Nvidia GTX 1080, 1070 Display Port Incompatible With Vive HMD (Update 2: Solution Identified)
Update, 7/11/16, 12:10pm PT: Nvidia announced that it identified the Display Port and Vive compatibility issue and that the solution is coming in the next driver update, which is due this week.
"We are aware of user reports of an incompatibility when plugging HTC Vive into GeForce GTX 1080/1070 using the DisplayPort connector. We have identified a solution which is planned to be released in NVIDIA’s next Game Ready Driver targeted for later this week. In the interim, we recommend users connect HTC Vive to the HDMI port on GeForce GTX 1080/1070," read the statement from PeterS@Nvidia on the support forums.
Update, 7/6/16, 9:09am PT: Nvidia responded to our inquiry late yesterday:
"We are aware of user reports of an incompatibility when plugging HTC Vive into GeForce GTX 1080 using the DisplayPort connector. HTC and NVIDIA are investigating the issue. In the interim, we recommend users connect HTC Vive to the HDMI port on GeForce GTX 1080," said Bryan Del Rizzo, Senior PR Manager, Consumer Products.
We've reached out to HTC for more information.
Original article:
Nvidia recently launched the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 to much fanfare and set a new bar for desktop graphics performance with its first Pascal GPUs. Virtual reality performance was a cornerstone of Nvidia’s marketing plan, but performance is irrelevant if your display interface is incompatible with the HMD. 
Last week, a friend of mine contacted me looking for help getting his Vive working. He was trying to hook the Vive up to a GTX 1080 using the optional Display Port on the HMD's link box because the HDMI port on his graphics card was being used to display to a TV. I knew for a fact that this configuration works with a GTX 980 Ti because I’ve tested it already. We were both disappointed to find out that it doesn’t work with the 10-series cards. 
Whether or not Nvidia will remedy the issue with a driver fix remains to be seen, but so far, Nvidia has been quiet about the issue. There is an ongoing thread on the GeForce.com community forum, and several people have chimed in to report the same problem. So far, the only comment from Nvidia in the thread came from Manuel Guzman on June 9, who said: “We are still investigating this issue.” It is nearly a month later we still don’t have a follow-up. There’s a similar thread on Reddit from around the same time warning people of the issue.
Of course, we didn’t want to take the word of a few people complaining online, so we tested this out for ourselves. We hooked up the Vive to our GTX 1080 using the same Display Port to Mini-Display Port cable that works with our GTX 980 Ti and confirmed that it doesn’t work. SteamVR does not detect that the HMD is plugged in, and it triggers the HMD display not found (208) error.
We tested the driver that Nvidia released along with the GTX 1080 (368.25) and the driver that it released with the GTX 1070 (368.39). It was the same story for both drivers.
We reached out to Nvidia for a comment, but so far, we’ve not heard a response from them. Hopefully Nvidia will resolve the issue with the next GeForce driver update, but for now, if you rely on HDMI for your primary display you might want to look for a VR specific model that has extra HDMI ports for VR HMDs, such as Asus’s GTX 1080 Strix. We will update the story with any relevant information if and when Nvidia replies.
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Oh! Wait! AMD does have a release with a problem and yes, AMD is slammed down like a cop-killing murder suspect before they even get a chance to investigate and fix the problem.
Nvidia issue? I can't hear the crickets chirp for the deafening silence.
I don't agree with this mentality. This is akin to game publishers with their "release now, patch later" method. Their "we already made bank on the pre-orders, so we don't care if the game is 100% polished" approach. Just because it may happen a lot does not mean it needs to be acceptable or condoned by the consumers. However, since most consumers don't seem to care and still shower these companies with money, they won't bother to change their tactics.
Is this a small problem? Yes, it's fairly niche, as Kevin says. However, it's also quite embarrassing. NVidia said VR was a big part of these cards. Yet they didn't thoroughly test them with the main VR products available. As someone experienced in QA, I can tell you the iceberg principle is the first question that crops up. If they missed this somewhat obvious small problem, chances are higher they missed a more obscure, yet bigger impact problem as well.
Was thinking about buying a 1080 to boost my vive performance. After the memory fiasco of my 970 and now this. I just hold off a bit.
Oh! Wait! AMD does have a release with a problem and yes, AMD is slammed down like a cop-killing murder suspect before they even get a chance to investigate and fix the problem.
Nvidia issue? I can't hear the crickets chirp for the deafening silence.
Very big difference between a port not working for a specialty device vs a GPU going out of spec and potentially, while not 100%, causing damage to your motherboard.
AMD's issue is much more serious than Nvidia's, and it potentially affects everyone.
Using a Display Port cable for the Vive is an optional setup, which requires a special cable that doesn't come in the box. Most people will never encounter this problem, hence why it hasn't gotten much attention.
There's a very big difference between an optional extra feature not working and a card being released with something fundamentally wrong with it.
I don't agree with this mentality. This is akin to game publishers with their "release now, patch later" method. Their "we already made bank on the pre-orders, so we don't care if the game is 100% polished" approach. Just because it may happen a lot does not mean it needs to be acceptable or condoned by the consumers. However, since most consumers don't seem to care and still shower these companies with money, they won't bother to change their tactics.
Is this a small problem? Yes, it's fairly niche, as Kevin says. However, it's also quite embarrassing. NVidia said VR was a big part of these cards. Yet they didn't thoroughly test them with the main VR products available. As someone experienced in QA, I can tell you the iceberg principle is the first question that crops up. If they missed this somewhat obvious small problem, chances are higher they missed a more obscure, yet bigger impact problem as well.
Technically its more of an issue than the AMD fiasco. That's just all a pitchfork party because numbers are higher than spec'ed. There's no fires, its not stopping any functionality for anyone period. While the this vive incompatibility might be a dealbreaker for some because it currently doesn't work PERIOD.
If you connect the Vive headset to the GPU HDMI port and then use a Displayport to Mini Displayport cable to the Vive breakout box and plug your TV in to the output HDMI on the breakout box then it'll work. That is if you go directly from the breakout box to the TV, if you go via a surround sound receiver it still might not work.
AMDs issue is affecting plenty of people. Some have experienced MB failures. And even more experience their system shutting down when they attempt to use their system due to the PCI over draw protection systems. It's everywhere, and it is a far more serious issue. Every major review and tech authority (which you are not) has agreed and/or even experienced this issue first hand.
Nvidia certainly made a mistake here, it is hardly a system breaking issue like AMD has. Educate yourself a little, ignorance wreaks
They have acknowledged the problem, and are posting a driver fix to address the issue, in the meantime, a simple fix, which I detailed, is available to get things working. Some people just like to whine.
Crap, some people must really be mad if they bought a 1070 or 1080 with an HMD. Hopefully they will get this fixed soon for those people wanting to use VR.
It also goes to show you still how few people actually own HMDs. If more people owned them, I'd think I would have heard about these issues prior to now.
When did they say they are Fixing with a driver???
Last official word from them is only "We are still investigating this issue.".
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/939426/geforce-1000-series/displayport-does-not-work-with-the-htc-vive-on-gtx-1080-/post/4898660/#4898660
Do you propose an alternative idea? It seems like usually drivers is the answer to everything, just saying :P I'm not saying it's what they'll do. But it's what they'll do.