NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti shootout: The fastest cards money can buy

Introduction

If you’re looking to game at 4K, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the card to get. The Founders Edition card is an actual beast, and its die-cast aluminum body and faceted design is to die for. However, if you're looking for extra performance or want to put together a color-coordinated build, you've probably set your sights on a custom card.

These cards take things up another notch with aggressive factory overclocks, hulking coolers, and dazzling LEDs. There are a ton of them, with multiple brands and a sprawling selection of different models from each vendor. So even if you decided to go all out and get NVIDIA's flagship card, you'll then have to face down a multitude of options that are all vying for your money with attractive designs and some unique selling point such as extra fan headers or display connectors. 

They're all based on the same GP102 GPU, so you're already assured of stellar performance. Instead, it comes down to your individual requirements and preferences, and of course, how well the different vendors implement their custom designs. 

Details matter, and you'll want to have done your research before settling on a decision. 

To help you along, we've rounded up flagship cards from ASUS, GALAX, Gigabyte, MSI, Palit, and Zotac and pit them against one another to see who does it best. GALAX is actually a new entrant to the local market, so you have even more choices this time around. 

Test cards compared

	ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti OC	GALAX GeForce GTX 1080 Ti HOF	Gigabyte Aorus GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme Edition 11G	MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G	Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GameRock Premium Edition	Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP Extreme
Launch SRP	From S$1349	From S$1349	From S$1290	From S$1279	From S$1258	From S$1279
Core Code	GP102	GP102	GP102	GP102	GP102	GP102
GPU Transistor Count	12 billion	12 billion	12 billion	12 billion	12 billion	12 billion
Manufacturing Process	16nm	16nm	16nm	16nm	16nm	16nm
Core Clock	1,594MHz (Boost: 1,708MHz) (OC Mode) 1,569MHz (Boost: 1,683MHz) (Gaming Mode)	1,569MHz (Boost: 1,683MHz)	1,632MHz (Boost: 1,746MHz) (OC Mode) 1,607MHz (Boost: 1,721MHz) (Gaming Mode)	1,569MHz (Boost: 1,683MHz) (OC Mode) 1,544MHz (Boost: 1,657MHz) (Gaming Mode)	1,594MHz (Boost: 1,708MHz) (OC Mode) 1,556MHz (Boost: 1,670MHz) (Gaming Mode)	1,645MHz (Boost: 1,759MHz)
Stream Processors	3584	3584	3584	3584	3584	3584
Stream Processor Clock	1,594MHz	1,569MHz	1,632MHz	1,569MHz	1,594MHz	1,645MHz
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs)	224	224	224	224	224	224
Raster Operator units (ROP)	88	88	88	88	88	88
Memory Clock (DDR)	11,100MHz (OC Mode) 11,010MHz (Gaming Mode)	11,000MHz	11,448MHz (OC Mode) 11,232MHz (Gaming Mode)	11,124MHz (OC Mode) 11,016MHz (Gaming Mode)	11,000MHz	11,200MHz
Memory Bus width	352-bit	352-bit	352-bit	352-bit	352-bit	352-bit
Memory Bandwidth	484.4 GB/s	484.4 GB/s	494.2 GB/s	484.4 GB/s	484.4 GB/s	492.8 GB/s
PCI Express Interface	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 3.0
Power Connectors	2 x 8-pin	3 x 8-pin	2 x 8-pin	2x 8-pin	2x 8-pin	2x 8-pin
Multi GPU Technology	SLI	SLI	SLI	SLI	SLI	SLI
DVI Outputs	1	1	1	1	1	1
HDMI Outputs	2	1	3	2	2	2
DisplayPort Outputs	2	3	3	2	2	2
HDCP Output Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes