Which Zotac/Palit 2080TIs do they use?

[SpyderTracks]

Well i got a reply,
Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email, at the moment have the Zotac brand in and the serial number on the model is: 9250-2N503-S1002

If there is anything else I can assist with, please do not hesitate to ask,

All he gave was a serial number, which i googled and it doesnt come up with anything. Not much help but oh well guess ill chance it and hope i get a dual fan model lol

That's obviously a bit of an intellectually challenged PCS guy..... sorry, but had to say it.

I would go back and ask for the model NAME rather than anything else, I can't understand why he would give you the serial, it's a bit redundant to anyone except the person registering it.

 

[Oussebon]

Give them a call and ask, the lines are open to 8pm weekdays, you can look up the model number while on the phone.

Marks to the person replying to your email for trying to be helpful, but still, oops...

 

[AlexJames]

Got a response,
apologies for any miscommunication, we use the SKU number - zt t20810J-10s

That would mean the current model is -

https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/zotac-gaming-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-blower

For a specific model – we do have the ROG Strix, or the option of using your own card. Please be advised that our unnamed stock (as above) does rotate so can change to a different model.


Disappointing that they use the blower model. Not sure I'll order my pc from here then, I also don't fancy paying £300 more for the Asus ROG 2080ti. Sad that they would use such a cheap 2080ti.

Just worried about using a blower model for gaming, heard all sorts of bad things and seen tests showing that it reaches upward of 85c and can cause crashes.

Maybe they're a over reaction? All i want to do is game in 1080/1440p at 144hz. I hear all these bad things about blowers, how they fail how they run 20c hotter than dual fan cards etc. Are they really that bad to make my build fail?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Got a response,
apologies for any miscommunication, we use the SKU number - zt t20810J-10s

That would mean the current model is -

https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/zotac-gaming-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-blower

For a specific model – we do have the ROG Strix, or the option of using your own card. Please be advised that our unnamed stock (as above) does rotate so can change to a different model.


Disappointing that they use the blower model. Not sure I'll order my pc from here then, I also don't fancy paying £300 more for the Asus ROG 2080ti. Sad that they would use such a cheap 2080ti.

Just worried about using a blower model for gaming, heard all sorts of bad things and seen tests showing that it reaches upward of 85c and can cause crashes.

Maybe they're a over reaction? All i want to do is game in 1080/1440p at 144hz. I hear all these bad things about blowers, how they fail how they run 20c hotter than dual fan cards etc. Are they really that bad to make my build fail?

Just buy your own and fit it?

 

[AlexJames]

Just buy your own and fit it?

Yeah i know, but thats not the point, when paying a premium price i'd expect a decent GPU.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yeah i know, but thats not the point, when paying a premium price i'd expect a decent GPU.

Up to you.

 

[Scott]

Zotact AMP! Extreme would be my choice if I was given one regardless. I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination so when I dumped £700 on a GPU I made sure I did my homework. The 2080 AMP! is a masterpiece IMO and the 2080 Ti AMP has the similar engineering and professional reviews backing it. The Extreme just adds that little spoonful of gravy

 

[Oussebon]

Unfortunately - and this is a tragic thing to say - you're not actually paying a premium price by the standards of a 2080 ti.

PCS are selling a 2080 ti for £985. I checked a few competitors' sites and looked at prices where the 2080 ti is offered as part of a build. (I didn't check total build price or other hidden costs)

A offers a 2080 ti for £1050 (twin fan, EVGA Black edition)

B offers a choice of 2080 tis. It doesn't specify pricing of the card, only versus the baseline 1660 Super. if we assumed a 1660 Super was 239 (PCS's price) the 2080 tis would cost a minimum of £1269, with some Asus models over £1400. But those were 'premium' models like the MSI X etc in fairness.

C effectively obscures the individual pricing of the components so you've no real idea what they're charging you for the GPU or anything else.

