What is the best alternative to EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC Gaming ACX 3.0?

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score 35 · Answer 1

Palit GeForce GTX 1080 GameRock Premium Edition

Top Pro

Good value for the money

The GameRock Premium Edition is priced at $629.99. For that price it offers pretty good performance. It achieved a 3DMark Firestrike score of 20,014 and averages at 127-133 FPS with the latest games such as Fallout 4 and Hitman at Full HD resolution. See More

Top Con

Annoying LED power connector

There's a 4-pin power connector which feeds the LEDs in the middle-top of the card that sticks like a sore thumb and that's pretty annoying. See More

Top Pro

Usually very quiet

When the fans are at their minimum, which is when the card is at about 60 degrees C, the noise level is at 33dBA, virtually inaudible unless you put your head next to the case. Under heavy load when gaming, the fans will generate noise at about 38dBA, which is a barely audible hum. See More

Top Con

Can be a bit large for some

The Palit GeForce GTX 1080 GameRock is 285mm long and 133 tall and weighs 1.2kg. It can be quite large for some builds, especially those that use a dual-GPU implementation since a single 1080 GameRock occupies two and a half expansion slots. See More

Top Pro

Decent cooling

The large size and the twin 95mm fans it's equipped with help a lot with keeping the card cooled. The fans will also switch off at low load which helps with the noise levels as well. The I/O plate has a honeycomb plate to help with the ventilation which again, greatly contributes to the overall cooling performance of the card. Benchmark-wise, it achieves 39 degrees C while idle which is a pretty standard temperature for 1080 cards. Under heavy load however, it reaches up to 73 degrees C. Still lower than the 80 degrees C set by the reference card, but a tad bit higher than what was achieved by some other GTX 1080 cards. See More

Top Con

Not readily available for US

The easiest way to get the card to the US would be to order it from Europe. See More

Top Pro

LED lighting

The case lighting can be changed to any color you want, so you can match it to your fan lighting, for example. See More

Top Con

Unpleasant color scheme

The color scheme for the GameRock 1080 consists of: black, grey, and blue. This is rather unorthodox for graphics cards and may be a bit hard to find other parts that have matching colors if you are going for a transparent case. See More

Top Pro

Comes packaged with a G-Panel SKU

The GameRock comes with a G-Panel equipped with a 3.12" LCD display. You can connect it with the supplied USB 3.0 header to the motherboard and it will display information related to the graphics card such as: fan speed, temperature, and memory usage. See More

Specs

3DMark Score (Firestrike):20014

FPS Fallout 4 (1920x1080):107min, 133avg

FPS Total War: Warhammer (2560x1440):89min, 94avg

FPS Hitman (1920x1080):72min, 127avg

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35 7

score 22 · Answer 2

Gainward GeForce GTX 1080 Phoenix GLH

Top Pro

Excellent cooling

Under the massive fans there are two large heatsinks which in total amount to 120mm by 185mm at 30mm thick worth of heatsink. There are also three 8mm and two 6mm copper heatpipes used to improve efficiency. The great amount of air is pushed over the heatsink by two 100mm fans. Clearly, the massive size of this card has been put to good use and it's not designed to be large for the sake of being large. It offers excellent cooling and rarely exceeds 70 degrees C even under extreme strain. See More

Top Con

The lighting only supports red, green or blue

The logo on the back of the card has lighting which supports red, green or blue. That is, not the full RGB color spectrum, but only those three individual colors. See More

Top Pro

Virtually silent

Other than managing to keep the card cool under extreme stress, the fans are virtually silent. At 1050RPM there's no noise to speak of, and ranking them to 1500RPM will generate a barely audible hum. See More

Top Con

Weird color scheme

The red, black and gold color scheme is not for everyone. If it had been just red and black it would have been much better and much easier to find a suitable motherboard, case and everything else to fit that color scheme. While not a deal breaker for most people who are only interested in performance, it can be a bit annoying for people who care about how their build looks. See More

Top Pro

Efficient power draw

As far as power consumption goes, the 1080 phoenix GLH is one of the most efficient 1080 cards out there. It even performs better than some cards which are clocked lower than the GLH. See More

Specs

3DMark Score (Firestrike):18684

FPS Hitman (1920x1080):117.7avg

IDLE Noise Level (in DBa):19.5

LOAD Noise Level (in DBa):40.4

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22 7

score 17 · Answer 3

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Premium Pack

Top Pro

Very quiet operation

The extensive cooling solution of the Xtreme Gaming GTX 1080 results in a very quiet operation. In idle situations, the cooling fans don't spin up which means the graphics card doesn't produce more noise than any other component in your system. Under full load, a sound production of 38 dBA was measured, which is considered to be very quiet by graphics card standards. For comparison: The reference Founders Edition of the GTX 1080 produces 49.4 decibels (A) under load. Decibels use a logarithmic scale, which means the Xtreme Gaming card is effectively two times as quiet as a reference GTX 1080. See More

