Best MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

Launched with the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, the Gaming X Trio series from MSI now also hosts GeForce RTX 20. The manufacturer has taken advantage of the new generation of graphics cards from Nvidia to review certain details of its cooling system. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio is thus presented as a resolutely high-end “custom” card, with a silent cooling system, an advanced LED lighting system and factory overclocking.

Presentation

With the Gaming X Trio, MSI clearly does not do it in half measures. Like the GeForce GTX 10 series, it is very large, 33 cm long for three PCI slots thick , and heavy (1.5 kg). In order to avoid any fixing problem, MSI provides a small metal arm which is fixed on PCI slots of the case. However, we find this system less effective than a monopod type foot, like the one provided by  KFA2 on some of its HOF cards .

The cooling system is an improved version of the older generation Gaming X Trio . The graphics chip is always in contact with a nickel-plated copper plate – MSI also ensures the use of high-quality thermal paste -, itself always in direct contact with copper heat pipes, also nickel-plated. There is one more, however, with seven units in total. These heat pipes run through the two finned radiators. Much thicker than on the first iteration of the MSI system, these radiators now have edges with wave-shaped ends. According to the firm, this would promote the air flow and therefore increase the cooling efficiency.

Best MSI GeForce MSI RTX 2080 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. MSI GAMING GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GDRR6 352-bit HDMI/DP/USB Ray Tracing Turing Architecture Graphics Card (RTX 2080 TI GAMING X TRIO)

2. MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDRR6 256-Bit HDMI/DP Nvlink Tri-Frozr Turing Architecture Overclocked Graphics Card (RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio)

3. MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 8GB GDRR6 256-bit VR Ready Graphics Card (RTX 2080 GAMING X TRIO)

4. MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 8GB GDRR6 256-bit HDMI/DP/USB Ray Tracing Turing Architecture Graphics Card (RTX 2080 Ventus 8G OC) (Renewed)

5. MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDRR6 256-Bit HDMI/DP Nvlink Torx Fan Turing Architecture Overclocked Graphics Card (RTX 2080 Super Ventus XS OC)

The power stages of the GPU and the memory are in contact with a metal plate which is directly welded to the radiator adjoining them. Graphic memory benefits from a simple metal plate. If it will certainly help the heat dissipation of the GDDR6, it will not be as effective as if it had been in contact with a real radiator.

All these pretty people are cooled by three fans (two 9.5 cm and one 8.5 cm in diameter). The two large fans are located above the elements that generate the most heat, namely the GPU and the power stage. Newly designed, these fans take the name of Torx 3.0. They are composed of two sets of blades with a profile designed to promote air flow and minimize the impact on noise pollution – a reverse speech would nevertheless have been surprising. The drive is provided by a double ball bearing system.

Mystic Light will show you all the colors

The graphics card lighting system has been completely overhauled. There are now five lighting zones: four around the fans and one on the edge of the card. These five zones are of the RGB LED strip type. It is thus possible to choose a multitude of effects, more or less rhythmic, of fixed, changing or multiple colors. Everything is managed from the MSI Mystic Light application.

And of course, this lighting can be combined with the brand’s other Mystic Light products in order to obtain coherent machine lighting and avoid the nightclub effect. MSI thus offers a whole bunch of components and peripherals of this kind, whether they are motherboards, heatsinks, keyboards, mice or headsets. But the brand has also partnered with other equipment manufacturers to offer more choice to users, with power supplies, boxes and even RAM. The list of MSI partners is quite large, but we will notably note the presence of Corsair, Razer, G.Skill, Cooler Master or Thermaltake and SteelSeries.

Factory frequencies and manual overclocking

This model is factory overclocked at the graphics chip level – the 8 GB of GDDR6 was not affected and remains at 1750 MHz. Thus, if the GPU keeps a base frequency of 1515 MHz – as on the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition from Nvidia -, the average GPU Boost frequency goes from 1800 MHz to 1860 MHz. A fairly slight difference on paper, but higher in practice. Indeed, if the real average frequency of the Nvidia reference card is 1800 MHz. Here it is 1920 MHz, with fairly small oscillations (between 1905 and 1935 MHz).

In manual overclocking , we were able to stabilize the graphics chip on the card at 2055 MHz, which is rather high. The memory for its part did not exceed 1945 MHz.

Noise

The MSI cooling system is particularly effective since it is able to maintain the GPU at 69 ° C. It’s still 9 ° C better than the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition from Nvidia and 4 ° C better than the Palit GeForce RTX 2080 GameRock Premium . An excellent result which is accompanied by a very good performance in terms of noise pollution. The card is thus extremely noisy. We gain 5 dB (A) and 1 dB (A) compared to the two cards mentioned. With the case closed, it is really very difficult to perceive the breath generated, unless you stick your ear to the case.

And at rest, it’s even better. The MSI Gaming X Trio completely cuts off its ventilation as soon as the graphics chip drops below 56 ° C. To be precise: the two fans do not switch on until the GPU reaches 56 ° C, the small fan coming into action once the 60 ° C is exceeded. A system called Zero FrozR which is both pleasant for the ears and practical for extending the life of the fans.

Performance in games

With the additional 100 MHz on the GPU and a graphics memory that does not move an iota. We do not notice a miracle on performance in games. We gain on average 3% compared to a. MSI GeForce MSI RTX 2080 Founders Edition when the games are executed in. 4K and barely 1% on the lower definitions. By pushing the card via manual overclocking. We will get closer to gains of between 5 and 10% depending on the games.

Consumption

Power consumption is much higher on this custom model than on the reference MSI GeForce MSI RTX 2080. We thus note peaks at nearly 280 watts for averages ranging from 247 and 262 watts depending on the games. It’s still between 15 and 40 watts more! At rest, we are in the norm, with 14 watts.

As the increase in electricity consumption is not accompanied by a clear increase in performance, there is a decrease in energy efficiency – that is to say, the relationship between performance and electricity consumption. We remain on values ​​much higher than those observed at AMD, but the small gain observed in games is paid at a particularly high price on electricity consumption. MSI could probably have done better at this level.

STRONG POINTS

  • Perfect discretion in games.
  • Fans stopped when the card is at rest.
  • Very efficient cooling system.
  • Customizable and successful lighting system.

WEAK POINTS

  • Low GPU factory overclocking.
  • No factory memory overclocking.
  • High power consumption for an RTX 2080.

CONCLUSION

The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gamnig X Trio graphics card will surely satisfy players looking for a very quiet graphics card. Its serious construction, the efficiency of its cooling system and its truly accomplished lighting system are all assets that fall into its purse. A great success that is ultimately marred by a slightly higher power consumption than usual for a card equipped with an RTX 2080 chip.

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