Taiwan-based Micro-Star International is known for its high-quality MSI brand graphics cards. It ranks among the top three computer hardware manufacturers worldwide. In this article, we'll be testing and reviewing one of its graphics cards, the MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio , which was first released on August 27, 2018. This card is available online for approximately €850.
Introducing the MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio graphics card
The MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio graphics card boasts a sleek and modern design, featuring a black and gray color scheme. Three large Torx fans are mounted on the front panel. The rear panel is finished with a brushed metal plate that perfectly complements the front. An RGB LED lighting both the front and side panels. The MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio measures 327 x 140 x 55.6 mm and weighs 1.553 kg . This card occupies three slots horizontally and connects to the motherboard via its PCIe 16x 3.0 slot. MSI includes a metal mounting bracket in the box, though it is less effective than the monopod mounting system provided by KFA2 on its HOF cards.
The GPU features 2944 shader cores . The MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio's GPU operates at 1.515 GHz. When overclocked, its 13.6 billion integrated transistors can reach 1.860 GHz . The GPU was manufactured using a 12-nanometer process. This card is quite robust and comes with a 2-year manufacturer's warranty.
8GB of GDDR6 memory 256-bit memory bus . The bandwidth used is 448 Gb/s . The memory operates at a frequency of 7 GHz. The MSI RTX 2080 consumes a TDP of 260 Watts power supply is recommended .
For the cooling system, MSI uses a fairly quiet and efficient heatsink called Tri-Frozr . The GPU is in contact with a nickel-plated copper plate. MSI uses high-quality thermal paste. The heatsinks feature wave-shaped edges for a more efficient cooling system. The three Torx 3.0 fans are equipped with curved blades to improve airflow. Two of these fans have a diameter of 9.5 cm and one 8.5 cm. The fans direct air towards the large heatsink below. MSI has used a double-row ball bearing system for the fans. This gives them the robustness and endurance needed for intense gaming sessions, and for years to come. The cooling system keeps the card's components below 69°C . This is significantly better than the performance of the RTX 2080 Founders Edition card supplied by Nvidia. With the latter, the components reached a peak temperature of 78°C. Once the GPU temperature drops below 56°C, the cooling system shuts down completely for improved energy efficiency and reduced noise.
The card has five outputs, including three DisplayPort 1.4 ports, one HDMI 2.0b port, and one USB-C port. It can drive four displays simultaneously. The MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio supports DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6 technologies, among others. You can use Dragon Center software to optimize your system and gaming environment.
Advanced features of the MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio graphics card
The MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio graphics card is based on the Turing architecture and the RTX platform, delivering up to six times the performance of the previous generation. Ray tracing and DLSS create a realistic and highly immersive gaming environment. It's the first card to feature real-time ray tracing, resulting in a breathtaking effect.
Regarding the RGB lighting , there are 5 lighting zones: 4 around the card and one on the edge. Various effects can be applied. Management is easier using MSI's Mystic Light software . This software allows you to control all your MSI RGB LED-equipped peripherals to create a cohesive effect: keyboard, mouse, motherboard, headset, speakers, and even equipment from other partners (Corsair, G.Skill, Razer, Thermaltake, SteelSeries, Cooler Master, etc.).
Dragon Center allows you to optimize your PC and MSI graphics card. It offers eight functions, including System Monitor, System Tuner, LED Wizard, Voice Wizard, Gaming Mode, Mobile Center, Shift, and Tools & Help. From these functions, you can customize the power supply , overclock, optimize cooling, set fan speeds, control the RGB lighting system, monitor the system, activate gaming mode, and more.
RTX 2080 graphics processor benchmark
When testing the RTX 2080 on Fortnite, we obtained the following results: at 720p, the average frame rate was 425 FPS; at 1440p, the card displayed 82.5 FPS and at 4K/2160p resolution, we measured 42.5 FPS.
If we compare the RTX 2080 to its closest competitors, it performs similarly to the GeForce GTX 1070 SLI . It lags behind the Titan RTX and the GeForce RTX 2080 Super . The RTX 2080 outperforms the GeForce RTX 2070 Super (97.46%), the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (95.16%), and the Titan V (92.21%).
When comparing the RTX 2080 card to other cards based on their G3D Mark scores, it tops the list with a score of 18,579. It thus surpasses, among others, the GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (G3D Mark score 18,093), the Radeon RX 5700 XT (G3D Mark score 16,740), the GeForce RTX 2060 (G3D Mark score 14,001), the GeForce GTX 1070 (G3D Mark score 13,330) and the Radeon RX 580 (G3D Mark score 8,766).
In 3DMark tests, the RTX 2080 outperforms the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 and the NVIDIA Titan XP . However, it performs slightly less well than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti .
In short, the MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio graphics card delivers excellent performance. It also features Ray Tracing and AI-powered DLSS. We have no complaints about the cooling system, which is both efficient and quiet. We highly recommend this card. It's available online, notably on Amazon, for €850.
