Last May 6, NVIDIA announced its latest graphics card sporting the new Pascal architecture and the gaming community is in awe at the reveal as NVIDIA is touting remarkable performance as well as incredible new technologies to help gamers not only experience new content but create them as well. In this article we’ll break down the new cards in detail as well as the other announcements mentioned during the release and hopefully by the end of this article you’ll have a deeper understanding of the new GTX 1080 and GTX 1070, Ansel software and should you upgrade to this new generation and sell off your Maxwell cards.
The GeForce GTX 1080
The new GeForce GTX 1080 sports NVIDIA’s new Pascal GPU architecture but besides the new GPU, NVIDIA also boasts the 5 new marvels of Pascal for the gaming front which includes the following:
- Architechture
- 16nm FinFET
- GDDR5X
- Craftsmanship
- Simultaneous multi-projection
NVIDIA highlights those 5 key points by going into detail about Pascal’s new architecture, its transition to the 16nm FinFET fabrication process, the usage of GDD5X, superior craftsmanship in the design and creation of the new card and a new technology which is simultaneous multi-projection. Now before we go into more detail into each of those, I’d like to state that we won’t discuss much of the technical details behind the new GPU but we’ll mention key specs like core count and power consumption to gauge where we are now in terms of technological advancements.
NVIDIA’s new Pascal architecture is a remarkable engineering feat and something which has enabled the company to roll-out numerous technologies for various industries like deep-learning and super-computing but as a GPU company, NVIDIA is still regarded as a gaming company and the release of the much anticipated GTX 1000-series graphics cards is something that drives the industry further as it presents new possibilities for gaming content. That said, NVIDIA announced the new GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 during their recent event putting to rest numerous rumors on naming and specifications but what we’re really interested in are the new technology it brings. Starting off with the new GPU, the Pascal based GP104 GTX 1080 sports 2560 CUDA cores running 1607Mhz and has a Boost clock of 1733Mhz. The card will come with 8GB of GDDR5X memory clocked in at 2500Mhz. The GTX 1080 boasts the highest clock rates ever seen on a GPU to date in comparison to last-generation’s models which came in around 1000Mhz. In one of NVIDIA’s demos, the GTX 1080 was shown to reach an overclock of well over 2000Mhz under the new reference cooler and was hovering around 67*C.
The new Pascal GPUs will natively support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.5. Display options include three DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0b, and one Dual-Link DVI connector. The reference GTX 1080 is powered off a single PCI-e power connector and is rated for 180W. NVIDIA designs a new SLI connector dubbed SLI HB (high-bandwidth) which uses both SLI fingers for maximum bandwidth utilization.
Price for the GTX 1080 is announced at $699 for the Founder’s Edition and will have an MSRP from most AIB starting at $599. The GTX 1080 will be available May 27, 2016.
Full details will be revealed for the GTX 1070 closer to its launch at June 10, 2016. Price for the GTX 1070 Founder’s Edition is $449. AIB prices will start at $379.
FOUNDER’S EDITION: This is the reference edition of the GTX 1080 and GTX 1070. I repeat, the reference card is called the Founder’s Edition. There is no special edition reference GTX 1080 and GTX 1070.
GTX 1080 Performance
While there are a couple benchmarks out there right now for the GTX 1080, we’ll save our opinion until we receive our sample soon. Still, NVIDIA states that the GTX 1080 is faster than a GTX 980 SLI config or even twice as fast as a Titan X.
In the image above from NVIDIA’s GTX 1080 product page, the GTX 1080 is compared to a GTX 980 with the former shown to have 80% more performance than a GTX 980 in The Witcher III, around 90% more in Rise of the Tomb Raider and nearly 200% more in virtual reality applications. While that in itself is exciting and promising, it is best to reserve judgement until benchmarks from credible review sites surfaces. Still, NVIDIA isn’t known for inflating their own marketing numbers but as the chart shows above versus the presentation, this is not a Titan X vs GTX 1080 comparison but still, this is a good start and will serve as a nice baseline on what upgraders can look forward to when the generation of cards finally roll-0ut.
