NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 are separated by seven years of GPU architecture, yet the data places them in a peculiar statistical proximity. The GTX 1080 Ti posts an average benchmark score of 15,548, while the GTX 580 records 15,283, a difference of just 1.7%. Despite this near-parity in aggregate averages, a single head-to-head benchmark reveals a chasm in raw compute capability that the averages obscure, driven entirely by the enormous architectural leap between Pascal and Fermi 2.0.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL. Here, the GTX 1080 Ti delivers a score of 67,929, dwarfing the GTX 580’s 15,283. This represents a delta of 344.5% in favor of the newer card. To put that in perspective, the GTX 1080 Ti is not merely faster; it is roughly four and a half times more productive in this compute workload. The GTX 580’s score is almost identical to its average benchmark score of 15,283, indicating that this OpenCL result is its sole available data point and its primary statistical identity.

The 344.5% lead in OpenCL is the headline figure. It reflects the fundamental shift in processing power: the GTX 1080 Ti’s FP32 throughput is listed at 11.34 TFLOPS, while the GTX 580 manages 1.581 TFLOPS. While the head-to-head table shows only one win for the GTX 1080 Ti (winsA: 1) and none for the GTX 580 (winsB: 0), the magnitude of that single win is so large that it defines the comparison. In contrast, the average benchmark scores suggest a different story: the GTX 1080 Ti’s 15,548 average is pulled down by its diverse portfolio of results, including lower DirectX scores, whereas the GTX 580’s average is based solely on its one strong OpenCL showing.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite for the GTX 1080 Ti, its performance is not uniform. It scores 18,600 in Passmark G3D, but only 66 in Passmark DirectX 12 and 118 in Passmark DirectX 10. These low DirectX scores are likely a quirk of the testing methodology or driver compatibility, but they explain why its average score (15,548) is far below its peak compute results. For the GTX 580, with only one benchmark, there is no such variance to analyze. The data thus presents a paradox: the GTX 1080 Ti utterly dominates in compute, yet its average score is statistically tied to the GTX 580, which has no other results to dilute its standing.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1080 Ti wins decisively in compute-heavy workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 67,929 versus 15,283 shows a 344.5% advantage, making it the clear choice for tasks that leverage general-purpose GPU computing, such as rendering, scientific simulation, or machine learning inference. The card also offers a massive memory bandwidth advantage (484.4 GB/s vs 192.4 GB/s) and a larger frame buffer (11 GB vs 1536 MB), which are critical for modern high-resolution textures and large datasets. In any scenario where the GPU is saturated with parallel arithmetic, the GTX 1080 Ti is in a different league.

The GTX 580, however, wins in the narrow context of statistical parity. Its average benchmark score of 15,283 is within 1.7% of the GTX 1080 Ti’s 15,548, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (avg score 15,290, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (avg score 15,171, deltaPct 0.7). This suggests that, based on the aggregate data available, the GTX 580 performs comparably to mid-range modern cards in the specific OpenCL test it was subjected to. However, this is not a functional win for gaming or modern applications; it is an artifact of a single benchmark result. In terms of feature support, the GTX 580 lacks Vulkan support entirely, while the GTX 1080 Ti supports Vulkan 1.4, making the newer card the only viable option for Vulkan-based titles.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is vast. The GTX 1080 Ti uses the GP102 chip on a 16 nm TSMC process, packing 11,800 million transistors into a 471 mm² die. The GTX 580 uses the GF110 chip on a 40 nm process, with 3,000 million transistors on a larger 520 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 25.1M / mm² for the Pascal card versus 5.8M / mm² for the Fermi card, a 4.3x improvement in density. The newer card also features 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 ROPs, compared to the GTX 580’s 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GTX 1080 Ti’s pixel rate is 139.2 GPixel/s versus 24.70 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 354.4 GTexel/s versus 49.41 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The GTX 1080 Ti uses 11 GB of GDDR5X on a 352-bit bus, achieving 484.4 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 580 uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, achieving only 192.4 GB/s. The GTX 1080 Ti’s memory clock is 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective), while the GTX 580’s is 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The GTX 1080 Ti also supports FP16 at 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64 rate), a feature entirely absent from the GTX 580’s spec sheet. In terms of interfaces, the GTX 1080 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and outputs 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the GTX 580 uses PCIe 2.0 x16 with 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. Both cards share a dual-slot design and the same 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connector configuration, though the GTX 1080 Ti has a slightly higher TDP at 250 W versus 244 W.

FAQ

Q: Why do the average benchmark scores of the GTX 1080 Ti and GTX 580 appear so close?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average score of 15,548 across 11 benchmarks, including low DirectX scores (e.g., 66 in DX12, 118 in DX10) that drag its average down. The GTX 580 has only one benchmark result (Geekbench OpenCL at 15,283), which becomes its entire average.

Q: In the head-to-head OpenCL test, how much faster is the GTX 1080 Ti?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti scores 67,929 versus the GTX 580’s 15,283, a delta of 344.5%.

Q: Does the GTX 580 support modern APIs like Vulkan?

A: No. The GTX 580’s API list shows DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but Vulkan is listed as null. The GTX 1080 Ti supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR5X, while the GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5. The bandwidth difference is 484.4 GB/s versus 192.4 GB/s.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has 25.1M transistors per mm² on a 16 nm process, while the GTX 580 has 5.8M transistors per mm² on a 40 nm process.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the GTX 580 wins?

A: No. In the provided head-to-head data, the GTX 1080 Ti wins the only available test (Geekbench OpenCL). The GTX 580’s average score is solely based on that same test.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | GP102 | GF110 |

| Architecture | Pascal | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 11,800 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 471 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 5.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1481 MHz | N/A |

| Boost Clock | 1582 MHz | N/A |

| Memory Clock | 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective) | 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 11 GB | 1536 MB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5X | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 352 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 484.4 GB/s | 192.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 512 |

| TMUs | 224 | 64 |

| ROPs | 88 | 48 |

| Pixel Rate | 139.2 GPixel/s | 24.70 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 354.4 GTexel/s | 49.41 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 11.34 TFLOPS | 1.581 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64) | N/A |

| TDP | 250 W | 244 W |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | N/A |

| Release Date | 2017-03-09 | 2010-11-08 |

| Launch MSRP | 699 USD | 499 USD |

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for compute performance: the GTX 1080 Ti is the superior card by a wide margin. Its 344.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with 7.2x higher FP32 throughput (11.34 TFLOPS vs 1.581 TFLOPS) and 2.5x higher memory bandwidth, makes it the only choice for any modern workload that stresses the GPU. The GTX 580’s single benchmark score of 15,283 is an interesting statistical artifact, placing it near the GTX 1080 Ti’s average, but this does not reflect real-world capability.

For users selecting between these two from the data alone, the GTX 1080 Ti is the clear pick for anyone needing compute density, modern API support (Vulkan 1.4), and sufficient VRAM for large datasets. The GTX 580, with its 1536 MB frame buffer and lack of Vulkan, is limited to legacy DirectX 11 workloads. The GTX 1080 Ti also offers a higher pixel rate (139.2 GPixel/s vs 24.70 GPixel/s) and texture rate (354.4 GTexel/s vs 49.41 GTexel/s), which are critical for high-resolution gaming. While both cards are end-of-life, the GTX 1080 Ti’s architecture is fundamentally more capable; the GTX 580’s statistical parity in average score is a quirk of limited data, not a sign of equivalent performance. Any analysis must weight the single decisive benchmark over the misleading aggregate.