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ASUS

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

ASUS's GTX 1080 Ti, a 2017-era Pascal flagship with 11GB of GDDR5X, now a refurbished used-market option for budget builds and older games.

In stock11GB GDDR5XPascal architecture3584 CUDA coresNo ray tracingNo DLSS
ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
11GB GDDR5XPascal architecture3584 CUDA coresNo ray tracingNo DLSS
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In stock
£250›

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Our verdictCompare Electronic editors

An ageing Pascal flagship with 11GB of VRAM and strong rasterisation for its era, only worth buying second-hand or refurbished at a low price.

Best price found
£250
30-day low £250 · Average £250
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What we think

Swipe or tap to explore what we like, what to watch for, and who it's for

+

11GB of VRAM was unprecedented

Generous memory pool for a 2017 card, still useful for 1080p gaming in older AAA titles and creator workloads. Won't choke on textures the way 4GB cards from the same era do.

+

Strong 1080p and 1440p rasterisation

Surprisingly capable in older games even today. Plays mid-2010s AAA at 1440p high settings without issue, with esports titles like CS2 and Valorant hitting very high frame rates.

+

Standard 8-pin PCIe power

Uses traditional 8-pin PCIe connectors, no 12VHPWR melting connector worries. Works with any existing PSU that has the required cables, including older builds without modern connectors.

+

ASUS Aura Sync RGB lighting

ASUS's Aura Sync RGB integrates with major motherboard ecosystems for a cohesive look. Nice bonus on a card you're buying for budget reasons but still want to fit a modern aesthetic.

In our testing

The 1080 Ti still handles 1080p high and even 1440p high in older AAA games well, but newer titles increasingly need medium or low settings. Treat it as a budget esports and older-AAA card.

−

No ray tracing, no DLSS

Pre-RTX hardware, so no support for ray tracing or modern Nvidia upscaling. Any game that benefits significantly from DLSS or RT will perform much worse on this card than on modern equivalents.

−

GDDR5X, not modern memory

Older memory standard with significantly lower bandwidth than modern GDDR6X or GDDR7. Adequate for older games but limits performance in newer titles with heavy texture work.

−

End of driver support coming

Nvidia has phased out new game-day optimisation drivers for older Pascal architectures. Cards still get security updates but no longer benefit from the latest game compatibility work, which matters in newer titles.

−

Refurbished condition varies

Refurbished and second-hand 1080 Ti cards have been through years of use, often including mining periods. Check seller history carefully, expect possible thermal pad refresh, and budget for a repaste if temperatures look high.

Worth knowing

Used GPUs from mining-era cards can have worn-out fans or dried thermal pads from heavy 24/7 use. Check seller history carefully, ideally test under load before committing, and budget for a repaste if needed.

Best for

Very tight budget used builds

If you find a refurbished or used 1080 Ti at a genuinely low price (well under £150) and mostly play older games or esports titles at 1080p or 1440p, it's a reasonable temporary solution. Nothing more.

Skip if

Modern AAA gamers or new builders

If you want to play the latest games at decent settings with ray tracing, or you're building new and would otherwise buy a new entry-level card, the 1080 Ti's missing features and ageing drivers will hold you back.

Our take

Only worth considering second-hand or refurbished at a low price as a stopgap. For genuine purchases, even a new RX 7600 or used RTX 3060 typically delivers a far better experience for current games.

How it performs & what it pairs with

Benchmarks against named rivals, plus the build requirements to actually run it

Benchmarks
1080p settings, no ray tracing or upscaling (unsupported)
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p medium, RT off)
ASUS GTX 1080 Ti
62 fps avg
RTX 3060
74 fps avg
RX 7600
90 fps avg
Counter-Strike 2 (1080p high)
ASUS GTX 1080 Ti
240 fps avg
RTX 3060
250 fps avg
RX 7600
280 fps avg
Witcher 3 Next-Gen (1440p high)
ASUS GTX 1080 Ti
72 fps avg
RTX 3060
80 fps avg
RX 7600
96 fps avg
Test bench

Tested with a Ryzen 5 7600, 16GB DDR5-5200, Windows 11 24H2 on a 650W PSU. Stock card clocks, latest available Pascal driver.

Build compatibility
What your PC needs
✓
Power supply
Uses standard 8-pin PCIe connectors. Most quality 600W or higher PSUs will run this card without issue, including older units that lack 12VHPWR support.
✓
Case clearance
Standard dual or triple-fan card depending on the variant. Fits in most mid-tower cases. ASUS Strix and ROG variants of the 1080 Ti are larger and may need more clearance.
✓
Motherboard slot
Standard PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, works on PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 boards too. No performance loss between PCIe versions at this card's bandwidth.
!
Check used or refurb condition
Mining-era cards may have worn fans or thermal pads. Inspect before buying, ideally test under load, and budget for a possible repaste if temperatures look high.
!
Driver support is limited
Nvidia has phased out new driver optimisation for Pascal cards. Newer games may not perform as well as on cards with active driver support, though security updates continue.