Simultaneous Multi-Projection
This technology has been around since Maxwell but NVIDIA has refined the technology further to increase performance and offer a more efficient way of handling more complex display scenarios. Traditionally, surround displays are rendered as flat planes and are display onscreen as such which gives us a rather unnatural field of view. The same can be said for curved displays. NVIDIA corrects this via the new Pascal GPUs by allowing a better method of adjusting the output image display via simultaneous multi-projection. Another use of the technology is to save up on processing power wherein developers can opt to render images outside of the visual focus area of the user to increase performance.
An example of this is from Obduction, a game from the creators of Myst, and is one of the new games using this technology. What Obduction does is it can run in 4K UltraHD but render the outer images on the display at 1080p increasing performance from the GTX 1080. This does create visual downgrade from full 4K but is barely noticeable unless you’re pixel-peeping.
Introducing Ansel
User-generated content is one of the growing trends in gaming right now but streaming and game footage aside, in-game photography and movies created using gameplay footage have been reserved for professionals and specialists who have access and skills in the tools required in this artform. NVIDIA wants to change that by allowing end-users and gamers to create highly-personalized images and footage from games using Ansel: a tool and API coming soon to games featuring the following key capabilities to help you capture in-game moments like never before:
- Free Camera – Compose your shot anywhere, from any angle.
- Post-Process Filters – Adjust the look and mood of your favorite games.
- EXR Capture – Capture in the highest color spectrum for HDR images.
- Super Resolution – Capture every detail with the highest-resolution images.
- 360 Capture – Snap 360-degree panorama images in mono or stereo.
Ansel’s feature set lets players capture image in-game freely without being limited to the current player view. With Ansel, players can rotate the camera and focus on any detail of the current scene to allow maximum creativity in creating that perfect in-game capture. Filters are also available just to set the mood basically allowing you to create Instagram-ish posts straight from any game at the best quality possible. Ansel allows EXR capture for maximum color spectrum for use in Photoshop or other photo-editing software that support the format.
Basically Ansel gives end-users and content creators a level of control unlike anything we’ve had before. Free control over perspective, resolution and quality to provide you with the image to create stunning in-game photography and motion videos from games that support it.
Ansel enables amazing in-game screenshot captures by providing game developers with new NVIDIA driver APIs using GeForce® GTX GPUs. Game support for Ansel is coming soon, and will include titles such as The Witcher 3, No Man’s Sky, The Witness, and more. Ansel will also be supported by all GTX 600 cards onwards.
The Burning Question: Should I Upgrade
Obviously the question in everyone’s mind right now is should they upgrade. Regardless if you’re coming from NVIDIA or AMD, its not as straightforward a question to answer as say a hard-drive upgrade wherein you need more space, you get it. In GPU terms, its always about performance and while NVIDIA may push new technologies and experiences, these may ultimately not be your thing. For example, any eSports enthusiast just looking for a rig to play DOTA2 or League of Legends in will be fine running a GTX 950 and i3 6100 combination (check our benchmarking guide and build guide for reference) but for the most part, these new high-end cards are meant to take-on new game releases and without those, the value of these cards really only exist on the benchmark satisfaction you’ll have UNLESS you’re into 4K UltraHD gaming and want to max everything as much as possible or want to enjoy VR content to their fullest. At this stage though, 4K gaming hasn’t really reach maturity as performance and prices of UHD screen continue to become a challenge to its adoption not to mention the performance requirement 4K gaming requires. Still, price is the only consideration here because the GTX 1080, from what NVIDIA shows us, is nothing short of remarkable as an upgrade. Should NVIDIA ever consider creating a 1080 Ti or the eventual Titan equivalent, that would be the only rival to this card right now unless AMD comes out with a worthy competition.
…the value of these cards really only exist from your own benchmark satisfaction
So should you upgrade? Simple answer: yes. If you can afford it, by all means get it. The power efficiency alone should give you enough reason to use this card which allows you to max everything in in 1080p and 1440p at just 180w of power draw.