Top Con

Requires additional 8-pin power connector

The GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming requires the use of two 8-pin PCIe power connectors, compared to only one 8-pin connector for a reference GTX 1080. Although this means there is more headroom for large overclocks thanks to the extra connector, the card doesn't require this amount of power at all. An extra 6-pin power connector which adds 75W instead of the 8-pin's 150W, would be a more logical choice. This can be an issue for users with limited available connections on the power supply. See More

Top Pro

Adjustable RGB lightning looks great

The exterior of the Gigabyte GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming features a lot of RGB lights and you can adjust the color of these lights via Gigabyte's included software package. This allows you to customize the look of the graphics card, which can be useful if your setup is built with a specific color scheme in mind. See More

Top Con

Not very good looking

Top Pro

Very long 4 year warranty

Gigabyte is offering an extended Xtreme Care warranty period of 4 years, which is a major improvement compared to the regular 1-year warranty on graphics card. In the event of a failure within this period, Gigabyte will repair the card or send you a replacement model. Online registration is required. See More

Top Con

Slight coil whine can be heard

When using the card in an open environment, a slight but noticeable coil whine noise can be heard. Coil whine is an annoying, undesireable high-pitched sound. See More

Top Pro

Comes with a frontpanel for easier use of virtual reality headsets

The GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming cards are especially suitable for virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive, which require two HDMI-ports. Included in the packaging is a 5.25" extension bay, with two USB 3.0 ports and a set of HDMI inputs. With this frontpanel, users are no longer required to route their VR headset through the back of the system. The graphics card itself features two HDMI-ports on the opposite site of the usual ports, which allows a quick pass-through to this frontpanel. When using these two specific HDMI ports, two of the three DisplayPort inputs are disabled. See More

Top Pro

Excellent cooling temperatures

The GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming reaches a maximum temperature of 66 degrees Celsius under load with the increased clock and memory speeds. This is a major improvement over the Founders Edition's 82° C and an impressive feat for an air cooler. This not only extends the longevity of the card, but also prevents throttling from happening. Throttling can occur when temperatures reach around 80° C or higher. This is when the graphics card will slow itself down (reduce clock speed) in order to stay cool, effectively sacrificing performance. With the default clock speeds, this should never occur with the Xtreme Gaming card. See More

Top Pro

Extra performance over a reference GTX 1080

The higher clock and memory speeds of GIGABYTE's Xtreme Gaming edition of the GTX 1080 results in better performance. In Battlefield 4 using 1440p resolution and maximum settings, an average framerate of 118 was achieved. For comparison, a GTX 1080 Founders Edition only managed to achieve 110 fps, an almost 7% difference. Similar results can be seen in Far Cry Primal, again with 1440p resolution and maximum settings. The Xtreme Gaming card manages to get 84 frames per second on average, compared to the Founders Edition's 78 FPS. In DOOM, the difference is even more noticeable. With maximum settings and 1440p resolution, an average FPS of 140 was achieved for the Xtreme Gaming card - a 15 FPS improvement over the reference card. When tested in 4K, the Xtreme Gaming managed to achieve 72 average FPS compared to the Founders Edition's 62 frames per second, a difference of almost 14%. See More

Specs

Release Date:May 27th, 2016

Memory Clock:1302 MHz

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score 14 · Answer 4

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Waterforce

Top Pro

Excellent performance over other custom GTX 1080 cards

The card's base GPU clock runs at 1784 Mhz and memory clock at 1302 MHz producing 9.134 TFlops of computing power. That's an increase of almost 10% over a reference GTX 1080 card. In the real world it means that at 1440p on max settings DOOM, Far Cry Primal and Battlefield 4 on Gigabyte Xtreme Waterforce averages 140, 84, and 118 fps respectively while a reference card averages, 125, 78, and 110 fps respectively. See More

Top Con

Fan can get loud

When at 100% output, the cooling fan on the GTX 1080 Xtreme Waterforce can produce up to 56.4 dB of noise - more than most other graphics cards. This produces a noticeable noise, even if it isn't considered loud (it's just a touch quieter than the average conversation when measured). See More

Top Pro

Offers extended four years of warranty

Gigabyte is offering an extended Xtreme Care warranty period of four years, which is significantly longer than any other manufacturers offer - typically just one year. In the event of a failure within this period, Gigabyte will repair the card or send you a replacement model. Online registration is required. See More

