Happy Birthday Pascal: Lights and Shadows of NVIDIA's Most Iconic Series After 10 Years

It has been exactly 10 years since NVIDIA unveiled the GeForce GTX 1080 to the world. Launched on May 6, 2016, the GPU based on Pascal architecture quickly became a reference in the consumer market, not only for its power but also for a price that today seems almost inconceivable: $699 for the Founders Edition.

Today, purchasing its equivalent within the RTX 5000 series corresponds to more than double the expense. It's also worth noting that a lot has changed since the old Pascal architecture, where the quality of a graphics card was simply measured by its raster capabilities.

RT core, tensor core, artificial intelligence, and DLSS have radically transformed the evaluation metrics of a graphics card. The glorious GTX 1080, in fact, used a "simple" architecture compared to what characterizes modern graphics cards: a GP104 chip with 2,560 CUDA Cores, base and boost frequencies of 1607 MHz and 1733 MHz respectively, and 8 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus. Power consumption? It capped at only 180 W TDP.

The pickiest buyers — the so-called "enthusiast tier" — had their eye on a card of entirely different caliber, with a name evoking excellence, uniqueness, and "over-the-top" performance: the GeForce GTX TITAN X. With a GP102 chip, 3,584 CUDA Cores, and 12 GB of GDDR5X memory, the TITAN X became a true dream reserved for the few. It was here that NVIDIA revolutionized the industry.

About a year after the launch of the GeForce GTX 1080, NVIDIA announced the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Same chip as the TITAN X, same number of CUDA Cores, 11 GB of GDDR5X memory instead of 12, a 352-bit bus instead of a 384. All of this with a TDP that capped at 250 W.

Performance comparable to the more powerful TITAN X, but at almost half the price: $699 versus $1,200 for the bigger sibling, with a performance gap of about 35% over the GTX 1080. On paper, for those who could afford it, it was a real bargain. After all, the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is still considered today the best graphics card ever produced by NVIDIA.

It should also be noted that while it unleashed general euphoria, the card was at the center of numerous controversies: NVIDIA’s move seemed like a slap in the face for GTX 1080 buyers. Up to 35% more powerful, at the same price and within less than a year of the previous model. The GTX 1080 Ti translated into a not-so-desirable fate for those who, even back then, had viewed the GTX 1080 as an investment.

However, the more seasoned gamers will remember that the GTX 1000 series wasn't just characterized by the price-performance ratio. Because while it initially delighted many players, soon after acquiring one of those GPUs became a true nightmare. Between 2017 and 2018, one of the biggest hardware crises of the modern era hit: mining.

The demand for graphics cards reached unprecedented levels, and the GeForce GTX 1000 proved to be excellent tools for extracting cryptocurrencies. Entire warehouses, especially in China, were filled with graphics cards operating 24/7 in so-called "mining farms." The result? Graphics cards were practically impossible to find, with skyrocketing prices, somewhat like what's happening today, albeit for very different reasons. It was the time when "drops" emerged, during which players awaited screen refreshes for order openings, hoping a bot wouldn’t beat them to it. It was a time when the used market was flooded with damaged graphics cards or those without a PCB — sometimes sold as complete and functional. In short, it was a period when even what might be some of the most appreciated graphics cards in NVIDIA's history tripled their retail price.

Today, the context has completely changed: graphics card performance is not only measured based on raw power but also (and perhaps especially) from the software suite offered by manufacturers. Architectures are significantly more complex, and the production costs are higher compared to the past. Not to mention the power consumption, which has seen a notable rise, forcing manufacturers, and even more so consumers, to deal with the infamous 12VHPWR connector or, more recently, 12V-6x2.

In conclusion, it’s likely that each of us has a different memory and perception regarding the GTX 1000 generation, but it is undeniable that it was one of the most successful of the modern era. Therefore, hats off to NVIDIA and... happy birthday Pascal.