Long answer: It depends. While US customers may enjoy the $599 SRP of the GTX 1080, Philippine pricing for this card will vary based on exchange rate, shipping cost and customs duties. With the US being a primary market for NVIDIA, depending on the volume they will release, supplies may limit availability of these cards in some regions also making them highly sought-after thus may affect pricing. So ultimately, if you’re in a non-US region particularly in the Philippines, its still a pricing and availability issue but on a whole other level due to other factors.
I highly practice the “only buy it if you need it” philosophy and in my situation, I’m running a GTX 980 Ti. I can easily run games in 1080p 120hz which is my preferred resolution but I do occasionally revel at games in 4K UltraHD in my 4K TV. That said, I mostly play competitive so responsiveness is far more important in my case so a GTX 980 Ti is highly sufficient for me. But I do also appreciate very efficient component and the GTX 1080 is a good example of a highly efficient GPU, which could swing my opinion in its favor.
As you can see, its a tough call if you’re strapped for cash and we highly urge more cautious buyers to wait until official reviews (our included) of the new cards to surface before considering… or you can start working overtime or taking part-time jobs to fund that upgrade.
NVIDIA today announced the NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 — the first gaming GPU based on the company’s new Pascal™ architecture — providing up to 2x more performance in virtual reality compared to the GeForce GTX TITAN X.1
Pascal offers massive leaps in performance, memory bandwidth and power efficiency over its predecessor, the high-performance Maxwell™ architecture. And it introduces groundbreaking graphics features and technologies that redefine the PC as the ultimate platform for playing AAA games and enjoying virtual reality.
“The PC is the world’s favorite gaming platform, and our new Pascal GPU architecture will take it to new heights,” said Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of NVIDIA’s PC business. “Our first Pascal gaming GPU, the GeForce GTX 1080, enables incredible realism in gaming and deeply immersive VR experiences, with dramatically improved performance and efficiency. It’s the most powerful gaming GPU ever built, and some of our finest work.”
Five Marvels of Pascal
NVIDIA engineered the Pascal architecture to handle the massive computing demands of technologies like VR. It incorporates five transformational technologies:
- Next-Gen GPU Architecture. Pascal is optimized for performance per watt. The GTX 1080 is 3x more power efficient than the Maxwell Architecture.
- 16nm FinFET Process. The GTX 1080 is the first gaming GPUs designed for the 16nm FinFET process, which uses smaller, faster transistors that can be packed together more densely. Its 7.2 billion transistors deliver a dramatic increase in performance and efficiency.
- Advanced Memory. Pascal-based GPUs are the first to harness the power of 8GB of Micron’s GDDR5X memory. The 256-bit memory interface runs at 10Gb/sec., helping to drive 1.7x higher effective memory bandwidth than that delivered by regular GDDR5.
- Superb Craftsmanship. Increases in bandwidth and power efficiency allow the GTX 1080 to run at clock speeds never before possible — over 1700 MHz — while consuming only 180 watts of power. New asynchronous compute advances improve efficiency and gaming performance. And new GPU Boost™ 3 technology supports advanced overclocking functionality.
- Groundbreaking Gaming Technology. NVIDIA is changing the face of gaming from development to play to sharing. New NVIDIA VRWorks™ software features let game developers bring unprecedented immersiveness to gaming environments. NVIDIA’s Ansel™ technology lets gamers share their gaming experiences and explore gaming worlds in new ways.
“We were blown away by the performance and features of the GTX 1080,” said Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games. “We took scenes from our Paragon game cinematics that were designed to be rendered offline, and rendered them in real time on GTX 1080. It’s mind-blowing and we can’t wait to see what developers create with UE4 and GTX 1080 in the world of games, automotive design, or architectural visualization — for both 2D screens and for VR.”
VRWorks: A New Level of Presence for VR
To fully immerse users in virtual worlds, the enhanced NVIDIA VRWorks software development kit offers a never before experienced level of “VR presence.” It combines what users see, hear and touch with the physical behavior of the environment to convince them that their virtual experience is real.
