10 Reasons Why ROG Strix GTX 1080 is Better

The new Strix GTX 1080 is now available with not only an incredible new design, but layers of innovative technologies that keep the Strix series standing out from the crowd.

Built on Nvidia’s awesome new GP104 GPU with its latest Pascal architecture baked in, and combined with the very latest GDDR5X memory for huge bandwidth with a big 8GB capacity, these foundation features have already made the GTX 1080 break records and lead the pack in gaming performance. The Strix team improves on these core features with four layers of much-have techs: new-styled DirectCU III cooler, Wing-blade fans, FanConnect, Auto-Extreme technology, Aura RGB lighting, VR-friendly HDMI ports and GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster software to back it all.

DirectCU III with Aura RGB

On top of the PCB we’ve got the new DirectCU III cooler with Aura RGB lighting. This lighting will perfectly pair with the latest ROG and Strix motherboards that also features Aura RGB, so you can match up and nail the colors across your build.

Underneath the matte black shroud there’s a huge heatsink of densely packed aluminium fins and thick, chromed copper heatpipes that efficiently draw heat away from the GPU core, keeping it cool.

The DirectCU III has a triple-fan design with 0db tech, so the fans only turn on when things heat up. By combining the huge heatsink with Nvidia’s cool-running Pascal GPU, when you’re doing non-gaming tasks the fans will almost always remain off making your PC truly silent. Fire up a game and the fans will slowly spin up, pushing enough air to keep your GPU clock up but without the noise.

FanConnect

Still, if you prefer more hands-on control there’s two additional ways to keep things cool: firstly, fire up GPU Tweak II and adjust the fan speeds manually to suit your personal preferences; like if you’re heavily overclocking and want to keep temps really low all the time. Secondly, with brand-new ASUS FanConnect tech you can even tie in your case fans to sync directly to your GPU temps! Link up your side-panel or bottom fans to draw in cool air from the outside, and they switch on and speed up only when required to perfectly balance noise and cooling. Simply plug two of your case fans into the 4-pin connectors on the end of the Strix GTX 1080 and you’re ready to rock! ASUS is again thinking about your whole build, not just the one component.

Wing-blade fan design

The Wing-bladed fans are not the first fan designs ASUS has patented: they increase cooling efficacy with a higher static pressure while also retaining a minimum z-height. The three of them combined on the card not only cools the heatsink fins but every component underneath as well, prolonging the lifespan.

 

Cool(er) and Quiet(er)

These features combined has yielded results of 30% cooler than the Nvidia Founders Edition design, helping the Strix maintain its high clock speeds, all the while being 3x quieter as well.

Better Back-up

On the back-side there’s a Strix-styled metal backplate that adds to the premium feel, and also features the Aura RGB lighting. Across the card the Aura RGB can be set to always on, breathing, strobing, color cycling, reacting to music or changing to reflect real-time GPU loading.

 

SAP II Powerrrr

Inside, power hardware has been upgraded to 8+2 phase with Super Alloy Power II components. These include SAP II capacitors, chokes, DrMOS and POSCAPs; yielding longer life, lower temps and iteratively better power efficiency. The card features an 8+6-pin to ensure it always has enough power on tap, even when the overclocks are really pushed.

AUTO-EXTREME Technology

The card is constructed with 100% robotics and automation (termed ASUS’ Auto-Extreme technology), improving the overall quality and reliability from start to finish. And ASUS is still the only company industry-wide to fully automate production of its graphics cards.

Dedicated HDMI port for VR

On the end there’s five outputs: two HDMI 2.0 ports, two DP 1.4 ports and a DVI-D port. This means whether you require DP for a G-SYNC monitor, or twin HDMI 2.0 for a 4K TV and high refresh rate VR, the card is fully gamer and VR-ready.

Overclocked out the box

The Strix GTX 1080 comes in two models, standard and OC; with the OC version clocked to 1,936MHz boost and 1,784MHz stock. The OC mode is over 11% faster than Founders Edition clocks and only a whisker shy of 2GHz, making it around 7% faster games. That magic 2GHz is well within your grasp though – just use GPU Tweak II to turn up the dials a notch!

GPU Tweak II

GPU Tweak II offers the choice of simple to understand UI with pre-set OC, gaming or silent profiles built in, or the option to construct your own. The Gaming Booster button is a one-click performance tweaker that flicks the switch on the Aura RGB visuals, Windows system service tweaking and system memory defragmentation to eek out as much performance as possible from your PC, really maximizing every last game FPS.

Overclockers are expressly catered for in the Professional Mode; with access to fine grained voltage adjustments, VRM clocks and loadline % with separated 2D and 3D modes.

For the Streamers out there, you’ll receive a 1 year free licence of XSplit Gamecaster Premium as well.

What's your favorite Strix GTX 1080 feature? Or what's missing? Let us know in the forums!