Evga ICX upgrade program

[KentState]

My card is eligible to upgrade to the newer design for $100. I'm really on the fence as to the value of spending $100 to upgrade and wanted some feedback. Is it worth it considering you can take advantage of the step-up program over the next 90 days? My eyes are really set on the 1080Ti as my next potential upgrade if the card ever comes out.

 

[AntonioHG]

If your card is running fine, the ICX doesn't really do much anything for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZuze3OZqL4


I would wait instead of paying $100 to get the same card with a slightly different cooler. Perhaps that money would be better spent on a hybrid cooler if you're not happy with the cooling capability of the ACX. Or maybe just buy some games.

 

[KentState]

My issue wasn't cooling as that's not an issue, but resale value and having the option to step-up if the 1080Ti comes out.

For example, if the 1080Ti costs $799, I would be able to apply the entire $460 towards it. That's almost a guaranteed $360 (460 - 100 for trade-in) towards a new card which I doubt I'd get selling it myself.

Selling it used, Evga pretty much said that the ACX models are inferior by offering an updated version. If I sell it myself, I would imagine most wouldn't pay as much for the ACX version as the ICX. I can almost see an $80 difference on the used market. At that point the $100 upgrade difference may be much less especially if having use of a 6 month newer card.

 

[AntonioHG]

Ah, gotcha. $400 minimum for a 1080 in 3 or so months..? IMHO, it seems doable seeing that 980s are still going for $200+ on the forums. People seem to pay a premium for Nvidia even if AMD has a better card.

 

[SlickR12345]

I mean Vega is not coming at least until April, and that is a stretch. AMD essentially through their feedback confirmed a mid to late Q2 for shipment. I think that is when 1080ti might launch.

 

[vissarix]

Ah, gotcha. $400 minimum for a 1080 in 3 or so months..? IMHO, it seems doable seeing that 980s are still going for $200+ on the forums. People seem to pay a premium for Nvidia even if AMD has a better card.

And what is the Amd better card in this case? Fury X which is 50% slower then a gtx1080? or you just have no idea what your talking about..

 

[KentState]

And what is the Amd better card in this case? Fury X which is 50% slower then a gtx1080? or you just have no idea what your talking about..

I think he was comparing a used 980Ti to a 480.

 

[AntonioHG]

And what is the Amd better card in this case? Fury X which is 50% slower then a gtx1080? or you just have no idea what your talking about..

Well, I looked at the for sale forum posts for the R9 290/x and 390/x and Nvidia's 970, 980, Ti, and Nvidia's consistently more expensive. Even if AMD can respond with something decent, it doesn't look like it'll matter. Also, if a used 980 can go for 225-250 after however long it's been, why would a 1080 sell for under $400 in a few months? Annnnd 980Ti models are still selling around $320 used.

Does that make sense now?

 

[PPB]

You are not upgrading, you are just getting what you deserved as a consumer, for 100 bucks more. You are getting scamed on this "program".

If you are concerned with hotspot temps, send the card for the RMA, as your right as an owner of a faulty product.

This is another EVGA spin of their mediocrity to make their loyal userbase overpay for their products. Only step ups worth your money are the ones you are getting a newer generation/more performing gpu.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I'd be really surprised if we saw Nvidia release a new GP102 card more than a week before Computex, so this Step Up idea seems risky as hell.

 

[KentState]

I'd be really surprised if we saw Nvidia release a new GP102 card more than a week before Computex, so this Step Up idea seems risky as hell.

That's my hesitation. In the back of my mind I feel it's their carrot but will just out of reach by a week or two. I game at 1440p and have 144hz Gsync monitor so it's either a 1080Ti or wait until the next generation.

 

[3DVagabond]

You are not upgrading, you are just getting what you deserved as a consumer, for 100 bucks more. You are getting scamed on this "program".

If you are concerned with hotspot temps, send the card for the RMA, as your right as an owner of a faulty product.

This is another EVGA spin of their mediocrity to make their loyal userbase overpay for their products. Only step ups worth your money are the ones you are getting a newer generation/more performing gpu.

