ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum Review

Building a high-end watercooled gaming PC? Yeah, you'll want one of these cards.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: ASUS
10 minutes & 40 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 93%
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The Bottom Line

Another faultless release from ASUS, with another GTX 1080 Ti graphics card joining the ROG ranks. This is a choose-your-own-adventure graphics card, with air-cooling at first and the option for watercooling. Great styling to boot.

Introduction

I've got so many custom GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards that they're beginning to blur together as one, so I've decided to not really talk about the performance of the card as much, as we all know how they perform. One GTX 1080 Ti is going to perform so closely with another, as we're reaching the edges of what the voltages NVIDIA has placed on Pascal's current incarnation can handle.

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This is why we see a maximum of around 2.2GHz on GP102, the GPU powering the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. The 11GB of GDDR5X sometimes gets overclocked, but we've never seen anything over 12Gbps, and that's with EVGA's latest card that was only just announced in the days running up to this review.

For this review, and my upcoming custom GeForce GTX 1080 Ti reviews I'll be talking more about what makes this card - and today, we have the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum. This is the latest and greatest from ASUS in their custom GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, with an awesome hybrid cooler that lets you use it as is - with the dual-fan cooler, or with a custom loop water cooling system.

Detailed Specs

ASUS hasn't pushed the ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum too far in terms of stock GPU/GDDR5X overclocks, but we have two different modes that the GPU clocks into. First up we Gaming Mode, which is the default profile, clocking the base GPU clock at 1594MHz, while GPU boost hits 1708MHz.

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OC Mode bumps it up to 1620MHz base, and 1733MHz boosts GPU clocks. On the Gaming Mode profile, the 11GB of GDDR5X is clocked at 11,010MHz but knocks it up to 11,100MHz on OC Mode.

Cooling Tech - King of the Seas

This is the one area where ASUS does it differently: cooling technology. The ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum gives you a choice between air and liquid cooling, all on the one card, without having to do any work to pull off and replace the cooling system.

ASUS' own DirectCU H20 hybrid cooling system with its Patented Wing-Blade 0dB Fans gives you the option between both, but the card works fine on its own with the air cooler. In all of my testing, I only tested in stock form, without testing the water cooling side of it. I apologize, but as of writing I didn't have any way of testing it with watercooling... but that is changing. We're working with a full-time modder now who will be building a new GPU test bed with watercooling in mind.

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Back to the card, which rocks ASUS Aura Sync technology that lets you sync everything RGB LED on the card, from your PC. Not only that, but ASUS has opted to go with a beautiful "infinite-reflection" design that looks absolutely unique. You can't walk past this card without peering into the unlimited reflections. It's awesome.

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Here you can see just how much is going on underneath that cooler. ASUS puts in so much work behind the scenes; you just don't see it all.

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The next-gen DirectCU H20 Hybrid Cooling technology, detailed.

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If you don't want to water cool the card right now, don't worry - the air cooling is GREAT. You can add water cooling to the card later if you want.

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Wrapping the cooling tech up.

Software

ASUS also gives you the tools to completely tweak the cooler on the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum graphics card.

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Don't Forget About The RGB LEDs!!!

We can't forget about that now, can we?!

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ASUS provides their Auria Sync RGB Lighting technology, which looks AWESOME.

Detailed Look

There are feverish fans of ROG hardware, so I don't need to tell you the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum looks awesome. It has a unique military-style design that for some reason, gave me some Halo chills.

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It looks great, with SLI connectors ready for some multi-GPU action.

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I really dig the style and the colors that ASUS went with.

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Design work has even gone into the terminal block, with ROG eyes on the screw caps.

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You have to see it in person for the full effect, but the infinite-reflection design looks amazing in person. I've never seen this on a graphics card before, so ASUS gets some style points for that. A unique GTX 1080 Ti, that's for sure.

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Even the back of the card looks cool, with the ROG eye making another appearance. You can see that some design work has even gone into the cog work around the screw, which adds another touch of style.

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Up close, we have 8+8-pin PCIe power connectors required, while ASUS has provided some LEDs for the PCIe connectors. This means you'll know when the PCIe cable is plugged in, or not working.

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It doesn't matter where you look at the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum from, it looks so good.

Test System

I've recently edited my GPU test bed, which was powered by the Intel Core i7-5960X processor, and shifted into the arms of Kaby Lake and Intel's new Core i7-7700K. GIGABYTE hooked us up with their awesome new AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9 motherboard, which is the heart and soul of my new GPU test platform.

Detailed Tech Specs

  • CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K
  • Cooler: Nocua U12S
  • MB: AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9
  • RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) G.SKILL Trident Z 4000MHz DDR4
  • SSD: 1TB OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2
  • PSU: Corsair AX1500i
  • Chassis: In Win X-Frame

Detailed Look

A larger article on our 7700K system is available right here.

Here are some shots I've taken of the new system in action:

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Benchmarks - Synthetic

3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p

3DMark Fire Strike benchmark

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.

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3DMark Fire Strike - 1440p

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.

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3DMark Fire Strike - 4K

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.

