ASUS GTX 1080 8GB ROG Strix Graphics Card (STRIX-GTX1080-A8G-GAMING)

I purchased the boost clock 1835 MHz version of this graphics card and could not be happier with my purchase. I will not have to upgrade my card for a very, very long time. I currently have a Ryzen 5 1600 cpu with 16GB 3200 DDR4 RAM to go with the gpu.

Pros:
– (Cooling) The cooling on this thing is amazing. I have an open case with good airflow, but had issues with cooling on my previous card. Even running a full stress test, this thing never got over 78 C. It usually runs about 65C – 70C in most games on Ultra settings.
– (Noise) Even with the amazing cooling, this thing runs very quiet compared to other cards I’ve used. It’s slightly audible when not using headphones, but even then it’s barely a distraction. My tower sits right next to me and I’m very happy with the noise level of the fans, even when they’re running high speed.
– (Drivers and RGB) The drivers are incredibly easy to download and the software to change the RGB is very easy to use. The lighting on this unit looks beautiful and you can even customize it to change and react to audio playing on your computer. I have an RGB build and this was a fantastic addition to my build.
– (Performance) I cannot be happier with the performance of this gpu. There’s a reason it’s such a popular card: this thing is a BEAST. I play games like the Witcher 3 and Overwatch on Ultra settings (1440/144Hz) and have never dipped under 60FPS. In Overwatch, I average ~200 FPS and the Witcher ~80 FPS. I plan to overclock the card later, so this is with base clock.

Cons:
– (Price) Currently while writing this review we are amidst the cryptocurrency mining hype, and gpus are both hard to find and incredibly expensive as a result. I luckily purchased mine before Amazon went out of stock, but I would not pay more than $600 for this card. I’ve seen it as high as $780 and that is honestly just a ridiculous price. If it’s that high, be patient. For that price you may as well invest in a 1080ti.

I have attached photos of my build so you can see the RGB of the card, and will post performance benchmarks later.

I am not the biggest gamer that ever lived, but I recently bought the HTC Vive virtual reality system, and I wanted a video card that could handle that, and whatever other games I wanted, so I wouldn’t have to update to a new card in a year or less. I looked at other cards, and this card was better than 2 of the next best cards, but priced at less than 2x the price. So, the choice was obvious: Buy two competing cards, spending more money, getting less performance, or buying this card.

I run all my games on a 4K UHD monitor, and I use the highest settings. I have never seen a visible lag, or pixilation, it is just flawless. As for the virtual reality, it is amazing, with this card there is no comprehensible lag between motion and update on the display. It is so incredibly immersive. I have to assume this card has a lot to do with just how great this experience is. If you are considering getting the Titan, or this, get THIS. If you ever need a little boost then you buy a second 1080, and put it in SLI mode. The two 1080’s are still cheaper than the Titan, and I guarantee you that this is the only card you will need for a while. With DDR4 memory, 4Ghz CPU, M.2 HDD, and this card there is nothing this machine cannot do. You can enable every setting, to the max, 4K resolution, and this card just happily takes it. The STRIX supports overclocking via their app, so you can squeeze out a little more if you need it, but I seriously doubt you will need if for quite a while.

I have played with the app, it lets you overclock as you want, and it lets you set the fan thresholds, and colors, etc. I tried overclocking a bit, and it worked just fine, but I haven’t found a game that it couldn’t handle without overclocking, so I don’t bother to actually use it. You can create different profiles, so you can easily turn on or off the overclocking. I set the fan to be quiet, but I don’t set it at the 0db setting. I prefer a little fan noise and keeping my card nice and cool. However, in the case that I have I cannot hear the fan, so it really doesn’t matter.

I set the colors to match the motherboard, case, keyboard and mouse. Now my computer looks like a work of art. It is something I display proudly as it is just so friggin cool.

The specs speak for themselves. 8GB of VRAM is impressive, especially that it is GDDR5, running at 1,825Mhz at 256-bits in width. That is a sick memory throughput. The new Titan is the only card that I know of that can beat this one in compute power, but it is not as good for gaming as this. The number of CUDA cores is staggering, something like 2560+. This video card is a true supercomputer in and of itself. But, it plays games like they’re nothing. It just works, on the highest setting, at 4K resolution, or in Vive VR, and it doesn’t even get hot. It usually runs like 40-50C at the most when playing the most taxing games. Keeping it nice and cool will ensure a long life span.

I don’t know what else I can say. If you want to play the newest and best games, this is the card for you. Whether you are a true overclocker, or just want to drop in the card and forget it, this is the card for you. If you have a fancy machine, with LED lighting, and an open side panel, this is the card for you. I had originally bought the reference model of the 1080, but I changed to the ROG version for the better fans, and more sturdy heat sink.

Another great feature is the number of video ports this has. It has 2 UHD HDMI ports, two full sized display port ports and a DVI port. I use one of the DP with my HTC Vive, and one of the HDMI with my Samsung 28″ 4K UHD monitor.

Pros: Incredible performance, as good or better than 2 of the next best cards. Supports SLI for 2 or three cards. Has 8GB of GDDR5 memory, and over 300 CUDA core. Plays the newest games in 4K UHD with >60fps and never lags or stutters. 2 HDMI and one DP for multiple monitors, or VR. Works perfect with HTC Vive.

Cons: It is a bit pricey. But, when you figure you would need to of the next best card to compete, it is really not that bad.

Excellent Product. Great cooling, RBG lighting is a nice touch. Fantastic performance. Installation is a breeze, updating the display drivers was simple, nVidia background processes leave a much smaller footprint on PC memory than the AMD equivalent – definitely worth upgrading AWAY from Radeon and going the GeForce route.