ThePCEnthusiast is supported by its readers. Our articles usually contain affiliate links.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases. See our site disclosure here.

GeForce GTX 1080 Compared – Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, Zotac and More

The GeForce GTX 1080 is (as of today) the company’s flagship graphics card and it’s the fastest card that NVIDIA can offer to PC gamers. Actually, the current fastest is the Titan X Pascal, but that’s not really geared towards the mainstream gamers, and probably a cut down version of the Titan X Pascal will be released soon. The GTX 1080 is the successor of the GTX 980, and is geared towards 1440 and 4K gamers. When the GTX 1080 was first announced, NVIDIA said that the GTX 1080 Founders Edition would retail for $699 and the non-reference graphics cards would retail for $599. At this point in time, it seems that stocks are slowly replenishing and prices are back to normal. I have listed below all or most of the known GeForce GTX 1080 released on the market. This list will help you compare the different specs (specially the clock speeds) and find out which is the fastest or best GeForce GTX 1080 around. Admittedly, this list may not be complete as it lacks actual benchmark scores. But generally and theoretically speaking, the higher the clock speed means the faster the card goes. Go ahead and check them below.

all-geforce-gtx-1080-compared-asus-evga-gigabyte-msi-zotac-and-more

GeForce GTX 1080 Specifications Comparison

Basically, all of the GeForce GTX 1080 in the market shares the same GPU core from NVIDIA, and that’s very obvious. Each non-reference GTX 1080 from different companies have varying clock speeds out of the box, different cooler design, PCB layout and other gimmicks to attract gamers, enthusiasts and system builders. However most (if not all) will have the same overclocking potential, and could more or less hit the same highest clock speeds when manually overclock. Unfortunately, NVIDIA has implemented various limiters, so no matter how good the company designs their own GTX 1080, it won’t go significantly faster compared to other GTX 1080s on the market.

All GeForce GTX 1080s that are available today are based on the new 16nm FinFET process and features NVIDIA’s new Pascal architecture. It’s faster and significantly more power efficient compared to the previous Maxwell architecture. The GTX 1080 takes advantage of the full GP104 chip and is paired with a faster GDDR5X memory.

The GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card has 2560 CUDA cores, 8GB of GDDR5X memory with 320 GB/s memory bandwidth and 256-bit of memory interface. It comes with output connectors such as DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and Dual-Link-DVI; supports multi-monitor display and HDCP 2.2. They also require at least a 500W power supply and a single 8-pin PCI power connector. However some GTX 1080 requires a 6+8 pin (or even an 8+8 pin), and power draw varies from one model to another.

All GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards also features NVIDIA’s latest technology: Multi-projection, VR Ready, NVIDIA Ansel, NVIDIA SLI supporting SLI High Bandwidth Bridge, G-Sync, GameStream, GPU Boost 3.0, DirectX 12 API with level 12_1, Vulkan API, OpenGL 4.5, and PCIe 3.0.

The GeForce GTX 1080 is really an overkill for 1080p gaming, it is best suited for 1440p and 4K gaming. NVIDIA is actually pushing the GTX 1080 for 4K gaming, but I think it’s not the card yet for 4K with 60 fps across the board, max settings. Don’t get me wrong, the GTX 1080 can definitely run games at 4K UHD or 2160p, but for some games specially heavy and graphics extensive games, you will have to tone down the settings to achieve an average of 60fps. It’s still not that powerful, unlike a GTX 980Ti to a 1080p or GTX 1070 to a 1440p.

Listed below are the different GeForce GTX 1080s available in the market. Initially the list is sorted according to the graphics card’s name, but you can sort it according to clock speeds and etc.

Also, there are some GTX 1080s (like from Asus, MSI and Gigabyte) that comes with two clock speed modes. They have a so-called gaming mode and OC mode. I will place the gaming mode first followed by the OC mode inside a parenthesis, since the gaming mode is usually their default setting and the speed you get right out of the box.

