A Closer Look

NVIDIA's new thermal solution cools all components: GPU, memory chips, and voltage regulation circuitry. For the GPU, a vapo-chamber baseplate is used to soak up the heat quickly.


As mentioned before, NVIDIA has updated their backplate design to be thinner than ever, providing more airflow to the second card in an SLI configuration. Should you want to improve airflow even more, the backplate is now made up of two separately removable pieces, and you will not have to remove the main cooler. The pictures above show the removal of each of these pieces. The backplate on top of the GPU has three thermal pads that cover some thicker components for short-circuit protection.


With the GeForce GTX 1080, NVIDIA is using a single 8-pin power connector for the first time. While providing the same power as two 6-pins, it simplifies installation and cable routing. This input configuration is specified for up to 225 watts of power draw.


In order to disassemble the card, you have to remove these tiny screws; no they are not nuts since the hole inside is threaded so the screws used to attach the backplate can go in. Without the right tool, these are incredibly difficult to remove. I used pliers, and one slip could mean a dead card. I've reviewed hundred of cards before, and this is the first time I felt like a bomb defusal technician.


NVIDIA is introducing a new voltage controller by uPI, the uP 9511P. It's the first time I see this model, so I don't know what features it provides.


The GDDR5X memory chips are made by Micron and are marked with "Z9TXT," which decodes to MT58K256M32JA-100. They are specified to run at 1250 MHz (10,000 MHz GDDR5X effective). Read more about GDDR5X, which basically doubles available bandwidth over GDDR5, on the previous Architecture and GeForce Pascal Features pages.


NVIDIA's GP104 graphics processor is the first consumer chip using the Pascal architecture. It is produced on a 16 nm process at TSMC, Taiwan, with a transistor count of 7.1 billion and a die size of 314 mm².