Top Con

Liquid cooler uses PET tubing

Because the tubing is made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate - common in plastic water bottles and food containers), the tubing of the enclosed liquid cooler is easier to crack than other materials if the tube is accidentally bent, which could then leak coolant. This isn't likely to occur, but it is one of the risks of liquid cooling. See More

Top Pro

The best cooling system ensures no throttling

The Waterforce closed loop cooler on the this Xtreme Gaming card handles heat the best out of any current GTX 1080 graphics cards, and temperatures remain quite low as a result. The idle temperature of the card is about 24° Celsius, which is just barely above room temperature. Even more impressive is the maximum temperature under load: the GPU tops at 50 degrees Celsius, even with these increased clock speeds. For comparison, a reference GTX 1080 Founders Edition has a load temperature of 82° C. Low temperatures not only benefit longevity of the card, but it also prevents throttling which will improve performance. Throttling occurs when a temperature of at least 80° C has been reached. At that point, the graphics card will slow itself down in order to stay below 80 degrees - effectively sacrificing performance. This never occurs to the Xtreme Gaming card because of the efficiency of the cooling system. See More

Top Con

Requires additional 8-pin power connector

In order to provide extra power for the watercooling solution and the higher clock and memory speeds, an additional 8-pin power connector is required, for a total of two. A reference GTX 1080 only requires a single 8-pin connector. This can be an issue with power supplies with limited wattage or if you don't have enough spare 8-pin connectors available. See More

Top Pro

Adjustable RGB lightning looks sweet

The exterior of the Gigabyte GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming features a lot of RGB lights and you can adjust the color of these lights via Gigabyte's included software package. This allows you to customize the look of the graphics card, which can be useful if your setup is built with a specific color scheme in mind. See More

Top Pro

Comes with a frontpanel for easier use of virtual reality headsets

The GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming cards are especially suitable for virtual reality headsets. Some headsets such as the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive require two HDMI-ports, which aren't always easily accessible on all graphics cards. Included in the packaging is a 5.25" extension bay, with two USB 3.0 ports and a set of HDMI inputs. With this frontpanel, users are no longer required to route their VR headset through the back of the system. The graphics card itself features two HDMI-ports on the opposite site of the usual ports, which allows a quick pass-through to this frontpanel. When using these two specific HDMI ports, two of the three DisplayPort inputs are disabled. See More

Specs

Release Date:May 27th, 2016

Memory Type:GDDR5X

Memory Clock:1302 MHz

Memory Size:8 GB

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14 9

score 66 · Answer 5

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G

Top Pro

Excellent cooler

The cooler used on the Gaming X is the Twin Frozr IV and performs very well. In an idle situation, the chip measured at 36° Celsius in a room temperature of 21° C. That's a bit higher than the reference GTX 1080 - but the fans do not spin at all under 60° C for a completely silent operation. Under full load the chip heats up to 70° Celsius, which is a whopping 12 degree Celsius cooler than a GTX 1080 Founders Edition. See More

Top Con

Requires additional 6-pin power connector

The MSI Gaming X version of the GTX 1080 requires an extra 6-pin power connector, for a total of one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. A reference GTX 1080 only needs a single 8-pin connector, but this MSI card requires the extra connector because of the slightly higher clock speeds. Although the TDP (thermal design point and maximum power consumption) of the MSI Gaming X GTX 1080 has been rated at 180 watts just like the reference card, the TDP is around 198 watts in reality. It only uses 14 more watts than a reference GTX 1080 during full load, but the extra power connector can be inconvenient for cable routing or for power supplies with a limited power capacity and connectors. See More

Top Pro

Very quiet operation

The cooler does not spin under a temperature of 60° Celsius, making the card silent in normal situations. When the fans are needed however, the card remains very quiet. Measured from a distance of 75 centimeters from a closed environment, the Gaming X produces 39 dBA of noise. For comparison: that's a little bit more quiet than the noise a refrigerator produces. Irritating sounds such as coil whine are also not present. See More

Top Con

More expensive than other overclocked GTX 1080 cards

At a recommended retail price of $729.99, the MSI Gaming X card is significantly more expensive than other overclocked GTX 1080 cards with similar or higher clock speeds and similar cooling solutions. See More