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Heaven - 1080p

Unigine Heaven benchmark

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.

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Heaven - 1440p

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Heaven - 4K

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Heaven - 3440x1440

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Benchmarks - 1080p

1080p Benchmarks

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Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

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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.

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Metro: Last Light Redux comes from 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.

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Benchmarks - 1440p

1440p Benchmarks

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Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

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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.

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Metro: Last Light Redux comes from 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.

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Benchmarks - 4K

4K Benchmarks

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Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

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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.

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Metro: Last Light Redux comes from 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.

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Benchmarks - 3440x1440

3440x1440 Benchmarks

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Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

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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.

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Metro: Last Light Redux comes from 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.

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Performance Analysis

Page 11 [Performance Analysis]

Another review, another custom GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. I promised at the start of the review I wouldn't spend so much time talking about the performance of the card because all GTX 1080 Ti cards are so similar, and I will keep that promise.

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Comparing the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum against NVIDIA's own GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition, and we have a card that performs 10% or more faster in all resolutions, and even more with some tweaking to both the GPU/VRAM clock speeds and in-game detail settings.

1440p Performance

Rise of the Tomb Raider runs at 118FPS average at 1440p, which is more than enough to enjoy a perfectly smooth ROTTR experience on a 120Hz, heck even a 144/165Hz G-Sync gaming display if you dropped a couple of details to reach closer to 144/165FPS.

Even Shadow of Mordor runs at 144FPS average at 2560x1440 on the Ultra preset, which is perfect for gaming displays at 144Hz. Amazing performance, but again nothing that beats out the other custom GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards thanks to the invisible voltage wall by Pascal on GP102.

3440x1440 Performance

I feel like GeForce GTX 1080 Ti cards fall into three distinct categories for gamers and consumers: 1440p, 3440x1440, or 4K gamers. I don't see many people buying a GTX 1080 Ti for 1080p gaming, so I'm only talking about the 1440p and 4K gaming performance here.

In saying that, we still have a huge 104FPS average in Rise of the Tomb Raider at 3440x1440 on the Ultra preset, which is some amazing performance. Comparing this against the GTX 1080 with 77FPS, and the GTX 1080 Ti with 97FPS, ASUS is ahead by 7FPS which isn't bad at all.

Shadow of Mordor ran buttery smooth at 120FPS at 3440x1440, an incredible result. It was super smooth, once again perfect for the 3440x1440 gaming monitors with a 100Hz refresh rate and G-Sync, like the ASUS ROG Swift PG348Q.

4K Performance

4K isn't going to slow down a card like the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum, throwing out 71FPS average in Rise of the Tomb Raider. It might only be 3FPS more than the GTX 1080 Ti FE, but it's a huge 21FPS ahead of AMD's new Radeon RX Vega 64 LCE graphics card, the best from Team Red.

The performance in Shadow of Mordor continues to impress, with the memory intensive game hitting 88FPS average, compared to 89FPS average on the GTX 1080 Ti FE. But it thrashes the RX Vega 64 LCE and its 67FPS average.

Final Thoughts

I only tested a handful of games, but I did some Battlegrounds testing on the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum as well and was pushing 100FPS+ on Medium detail at 3440x1440 with the draw distance maxed out. I'm going to work on a follow-up article that looks at all of the custom GTX 1080 Ti cards very soon, where I'll be covering PUBG performance in detail.

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ASUS has a master-class graphics card with the ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum, with the performance to back it up. If you're in the market for a graphics card that handles it all, looks great, can handle a water cooling upgrade later down the track, could be SLI'd with another card, or just wanted a ROG graphics card to match your ROG motherboard... ASUS has your back with the ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum graphics card.

Gamers who have a 1440p or 4K display, or better yet a beautiful 3440x1440 panel, the ASUS ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum is ready. It will handle any and all games at those resolutions at 60FPS and beyond, including massive games like League of Legends, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and everything in between.

Finishing up, ASUS has yet another great card added to its stack with the ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum. I'm just sorry that I didn't have the right hardware to play with the watercooling side of things, to see if the card had any additional legs in overclocking headroom.

Other than that, another great release from ASUS with the ROG Poseidon GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Platinum. An easily recommendable graphics card that won't disappoint.

TweakTown award
Performance (overclocking, power) 95%
Quality (build, design, cooling) 95%
General Features (display outputs, etc) 90%
Bundle, Packaging & Software 90%
Overall 93%

The Bottom Line: Another faultless release from ASUS, with another GTX 1080 Ti graphics card joining the ROG ranks. This is a choose-your-own-adventure graphics card, with air-cooling at first and the option for watercooling. Great styling to boot.

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

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Anthony joined the TweakTown team in 2010 and has since reviewed 100s of graphics cards. Anthony is a long time PC enthusiast with a passion of hate for games built around consoles. FPS gaming since the pre-Quake days, where you were insulted if you used a mouse to aim, he has been addicted to gaming and hardware ever since. Working in IT retail for 10 years gave him great experience with custom-built PCs. His addiction to GPU tech is unwavering and has recently taken a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

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