203, 2617 MHz, 10752 Cores, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 16384 MB GDDR7, 1875 MHz, 256 bit

www.techpowerup.com

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition Review

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is out now. Priced at $1000 it includes all the new GeForce RTX 50 features and offers good gaming performance. On the other hand, the gen-over-gen performance increase is smaller than expected, but NVIDIA didn't raise their pricing either.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[SpyderTracks]

Be aware that nVidia's 5000 series are not doing very well, have had significant issues with power design and drivers that's still ongoing: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/nvidia-rtx-5000-series.99685/page-8

If it's for 1440p gaming, to be honest, I would say go with an AMD RX 9070XT as a better performing card from a reliability standpoint while being SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper

Yeah, don't get too caught up with the aftermarket models.

The actual GPU is simply a silicon chip like this (the blue chip being the actual GPU):

The rest around it is part of the board design of the GRAPHICS CARD

Any 5080 uses the same GPU, so the performance is very much the same between them all.

All aftermarket manufacturers do is put their own spin on the cooling and board design.

With aftermarket cards, it's all about how good their customer service / warranty and cooling design is, IMHO don't bother with any of the really expensive ones, they're just not worth it at all, it's usually a branding tax rather than because of any actual good performance

IMHO:

Steer clear of Asus, they are known in the industry to reject warranty claims more often than they accept them. They will often turn around and not cover costs also, not a great company.

Zotac have a good history, both for performance and warranty.

MSI also can be quite good value and have a good warranty process in the UK

The other important thing is to buy the card from somewhere with a good returns policy like Amazon (unless you're sourcing from PCS themselves in which case you're covered by their own excellent warranty service). Amazon have a no questions asked returns policy, so if there is anything wrong with the card once you've installed it, they'll just swap it out.

Some stores, like Overclockers, can be far more difficult in accepting returns and it becomes quite stressful.

 

[Martinr36]

Amazon have a no questions asked returns policy, so if there is anything wrong with the card once you've installed it, they'll just swap it out.

Yeah amazon are great like this, I've just had to arrange a return of a cycling light, after the original failed after 6 months, and replacement didn't last a ride, after a 10 minute session on chat refund was organised

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yeah amazon are great like this, I've just had to arrange a return of a cycling light, after the original failed after 6 months, and replacement didn't last a ride, after a 10 minute session on chat refund was organised

They are amazing, I had a record that arrived with a bent cover. I raised it fully prepared to send it back, they just immediately sent me a replacement and didn’t even ask for this copy back, so I gave it to a friend.

I very rarely ever raise a return request, some people take the mickey and those people get flagged and then Amazon are less accommodating, but so long as you respect them, they will do their best by you

 

[Martinr36]

They are amazing, I had a record that arrived with a bent cover. I raised it fully prepared to send it back, they just immediately sent me a replacement and didn’t even ask for this copy back, so I gave it to a friend.

I very rarely ever raise a return request, some people take the mickey and those people get flagged and then Amazon are less accommodating, but so long as you respect them, they will do their best by you

Yeah he never had any problems returning, even after the 30 day window is closed, I'll drop this off at the local post office later which does hermes, and my amazon gift balance will be credited by the end of the day

 

[Stephen_UK]

Thanks for your advice. Trying to see if i can use the PCS upgrade function, but does not give me the option of 5080/5090 unfortunately. Assuming they are sold out and/or are unable to upgrade just the GPU

 

[Ekans2011]

Thanks for your advice. Trying to see if i can use the PCS upgrade function, but does not give me the option of 5080/5090 unfortunately. Assuming they are sold out and/or are unable to upgrade just the GPU

I would try to find the GPU elsewhere because it is likely to be cheaper.
For example, the lowest price for a Palit 5080 GamingPro is around £950-1000, while it costs about £1200 through PCS.
Okay, in the event of a problem, PCS would undoubtedly be easier to deal with, but the £200 difference is not insignificant, IMHO.