GTX 1080s: Testing a Legend

By Nikolas H. | LTT Labs

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A Glimpse Back to 2017

The year 2017 was a landmark era for science and tech. We witnessed the Cassini probe's final plunge into Saturn, the detection of gravitational waves via LIGO and Virgo, and a massive surge in Bitcoin's value as it climbed from under $1,000. Simultaneously, the PC hardware market was undergoing a seismic shift.

AMD attempted to erase the memory of the Bulldozer architecture by launching the Zen architecture. This debut brought the AM4 socket, a fresh set of chipsets, and the powerhouse Ryzen 7 1800X.

Intel was forced to react, leading to the creation of the legendary Core i7-8700K. This chip was significant as it broke Intel's long-standing preference for four-core consumer CPUs, though its 6-core/12-thread configuration still trailed AMD's 8-core/16-thread offering.

The Legacy of Choice

• Team Red (AM4): Users gained a platform with incredible longevity. Remarkably, a modern 5800X3D can still fit into the same motherboard as an 1800X (provided you update the BIOS).
• Team Blue: Users received a processor so capable it often extended the typical PC upgrade cycle by several years.

The GPU landscape was equally vibrant. While AMD's RX 570 and 580 were strong contenders, NVIDIA's Pascal family dominated. The GTX 1060 became the gold standard for value, while the GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 Ti stood as the undisputed kings of gaming performance.

"The GTX 1080 Ti is widely regarded as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), but does it still hold up?"

Fast forward to 2026—an era defined by Large Language Models and ubiquitous Ray Tracing. Is it finally time for the 1080 Ti to retire? We put both the 1080 and 1080 Ti to the test to find out.

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Back In Time: Period-Correct Testing

To establish a baseline, we raided our archives to build two authentic 2017-era test benches.

The Build Checklist

• Intel Bench: ASUS Z370 / i7-8700K
• AMD Bench: ASRock X370 / Ryzen 7 1800X
• Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 (Both)
• Memory: G.Skill RipJaws V 3200 MHz (Both)
• Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB (Both)
• PSU: Seasonic Prime TX-1300 (Overkill, but already installed)

Hardware Comparison Table

For software, we skipped the 2017 OS and used the latest Windows 25H2 build, paired with the most recent compatible driver: 582.53.

The Results

Across seven different games, the i7-8700K technically outperformed the 1800X, though the margin was slim. Clear victories for Intel were only seen in The Last of Us: Part 1 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. In most other titles, the performance was essentially a draw.

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Back To The Future: Modern CPU Pairing

We wondered if a modern CPU—specifically the Ryzen 7 7800X3D with its massive 3D V-Cache—could breathe new life into these Pascal GPUs.

Unfortunately, the results were sobering. At 1080p, we hoped to be CPU-bound, which would have allowed the GPUs to stretch their legs. Instead, we found that we were already GPU-bound. The 7800X3D provided no significant boost to the 1080 series.

The Silver Lining: These tests were conducted with maximum graphics settings. This represents the absolute worst-case scenario. By lowering settings, these decade-old cards can still achieve the target: $\text{Performance} \approx 60 \text{ FPS @ 1080p}$

While not every game hits this mark, the experience is surprisingly viable.

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GTX in an RTX World

The transition from "GTX" to "RTX" began with NVIDIA's Turing (20-series) architecture. This introduced Ray Tracing, a technology that promised a revolution in lighting and reflections. While it took several generations to become mainstream, it is now a requirement for titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Technical Specification Comparison

Note: CUDA core counts are not directly comparable across different architectural generations.

As we continue our reviews, we ensure all components are tested with the most current drivers and game patches to provide the most accurate data.

# Mock-up of a performance check script
def check_gpu_viability(fps, target=60):
    if fps >= target:
        return "Still Legend Status"
    else:
        return "Time to Upgrade"

print(check_gpu_viability(62)) # Output: Still Legend Status