CamelCamelCamel
This post contains affiliate links. OzBargain might earn commissions when you click through and make purchases. Please see this page for more information.
Price drop on the EVGA GTX 1080 SC and FTW models. Note currently Amazon will deliver it in 2-4 weeks. Here's the differences between the two as outlined by Nocops2000 at Toms Hardware.
To summarize…
1. The FTW's TEXTURE FILL RATE is slightly higher than the SC, which apparently has no effect when it comes to gaming.
2. While the SC has ONE BIOS, the FTW has TWO BIOS. Also won't effect gaming performance. It's just a feature for enthusiasts who like to experiment with the BIOS.
3. The FTW has TWO 8 PIN POWER CONNECTORS while the SC only has ONE 8 PIN POWER CONNECTOR. Apparently a second connector is sometimes necessary when overclocking your card. Overclock it enough, and it will need more power. If you don't plan on overclocking your card, a second pin connector won't make a difference.
4. The FTW has pretty lights installed so you can watch it glow in multiple colors. This is just silly.
5. The FTW has 13 MHz more CLOCKSPEED than the SC. This seems to be the most relevant feature for gaming. But how much of a difference does 13 MHz make when it comes to frame rates? I have no clue. The only way to tell would be to benchmark test both cards. As far as I know, no on has done this yet.
EVGA have a 3 year international warranty for people concerned with buying it from Amazon instead of locally.
Link for GTX 1080 FTW model
EVGA have a VBIOS update and thermal pad for temperature concerns on these cards. However they do mention that these are preinstalled on later cards shipped by them and you can check this at http://www.evga.com/thermalmod/ by entering the serial number of the card when you receive it.
You may receive a card without the thermal mod going by the comments.