Published: March 20, 2018 | Source: Zotac | Author: Tom Logan

Zotac GTX 1080Ti ArcticStorm Mini Review

Conclusion

We almost feel like we’re about to turn into an advertisement for Ronseal. The Zotac GTX 1080Ti ArcticStorm Mini is a compact version of nVidia’s GPU behemoth with a factory installed water block. So if you want to own a space saving GTX 1080Ti with a factory waterblock, get the Zotac GTX 1080Ti ArcticStorm Mini. It does exactly what it says on the box.

Ahem.

Naturally the Zotac ArcticStorm Mini is a bit of a niche product. Whilst you might be able to squeeze an AIO into your system without really needing to change much, the Mini demands a full custom watercooling loop, which naturally requires a bit more investment and technical know-how than the simple air-cooled build.

But, and we think it’s a goodly sized but, the rewards are huge. Performance wise it’s pretty much a standard GTX 1080Ti but the insanely low temperatures – no, insanely low temperatures – mean that the only limits to the cards performance will be how hard you’re willing to push it, how good the silicon is, how much CPU performance you can extract to keep its ravenous desire for more polygons sated. Because let there be no doubt, the limiting factor in your system build will absolutely not be the Zotac GTX 1080Ti ArcticStorm Mini. If you can keep it fed, it will just keep pumping out huge frame rates. This is perhaps most ably demonstrated in the synthetic benchmarks in our test suite. Freed from any CPU constraints it topped all of our 3D Mark and Unigine graphs, and did so at a mind-boggling 33Â°C.

The additional benefits are two fold. Firstly you get a card that is compact in the extreme. It’s the smallest range-topping nVidia GPU we can recall. Maybe, just maybe, one of the original Riva TNTs was smaller but we’re struggling to remember anything that has been released in the 15 years that gets near to being this small. Perfect to pair up with one of the modern speedy iTX motherboards. Secondly you’re getting the benefits of a factory fitted waterblock, and even better Zotac have gone with the transparent top that lets us see the coolant. Thus you’re free from warranty worries and can get on with the job of enjoying your new purchase.

When you combine the best GPU around with an absolutely insane waterblock that leads to frosty temperatures you end up with a card that is extremely easy to recommend, should you be in the market for a pre-built watercooled card ready to fit straight into your loop.

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