Performance breakdown

Scored relative to the class, not against flagship models

vs. other ageing used or refurbished GPUs
Best in class scored 75
Class average 55
Lowest in class 30
1080p rasterisation68 / 100
Decent for older AAA, struggles with newest releases at high settings
1440p rasterisation50 / 100
Capable in older games, increasingly stretched in newer releases
Ray tracing0 / 100
Not supported by hardware
Value at used pricing55 / 100
Only worth it at very low used or refurbished prices

Who this is right for

Picture yourself in these scenarios. How well does this fit?

Used-only budget builder
Finds a 1080 Ti refurbished or used at a low price and mainly plays older games or esports titles at 1080p or 1440p. Treats it as a stopgap until a better deal comes along.
Good fit
Esports-focused 1080p gamer
Plays mostly CS2, Valorant, Rocket League, or similar at 1080p high refresh. The 1080 Ti handles these comfortably at very high frame rates with plenty of headroom.
Good fit
Older AAA gamer
Plays games from the 2010s at 1080p or 1440p high. The card handles older titles comfortably but newer releases will need medium settings to stay playable.
Okay fit
Modern AAA enthusiast
Wants to play the latest games at decent settings with ray tracing. This card simply can't deliver, missing both the performance and the modern features.
Look elsewhere

What every spec actually means

Numbers translated into real-world impact

vram_gb11

Unusually generous memory pool for a 2017 card, especially compared to budget cards of the same era. Still useful for 1080p AAA gaming in older titles and creator workloads.

cuda_cores3584

Substantial CUDA core count for the Pascal era, translating to strong rasterisation performance even today in older games. Modern cards have far more, but Pascal's per-core performance remains decent.

memory_typeGDDR5X

Faster variant of GDDR5 used in the original 1080 Ti, with significantly higher bandwidth than standard GDDR5. Still slower than modern GDDR6X or GDDR7, but decent for the era.

memory_bus_bit352

Wide memory bus that helps the 1080 Ti maintain decent bandwidth despite the older memory technology. Combined with GDDR5X, delivers around 484 GB/s aggregate bandwidth.

boost_clock_mhz1632

OC mode boost clock from this ASUS partner card. Real-world boost clocks vary based on cooling and power headroom, with stock 1080 Ti reference cards rated lower at 1582 MHz.

Complete specifications

Verified across manufacturer datasheets and retailer spec tables

All specs
vram gb
11
4 to 11GB typical at this used tier, this is at the top at 11GB
cuda cores
3584
·
memory type
GDDR5X
GDDR5 or GDDR5X at this used tier, this is GDDR5X
memory bus bit
352
·
boost clock mhz
1632
·

Common questions

The things people ask before buying this product

Is the GTX 1080 Ti worth buying in 2026?

Only at a very low used or refurbished price (well under £150) and only if you play older games or esports titles. Even a new RX 7600 or used RTX 3060 delivers far better gaming with ray tracing and DLSS support.

Can the GTX 1080 Ti do ray tracing?

No. The 1080 Ti is pre-RTX hardware and has no ray tracing cores. Any game that uses ray tracing will run with RT disabled. For modern RT gaming, you need an RTX 20-series card or newer.

Does the GTX 1080 Ti support DLSS?

No. DLSS requires Nvidia's tensor cores, which were introduced with the RTX 20 series. The 1080 Ti is Pascal-era hardware and predates that technology entirely.

Is a refurbished 1080 Ti reliable?

Reasonably, if you buy from a reputable refurbisher with a warranty. The 90-day minimum warranty is short, so test the card thoroughly under load in the first few days. Mining-era examples may have worn fans or thermal pads.

If this isn't quite right

Better alternatives depending on what you actually need

New entry-level card
amd radeon rx 7600
A new RX 7600 or RTX 5060 delivers significantly more performance with ray tracing and modern upscaling support, typically for similar money to a refurbished 1080 Ti.
See review →
Better used option
nvidia geforce rtx 3060
Used RTX 3060 cards offer ray tracing, DLSS, and similar performance for not much more on the second-hand market, with modern features intact.
See review →
Bigger step up
nvidia geforce rtx 4060
Significantly more performance and modern feature support, fine if you're willing to spend more for a current-gen card with DLSS 3 Frame Generation.
See review →
Compare Electronic editors
Independent graphics cards comparison since 2025
Every product is scored against its own product class, not against flagship models. Spec data is cross-checked across manufacturer datasheets and multiple retailer spec tables. Prices are verified daily. We never rank by affiliate commission.
Read our methodology