group test
Chris Szewczyk plays with the greatest graphics cards ever made.
The RTX 3080 is built around the Ampere GA102 GPU with 8,704 of its cores enabled. There are rumors of 20GB cards to come in the future, but for now, all cards come equipped with 10GB of GDDR6X memory. With a 320bit bus, the 19Gbps memory means there’s up to 760 GB/s of bandwidth on tap. About the only downside of this generation is the steep power consumption demand. 350W+ under stock operation is a lot of power indeed.
The RTX 3080 is clearly fast and it improves upon many of the characteristics that were introduced with Turing generation cards. Ray tracing performance is improved, along with better AI performance, a new Deep Learning Super Sampling algorithm and something that really excites us, RTX I/O. Direct GPU to SSD access is something to watch out for in the future.
We were all set to review the Founders Edition in our previous issue, however COVID and the resulting lockdowns continue to wreak havoc with couriers and despite repeated efforts, our sample was stuck in Melbourne for over a week. But, that’s all in the past. Here it is! It’s joined by the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio and the Asus ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC. These cards all have RTX 3080 written on the box but surprisingly they are quite different from one another. Which one you buy may come down to what’s available in stock at the time! Is affordability your most important purchase consideration? How about silence above all else? Perhaps you want the fastest card you can get to max out a 4K monitor? These cards cover all bases.
There’s been a lot of internet chatter regarding some intermittent crashing issues, however, we had no issues on any of the three cards we tested. If it turns out that rushed designs were the reason, we’re quite sure that by the time stock levels stabilise, all retail cards will perform as expected. The combination of driver and BIOS tweaks, along with rapidly updated capacitor implementations mean that this issue will likely fade quickly into the rear view mirror.
Which card will come out on top? We covered the MSI Gaming X Trio in our last issue and we love its cool and quiet operation and excellent performance, but does it differentiate itself enough over the cheaper 3080 cards? How about the Asus Strix? ROG cards are usually at the top of the pile when it comes to over-engineering and unique features, but this one carries a hefty price premium. All the cards have their strengths and not too many weaknesses. It’s going to be an interesting battle. Let’s get to it! $1,139 | www.nvidia.com
Founders Edition cards took a big step forward last generation thanks to the move to a dual axial fan design and away from blowers. The RTX 3080 FE takes another step forward with a unique fan implementation and PCB design. One of the eyecatching design choices is the use of a new 12-pin power connector. The downside of this cable is the placement of the connector. It doesn’t lend itself to perfect cable management.
Physically the card is two slots only and its height doesn’t protrude above the PCIe bracket. This means it will remain compatible in the vast majority of cases, even compact ones that won’t accommodate huge RTX 3080 partner cards. It comes with the standard three DP 1.4a ports and a single HDMI 2.1 port. USB-C has been left out of this generation.
Performance wise, the card lags a little behind the partner cards, but a few frames here and there won’t be missed. It runs a bit hotter too. We recorded a peak temperature of 74c with the fan at 71 percent. At this speed it was definitely audible, but nothing to be alarmed over. It’s significantly better than Pascal generation blower coolers.
The RTX 3080 Founders Edition is a fantastic advert for the RTX 30 series. It’s very affordable, relatively compact and offers a stunning performance uplift. We hope stock continues to be available. It can’t match the outright performance or the cooling capabilities of the much larger partner cards, but at this price and with the performance on offer, such minor compromises are well worth the cost saving.
“The RTX 3080 is clearly fast and it improves upon many of the characteristics that were introduced with Turing generation cards.”
8,704 CUDA cores; 1,440MHz Base Clock, 1,815MHz Boost Clock; 10GB GDDR6X 19Gbps memory, 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth; 3x Display Port 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1; 3x 8-pin power connector.
The MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio is a step up from the Founders Edition. It’s much larger but that means lower noise levels and lower temperatures. Given the way Nvidia’s GPU boost algorithm works, this directly affects the performance of the card.
The MSI’s PCB is an improvement of the FE, but it’s the Asus that leads the way there. Does the PCB matter to a rank and file gamer? Perhaps not. It’s the cooler that sets the MSI apart. If you want a cool and quiet card, this is the one to buy out of the three we tested. The MSI includes the standard three DP 1.4a ports and a single HDMI 2.1 port.
The MSI consistently held boost clocks in the region of 1950MHz+. It makes a mockery of the official boost clock which is advertised as 1815MHz. At no stage did we see clocks drop that low. These clocks were well above what we saw from the FE but a little bit behind the aggressively clocked Strix. A brief OC test showed the MSI to be quite limited, likely due to power limitations rather than anything else.
At $1,469 the MSI Gaming X Trio is a definite jump in price over the FE, though it’s actually a relative bargain. It’s the TriFrozr cooler that really impresses us. If cool and quiet gaming is your priority, you won’t do much better than this. It’s not as ‘extreme’ as the Asus, but then it’s much better value. We’re excited to see if MSI comes out with a Lightning card. That would be something extreme indeed!
The MSI Gaming X Trio is the card to get if you want to game in silence. 8,704 CUDA cores; 1,440MHz Base Clock, 1,905MHz Boost Clock; 10GB GDDR6X 19Gbps memory, 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth; 3x Display Port 1.4a, 2x HDMI 2.1; 3x 8-pin power connector.
You can always trust Asus to push the envelope and it’s done it again here with the ROG Strix 3080 OC. It’s a genuine triple slot behemoth. The Asus features the most aggressive and over-specced PCB design of the tested cards, with no less than 22 phases! This is likely to be an overclockers favorite card. There’s also dual BIOS and it comes equipped with an additional HDMI 2.1 port, so there’s two in addition to the three DP 1.4a ports.
The Strix was the fastest card in our test, not by a lot, but it was ahead of the pack. We saw it boost to over 2,000MHz at times, with temperatures never going above 65c. The cooler is clearly very strong and it appears Asus has designed it for cooling ability ahead of prioritising noise levels. It’s definitely not a loud card, but the MSI has the edge in terms of noise levels. Oh, if you love RGB lighting, you’ll love this.
The Asus can be considered the extreme card of the one we tested. It’s the most performance-oriented card and the most overclocker friendly. We hit 2,050MHz without increasing the power. Once properly tested tools come out, this design should shine. The Strix was also the biggest power consumer of the bunch, pulling up to 380W at stock. Summer in your house will be a bit hotter!
This is the card to buy if you want the best on the market right now. You’ll pay a steep price for it, but that’s flagship pricing. Whether it’s worth hundreds of dollars more is up to you and your bank balance.
The Strix stunningly powerful, perhaps even overkill but overclockers will love it.