When comparing GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Premium Pack vs Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Waterforce, the Slant community recommends GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Premium Pack for most people. In the question“What are the best GTX 1080 cards?” GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Premium Pack is ranked 7th while Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Waterforce is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Premium Pack is:
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](http://techreport.com/review/30362/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1080-xtreme-gaming-graphics-card-reviewed/3), 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.
Specs
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Pros
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cons
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.
Con Not very good looking
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.
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).
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.
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.