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Review: Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 1080 Black

by Parm Mann on 30 November 2016, 15:00

Tags: Inno3D, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadblf

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Conclusion

Inno3D's iChill GeForce GTX 1080 Black incorporates a hybrid liquid cooler, as well as factory overclocks on core and memory for the lofty sum of £720.

Nvidia has dominated the high-end GPU space in 2016, and we approach the holiday season the GeForce GTX 1080 continues to stand out as the enthusiast solution of choice.

Available in a multitude of flavours, Nvidia's partners have gone to town with custom designs to ensure there's a board for every individual. At the enthusiast end of the spectrum, Inno3D's iChill GeForce GTX 1080 Black incorporates a hybrid liquid cooler, as well as factory overclocks on core and memory for the lofty sum of £720.

The end result is an impressive package that's fast, cool and quiet, yet while the Molex connector and price tag are minor distractions, the real fly in the ointment is the rumoured GTX 1080 Ti that's said to be waiting in Nvidia's stable. The mere thought of a faster GeForce making its debut at CES in January may encourage deep-walleted enthusiasts to wait it out, but if you're certain the existing GTX 1080 is the right fit, Inno3D's liquid-cooled interpretation is well worth consideration.

The Good
  
The Bad
Powerful single-GPU performance
Overclocked on core and memory
Keeps exceptionally cool under load
Noise levels kept to a minimum
Well suited to a high-res G-Sync display
  
Inelegant Molex power connector
Massive price tag



Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 1080 Black

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The Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 1080 Black graphics card will be available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.



*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.


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HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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Posted by Andy14 - Wed 30 Nov 2016 16:13
What am I missing ? There's no improvement in performance / any other factor over an air cooled 3rd party card for less money. Yet it adds extra cables, tubes, fans, water & general complexity.
Posted by hellig - Wed 30 Nov 2016 17:11
lower temperature, meaning less noise, also the gpu will not deteriorate as fast.
Posted by this_is_gav - Thu 01 Dec 2016 08:36
hellig
lower temperature, meaning less noise, also the gpu will not deteriorate as fast.

I don't think I've seen a GPU fail for about 12-15 years now, and that's only because I can't remember back further. I've even got one of the known faulty 8600M still in a laptop working away fine, though I appear to be one of few in that regard. I have had a laptop dead on arrival once though.

I've still got cards from eras long gone powering PCs - the work PC I'm typing this on has an old (~2007) HD 3870 that has been recycled from home.

Graphics cards will last far longer than they'll actually be used. Chances are the pump and fan will fail long before the GPU.



Edit: The bigger benefit will be exhausting heat from the case through the radiator, though on the last page of the review Hexus seem to have it as in intake for some reason.

Some 3rd party cards obviously just let most of the hot air back into the case, though in my experience it hasn't had a noticeable effect as a correctly orientated 3rd-party CPU heatsink directs 90% of it straight out of the exhaust fan anyway.
Posted by Andy14 - Thu 01 Dec 2016 08:46
hellig
lower temperature, meaning less noise, also the gpu will not deteriorate as fast.

As Gav pointed out. What a load of tosh that is. This reminds me of the story of the Emperors new clothes (when I was a kid).
Posted by Valantar - Thu 01 Dec 2016 09:53
That molex connector makes this card a total joke. A £720 GPU is a premium products. Premium PC components in 2016 do not require molex connectors. How hard would it be to make a 3/4-pin fan connector for the pump on the PCB? Heck, you could go full McGyver and solder it straight to the leads of the 6/8-pin, although that's not exactly elegant.

Ugh.

And for those of you wondering about the point: watercooling modern low-temp/power GPUs is about getting a decent solution to avoiding throttling, maintaining stable temps, exhausting hot air and keeping noise moderate (by using larger fans) while keeping the card relatively small. Modern triple-fan coolers can compete very well on most of those parameters, but they're getting ridiculously large to boot. AIOs avoid dumping the heat of your largest heat source into the case, while keeping the card size moderate/small (look at the Fury X).

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