GeForce GTX 1080 Specs Compared

PhotoModelBase Clock (MHz)Boost Clock (MHz)Memory Clock (MHz)Cooler TypePower ConnectorsLengthWidth
asus-turbo-gtx1080-8gAsus TURBO GTX1080 8G1607173310010Blower1x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
asus-strix-gtx1080-8g-gamingAsus STRIX GTX1080 8G GAMING1607 (1632)1733 (1771)10010DirectCU III triple fan6-pin + 8-pin11.73"2-slot
asus-strix-gtx1080-a8g-gamingAsus STRIX GTX1080 A8G GAMING1670 (1695)1809 (1835)10010DirectCU III triple fan6-pin + 8-pin11.73"2-slot
asus-strix-gtx1080-o8g-gamingAsus STRIX GTX1080 O8G GAMING1759 (1784)1898 (1936)10010DirectCU III triple fan6-pin + 8-pin11.73"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-gamingEVGA GTX 1080 GAMING1607173310000Blower1x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-gaming-acx-3-0EVGA GTX 1080 GAMING ACX 3.01607173310000ACX 3.01x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-ftw-dt-gaming-acx-3-0EVGA GTX 1080 FTW DT GAMING ACX 3.01607173310000ACX 3.02x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-sc-gaming-acx-3-0EVGA GTX 1080 SC GAMING ACX 3.01708184710000ACX 3.01x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-ftw-gaming-acx-3-0EVGA GTX 1080 FTW GAMING ACX 3.01721186010000ACX 3.02x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-ftw-hybrid-gamingEVGA GTX 1080 FTW HYBRID GAMING1721186010000Hybrid AIO Liquid2x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
evga-gtx-1080-classified-gaming-acx-3-0EVGA GTX 1080 CLASSIFIED GAMING ACX 3.01721186010000ACX 3.02x 8-pin11"2-slot
gainward-gtx-1080-phoenixGainward GTX 1080 Phoenix160717335000Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
gainward-gtx-1080-phoenix-gsGainward GTX 1080 Phoenix GS170818475000Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
gainward-gtx-1080-phoenix-glhGainward GTX 1080 Phoenix GLH174618855250Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
galax-gtx-1080-virtual-editionGalax GTX 1080 Virtual Edition1607173310000Blower1x 8-pin281mm2-slot
galax-gtx-1080-ex-ocGalax GTX 1080 EX OC1657179710000Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin296mm2-slot
galax-gtx-1080-ex-oc-snpr-whiteGalax GTX 1080 EX OC SNPR White1657179710000Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin371mm2-slot
galax-gtx-1080-ex-oc-snpr-blackGalax GTX 1080 EX OC SNPR Black1657179710000Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin371mm2-slot
galax-gtx-1080-hofGalax GTX 1080 HOF1733187310000Triple Fan2x 8-pin330mm2.5-slot
galax-gtx-1080-hof-limited-editionGalax GTX 1080 HOF Limited Ed.1809196110000Triple Fan2x 8-pin330mm2.5-slot
gigabyte-gtx-1080-g1-gamingGigabyte GTX 1080 G1 Gaming1695 (1721)1835 (1860)10010Windforce 3X1x 8-pin280mm2-slot
gigabyte-gtx-1080-windforce-oc-8gGigabyte GTX 1080 WINDFORCE OC 8G1632 (1657)1771 (1797)10010Windforce 3X1x 8-pin280mm2-slot
gigabyte-gtx-1080-xtreme-gamingGigabyte GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming1759 (1784)1898 (1936)10206 (10400)Windforce Stack 3x2x 8-pin287mm2.5-slot
gigabyte-gtx-1080-xtreme-gaming-water-coolingGigabyte GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Water cooling1759 (1784)1898 (1936)10203 (10400)Waterforce AIO2x 8-pin264mm2-slot
inno3d-gtx-1080-twin-x2Inno3D GTX 1080 TWIN X21607173310000HerculeZ Dual Fan1x 8-pin266mm2-slot
inno3d-ichill-gtx-1080-x3-02Inno3D iChill GTX 1080 X31759189810400iChiLL X3 PDCS (3 fans)6-pin + 8-pin302.2mm2.5-slot
inno3d-ichill-gtx-1080-x3-v2Inno3D iChill GTX 1080 X3 V21733187310400iChiLL X3 PDCS (3 fans)6-pin + 8-pin302.2mm2.5-slot
inno3d-ichill-gtx-1080-x4-02Inno3D iChill GTX 1080 X41759189810400iChiLL X4 APCS (3 fans)6-pin + 8-pin302.2mm2.5-slot
inno3d-ichill-gtx-1080-x4-v2Inno3D iChill GTX 1080 X4 V21733187310400iChiLL X4 APCS (3 fans)6-pin + 8-pin302.2mm2.5-slot
inno3d-ichill-gtx-1080-blackInno3D iChill GTX 1080 Black1759189810400Accelero Hybrid S AIO6-pin + 8-pin266mm2.5-slot
msi-gtx-1080-aero-8gMSI GTX 1080 AERO 8G1607173310010Blower1x 8-pin269mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-aero-8g-ocMSI GTX 1080 AERO 8G OC1632177110010Blower1x 8-pin269mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-armor-8gMSI GTX 1080 ARMOR 8G1607173310010Dual fan6-pin + 8-pin279mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-armor-8g-ocMSI GTX 1080 ARMOR 8G OC1657179710010Dual Fan6-pin + 8-pin279mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-gaming-8gMSI GTX 1080 GAMING 8G1620 (1632)1759 (1771)10010Twin Frozr VI6-pin + 8-pin279mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-gaming-x-8gMSI GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G1683 (1708)1822 (1847)10010 (10108)Twin Frozr VI6-pin + 8-pin279mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-gaming-z-8gMSI GTX 1080 GAMING Z 8G1733 (1771)1873 (1911)10108Twin Frozr VI6-pin + 8-pin279mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-sea-hawk-ek-xMSI GTX 1080 SEA HAWK EK X1683 (1708)1822 (1847)10010 (10108)EK Waterblock6-pin + 8-pin278mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-sea-hawk-xMSI GTX 1080 SEA HAWK X1683 (1708)1822 (1847)10010 (10108)Corsair AIO Liquid1x 8-pin270mm2-slot
msi-gtx-1080-30th-anniversaryMSI GTX 1080 30th Anniversary1695 (1721)1835 (1860)10010 (10108)EK AIO Liquid6-pin + 8-pin277mm2-slot
nvidia-gtx-1080-founders-editionNVIDIA GTX 1080 Founders Edition1607173310000Blower1x 8-pin10.5"2-slot
palit-gtx-1080-jetstreamPalit GTX 1080 JetStream1607173310000JetStream dual fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
palit-gtx-1080-super-jetstreamPalit GTX 1080 Super JetStream1708184710000JetStream dual fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
palit-gtx-1080-gamerockPalit GTX 1080 GameRock1645178410000GameRock dual fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
palit-gtx-1080-gamerock-premium-editionPalit GTX 1080 GameRock Premium Ed.1746188510500GameRock dual fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
palit-gtx-1080-gamerock-g-panelPalit GTX 1080 GameRock + G-Panel1645178510000GameRock dual fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
palit-gtx-1080-gamerock-premium-edition-g-panelPalit GTX 1080 GameRock Prem. Ed. + G-Panel1746188510500GameRock dual fan6-pin + 8-pin285mm2.5-slot
pny-gtx-1080-xlr8-gaming-ocPNY GTX 1080 XLR8 Gaming OC1708184810000XLR8 Triple Cooler1x 8-pin11.5"2-slot
zotac-gtx-1080-oemZOTAC GTX 1080 OEM1607173310000Blower1x 8-pin266.7mm2-slot
zotac-gtx-1080-amp-editionZotac GTX 1080 AMP Edition1683182210000Icestorm dual Fan2x 8-pin300mm2-slot
zotac-gtx-1080-amp-extremeZotac GTX 1080 AMP Extreme1771191110800Icestorm triple Fan2x 8-pin325mm2.5-slot
zotac-gtx-1080-arcticstormZotac GTX 1080 ArcticStorm1632177110000Waterblock Liquid2x 8-pin300mm2-slot
Zotac GTX 1080 Mini1620175910000Dual fan1x 8-pin211mm2-slot

