Nvidia’s Pascal architecture has two GPU gems still to come – GTX 1080 Ti and GTX 1050

Nvidia's Pascal GPUs: how they perform, where you can get the best deals and what's up next.

Nvidia Pascal GPU architecture

Nvidia’s latest lineup of graphics cards is their best yet, packing a huge amount of gaming performance into their superbly-efficient 16nm silicon. But they’re not done yet, there’s still one or two more Pascal-shaped surprises yet to come, the GTX 1080 Ti and GTX 1050

Are Nvidia’s GPUs the best overall? Check out our guide to the best graphics cards to find out.

The top-end GTX 1080 was released back in May with the slightly cut-down GTX 1070 following hot on its heels in June. July and August saw first the launch of Nvidia’s 6GB GTX 1060 and then the Pascal-powered GTX Titan X.

That’s a whole lot of graphics cards, but it doesn’t represent the full Pascal range of GPUs because we’re missing vital parts at both ends of the spectrum. The mainstream and high-end consumer markets are missing some GPUs.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050

Nvidia GTX 1050 release date

The upcoming GTX 1050 is the next card to arrive sorting Nvidia’s Pascal architecture and is looking to bring its gaming performance and efficiency down into the mainstream market. We’re anticipating an early October release for the GTX 1050 although Nvidia have still yet to actually even confirm the card’s existance.

Relatively reliable leaks have made their way out though so we’ve got a good idea what the GP107 GPU inside the new Pascal card is going to look like. There have though been fresh rumours suggesting there will be two different versions of the GPU itself to go along with potential 2GB and 4GB cards. Reports are suggesting the lower spec card will be the straight GTX 1050 with a GTX 1050 Ti being the top-end option.

We expect the GTX 1050 to arrive with a price-tag similar to the last-gen GTX 950, which would put it around $159 (£135). And fingers crossed it will be able to bring similar levels of increased generation-to-generation performance.

Check out our in-depth look at the upcoming Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti release date

The other card we’re waiting for with baited breath is the GTX 1080 Ti. Again Nvidia haven’t yet officially released any information about the card, but it would be incredibly surprising for the green team not to follow the GPU release cadence they’ve been sticking to for the last few generations.

Since the very first GTX Titan arrived on the scene, back in 2013, Nvidia have released a slightly lower-spec card using the same GPU, but with almost the same performance. The original Titan begat the GTX 780 Ti, the Maxwell Titan X begat the GTX 980 Ti and it only makes sense for the new Pascal-based Titan X to be spawn the GTX 1080 Ti.

Nvidia have announced their CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, is headlining this year’s inaugural keynote at CES and he rarely takes to the stage without something new to show off. And given there’s a possibility of the new Volta architecture [https://www.pcgamesn.com/nvidia/nvidia-volta-release-early] being displayed at their Graphics Technology Conference (GTC) in May, CES looks like a prime candidate for Nvidia to unveil the final member of the Pascal graphics card family.

Check out our in-depth look at the upcoming Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

Nvidia Pascal benchmarks

Nvidia Pascal GPU performance

We’ve had the full range of Nvidia’s current Pascal-based graphics cards come through the PCGamesN labs (also know as Dave’s Desk) so here’s their reference performance in a number of different games at 4K, 1440p and 1080p.

Nvidia Pascal prices

Nvidia have released almost their entire lineup of Pascal-based graphics cards, with excellent gaming GPUs available at a variety of price points. But if there’s one thing you can say about them – they ain’t cheap. So if you want the cheapest price for one of Nvidia’s latest cards you’ll find them below.

Nvidia GTX Titan X prices

GTX Titan X prices

You can only pick up the latest GTX Titan X from either Nvidia themselves or as part of a pre-built mega PC. That does mean there’s no fighting over pricing – everyone has to pay through the nose for it. If you’re looking to buy one (or hell, why not two?) then you probably don’t need to know how much they cost, but just for reference the new Titan X will set you back $1,200 (£1,099).

Nvidia GTX 1080 prices

Nvidia GTX 1080 prices

Thankfully there are more manufacturers making GTX 1080 cards, so there is a bit more variation in pricing. Though that doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to find one going cheap…at least not until the GTX 1080 Ti comes out and folk start selling in order to finance a new purchase.

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Nvidia GTX 1070 prices

Nvidia GTX 1070 prices

The GTX 1070 is where Nvidia’s Pascal range starts to become more affordable. They’re still not cheap, but are surprisingly good 4K gaming GPUs for the money, and not that far off the performance of the much more expensive GTX 1080. The GTX 1070 also comes in a variety of different versions, but don’t get fooled into paying over the odds for a factory-overclocked card unless you’re keen on pushing the clocks further yourself.

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Nvidia GTX 1060 prices

Nvidia GTX 1060 prices

The GTX 1060 is our favourite card from the entirety of Nvidia’s current Pascal-based graphics card range. It has that heady mix of serious gaming performance – nailing 1440p frame rates with ease – and a decent price point. For the money it’s the best graphics card for us PC gamers that’s available right now.

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