D defaults to a non-blower card, charging £256 more than a Zotac blower card (which is available if you drill down into the menus). The baseline cost wasn't obvious to me.

E Gives you a 2080 ti for £1131 - the picture is of a tri-fan model but is "for illustrative purposes only". No model specified.

F gives you an unspecified 2080 ti for £1050.

.. you get the idea.

So you're paying below the going rate for an 'unspecified' 2080 ti. (PCS do sometimes use twin fan models, depending on availability - they have even used the Amp!). Those companies offering specific models charge a higher price. Some charge a higher price and you could still get a blower card through pot luck.

The real problem is that Nvidia have no competition at the 2080 ti level and can happily set ~£1000 as a baseline cost for a top end GPU, with many AIB models costing £1200 or more. Blower ones are cheaper to make and sell, and have their roles, and so companies like Zotac make them and sell them. And system builders (not just PCS) use them to keep costs - and if you're feeling kind, prices - down.

As above, just fit your own. You can get an MSI Ventus for £950. You'll upgrade your GPU anyway in 2-3 years, so fitting your own card is an essential skill for any PC gamer. Buy your own card to fit yourself, and save a few quid in the process depending on what you buy.

NB: Most of the other builders' configurators I saw don't give you choice to order without a GPU...

 

[Scott]

For a specific model – we do have the ROG Strix, or the option of using your own card.

Does that mean they would be willing to receive and fit it to the system being built? Just thinking of the AMD offerings where a GPU is required, it wasn't specifically mentioned.

 

[Oussebon]

Anyone buying the Strix for £1350 is really not spending wisely though!

I don't think they do a send-in-your-own-GPU option, you just buy the system without a GPU, it turns up, you add your own. Even with the iGPU-less Intel and AMD systems.

The OP could always phone and ask though tbh, less hassle to just do it yourself on delivery than buy it, ship it, coordinate with PCS, etc.

 

[Scott]

I don't think they do a send-in-your-own-GPU option, you just buy the system without a GPU, it turns up, you add your own. Even with the iGPU-less Intel and AMD systems.

The OP could always phone and ask though tbh, less hassle to just do it yourself on delivery than buy it, ship it, coordinate with PCS, etc.

Ahh I guess they must use a spare then. Had my hopes up there.

Why don't they do the same with HDD's out of curiosity?

 

[Oussebon]

Why don't they do the same with HDD's out of curiosity?

I don't know - I think remember it being discussed on the forums and a comment from PCS being included in that discussion (either by a staffer or copied from an email the user got) but didn't bookmark it (!).

My assumption was always that it was too much hassle. Taking responsibility for someone's components is something they'd want to do as little as possible. What if someone sent it in with data on it? They don't want to be in a situation where people hold them responsible (even in spite of whatever warnings/waivers they sign). What if it was damaged in transit? Damage to a case is usually going to be visible to the naked eye. Faulty HDD, not so much. What if it was faulty when it was sent in but the user didn't know? Is my guess anyway.

 

[Scott]

I don't know - I think remember it being discussed on the forums and a comment from PCS being included in that discussion (either by a staffer or copied from an email the user got) but didn't bookmark it (!).

My assumption was always that it was too much hassle. Taking responsibility for someone's components is something they'd want to do as little as possible. What if someone sent it in with data on it? They don't want to be in a situation where people hold them responsible (even in spite of whatever warnings/waivers they sign). What if it was damaged in transit? Damage to a case is usually going to be visible to the naked eye. Faulty HDD, not so much. What if it was faulty when it was sent in but the user didn't know? Is my guess anyway.

Apologies, I was more thinking the other way. Using a slave HDD to ensure all installed components are functional and allow testing, then remove the HDD and allow the end user to install their own on receipt. I'm guessing this is the process they have when no GPU is selected.

Having said that, I guess there would be more impact in someone installing their own HDD & Software than there would with the GPU. It may seem like a very simple process but there are a number of hurdles that would need taken into account.