We have checked the specifications of both video cards and there is no difference in terms of performance/clock speed/CUDA cores/etc. This means that the video card you received is the exact same model as the reference card (Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition). It may have been due to the non-availability of the Founders Edition that forced us to use the MSI GTX 1080. Again, this was not a downgrade. We kept our promise in delivering the exact same video card performance and specifications you were expecting.
Eimy was talking about the functionality of the card and not the aesthetics of the card. Eimy stated that the two cards are identical in functionality even if they look different.
BeamerMT79: Sorry but if you read her post carefully Eimy states:
"This means that the video card you received is the exact same model as the reference card (Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition)"
MSI Aero is definitely not the same model as an FE. My stance is that I did not receive a founders edition which Dell clearly advertised as being included as part of my configuration.
Note that even MSI has their own founders edition (like all other FE's it matches what Dell advertised)
Instead what I recieved is the cheaper version: (Not a founders edition - Not what was advertised)
It's like paying for a silver car that was advertised but instead you got a black one. Sure it's the same car but I paid for a silver one!
And here is what google (and everyone else) agrees to what a FE should look like.
This info was easy to find. I personally don't have time to investigate and post my final answer or determination, nor would by opinion make a difference to the parties involved.
But here it is anyway, so you can form your own educated determinations. I can't help to not read some, so the answer is pretty obvious to me as are the various possible (and acceptable) solutions.
"The “Founder's Edition” uses the new industrial design and cooler from nVidia. Historically, this is what we would call the “reference cooler.” The cooler is more-or-less identical to the previous reference models. It's got vapor chamber cooling, a VRM blower fan, and a large alloy heatsink under the shroud. There is a backplate on the GTX 1080 Founder's Edition."
In addition to the above, the card that was in my system also lacks any LEDs or branding. So Dell, please do not claim the card I received is the same as a founders edition.
If you feel that you didn't receive what you ordered, the best point of contact is with the sales team. You can contact them directly to see if they can do something about it.
Aaerox, were you able to get this resolved. I was told that many people were complaining about not receiving the card that was sold by a Supervisor there. She said Dell was correcting the issue and sending out replacement machines with the correct card. Told me not to worry and they would correct the change in the configuration. Well, I waited, and received the exact same machine as a replacement with the same MSI Aero AGAIN!
Calling support only ends up being a well practiced, and continuous, "wrong dept, xfer between tech support / sales / customer support......OVER AND OVER AGAIN.....until they close for the day, at which point they just hang up! Multiple days of this.....worse support ever!! It's clear that once they research the issue, something comes up in that research and they immediately clam up and say they must xfer you, back to the queue, where you wait, and then explain, then they look into it for 20min, say "oh yes, I see, here it is....ummmm, looks like I'll have to xfer you to (one of the 'other' two depts.)........and REPEAT.
I've reached out to Frank Azor (Co-founder of Alienware and VP General Manager) on twitter and received the below response. Finally got acknowledgement from a higher up! Now we just need to figure out the best way for the support teams to see this and provide a resolution...
Yeah, I received the same GTX1080 also. You either have to deal with it or send it back, that's it. I've actually run several benchmark test and the card performs very well, matches or exceeds the benchmark on the Nvidia GTX1080 FE.
Hi Aaerox, thank you so much for posting that! I have been more than frustrated / angry!
Can you tell me how Frank Azor is going to get that card swapped out for you? Did you get any instructions on what steps to take with Dell support which is horrid?
Also, in case I need to do this on my own, do I need to make a twitter account, then message Frank Azor, or put message on Dells twitter feed? (I'm not a twitter-er)
It is stock, out of the box. Tried tech support, but the guy I talked to had never owned a computer and didn't even know what a PSU was! Support was in Honduras.
Customer support and sales just transfer back and forth between the two. This after waiting in the queue each time, explaining the problem, then being transferred, have wasted too many hours.
I guess I'm lucky I didn't waste any money on extended service with Dell. The only thing support seems good for is things like ordering new stuff, buying extended service, returning a product, etc.
Anything like how to install an ssd or how to plug in a keyboard seems very far out of their reach. I thought Dell was this big company that knew their stuff. Having to call support has really opened my eyes about them. I'm sitting here with two Aurora R5's, both with the same video card after their supervisor promised to send one with the FE card.
Do you think if I called another gaming machine company that they would troubleshoot Dell's Aurora R5? Perhaps Nvidia....but I'm not even sure if they know what this card is. The tech support guy said that the card I got was actually built in house and is not any kind of oem. Sales wanted to know who let me know, wanted his name, more so than wanting to help me with any issues. Apparently they don't want that info getting out? But then again I read on here that it's actually an MSI Aero....so who knows. Are these not quality checked....that was supposed to be part of the building process.
Eimy_B
4 Operator
•
4.4K Posts
1
December 15th, 2016 11:00
Hi,
We have checked the specifications of both video cards and there is no difference in terms of performance/clock speed/CUDA cores/etc. This means that the video card you received is the exact same model as the reference card (Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition). It may have been due to the non-availability of the Founders Edition that forced us to use the MSI GTX 1080. Again, this was not a downgrade. We kept our promise in delivering the exact same video card performance and specifications you were expecting.
Aaerox
6 Posts
0
December 16th, 2016 13:00
It seems that another user also recieved a cheaper version of the GTX 1080.
en.community.dell.com/.../20000057
I disagree that the card I received is the exact same model as claimed by Alienware-Eimy
The Shroud is obviously different, there are no LED, no backplate to cover the board... pretty sure this impacts the temperatures / cooling.
beamermt79
4 Operator
•
2.3K Posts
0
December 16th, 2016 16:00
Eimy was talking about the functionality of the card and not the aesthetics of the card. Eimy stated that the two cards are identical in functionality even if they look different.
