Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 AORUS 11 Gbps review - Product Innards

Product Innards

 
The Gigabyte cooling solution is an impressive one alright. Two aluminum heatsinks, copper base plating and six heatpipes. Thermal paste applied to the GPU, all VRM and DDR5X memory has been thermally cushioned. So not just the GPU but also VRAM and MOSFETs are cooled.
  

With the main cooler is removed, you can see the PCB and its components. It remains unusual to see the two HDMI connectors at the rear side. The 2 extra HDMI ports, are tagged under the AORUS VR Link output connectivity. You can connect up to 4 monitors and/or VR devices at the same time with a total of 3 DisplayPort and 3 native HDMI ports that could be used interchangeably under VR Mode for all types of gaming configuration. Outputs are automatically detected upon restarting PC with no further setting required.

 
Here we have the GP104-400-A1 graphics processor from Nvidia. You'll notice there is a coating over the PCB, preventing and resisting moist, damp but also dust buildup protection. 
  

The board has power 12-phases, you will spot Titan X-grade Chokes and Capacitors. Surrounding the graphics processor are the eight Micron GDDR5X chips, with the new 11 Gbps capable ICs.

 
The idea is that the 10 (gpu) +2 (mem) power phases on the card make the MOSFET working at a lower temperature and (should) provide more stable voltage output. This kind of heat protection and load balance to each MOSFET can effectively extend the card's life.
  

 
If we zoom in a little we spot a uP9511 Controller, this is voltage controller for NVIDIA cards. The unit is listed as 8 Phase Buck controller.