Now that NVIDIA has officially launched their GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card for users to purchase, now is a good time to bring up the specs on Nvidia’s partner cards. The card is based on the 16nm FinFet architecture which offers a massive boost in performance while keeping the TDP lower than what we’ve seen in previous generation flagship cards. At base price, the stock card retails $599 while the Founders Edition is now available for purchase at $699. These prices are expected to change regionally and I’ve always mentioned and this from my experience with handling stock cards that it’s always good to check out partner cards that are custom variants that seem better designed and are starkly priced better from the likes of MSI, Asus, Gigabyte and more. let’s jump right in. It’s to note that the partners have gone with differnt if not better looking designs that have their own perks. They also are targeted towards overclockers using Pascal with the GTX 1080 and 1070.
Want to get the Nvidia’s Stock GTX 1080 Founders Edition? Why wait?
ASUS
ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 1936 MHz Boost Clocks, $619.99 US
Well damn, Asus has a new ROG Strix now updated with the GTX 1080 graphics chip with a triple fan design. It also comes with their Aura LED tech. The Strix will be taking 2 slots on board but you’re going to get better overclocking speeds. Clock speeds will be 1898 MHz base and 1936 MHz boost. This is a 10% performance bump from the founders edition.
The ROG STRIX will be available in two versions, a stock clocked variant priced at $619.99 US and a factory overclocked variant priced at $639.99 US.
MSI
Holy crap, they put liquid cooling.
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 SeaHawk AIO Graphics Card
I’ll be honest with you, I’m a huge fan of MSI’s cards and they have never disappointed. They continue to impress me with their Pascal GPU lineup. MSI has come up with their flagship with the Frozr series. I have gone in depth about them prior but here’s some eye candy. The aero will be mirroring in aspects to the reference card clocking in at 1771 Mhz boost. The SeaHawk is an AIO liquid cooled graphics card boost clock speeds of 1847 MHz and expect some great cooling and you get illuminated LED MSI logos as you can expect with their cards.
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 ARMOR 2X Graphics Card
ZOTAC
ZOTAC has come a long way since Maxwell and now they have two designs. The AMP! and AMP! Extreme Edition. The GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! features the IceStorm Fans with Carbon ExoArmor, PowerBoost, FREEZE and Spectra. The model has a dual fan design with dual 8-Pin power connections.
GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme
Then there’s this other beast. Assume this card to be directed towards the PC builder who wants supreme cooling and performance. With a triple fan design and a cool base plate, the AMP! Extreme is going to be amazing to overclock.
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 PGF Edition
We’re not done yet, I have to commend ZOTAC on really giving this card some oomph. The PGF is based on Nvidia’s GP104 GPU was teased earlier. Prime Gamer Force or PGF for short is Zotac’s series targeted for the hardcore gamers and it’s apt because this is how that card looks.
It’s assumed this is the fastest card ZOTAC will deliver for Pascal and with an illuminated RGB LED backplate design, it’s mindblowing to say the least. It comes with a 16 + 2 phase PWM design. This card is also expected to clock in faster than the reference founder’s edition card.
EVGA
Ah EVGA, the go to card for any GeForce enthusiast and they deliver again with their lineup on their ACX 3.0 design.
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Classified ACX 3.0 ($699 US)
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC ACX 3.0 $649.99 US
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW ACX 3.0 ($679.99 US)
GIGABYTE
GeForce GTX 1080 G1 GAMING
The legendary WINDFORCE 3X cooling system incorporates 3 pure copper composite heat-pipes with direct touch to the GPU, special fin architecture, and unique blade fan design. Together the WINDFORCE delivers an effective heat dissipation capacity for bringing out the best of Pascal while keeping the card cool. The 3D Active Fan provides semi-passive cooling, which allows gamers to enjoy gameplay in complete silence when the system is running light or idle. An LED fan indicators provides a user-friendly, instant display of the fan status.
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming
Additionally, GIGABYTE have also teased a second card, that’s probably going to be more expensive if not the same price than that of the reference card that the Xtreme series generally is known for. A lower resolution render of the card did get leaked but you can expect the card to be revealed next month. Sources indicate that the card has three fans and a fourth middle fan hidden behind the LED illuminated X logo. This card does look really good and I’m counting that it won’t be as expensive.
So which one are you going to get ?
