Best GTX 1080 Ti Graphics Card in 2022 – GPU Buying Guide
A closer look at today's market, testing and recommending the best GTX 1080 Ti's on offer
The GTX 1080 Ti is one of the most powerful GPUs on the market, and one of the most popular too, despite the recent release of the RTX 2080, RTX 2070 and RTX 2060 cards. It was also our top Nvidia pick for the best GPUs of 2022. This article will go over our picks for top GTX 1080 Ti, after which we’ll dive into the nitty gritty of how the 1080 Ti’s will perform, how they compare to the RTX 2080, and which one will be best for your needs.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into it!
Our Top Picks
Best GTX 1080 Ti Graphics Card
In-depth Review
EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition
EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition
Let’s get the downsides out of the way first: this card will come at a cost and clearance premium. Not only does it cost a lot of money, but it is massive, massive enough that if you’re using a Micro ATX tower or smaller, I’d seriously recommend double-checking to make sure that this card could actually fit inside your PC case before buying it.
I don’t know why it’s so large, but that space definitely isn’t being wasted, because this card also boasts a huge factory overclock that makes it the fastest 1080 Ti and pretty great cooling performance. If what you want from your GPU is great out of the box performance without you needing to change anything on your own, this is definitely the card for you… arguably the best one.
ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti
ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti
Next up is the ROG STRIX, which is… miraculously not the largest card in this lineup. (When a STRIX card is in a GPU lineup, it’s usually the largest one, thanks to its triple-fan cooler setup.) In this case, that throne has been taken from it by the EVGA GPU.
Unfortunately, the same usual downside still applies here: unless you’re using a big full tower ATX case, you’re going to want to double check to make sure that your build has the clearance necessary for this GPU.
Aside from the price and size, though, the STRIX really comes out strong here. It already has an almost-best factory overclock, and with the superior cooling setup you should actually be able to push this card past the above EVGA’s GPU out-of-box performance… if not farther than that card overall. Depends on your luck with the silicon lottery.
Oh, and it has RGB! If you like to go the extra mile with case lighting, this is definitely the card for you.
ZOTAC GTX 1080 Ti Mini
ZOTAC GTX 1080 Ti Mini
The only real downside of this card is that, due to its small size, you can’t really overclock it much. Even with that downside in mind, though, it should perform on par with the other cards on this list… these are all ultimately 1080 Tis, after all. No amount of overclocking will change the hard limits on the GPU processing cores.
Once you look past that, you have a truly stellar choice for smaller PCs out there. Its factory overclock may provide it a slight performance advantage over the Founders Edition, and its dual fans should ensure it stays reasonably cool, so long as it has room for proper airflow around it. The price of this one should also be lower than the other cards on this list, sans the Founders Edition.
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
Like with the Mini, this one isn’t really suited for overclocking… but you may be able to get a modest overclock out of it. Your mileage may vary.
That nitpick aside, this is likely the cheapest you’re going to find a GTX 1080 Ti, and it comes straight from Nvidia. You can’t get much better than that when it comes to Nvidia GPUs, even if they don’t stuff a bunch of extra features into their cards or slap on extra-efficient coolers.
Also, if you have a more average-sized PC build, this one should actually fit inside of it, which is a great benefit over the ridiculous size of our Performance and Cooling picks.
MSI GAMING GTX 1080 Ti
MSI GAMING GTX 1080 Ti
Last but not least is our balanced pick, which… doesn’t really have any major downsides. That’s the main benefit of being “balanced”. Fluctuating price is the only thing that really hurts this card, so just make sure you aren’t overpaying for it (~$740).
If you aren’t particularly enticed by any of the other picks, this is probably the one for you. Overclocking and cooling should both be just fine, and the factory overclock is actually pretty good, too.
Final Word
Now that we’ve gone through all the best GTX 1080 Ti cards, let’s break down which one is right for you.
- Performance – If you don’t want to mess with overclocking and want the best out-of-box performance, go with the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti.
- Cooling – If you want superb cooling, RGB lighting and good overclocking headroom, go with the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti.
- Low Profile – If you have a smaller PC build and want a card that will actually fit without compromising performance, go with the ZOTAC GTX 1080 Ti Mini.
- Budget – If you want to save as much money as you can while still spending $700 on a GPU… get the GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition.
- Balanced – Last but not least, if you want to balance out the above options, go with the MSI GAMING GTX 1080 Ti. The name may not be very creative, but it offers a good middle road between the other options.
You can check out our GPU Hierarchy right here.
And that’s it! Comment below and let us know if you need any assistance. In the meantime, tell us: which 1080 Ti are you going to go for? If you can’t choose which 1080 Ti to buy, then don’t feel bad. We’re personally stuck between the Performance and Cooling models.