Zotac quality question

[Beirut]

Hello,

 

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and some of the Zotac cards in the 3070 and 3070ti realm have really good prices. But I've been using EVGA for ages and I just can't get past the idea that maybe Zotac cards are poor quality?

 

Anyone have experience with them? 

 

Thanks. 

[Bossco82]

Hi mate,

I've fitted a couple over the years, no complaints so far. I know what you mean though. I usually buy, EVGA, MSI or a Nvidia Founders or AMD Reference. 

However my choice of MSI and EVGA is often because I prefer the way they look in a windowed case.

[Mars Exulte]

The GPUs all come from the same place : Nvidia. They aren't manufacturing them themselves. The only major difference is the superficial appearance, manner of cooling, and whether or not it's already overclocked. There is literally nothing stopping you from buying the cheapest, ''<profanity>tiest'' GPU and overclocking it to the same level as a Asus ROG except the ability of the onboard cooler to handle the extra heat and the usual 'silicon lottery'.

[BitMaster]

What about the difference in VRM, chokes and all other parts that are not all the same. De facto, the only common thing they share is the GPU, the rest can vary widely in quality.

to the OP. Fitted a few of those over the years, they did ok.

[nachomaga]

I had EVGA and Gigabyte GPUs in the past (last one was a Gigabyte Windforce 1080ti), but when I bought 3090 I has no option than a Zotac Trinity, because Gigabyte was not in stock or was too expensive.

I'm happy with the Zotac (sometimes runs very hot, but is seems to happen in all 3090), but my main complain is the noise. Not very much, but I remember my 1080ti with full load was way more quieter.

Edited June 12, 2022 by nachomaga

[Bossco82]

If I may let me make something a little clearer here, the gpu die, the chip itself. That comes from Nvidia or AMD, even they don't produce that. A silicon chip maker like TMSC produces it on mass to Nvidia or AMD's design. This is the point the silicon lottery comes into play.

The memory, the GDDR5 or GDDR6 etc etc that is again chosen by Nvidia or AMD, its made by someone like Micron or Samsung. Silicon lottery plays a part here too.

The companies like EVGA, Zotac, Asus, Msi and Gigabyte etc etc etc. Like Bitmaster has said, they put it together on the board itself to make the graphics card. They choose the chokes, the VRM's and all the other bits. Guess what they don't make those either, someone else does. These companies choose this stuff to a specification. A specification that AMD and Nvidia has set a minimum as a guide. The specification some one like Zotac might use. Could be a top quality one because they plan to overclock it. On the other side they could choose cheaper parts to produce a cheaper graphics card and be competitive in the market. These are things review sites like "Techpowerup" make reviews about.

Then there is the design of the cooler, the quality of the fans or thermal paste etc etc etc. The quality of the cooler and the components that handle the power delivery contribute to the graphics cards overclocking ability. Its not just about the silicon lottery, but, that does play its part.

Finally you need to consider how that company handles their warranty, the RMA procedure. Where are you in the world in relation to the company you are buying from.

There is a lot to consider. So being picky or choosy about which company you buy you computer component from is completely understandable. 

To answer the OP to the best of my knowledge. Zotac sits somewhere around the middle in terms of quality for build and components. Check some review websites for the exact model your looking at. Scroll through some Amazon reviews etc etc. 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Bossco82

[Beirut]

Really appreciate all the feedback, thank you.

 

So far the Zotac 3070ti wins as far as price goes. It's tough changing brands though, still not sure what I'll do, but thanks for the responses. 

[Bossco82]

Its only my personal opinion Beirut. I got to like the MSI Gaming X series and the EVGA FTW series. Always very happy with them. I had a scout around the internet for reviews and I cant find many for the Zotac Trinity edition or the AMP Holo. What I did read seems to show that build quality is ok, there are mentions to power and noise though. That stuff is easily solved with using MSI Afterburner, which I do for all Nvidia cards.

[Gierasimov]

18 hours ago, Beirut said:

Really appreciate all the feedback, thank you.

 

So far the Zotac 3070ti wins as far as price goes. It's tough changing brands though, still not sure what I'll do, but thanks for the responses. 

ZOTAC is a good card if you do not intend to overclock, and if used in a proper tower. It's all about cooling. 

ZOTAC so far tends to save the user's $$ by choosing weaker cooling solutions for their cards, which is mostly evident with their 3090 and 3080 cards. I have not had any experience with 3070Ti though. 

If your PC is built with superior cooling, you are fine. However if you have a small case, or one of those older ones, you may struggle a bit with ZOTAC noise as it will run at its highest to offload all the heat you are asking GPU to produce by forcing it to work hard. 

[Bossco82]

Yeah I agree with Gierasimov on that one. The weak spot is that they up the power delivery limit but dont put quite enough cooling capacity for it.

To put that into perspective though, thats measuring it at 100% limit. Even doing an undervolt cap at say 0.950mv-0.980mv which is how I would run a card like that anyway. It should eliminate any worry about these two potential weak spots in Zotacs gpu's.

[LucShep]

The RTX3070Ti, like the RTX3080/Ti and RTX3090/Ti, uses GDDR6X memory which runs very, very hot. 
So, you really want the best cooling and power delivery (quality VRM), regardless if you're going to undervolt (which is better!) or keep it stock (which of course is perfectly ok).
This means that it's much better to get one of the higher rated models, instead of the cheaper reference based ones.

ZOTAC is as good as any other brand, you can buy with confidence.
They have two models for the RTX3070Ti:

• The AMP EXTREME HOLO is one of the very best RTX 3070Ti models available on the market, and not just because it comes pre-overclocked from factory.
  It has excelent power delivery (VRM is 16-phase!) and also excelent cooling (8 heatpipes on thick heatsink and good fans), though it is a very big, chunky GPU in size (takes 3 slots in system, 35.5cm in lenght).
   
• The TRINITY OC is the more affordable proposition, and is based on the Nvidia FE reference design. It uses cheaper power delivery (VRM is 9-phase) and cheaper cooling (5 heatpipes on a thinner, smaller heatsink), but it's a slightly smaller GPU in size (takes 2 and 1/2 slots in system, 31.7cm in lenght). While not bad, it's really not as good.

Edited June 13, 2022 by LucShep