GeForce GTX 1080: Price, performance, features compared
For high-performance gaming at resolutions up to 4K, the GTX 1080 has you covered.
GeForce GTX 1080 at a glance
How powerful is the GTX 1080? The GTX 1080 is one of the most powerful consumer graphics cards currently available, topped only by its Ti counterpart.When did the GTX 1080 come out? Nvidia launched the GTX 1080 on 27 May 2016.
How much does the GTX 1080 cost? The base GTX 1080 retails for $925.
What is the GTX 1080?
The GTX 1080 represents the top tier of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 10 graphics card line-up. As the first GTX 10 card released back in 2016, it introduced Nvidia's new Pascal GPU architecture to the world and highlighted the increased performance the technology offered over the Maxwell architecture used by the GeForce 900 line.
Being the flagship of the GTX 10 series, the GTX 1080 is all about performance. Not only is it powerful enough to deliver a smooth gaming experience in almost any game at 1080p resolution, it's capable of hitting 60fps at 4K resolution in many modern titles as well. And for all those virtual reality enthusiasts out there, the GTX 1080 has little trouble powering VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
While certain brand variants of the GTX 1080 feature tweaked hardware specifications, the typical GTX 1080 consists of 8GB of GDDR5X RAM operating on a 256-bit memory bus that supports speeds of up to 10Gbps. The base GPU clock typically starts at 1607MHz and can boost up to 1733MHz.
Like most high-end graphics cards, the GTX 1080 usually takes up two slots on a motherboard, although some single-slot variants do exist.
To power a standard GTX 1080, a PC needs at least one free PCIe 3.0 slot, an 8-pin power connector and a power supply rated at 500W or more. However, these requirements can change depending on the particular variant of GTX 1080, so be sure to check the specs before throwing down your hard-earned cash.
What features does the GTX 1080 support?
The Pascal architecture powering the GTX 1080 grants it plenty of features designed to improve your gaming experience. Some of the most noteworthy include:
- Nvidia Ansel
- SLI
- G-Sync
- DirectX 12
- HDCP 2.2
- OpenGL 4.5
- Display Port 1.4
- HMDI 2.0b
- DL-DVI
- Simultaneous multi-projection
- Driver-level triple buffering
How powerful is the GTX 1080?
The GTX 1080 is aimed at those who want the best gaming experience money can buy. It has no trouble hitting well above 60fps at 1080p resolution in almost any modern game, no matter how high you crank the graphics settings. Owners of PC monitors with refresh rates of 120Hz or higher are also well served by the GTX 1080, as it has the raw grunt to hit framerates of 120fps or more even at resolutions of 1440p. That said, performance can differ drastically from game to game, and certain titles may play poorly even with the power of the GTX 1080.
4K gaming is another area where the GTX 1080 distinguishes itself from the competition. While maintaining the coveted 60fps at 3840x2160 is still asking a lot of modern technology, the GTX 1080 can do it in quite a few big-budget, graphically intensive games. Depending on the title, you may need to drop a few graphics settings from Ultra to merely High, but it is achievable.
Alternatively, if you're happy with playing at 4K 30fps, the GTX 1080 has no trouble holding a rock solid framerate in most current games.
Should you want to dive into the world of virtual reality, the GTX 1080 will gladly take you there. It has more than enough power to hit the 90fps minimum demanded by headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, though it's always worth keeping in mind that some games may simply ask more of the GTX 1080 than modern graphics cards can deliver.
GTX 1080 availability and price
The GTX 1080 heralded the birth of Nvidia's GTX 10 line when it launched on 27 May 2016. Available initially in the form of the Founders Edition GTX 1080 and retailing for $925, there are now numerous variants on offer from brands like Gigabyte, MSI and Asus featuring higher clock speeds, different cooling solutions and other tweaks both big and small.
GTX 1080 specs
- Base clock speed
- 1607MHz
- Boost clock speed
- 1733MHz
- Memory
- 8GB GDDR5X
- Memory speed
- 10Gbps
- Memory bus
- 256-bit
- Card length
- 266.7mm
- Card width
- Dual slot
- Card height
- 111.15mm
- Power draw
- 180W
- Recommended system power
- 500W
- Power connectors
- 8-pin
- No. HDMI ports
- 1
- No. display ports
- 1
- No. DVI ports
- 1
- DirectX support
- 12
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