Although we did not have the chance to test the new GTX 1080 graphics card for along time, the Pascal graphics processor in the heart of the GTX 1080 is the fastest GPU ever to hit the streets. Our r limited benchmarks showed that Nvidia's new baby is 10-15% faster than a factory overclocked GeForce GTX 980 Ti, a previous gen top-end card. The GTX 1080 should be also be about 20% faster than a Titan X and also significantly faster than a Radeon R9 Fury X.

In addition, the card gives great potential for overclocking. Our fast tests showed that you may get a 90% (!) performance gain compared to a GTX 980, in specific games, such as the 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' at 4K resolution and Very High graphics settings.

In terms of power consumption, the GTX 1080 will offer a sizable power savings, with roughly a 70 – 80 Watt reduction, versus a previous generation Titan X or GeForce GTX 980 Ti-powered system.

The GTX 1080 also packs new software features. "Simultaneous multi-projection" is the name for a family of new technologies that improve how images are rendered in multi-monitor setups, boost in-game frame rates by rendering the edges of the screen at lower resolution, and improve VR rendering efficiency.Ansel is a new "in-game 3D camera system" that lets you pause the game, move the camera around the environment to get the perfect angle, then snap a screenshot that you can enhance with various filters, effects, and high-resolution options. You can also create "360 bubble" screenshots viewable inside VR headsets or Google Cardboad.Fast Sync is designed to work with e-sports games where your GPU’s pumping out hundreds of frames per second. It reduces screen tearing without introducing extra latency, skirting around V-sync’s major performance hindrances.

The GTX 1080 also supports HDR and copy-protected 4K streams, and offers a new "GPU Boost 3.0" system that lets overclockers create per-voltage clock frequency increases that match their individual GPU’s capabilities.

Priced at $599 (standard edition models), the GTX 1080 is much more affordable than the $1000 GeForce GTX Titan X, while delivering graphics efficiency with top performance. But have in mind, that the GTX 1070’s release is right around the corner, and Nvidia claims is Titan X-level performance and will retail at $370 - almost half the price of the GTX 1080 itself.

For now, Nvidia's seriously powerful gaming graphics card can be considered as the fastest consumer graphics processor on the planet. But it will be interesting to see how AMD’s Polaris and Vega 10 architectures stack up in the months ahead, as AMD readies new GPU offerings as well.