Top Pro

Smooth framerates even for 4K gaming on high graphics settings

The MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X 8GB offers great, smooth performance even with the most demanding graphics requirements. Here are some examples of framerates: Rise of the Tomb Raider 4K (very high details): 49fps Hitman (2016) UHD (Max. detail): 49fps Fallout 4 UHD (Ultra detail): 59fps The Witcher 3 UDH (Max detail): 51fps While these aren't quite 60fps, they are all very close - and some of the best in-game performance available from any graphics card. See More

Top Pro

Custom LED lightning

This graphics card by MSI uses LED-lights in its logo, which is adjustable via the driver software. You can adjust the color of the logo to better match your setup. See More

Specs

Release Date:May 27th, 2016

Memory Size:8 GB

Memory Type:GDDR5X

Memory Clock:1251 MHz

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66 43

score 7 · Answer 6

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW GAMING ACX 3.0

Top Pro

Good value for money

At $649, it's on the cheaper side as far as 1080 graphics cards go. While not really excelling at anything, it has no serious drawbacks either. Making it a good card for people who want a compromise between price and performance. See More

Top Con

Issues with cooling

Some people have problems with cooling, where the GPU needs a thermal kit from EVGA. See More

Top Pro

Compact

With a length of 267mm and height of 128mm, the GTX 1080 FTW is one of the most compact 1080 cards available. See More

Top Pro

Lots of headroom to overclock and tweak

The FTW ACX 3.0 leaves a lot of room for tweaking. You can overclock for up to +147MHz Core and +176MHz Memory before starting to lose on either core or memory speed. See More

Specs

3DMark Score (Firestrike):17979

FPS Total War: Warhammer (2560x1440):85min, 90avg

FPS Fallout 4 (1920x1080):108min, 134avg

7 6

score 98 · Answer 7

ZOTAC GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme

Top Pro

Overclocked out of the box

Both the GPU and memory clocks are slightly overclocked out of the box. This provides excellent performance without having to do much tweaking. See More

Top Con

Large and heavy

The 1080 AMP Extreme has a metal shroud with a strong and thick metal backplate. Because of this, it's quite large and heavy. See More

Top Pro

Very quiet

The AMP! Extreme is probably one of the quietest cards in this category. Idle noise level is a bit hard to calculate in this case since for temperatures under 60 degrees C the fans are off, but under very light load which pushes the card to about 60 degrees C it reached a noise level of about 33dBA, comparable to the idle noise level of most 1080 cards. Under heavy load however, it registered a noise level of 38dBA, the lowest in this comparison. See More

Top Con

Very little room for tweaking

Since it's already overclocked out of the box, there's very little room for users to get some more performance out of the card. See More

Top Pro

Excellent performance-price ratio

Performance-wise, the ZOTAC GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme achieved a 3DMark Score (Firestrike) of 19410 with minimal FPS never dropping below 86 with averages of 157.25 for FHD and 109.5 for WQHD. At a price of $639.99, which is an average price for 1080 graphics cards and numbers that usually top benchmark charts, the ZOTAC GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme offers great value for what you will be paying. See More

Top Pro

Great cooling capabilities

The 1080 AMP Extreme is equiped with three 90mm dual-bladed EKO fans, which according to Zotac increase the airflow by 30% and increase the air pressure by 15%. Furthermore, the fans are equipped on top of a heatsink with six variably configured heatpipes which greatly increases the heat extraction off the card. Or at least, that's what Zotac claims. When idle, it does not surpass the threshold of 33 degrees C and even under heavy load it reached peak temperatures of 73 degrees C, well below the 80 degrees C set by the GTX 1080 Founders Edition. See More

Top Pro

Easy to install

Only takes 5 mins to install. See More

Top Pro

Generous warranty

Zotac offers a five years long warranty for this card. That's quite long for most electronics equipment, not only graphics cards. See More

Specs

3DMark Score (Firestrike):20312

FPS Total War: Warhammer (2560x1440):92min, 109.5avg

FPS Hitman (1920x1080):86min, 157.25avg

IDLE Noise Level (in DBa):33

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98 88

score 15 · Answer 8

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming

Top Pro

Can easily fit in any chassis

At roughly 28cm in length, it has a pretty compact body and can fit without any trouble in any decent chassis. See More

Top Con

Can trap heat

The 1080 G1 Gaming has a metal back-plate which covers the back of the card. However, it does not have any ventilation gaps or holes. This can easily create issues with heat being trapped inside the card. See More

Top Pro

High clock speed out of the box

Without overclocking it performs very well in full HD and 2k. See More

Specs

3DMark Score (Firestrike):17783

FPS Total War: Warhammer (2560x1440):84min; 89avg

FPS Fallout 4 (1920x1080):107min, 133avg

FPS Hitman (1920x1080):78min, 124avg

See All Specs

15 17