- 2x VR Graphics Performance: VRWorks Graphics now includes a simultaneous multi-projection capability that renders natively to the unique dimensions of VR displays instead of traditional, 2D monitors. It also renders geometry for the left and right eyes simultaneously in a single pass.
- Enveloping Audio: VRWorks Audio uses the NVIDIA OptiX™ ray-tracing engine to trace the path of sounds across an environment in real time, fully reflecting the size, shape and material of the virtual world.
- Interactive Touch and Physics: NVIDIA PhysX® for VR detects when a hand controller interacts with a virtual object, and enables the game engine to provide a physically accurate visual and haptic response. It also models the physical behavior of the virtual world around the user so that all interactions — whether an explosion or a hand splashing through water — behave as if in the real world.
NVIDIA has integrated these technologies into a new VR experience called VR Funhouse.
“GeForce GTX 1080 promises to be the ultimate graphics card for experiencing EVE: Valkyrie,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. “We are looking forward to bringing NVIDIA’s new VRWorks features to Valkyrie to take the game’s visuals and performance to another level.”
Ansel: Capturing the Artistry of Gaming
NVIDIA also announced Ansel, a powerful game capture tool that allows gamers to explore, capture and share the artistry of gaming in ways never before possible.
With Ansel, gamers can compose the gameplay shots they want, pointing the camera in any direction and from any vantage point within a gaming world. They can capture screenshots at up to 32x screen resolution, and then zoom in where they choose without losing fidelity. With photo-filters, they can add effects in real time before taking the perfect shot. And they can capture 360-degree stereo photospheres for viewing in a VR headset or Google Cardboard.
Availability and Pricing
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 “Founders Edition” will be available on May 27 for $699. It will be available from ASUS, Colorful, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, MSI, NVIDIA. Palit, PNY and Zotac. Custom boards from partners will vary by region and pricing is expected to start at $599.
The GeForce GTX 1080 will also be sold in fully configured systems from leading U.S.-based system builders, including AVADirect, Cyberpower, Digital Storm, Falcon Northwest, Geekbox, IBUYPOWER, Maingear, Origin PC, Puget Systems, V3 Gaming and Velocity Micro, as well as system integrators outside North America.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 “Founders Edition” will be available on June 10 for $449. Custom boards from partners are expected to start at $379.
More information on the GeForce GTX 1080 and 1070 is available at www.geforce.com.
Ansel will be available in upcoming releases and patches of games such as Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Witness, Lawbreakers, The Witcher 3, Paragon, No Man’s Sky, Obduction, Fortnite and Unreal Tournament.
9 Comments
I’m sure Nvidia will send you the Founder’s Edition.
Hoping on it but I need to get other brands also just to see what they’re doing for this launch. So far nobody’s teasing on 3rd party coolers yet but I’ll expect 2Ghz GTX 1080 from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI.
I read a news on the net that Zotac has produced their own 1080
Zotac is one of the firsts to rollout a GTX 1080 retail card but its still the Founder’s Edition reference model.
BossMac, any idea kelan magiging available dito sa pinas yung GTX 1060? September daw yung release nabasa ko sa wcf eh. Tsaka ilang % kaya price drop ng mga maxwell 900 series ? 🙂
Market demand magsasabi nyan bro. If dama ni NVIDIA hindi threat si AMD sa mid-range, they can delay the GTX 1060 for as long as December. Pero realistically speaking, September seems plausible pero I’d bank on October or November.
Sa price naman, don’t expect price drops soon. Mahal ang exchange rate and customs ngayon so kung may price drop man, baka flush out lang ng stocks yun. Acceptable na around 20% drop. So far ang magiging stack nyan is:
GTX1080
GTX980 Ti
GTX1070
GTX 980
GTX 970
GTX 960
GTX 950
Hopefully ung 980 and 970 matatamaan ng price drop ng husto to displace ung current stack so expect those first.
Thankyou BossMac! (Y) More power B2G family ! 🙂
I waited for NVIDIA’s move, might as well wait for AMD’s offer this year haha.
AMD doesn’t need to make Polaris fast. It only needs to make it affordable and competitive.