NVIDIA Titan X Review - Monster Performance: 4K 60FPS On A Single GPU

Introduction, Pricing & Availability

NVIDIA surprised the world with the announcement of its new Titan X, something that was rumored to feature HBM2 technology and the fully unleashed GP100 GPU. But, instead we received something equally as impressive - the first GP102-powered graphics card, the continued use of GDDR5X (but this time, with 12GB onboard) and an additional PCIe power connector.

VIEW GALLERY - 46 IMAGES

NVIDIA debuted its Pascal architecture last year and slapped it onto its first graphics card in May with the debut of the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 graphics cards. The GeForce GTX 1080 is a monster, with the GP104 GPU and 8GB of GDDR5X memory clocked at 10GHz. It's fast enough to handle anything you throw at it, but can't hit 4K 60FPS yet. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1070 is an amazing value for money card as it provides near GTX 1080 levels of performance for $200+ less.

The previous GeForce GTX Titan X was a monster when it was released, and heck - it still is. It's powered by the Maxwell architecture and has 12GB of GDDR5 (no X here, folks), but it handles everything you throw at it. NVIDIA has dropped the GeForce branding from the new Pascal-based Titan X, so it's just called the 'NVIDIA Titan X,' which I like and hate at the same time.

Pricing & Availability

NVIDIA is pricing the new Titan X at $1200 USD, which is a mammoth price, but the performance will surely justify it, right? Everything I've read so far has it beating the GTX 1080 by 20%, which impresses me greatly, but it's also 70% more expensive. The 12GB framebuffer is a nice addition, and the hugely increased memory bandwidth will help with multi-monitor, 4K, and VR gaming - hopefully.

The new Pascal-based Titan X graphics card can only be purchased directly from NVIDIA's website, or in gaming PCs that you buy from folks like Digital Storm and Falcon Northwest.

Specifications & Detailed Look

Specifications

NVIDIA has used a new GP102 GPU for the Titan X, which is slightly different to the GP104 used on the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 graphics cards. We have a huge 3584 CUDA cores with 1417/1531MHz base and boost clocks, respectively.

The new Titan X has a huge 12GB of GDDR5X memory clocked at 10Gbps, and thanks to its 384-bit memory bus, we have a huge 480GB/sec of memory bandwidth. If we compare it against the Maxwell-based GeForce GTX Titan X which had the same 12GB of RAM but with GDDR5 instead of GDDR5X, the same 384-bit memory bus resulted in just 336GB/sec memory bandwidth, meaning NVIDIA has crammed an additional 42.8% memory bandwidth.

Now, 480GB/sec is a considerable jump over the 336GB/sec on the original GTX Titan X, and if we consider AMD had to use HBM1 technology on its Radeon R9 Fury X to hit 512GB/sec, NVIDIA has shown we don't need next-gen memory technology (yet) to have insane memory bandwidth numbers.

NVIDIA's new Titan X has a TDP of 250W, where it will pull the power down from the 8+6-pin PCIe power connectors. It has the same dual-slot design of all of NVIDIA's current and previous-gen graphics cards, with the same 3 x DP, 1 x HDMI and 1 x DVI display output supporting up to 8K displays at 60Hz.

Detailed Look

NVIDIA has always been a company that takes pride in its retail packaging. With the $1200 investment into the Titan X, you'd expect a beautiful box - yeah? Well, it looks great, but you only get the card inside - disappointing, but once you see the performance numbers, you won't care.

The front of the new Titan X box, not bad at all.

And again from the side, where NVIDIA says that the Titan X is "Powered By Pascal."

The front of the Titan X, with a beautiful black and silver style that looks aggressive, expensive, and FAST.

NVIDIA has used a backplate on the Titan X, with GeForce branding - weird, considering there's no GeForce branding anywhere else.

Display connectivity remains the same, with 3 x DP, 1 x HDMI and 1 x DVI on the Titan X.

Beautiful, ain't it?

From the top of the card, we have the GeForce GTX branding - again, weird because this is the Titan X and not the GeForce GTX Titan X.

We have 8+6-pin PCIe power connectors, which draw up to 250W TDP and under our testing, 340W for our entire system under load.

Testing Methodology & Test Setup Configuration

Testing Method

For the purposes of testing the NVIDIA Titan X, and for all future graphics card reviews and articles, we've changed up our benchmark suite. I've removed Battlefield 4, GRID: Autosport, BioShock: Infinite, and Grand Theft Auto V. In their place, I've got Far Cry Primal and The Division.

