GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Windforce OC GV-N1080WF3OC-8GD Graphics Cards

this is a first impresion review and not the full thing since i have a slow FX8350 running this beast, until i get my Ryzen 7 1700, i really wont see its full power, that aside, I purchased this card basically because it was the cheapest 1080, since i was already replacing the stock cooler with a EK water block i didnt see the need to get a more pricier one, after removing the block and inspecting the board i found it to be nothing less of a quality refrence design card, the gigabyte cooler was good don't get me wrong but am already setup with big water and have my rig fitted with two 480 rads from my previous build am running this card on a 27" Asus rog 1440p 144hz monitor, and can say that it is a beast of a card, probably the best enthusiast card out there, i don't see the need to go with a 1080TI over this unless you are gaming on a 4k monitor or playing on 1080 ~ 1440p competitive above 100FPS, i get 80 to 144hz on most of my games, which is plenty, very smooth game play, low power draw, and stays much cooler than my previous water cooled R9 280X Crossfire setup, with much more FPS, i will followup my review when i get my hands on a Ryzen 7 1700 or a I7 7700K, am sure this card has much more to offer.

So far so good, this beast can alone run most of todays modern games at 4k 60fps with high settings and AA off or low (which really doesn't make a difference due to the abundance of pixels), games that were released before 2013-2014 will run at 4K with ease.Power Consumption - It only haves an 8 pin conector, i was worried about this but no more, i managed to OC this to 2,114MHz and sustain stable gaming consistently, while OC i up the voltage for a stable functionality. As other 1080s, it consumes 180W, and can go up max to 225W.Temperatures - Right to business, on full load and with overclocked settings, max Temp i've seen is 70C, which is pretty good considering max temp she can handle is 93C, still, always make sure it doesn't go 75C for durability reasons. On idle, fans hover around 30% maintaining 35-40C temperature.Performance - This card slaughters 1080p ultra, slaughters 1440p on ultra too. To achieve 4K 60 FPS, you must tweak and play with the settings. Use MSI afterburner and while playing, check for GPU usage, tweak your settings until you see the GPU usage hovering 85-95% usage which will result on the best image possible she can give you while maintaining solid 60 fps. Keep in mind 4K is lots of pixels so don't worry about sacrificing some settings in order to achieve stable FPS, believe me, it won't make a noticeable difference, go with low or medium Anti-aliasing depending the game, ambient occlusion is the only settings that at 4K really hammers the GPU, this setting is noticeable because it gives the image a better contrast between lights and shadows, but it really depends whether you want more fps and your taste in graphics quality. Be aware that in 4K drops will occur rewardless for the settings you select, to achieve 4K 60FPS on ultra, go with SLI the you won't have to worry about nothing.Things to consider for novice gamers:- Know that you'll need a good CPU that is able to keep up with the GPU demand so you can prevent a bottleneck. I currently use a 6700k OC to 4.4GHz and it reaches 65-70% usage when playing games like Watch Dogs 2 at 4K and Mafia III at 2K, all the other games i've played stay below 50% cpu usage.- If you're aiming for full 4K gaming at highest settings go for SLI ( two 1080s)- Case must have good ventilation and airflow to dissipate heat.- Make sure the card is well attached to mobo's slot, lot of users have complained that their socket was damaged due to GPU weight.- Don't OC GPU unless necessary, given it more unnecessary juice will result on drivers crash and GPU malfunction.- Always monitor your system temperatures when playing at high resolutions.

I'm driving three 27" 1920x1080p monitors via Nvidia's 3D Surround technology and I still get amazing frame rates in all the games I play. This card replaced two GTX970's running in SLI. Not only was it cheaper than the two graphics cards, my PC is now far more stable and less glitchy than when I was running an SLI configuration. Plus, it actually outperforms the SLI setup. It even uses less power.This card comes in a huge box and includes some bits and pieces that I will never use (but the gaming mouse pad is really nice) and the card itself is a monster. If you have a Micro ATX case, check your clearances before ordering this card. I am using a full ATX size case and there is plenty of room in it.As high performance graphics cards go, this one is definitely a Cadillac. With it you will be able to play all the latest games on the highest settings. If you aren't looking for bleeding edge performance (that will also bleed your wallet dry) try the GTX1070 or even the GTX1060. However, if you want to do some future-proofing in your PC, this is probably the best bang for the buck.

I was skeptical to buy this water-cooled 1080 after everything I researched and seen about the pump noise. Well, let me put you at ease. I bought TWO of these cards and boy am I glad I did! That water-cooling is DEFINITELY noticeable! I have these bad boys in a SLI setup overclocked to 2100mhz and they do not go over 50-55c, mostly 50c. They perform AMAZINGLY and the fans for the radiators are not that loud, nor is the pump. And that's coming from me, a guy that games with them overclocked AND my side panel to my case is off and I hardly wear a headset. Its not really that noticeable.The only thing I don't really like is the hoses are made of PET tubing I believe, thus not as durable as rubber hoses, for example. They're VERY flexible, so be careful on installation not to bend them too much or anything like that so you don't damage them. Other than that, I'm extremely pleased!Highly recommend this model!UPDATE: 5/13/2017One, maybe both of them(Im not sure yet) are starting to make a sand noise, almost like the noise an old HDD makes. As I dont wear a headset, this noise to me, is very noticeable and bothersome. Thinking about doing an RMA.