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slot design expands cooling surface area compared to last gen for more thermal headroom than ever before. However, it’s worth remembering that if you’re playing with headphones or your case is a bit further from where you sit, you’re unlikely to notice the noise. Our Thoughts We’re also happy to report that the RTX 3080 is now much more readily available despite some availability issues at launch.
The fan noise and heating department did show improvements, but that was about all. However, if you have proper case ventilation, you shouldn’t be too concerned about this. Our Thoughts
GA102 GPU Notes
Primarily due to Zotac’s IceStorm 2.0 chiller, Trinity is among the top performers temperature-wise. Our Axial-tech fan design has been optimized for a new, larger heatsink that features more fins and surface area than last gen. The blade count has been increased on all three fans, with 13 on the center fan and 11 on the auxiliary fans. The barrier ring on the side fans has been slimmed down to allow for more lateral intake and to provide better airflow through the cooling array. The center fan’s extra blades and full-height ring provide boosted static pressure to blast air directly onto the GPU heat spreader. Super Alloy Power II includes premium alloy chokes, solid polymer capacitors, and an array of high-current power stages. This limited edition of the ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 3080 features a completely white colorway on top of all the generational improvements to the ROG Strix series. Now’s your chance to build a high-end white-themed gaming rig with the latest in graphics technology. Axial-tech Fan Design has been tuned up with more fan blades and a reversed rotational direction for the center fan.
Generation RT Cores: Experience 2X the throughput of 1st gen RT Cores, plus concurrent RT and shading for a whole new level of ray tracing performance. Axial-tech fan design has been tuned up with more fan blades and a reversed rotational direction for the center fan. Furthermore, the driver problems have also been ironed out to an extent. Right now, getting an RTX 3080 is probably the best gaming choice you can make. Yes, that includes getting a next-gen console.As always, there are several versions of the card from different AIB partners. We will find out which company has the best RTX 3080 graphics card. However, the results of benchmarks vary, not only from the other hardware components but also from the benchmarking tool, so take them with a grain of salt. In our synthetic tests, the Asus ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC performs well falling in line nicely between the MSI RTX 3090 GXT and a Founder’s Edition RTX 2080 Ti. In Time Spy and Unigine Superpostion, we saw ~20% performance increase from the 2080 Ti to our 3080 while Fire Strike (Extreme) was a bit higher, around 22%. The Port Royal test showed the largest increase approaching 25%. Gaming Benchmarks Asus uses an application called GPU Tweak II to control their graphics cards. Like other similar applications, you’re able to control a slew of functionality from the interface. This includes core and memory speeds, power limit and voltage, fan control, and more. The interface is simple and easy to use if looking a bit dated compared to other applications (MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision X1). It is simple and easy to use – just how we like it. Zotac used its IceStorm 2.0 cooler for this card, and this is probably the reason why its version performs better in the cooling department. The 3-fan design, along with a new heat pipe layout, have outperformed the FE card. Given how NVIDIA touted its new fan design, this is a massive win for Zotac. Our Thoughts
The first thing you’ll notice about the RTX 3080 ROG Strix OC is its size. It’s absolutely massive, and you could easily mistake it for an RTX 3090. The usual 3-fan design and the physical BIOS switch on the card itself are present, with ‘Performance’ and ‘Quiet’ modes available. It’s worth saying that there isn’t much difference between these two modes in terms of performance, but the different sound levels will be much more noticeable. Our ROG Strix proved itself in our testing easily beating out the RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition, though it does use quite a bit more power and takes up a lot more space on the motherboard. With its three fans and large heatsink, it was also surprisingly quiet during tests and an extended gaming session. Read on to see more details about the card and its performance below. Specifications and Features Nvidia RTX 3000 Series Specifications Unlike the previously discussed ASUS RTX 3080 ROG Strix OC, this card doesn’t have a physical BIOS switch option. This might not be necessary, as the cards with this option perform pretty much the same regardless of the switch. The well-known NVIDIA partner EVGA comes through with another unique variant of NVIDIA’s flagship card: the EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 ULTRA. First up, we have an RTX 3080 GPU from Zotac. Unlike its edition of the RTX 2080, this one is almost identical to the Founders Edition version of the RTX 3080.The same system is responsible for good cooling numbers in benchmarks, but that performance comes at a price. The result of stronger cooling is often the dreaded fan noise, and Eagle has issues with that.
The EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080 graphics card is one of the best choices out there if you’re not looking to splash the cash for the RTX 3090. In comparison to the previous generation’s ROG Strix card, which was pretty big in its own right, this model is significantly larger. This might have been expected due to the RTX 3080’s massive performance upgrade. Needless to say, it’s bigger than the Founders Edition, but it’s worth pointing out that, although it technically only needs two slots, this is a 3-slot card. Firstly, we have to talk about the quietness of this card. Among the third-party RTX 3080 cards, which are generally already pretty quiet, the Gaming X Trio is noticeably the quietest. It doesn’t increase RPM until necessary, and, as a result, the fans are nearly silent and can only be heard when you press your ear to the case. Gigabyte has produced yet another stellar NVIDIA card. Based on its looks alone, the Eagle is among the most unorthodox-looking RTX 3080 cards, but that doesn’t prevent it from being an excellent option.For the most part, the gaming benchmarks show our RTX 3080 running behind the mighty RTX 3090 and well ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti. Far Cry New Dawn and a couple of other titles were closer than many would imagine but this is due to the “low” resolution and the fact that these games are mostly CPU limited. As the resolution goes up and the balance shifts more to the GPU we’ll see performance fall more along the lines that we expected. That said, the 3080 isn’t really meant for 1080p gaming, save for those looking to drive a 240 Hz monitor. 2560×1440 and 4K UHD Results To bolster the specialized roles of the center and auxiliary fans, the rotational direction of the center fan has been reversed. This reduces airflow turbulence inside of the cooling array for another boost to the card’s overall thermal performance. The sum of the ROG Strix’s cooling innovations results in lower fan speeds and raises the performance threshold for achieving a sub-55 degree GPU temp, at which point the fans can shut off completely. Builders seeking quiet performance will be pleased. In addition to under-the-hood design changes, the ROG Strix features a new face with metal accents that mirror the design aesthetic of ROG and ROG Strix motherboards. Mixing surface textures and materials make a statement when vertically mounted and lit by chassis LEDs. For those who prefer a sleeker, more subtle look, the greyscale colorway allows it to seamlessly blend into the build. Zooming in on the I/O area, we’re presented with three DisplayPort (v1.4) ports and two HDMI (2.0b) ports. The maximum digital resolution is a whopping 7680×4320 (8K). The I/O plate has large vents to let some of the heated air escape directly out of the chassis. Power is fed to the card through three 8-pin PCIe connectors.
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