Launched in March 2017, the GTX 1080 Ti was NVIDIA’s flagship card of its time, built on the Pascal architecture with 11GB of GDDR5X memory, 3,584 CUDA cores, and a 352-bit memory bus. It was a titan in its heyday, delivering top-tier performance for 4K gaming and setting a high bar for subsequent generations. Fast forward to 2025, and Hardware Unboxed sought to test its mettle against the latest wave of GPUs, all of which leverage cutting-edge architectures and features like ray tracing, AI upscaling, and improved power efficiency. The results, showcased in their in-depth video analysis, reveal a mix of nostalgia and surprising resilience, tempered by the inevitable march of progress.
The modern lineup starts with the GeForce RTX 4060, released in 2023 as part of NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture. Priced around $300, it boasts 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, 3,072 CUDA cores, and a TDP of just 115W. It’s designed for 1080p gaming with a boost from DLSS 3, NVIDIA’s AI-driven upscaling tech that enhances frame rates in supported titles. Next up is AMD’s Radeon RX 7600, also a 2023 release from the RDNA 3 family, matching the RTX 4060’s $250-$270 price range. With 8GB of GDDR6 memory, a 128-bit bus, and 2,048 stream processors, it’s a rasterization champ at 1080p, though it leans on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) rather than ray tracing for performance boosts. Rounding out the trio is Intel’s Arc A770, a 2022 debut from the Alchemist lineup, available in a 16GB variant for roughly $300. Packing 4,096 shaders and a 256-bit bus, it’s a dark horse with strong potential, bolstered by Intel’s XeSS upscaling and improving driver support.
Hardware Unboxed put these GPUs through a gauntlet of recent, high-demand games—titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with its ray-tracing overload, Starfield with its vast open worlds, and Baldur’s Gate 3 with its dense RPG visuals. At 1080p, the GTX 1080 Ti showed it can still hang with the big dogs, often delivering playable frame rates in the 40-60 FPS range on high settings. For instance, in Cyberpunk 2077 without ray tracing, it averaged around 45 FPS, a testament to its raw horsepower. However, the RTX 4060 pulled ahead with 60-70 FPS, thanks to DLSS 3, while the RX 7600 hit similar numbers with FSR, and the A770 edged out a slight lead with XeSS and its beefier VRAM. At 1440p, the gap widened | the GTX 1080 Ti dipped to 30-40 FPS in demanding scenes, while the RTX 4060 and A770 pushed 50-60 FPS, and the RX 7600 stayed competitive at 45-55 FPS.
The benchmarks highlight key differences. The GTX 1080 Ti’s 11GB VRAM gives it an edge over the 8GB cards in memory-hungry titles at 2K, avoiding the stutters that plague the RTX 4060 and RX 7600 when textures max out. Yet, it lacks modern features like ray tracing and DLSS, putting it at a disadvantage in games like Cyberpunk 2077 with RT Ultra settings, where it couldn’t compete with the RTX 4060’s 40 FPS (versus the GTX’s unplayable sub-20 FPS). The A770, with 16GB and ray tracing support, often outpaced both NVIDIA and AMD at 1440p, averaging 10-15% higher FPS in RT scenarios, while the RX 7600 leaned on its rasterization strength to keep pace in non-RT games.
Average values in 1080p and 2K:
In conclusion, the GTX 1080 Ti stands out remarkably. Despite being an older model, it still supports all the latest games effectively.