Aaerox
6 Posts
0
December 16th, 2016 16:00
BeamerMT79: Sorry but if you read her post carefully Eimy states:
"This means that the video card you received is the exact same model as the reference card (Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition)"
MSI Aero is definitely not the same model as an FE. My stance is that I did not receive a founders edition which Dell clearly advertised as being included as part of my configuration.
Note that even MSI has their own founders edition (like all other FE's it matches what Dell advertised)
Instead what I recieved is the cheaper version: (Not a founders edition - Not what was advertised)
It's like paying for a silver car that was advertised but instead you got a black one. Sure it's the same car but I paid for a silver one!
And here is what google (and everyone else) agrees to what a FE should look like.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
December 18th, 2016 12:00
This info was easy to find. I personally don't have time to investigate and post my final answer or determination, nor would by opinion make a difference to the parties involved.
www.gamersnexus.net/.../2427-difference-between-gtx-1080-founders-edition-and-reference
www.fudzilla.com/.../40767-msi-comes-up-with-five-gtx-1080-graphics-cards
But here it is anyway, so you can form your own educated determinations. I can't help to not read some, so the answer is pretty obvious to me as are the various possible (and acceptable) solutions.
Aaerox
6 Posts
0
December 18th, 2016 13:00
Thank you Tesla1856.
To quote from the gamersnexus article:
"The “Founder's Edition” uses the new industrial design and cooler from nVidia. Historically, this is what we would call the “reference cooler.” The cooler is more-or-less identical to the previous reference models. It's got vapor chamber cooling, a VRM blower fan, and a large alloy heatsink under the shroud. There is a backplate on the GTX 1080 Founder's Edition."
In addition to the above, the card that was in my system also lacks any LEDs or branding. So Dell, please do not claim the card I received is the same as a founders edition.
Eimy_B
4 Operator
•
4.4K Posts
0
December 20th, 2016 19:00
If you feel that you didn't receive what you ordered, the best point of contact is with the sales team. You can contact them directly to see if they can do something about it.
Ryye
25 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 08:00
Aaerox, were you able to get this resolved. I was told that many people were complaining about not receiving the card that was sold by a Supervisor there. She said Dell was correcting the issue and sending out replacement machines with the correct card. Told me not to worry and they would correct the change in the configuration. Well, I waited, and received the exact same machine as a replacement with the same MSI Aero AGAIN!
Calling support only ends up being a well practiced, and continuous, "wrong dept, xfer between tech support / sales / customer support......OVER AND OVER AGAIN.....until they close for the day, at which point they just hang up! Multiple days of this.....worse support ever!! It's clear that once they research the issue, something comes up in that research and they immediately clam up and say they must xfer you, back to the queue, where you wait, and then explain, then they look into it for 20min, say "oh yes, I see, here it is....ummmm, looks like I'll have to xfer you to (one of the 'other' two depts.)........and REPEAT.
Ryye
25 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 09:00
Also, are you keeping the first one, or second one they sent you? I heard the second one may be a refurb without you knowing it.
Ryye
25 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 09:00
, mine is the 1070, it runs at 54% compare to others with the same card according to 3DMark test (mediaFire, or chainFire, or whatever one).
So it's definitely middle of the road at best.
May I ask what benchmarks you used to test yours?
Aaerox
6 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 09:00
Hi All,
I've reached out to Frank Azor (Co-founder of Alienware and VP General Manager) on twitter and received the below response. Finally got acknowledgement from a higher up! Now we just need to figure out the best way for the support teams to see this and provide a resolution...
cherzog1
35 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 09:00
Yeah, I received the same GTX1080 also. You either have to deal with it or send it back, that's it. I've actually run several benchmark test and the card performs very well, matches or exceeds the benchmark on the Nvidia GTX1080 FE.
Ryye
25 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 11:00
Hi Aaerox, thank you so much for posting that! I have been more than frustrated / angry!
Can you tell me how Frank Azor is going to get that card swapped out for you? Did you get any instructions on what steps to take with Dell support which is horrid?
Also, in case I need to do this on my own, do I need to make a twitter account, then message Frank Azor, or put message on Dells twitter feed? (I'm not a twitter-er)
Thanks again!!
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.3K Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 12:00
That doesn't sound right. I would look for some other configuration problem.
Ryye
25 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2016 13:00
It is stock, out of the box. Tried tech support, but the guy I talked to had never owned a computer and didn't even know what a PSU was! Support was in Honduras.
Customer support and sales just transfer back and forth between the two. This after waiting in the queue each time, explaining the problem, then being transferred, have wasted too many hours.
I guess I'm lucky I didn't waste any money on extended service with Dell. The only thing support seems good for is things like ordering new stuff, buying extended service, returning a product, etc.
Anything like how to install an ssd or how to plug in a keyboard seems very far out of their reach. I thought Dell was this big company that knew their stuff. Having to call support has really opened my eyes about them. I'm sitting here with two Aurora R5's, both with the same video card after their supervisor promised to send one with the FE card.
Do you think if I called another gaming machine company that they would troubleshoot Dell's Aurora R5? Perhaps Nvidia....but I'm not even sure if they know what this card is. The tech support guy said that the card I got was actually built in house and is not any kind of oem. Sales wanted to know who let me know, wanted his name, more so than wanting to help me with any issues. Apparently they don't want that info getting out? But then again I read on here that it's actually an MSI Aero....so who knows. Are these not quality checked....that was supposed to be part of the building process.