I've also added in some DX12 testing, with Hitman and Ashes of the Singularity. This will provide us with enough variety, but I'm on the hunt for new benchmarks all the time. The second that Battlefield 1 drops, we'll be including that in our GPU reviews, while I'll also be keeping an eye out on the release of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Test System Configuration

Corsair sent us over their kick-ass AX1500i PSU, which provides 1500W of power for our 3 and 4-way GPU testing that we have coming very soon.

Anthony's Video Card Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage V Extreme - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• CPU: Intel Core i7 5960X - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Cooler: Corsair H110 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Kingston 16GB (4x4GB) HyperX Predator DDR4 3000MHz - Buy from Amazon
• Storage #1: SanDisk Extreme II 240GB - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Storage #2: Intel 730 Series 480GB - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Lian Li PC-T80 Open-Air - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: Corsair AX1500i - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit - Buy from Amazon
• Drivers: NVIDIA GeForce 368.39 and AMD Catalyst 16.6.2 hotfix

Benchmarks - Synthetic

3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

3DMark Fire Strike Extreme - 1440p

3DMark Fire Strike Ultra - 4K (3840x2160)

Heaven - 1080p

Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.

Heaven - 1440p

Heaven - 4K (3840x2160)

Benchmarks @ 1080p

1080p Benchmarks

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

We recently changed over to Metro: Last Light Redux, with developer 4A Games making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Thief has been around for quite a while now, with the latest version of the first-person stealth game powered by Epic Games' older Unreal Engine 3. While it's old, it has some great multi-GPU scaling that we use to test out our various GPU setups.

You can buy Thief at Amazon.

Tomb Raider is still such a gorgeous game, with developer Crystal Dynamics using their own 'Foundation' engine to build Lara Croft into the new world. One of the best parts about Tomb Raider is the absolutely stellar multi-GPU scaling, so this is an important test to see how well our NVIDIA GeForce SLI and AMD Radeon CrossFire setups scale.

You can buy Tomb Raider at Amazon.

Benchmarks @ 1440p

1440p Benchmarks

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

We recently changed over to Metro: Last Light Redux, with developer 4A Games making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Thief has been around for quite a while now, with the latest version of the first-person stealth game powered by Epic Games' older Unreal Engine 3. While it's old, it has some great multi-GPU scaling that we use to test out our various GPU setups.

You can buy Thief at Amazon.

Tomb Raider is still such a gorgeous game, with developer Crystal Dynamics using their own 'Foundation' engine to build Lara Croft into the new world. One of the best parts about Tomb Raider is the absolutely stellar multi-GPU scaling, so this is an important test to see how well our NVIDIA GeForce SLI and AMD Radeon CrossFire setups scale.

You can buy Tomb Raider at Amazon.

Benchmarks @ 4K

4K Benchmarks

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

We recently changed over to Metro: Last Light Redux, with developer 4A Games making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Thief has been around for quite a while now, with the latest version of the first-person stealth game powered by Epic Games' older Unreal Engine 3. While it's old, it has some great multi-GPU scaling that we use to test out our various GPU setups.

You can buy Thief at Amazon.

Tomb Raider is still such a gorgeous game, with developer Crystal Dynamics using their own 'Foundation' engine to build Lara Croft into the new world. One of the best parts about Tomb Raider is the absolutely stellar multi-GPU scaling, so this is an important test to see how well our NVIDIA GeForce SLI and AMD Radeon CrossFire setups scale.

You can buy Tomb Raider at Amazon.

Benchmarks - DX12 & OC Adventures

This is our new section for video card reviews, with DX12 and VR becoming a huge deal over the course of the last 12 months. We have just a handful of DX12 tests right now, so expect this section of the site and our reviews to grow considerably over the coming months.

The same goes for VR, where we have both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive in house now. We will be testing VRMark for now, which is in Preview form, as well as our thoughts on VR gaming on the HTC Vive with the new GeForce GTX 1080 video card.

DirectX 12 Performance

We have 3DMark Time Spy Ashes of the Singularity and Hitman with DirectX 12, with the NVIDIA Titan X stomping all over every other GPU setup I've tested. Insanity.

Overclocking Adventures - To Be Continued...

I have only had a few hour with the Titan X, so I'll be filling in some of the overclocking gaps in the coming days.

Power, Temperature, & Noise

340W Under Load

The power consumption on the Titan X was something I was very interested in testing, as the GeForce GTX 1080 is already an incredibly efficient graphics card. But, what could NVIDIA do with another PCIe power connector? Not much, power consumption wise, but performance wise it blows the doors off of everything else I've ever tested.