Seems like this to me. They sold people product that had defective engineering and if you want to fix that it'll cost you a hundy.

 

[PPB]

Seems like this to me. They sold people product that had defective engineering and if you want to fix that it'll cost you a hundy.

Sounds like Apple type of mentality to me. But without the monopolistic position, as you can buy from a whole other lot of AIBs besides EVGA.

 

[96Firebird]

When is the last day you can upgrade, and does the 90-day step-up start at this day? In other words, if you wait the longest you can, what date does that 90-day step-up end?

 

[Bacon1]

Not sure why you'd want to:

Lets say you paid $630 for the FTW.

You can sell it used for $500

OOP: $130

If you pay $100 you are now OOP $720 total.

Assuming the step-up comes w/in 90 days you then step-up to a $800 1080 Ti

$800 - $680 (assuming this price doesn't go down before then) = $120 or $840 OOP total

However, if they don't release it w/in 90 days you now have to make up $100 for a product that only ever retailed for $50 more at launch ($679 FTW2 ICX vs $630 FTW ACX).

So you can sell it for say $530 and are now OOP $200 vs the $130 from keeping the original and selling it.

So if you end up not using the stepup you lose a lot of $$.

 

[96Firebird]

Step-up uses the price you paid, so in OP's case it would be whatever he paid for the 1080 + the $100 upgrade cost. That is what rolls into what he pays for the 1080 Ti, or whatever he steps up to.

 

[Bacon1]

Step-up uses the price you paid, so in OP's case it would be whatever he paid for the 1080 + the $100 upgrade cost. That is what rolls into what he pays for the 1080 Ti, or whatever he steps up to.

For EVGA Step-Up purposes, the value of the iCX Upgrade will be based on the MSRP value of the respective iCX graphics card listed on EVGA.com.

 

[96Firebird]

MSRP at the time of upgrade or at the time of step-up?

 

[KentState]

MSRP at the time of upgrade or at the time of step-up?

The state it's based of the "price you paid" which I assume is MSRP at time of purchase. Looks like 2/28 is the last day for the trade-in program

Honestly, the more I think about this, EVGA has a good idea of when the 1080ti will launch and I'm sure they structured this deal to make sure that the step-up won't apply. As a business, why would you put that liability on your books if you can prevent it?

 

[tential]

Wow...
Imagine if you start always selling a subpar cooler, then offering your customers $100 to upgrade to the better cooler. EVGA, getting clever with their "alternative" revenue schemes.

 

[Shmee]

I was considering the FTW edition when I bought my 1070, it looked like a nice card. Also in consideration was the MSI Gaming, which I decided upon, and the Zotac AMP edition. At the time the EVGA cards were OOS I believe, and the MSI card had the best deal, glad I did not go with EVGA this time around. If I do go with another Nvidia card as an upgrade later on, I would definitely consider MSI and Zotac again, not so sure about EVGA though.

 

[Timmah!]

I would upgrade my 1080s if i was getting GP102 card alongside the improved cooling Otherwise no reason, since my cards run just fine (hopefully they wont break down the road for me to regret).

 

[KentState]

I was considering the FTW edition when I bought my 1070, it looked like a nice card. Also in consideration was the MSI Gaming, which I decided upon, and the Zotac AMP edition. At the time the EVGA cards were OOS I believe, and the MSI card had the best deal, glad I did not go with EVGA this time around. If I do go with another Nvidia card as an upgrade later on, I would definitely consider MSI and Zotac again, not so sure about EVGA though.

I've had many previous EVGA cards and never had issues so felt comfortable this time around. I was eyeing the Asus Strix version, but it was never in stock so went EVGA. Will also expand my search next time and will heavily consider Asus and MSI.

 

[John Carmack]

Do the heatsinks on these new ICX cards make contact with the VRM's this time?

 

[AntonioHG]

Do the heatsinks on these new ICX cards make contact with the VRM's this time?

Yeah. The video I posted has the details of all the changes, but if you don't want to watch it, here's the article: http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/2799-evga-gtx-1080-ftw2-sc2-icx-in-depth-thermal-analysis