Note: If there’s a GTX 1080 not included in the comparison list above, hit the comment section below and we’ll add it.

Based on the GTX 1080 specs comparison table above, the GTX 1080 with the highest clock speed out of the box are the Galax GTX 1080 HOF Limited Edition and Zotac GTX 1080 AMP Extreme. However the Asus STRIX GTX 1080 08G Gaming has a (very slightly) higher clock speed vs the Zotac GTX 1080 AMP Extreme when the STRIX 1080 is set to OC mode using the Asus GPU Tweak; same goes with Gigabyte 1080 Xtreme Gaming. But take note, you can manually overclock the Zotac GTX 1080 AMP Extreme to match or get even higher clock speeds than the STRIX 1080. In fact most of the non-reference graphics cards here can be manually overclocked to run at around 2GHz to 2.1GHz; pretty much the limit under normal circumstances.

If you are planning to buy a GTX 1080 today, my suggestion would be to base your decision on your preferred design or cooling solution/performance/technology, followed by price. If you want to fastest GTX 1080 out of the box simply get the one with the highest clock speeds out of the box, especially if you are not comfortable tweaking the card’s settings. However, it saves a lot to learn how to overclock your card manually.

I hope this article helped you in one way or another. Please don’t forget to share this article to your friends if you find it useful and helpful.

Also check out our GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Compared, GeForce GTX 1070 Compared and GeForce GTX 1060 Compared.

Photo of author
Author
Peter Paul
Peter is a PC enthusiast and avid gamer with several years of hands-on experience in testing and reviewing PC components, audio equipment, and various tech devices. He offers a genuine, no-nonsense perspective, helping consumers make informed choices in the ever-changing world of technology.

3 thoughts on “GeForce GTX 1080 Compared – Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, Zotac and More”

Leave a Comment