As you can see on our power consumption chart, NVIDIA's new Titan X is incredibly power efficient, considering the performance it is capable of. The GeForce GTX 1080 is an incredibly power efficient card with our entire Core i7-5960X test bed using just 230W under load, while the Titan X uses another 110W, but the performance is there to justify the increase in performance.

I'm sure that you can see throughout my review that I've used my previous AMD Radeon RX 480 CrossFire results, and here you can see that two mid-range GPUs from AMD use 390W total, 50W more than the new Titan X and with performance that simply can't touch it. But on the flip side, two RX 480s are a mountain of cash cheaper than a single Pascal-based Titan X.

Temperature & Noise

NVIDIA has kept the thermals in check with the new Pascal-based Titan X, with our sample running at a maximum of 69C. All I did was throw it in and load it with benchmarks and games at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, and it kept under 70C without a problem. Although, it did get kind of loud.

I'm not used to NVIDIA's new Pascal-based graphics cards making noise, but the new Titan X sure did. The fan will spin up considerably when it gets hot, but you can tune this through software - and really, at the end of the day, you're spending $1200 on a graphics card. You want the performance, just like I do, and you don't care if the card is loud.

It's not that loud where it becomes a distraction, but after hours of gaming on it, it will get annoying - so you'll want to keep that in mind. But it's something I've always said: deliver me unrivaled performance, and I do not care about thermals and noise - as long as it's justified in its horsepower. NVIDIA has provided that, and some, with the new Titan X.

Performance Summary & Final Thoughts

Performance Summary

NVIDIA's new Titan X is the first time I've had to constantly double check my performance numbers because it just blows everything away so much that it almost feels like I'm being duped. But, I'm not. The new Pascal-based Titan X is just freakin' incredible, offering performance that is higher than the GTX 1080, with more VRAM, and a huge injection of memory bandwidth - without using HBM1 or HBM2 technology.

I expected NVIDIA to reach about this level of performance with the Pascal-based Titan X, but actually using it and benchmarking it and seeing games like Tomb Raider running at 355FPS average at 1080p or something like Far Cry Primal at 4K at 59FPS average just blows me away.

4K 60FPS gaming on a single GPU is finally here with the new Pascal-based Titan X, and it has been a long time coming. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080 came very close, but the Titan X hits it and some. The only game in our benchmark suite that couldn't hit 60FPS average at 4K was Far Cry Primal, which hit 59FPS average - and I'm not going to sit here and debate a single game that missed the mark by a single FPS.

NVIDIA, you've done it again, dammit. The GeForce GTX 1080 was enough of a product that had the spotlight turned and cable tied in NVIDIA's direction when it comes to enthusiast graphics cards, but now the Titan X is here to double down on NVIDIA being the go-to company for high-end graphics cards.

Final Thoughts

I don't even know where to start with my final thoughts on the NVIDIA Titan X. It's just an incredible card that kind of, but not totally earns its $1200 price tag. The GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition is $699, while the Titan X is 71.6% more expensive, but it's not 71.6% faster, so why would you buy the Titan X over the GTX 1080 FE?

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Well, the Titan X has 12GB of framebuffer which is great for 4K and beyond gaming, especially in multi-monitor gaming setups where the 8GB limit might be reached. Secondly, you are getting 20% (and sometimes more) performance over the GTX 1080, where normally you'd need to go SLI with the GTX 1080s to receive more performance. SLI scaling can really be a downer in some games, and not supported at all in some - a single-GPU gaming setup is always preferred.

NVIDIA has added yet another notch to its belt in GPU domination with the Titan X, offering unprecedented performance at a price that is hard to swallow for most gamers. NVIDIA isn't aiming this at most gamers, so if you were thinking about buying the Titan X for your 1080p gaming PC, I wouldn't recommend it.

Where does the Titan X fit in, then? For gamers who are using high refresh rate monitors, like the 1080p and 1440p monitors with 144Hz refresh rates, the Titan X is absolutely perfect. You could easily buy a single Titan X and enjoy 1080p/1440p at 144FPS average, and with some detail adjustments in games, every single game would be capable of 1440p at 144FPS average. Incredible.

At $1200, it's not for everyone, but neither is Tesla's P85D or the latest model Ferrari. People will bitch and whine about the price, but NVIDIA isn't here to serve the sub-$500 market with its Titan X, this is for the gamers and enthusiasts who want the absolute best, with no compromises, and if you want that, go pick up the Titan X.