2100$ PNY 5090 Epic-X OC vs 2000$ 5090FE

Posted by My_Unbiased_Opinion@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 9 comments

So I managed to get BB to knock 400 off the PNY card bringing it down to 2100. I've been trying to find information on how it compares to the FE card in terms of temps and noise but was unable to find much user information. I'm in no rush, I can return and wait for a FE card if it is better, but I'm sure the 5090 won't go below 2K so I would rather jump now rather than later and upgrade my 3090 now. My question: is the 100$ premium over the FE worth it? How is warranty experience between PNY and Nvidia?

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aminy23@reddit

The Founders Edition is a very rare card, it's basically a marketing device. TSMC makes all the advanced chip technology in the world. And Foxconn is one of the main manufacturers of consumer electronics (almost everything Apple, most gaming consoles, 2/3 of laptops, etc). Nvidia orders GPUs from TSMC and RAM from Samsung/Hynix/Micron. Then they sell these as kits to AIBs who make graphics cards with them. Now the problem is if the AIBs cheap out and make weak graphics cards, then Nvidia would look bad and people don't know the true performance potential. So Nvidia orders the Founders Edition from Foxconn as basically a limited production run so they can say this is the true performance of our chips. Now the AIBs have to compete with this and try to match or exceed the performance. So it's quite possible that unless you have someone to hook you up, you might never even end up with a Founders Edition as they're very limited drops that sell out instantly. Often the Founders Edition is close to MSRP just so Nvidia can legally advertise the MSRP as well, even if 95+% of graphic cards are above that. So it's a great card because Nvidia spares no expense and doesn't care about margin or profit with it. But it's also a very rare card. PNY is short for Paris, New York. They're a French-American company and technically the last American manufacturer of graphics cards. They're also Nvidia's preferred manufacturer for higher end cards that cost thousands and tens of thousands. However most of their consumer cards are made by Asian companies like Foxconn or Palit, so it's a fairly run of the mill card.

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Ghostfinger@reddit

>Now the problem is if the AIBs cheap out and make weak graphics cards, then Nvidia would look bad and people don't know the true performance potential. Wouldn't this be a self-correcting problem? I find it hard to believe AIBs would all simultaneously cheap out on the same card version, or a scenario where AIB X is manufacturing a GPU with much worse performance than AIB Y but with people blaming it in NVIDIA. It's just not in their interest to do so when there are multiple competitors in the same space that can easily outdo the people cheaping out on materials to the point of hurting performance. There are just too many options and too mant reviewers for this to be feasible. NVIDIA's founder editions have always just seemed like their attempt to double dip and fuck over AIBs.

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aminy23@reddit

When you have a monopoly, one company has all the power. When you have a small handful of companies sharing the pot, they can deliberately or un-deliberately still end up cheaping out. For example even if it's fully honest, they could be making cheaper and cheaper cards to try and undercut the competition. Eventually these cards can be so cheap that performance/quality is compromised - but many/most people won't pay $100 extra for quality. Founders Edition doesn't move volumes, it's a very limited release. Things like the solid metal shroud are not cheap to make. It's also mostly made by Foxconn, so Nvidia is a reseller. Many AIBs themselves are also bordering on resellers. PNY for example is a French-American company, but they also resell Asian-made GPUs that an unknown factory makes. Palit is the largest GPU manufacturer in the world, mostly because their GPUs get resold under other brands.

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badassbolsac@reddit

FE would retain more of its value due to its “exclusivity”, but the pny would run cooler temperature wise due to more fans and better heatsink, but the standard for 90 series cards is undervolting anyways so its really which you find more appealing

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SkarletIce@reddit

I think this year the Temps are actually similar as the FE cards for the 5080 and 5080 use a unique flow through design. IDK where u can find it but there are videos about the cooler design. Also most people don't know this but its PNY who make the FE coolers, they always have just never put the logo on it

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My_Unbiased_Opinion@reddit (OP)

I've known that PNY makes the pro cards, but didn't know they make the coolers for the FE. Makes sense though. Yeah this would be my 3rd PNY card. My old 8800 GT was a PNY XLR8 and so was my 3090 lol.

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SkarletIce@reddit

I thought about getting a PNY XLR8 4080S but it was $50 more to get an AORUS MASTER at launch so thats what I went with. IDK when the 50xx Supers come out maybe I'll look at getting one or an MSI Suprim if they have them

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AskingForAPallet@reddit

The PNY card will run a lot cooler than the FE, as do most AIB cards Despite having premium build quality, FE cards are often the cards that run hottest, especially 5090 with the slimmed down design. Up to you to decide if temperature is a big concern. As for warranty, it's usually a toss up as every company has their good and bad rep. It's better to choose based on which one would be more convenient for you.

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My_Unbiased_Opinion@reddit (OP)

Yeah I'm leaning more towards the PNY. It's a traditional cooler so it should be easy to take apart and repaste in 5 years. Also according to techpowerup, it has the second highest out of the box boost clock of all air cooled 5090s.