Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsIf you can get it for MSRP...it will amaze!
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2016
First off, I would like to say DO NOT buy the Founders Edition GTX 1080 for anything other than the MSRP ($700) There is no reason to, and just wait it out until you are able to get it for the MSRP or look to a different edition. However, having owned it for about a week now and having paid the MSRP I will not just give it a 1 star just for the jacked up prices as others have already done so to ward people away from overspending.
This card is an absolute beast in almost all aspects. I upgraded from an SLI GTX 970 and its outperforming those by far. I play on a 1440p monitor and its absolutely OVERKILL at that resolution. 60+ FPS on all games highest settings, (currently playing Overwatch, Warhammer, Witcher 3, GTA V) The reason I upgraded is because with the two 970 SLI I couldn't take full advantage of my 1440p monitor and I plan on doing future upgrades to 4k as well as a second build.
The Pascal Architecture seems to be a wonderful change. I don't know how it works but while I'm playing games at 1440p max settings, the card flickers between 70-71C after hours of gaming(WHICH IS AWESOME!), and despite playing in a hot room when I want to save money on the electric bill and keep the AC off. I planned to put a water block on it and keep it that much cooler before receiving the card but right now there's no need for it. Playing at the resolutions and settings I'm at. As for 4k I have no personal experience but check out reviewers on youtube. It seems that this card at 4k resolution is playing games such as Doom at the high settings at about 40-55 fp. However the temps with the Founders Edition seem to be into the low-mid 80'sC , at least from what I've read and seen. Still a good look for future video cards.
The temps are also while the GPU is overclocked to 2025Mhz Core clock and 5500 Memory Clock, I may be able to achieve 2.1k Mhz but haven't been able to thus far. The boost clock says into the 1700's Mhz but mine definitely boost into the 1800Mhz on it's own, for those who don't overclock. Which brings me to my next point. 2k+ Mhz, which is pretty awesome and easy to achieve with this card. From what I've read the community is trying to achieve over 2.1Mhz Core clock but even with the custom cooled cards they haven't been able to. (At least from what I've read! I could be wrong as I haven't possibly seen or read everything!) But 2k Mhz is still something to be happy with in my opinion. Again these temps are with these clocks at 1440 p resolution.
The Founders Edition looks beautiful. I like the look but some may be more inclined with a custom cooled card that matches their rig better. This was asked before but being sold from Zotac, the card does not have Zotac logos or colors on it from what I've seen. If it does then it really hidden. The 8pin power connector that came with this Zotac edition was yellow hoever. Not sure if that's the standard or just Zotac. The FE GTX 1080 is only an 8 pin power connector however I haven't seen too much evidence of it being an issue. Also there is a backplate included on the card. At first I was disappointed that it was plastic. However the card is pretty heavy at least compared to my 970s and a metal backplate may have made it heavier.
Now onto the bad. The temps are wonderful on this card (not a high 4k settings) however the fan is LOUD at the higher fan speeds. And I mean L-O-U-D. This doesn't bother me as I usually have my headset on, speakers playing music, and I personally am able to drown the sound out so it doesn't bother me. But for people who this matters to I assure you that it will bother you because again it is LOUD. If this is a big deal to you I'd recommend looking at a custom cooled version of the card.
The biggest issue I had and I've seen on some forums is its compatibility with Windows 10. When I first put the card to use, the PC recognized it, however I kept getting an issue saying that the GPU drivers were not compatible with my version of Windows 10. After a few hours of frustration and research I found that my Windows didn't update to the version 1151 when the update was put out a few months ago. So if you're on Windows 10 you will have to update to that version if you haven't already or the drivers won't work!
At 1080p and 1440p this card is overkill. At 4k this is still a beast from what I've read and seen just worry about the temps. It was worth the price of $700 for me at least. Look to the customed cooled cards if they're available if you want for sure but as far as performance it seems that they perform similarly despite the added cooling. You may even wait for a possible gtx 1080 ti if that comes out this year. Just know you won't go wrong with this card!. Hope this helps someone!
