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GTX 1080 Price, Specs & Release Date: 5 Things You Need To Know Before Buying It

By Brian McNeill | Update Date: May 28, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

NVIDIA has unveiled a new powerful graphics card (GPU) with the GTX 1080, something touted to be even better than the company’s previous high end card in the Titan X.

The new GPU is something based on the new Pascal architecture, NVIDIA’s new star following the Maxwell architecture that was used in the 900 series. The GTX 1080 will be the first of its kind as it comes armed with 8 GB of G5X video memory that makes it the fastest GDDR memory ever.

What exactly are these facts that one has to get straight before getting the NVIDIA GTX 1080?

1. Lots of performance Gains while also being power efficient.
This is technically a no-brainer. With the new Pascal architecture, it is obvious that graphical rendition is placed up a notch. Standard display quality will be improved but what makes it an interesting buy is the fact that its possibilities reach as far as the virtual reality niche – meaning better resolution graphics in VR environments.

2. Performance by the watt
Powerful and efficient, the performance expected from the GTX 1080 is no doubt high. And to do that, the GPU does the trick by covering making each watt count. The GTX 1080 is something that will do the trick via a single power connector which will be behind the proper management of, at most, 180W of power.

3. Pushing with overclocking welcome
As it is, the GTX 1080 already offers tons of improvement. But for the people who want to get the most out of it, expect overclocking to be considered. The GPU can be pushed a bit further without worrying about overheating. The default 1733MHz frequency was pushed to 2114MHz during the NVIDIA launch event which didn’t even need the aid of an out of the box air-cooled heatsink.

4. GTX 1080 offers better 3D experience
While improved graphics is been so far limited to the gaming niche, the GTX 1080 can go as far as working in hand with 3D apps. NVIDIA has one interesting app called Ansel, a virtual camera that can be triggered inside 3D apps.

This renders added features where the app is frozen after which users can move the camera around and capture ultra-high resolution shots in 2D, 360-degrees, or VR for sharing. Again, this has something to do with the virtual reality boom.

5. Pricing, alternatives and availability
With the massive step, the first thing that comes to mind is how much the GTX 1080 will cost. Being a high-end graphics card, the NVIDIA GTX 1080 will cost about $600 - a steep price which may limit it to the ones looking for the best quality GPU in the market.

Alternatively, folks can turn to another GPU that was unveiled alongside of it in the GTX 1070 for $380. The lower variant is still faster than the Titan X though there will be some features that will be lowered compared to the GTX 1080.

A “Founders Edition” of the GTX 1080 will be available by May 27 via leading graphics cards manufacturers along with some custom boards.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition graphics card will carry a price of about $699 while the custom boards cost about $599.

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