GAMING GEAR AWARD
AORUS GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme Edition
RRP : $ 749.99 | Website : www . gigabyte . com
Test Machine
• INTEL Core i7 6900K
• CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM SE 3200 C14
• GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion
• CORSAIR Neutron XTi 480GB
• CORSAIR AX1500i
• Windows 10 x64
• ( F22n BIOS )
With each successive GPU generation , NVIDIA has always seemed to do better not only in adding usable features to their GPUs , but bringing what was previously high end performance right into the main stream . While the pricing has actually gone up for the most part , what we do get for that increased spending is performance that was simply not previously possible at specific price points . A great example of this was the GTX 1060 . Underpowered in comparison to its stable mates , but when viewed purely from a performance perspective ,
30 The OverClocker Issue 41 | 2017 delivered phenomenal performance .
If you ’ re not convinced , then perhaps take a look at the GTX 1080 Ti we have here . It ’ s a $ 749 card which is quite expensive by any measure . However , compare it to what GPU previously held this performance position and the price it was retailing for . Getting this level of performance and perhaps even slightly less , cost a cool $ 1,200 just six months ago . If you wanted anything resembling 4K gaming at the best image quality possible , you had no choice but to pay what is otherwise an obscene amount of money for a graphics card . The same performance ( or better as suggested ) can now be had for as little at $ 689 ( co-incidentally that ’ s a Founders Edition GIGABYTE card ), which is just over half the price . In essence what was available to end users doubled in performance in the space of six months . So yes , these graphics cards are expensive , but if you look at the ecosystem in context you realize just how performance has been increasing at a significantly higher rate than the cost per card .
So given that you can get a GTX 1080 Ti for $ 60 less , exactly what are you paying for here with the AORUS model ? Well that is the question that I had hoped to answer as I was not sure why partners still bother with these custom cards , given that they don ’ t do much to better the overall experience . Well , this particular card hasn ’ t changed my mind , and no card can , but what must not be forgotten is the following . Since all cards we have established are pretty similar if not identical in performance , the differences