MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X 8 GB

[SmokingCrop]

"You will not hear them when the card is installed in a case - and running at full load"
I dislike it when reviews say things like this. You clearly don't have a silent system in a silent house with open ended headphones then..

Great review though.

ps: maybe it's time to switch to a new game for the quick overclock result? By the end of the year you'll be at 175 FPS or so, lol

 

[Jnubbles]

I am a little surprised this got such a high rating considering how MSI have priced themselves compared to other brands. It's not any better than the FE edition as far as overclocking is concerned yet it costs $100 than the other AIB cards. I don't think this pricing should be rewarded with an editors choice award.

 

[GreiverBlade]

Just wait for the 1080Ti price! (We need an emoticon of clutching the chest)

"i used to be an enthusiast like you, then i took a "nvidia pricing list" in the knee..."

 

[W1zzard]

I dislike it when reviews say things like this. You clearly don't have a silent system in a silent house with open ended headphones then..

I do and I have the measurements to back it up.

You have a MSI 970 Gaming, which should be roughly the same noise level. No way you can hear that when in installed in a case and you sit next to it.

 

[the54thvoid]

Just wait for the 1080Ti price! (We need an emoticon of clutching the chest)

Some people probably think I'm an Nvidia apologist but I want the fastest single solution for my 1440p set up. But frankly, things aren't looking good price wise and I do blame the lack of serious high end competition. I would happily buy AMD if it shat all over a 1080 but I don't see it happening any time soon unfortunately.

 

[mrthanhnguyen]

The EVGA ACX 3 is only $649 and has the same perf. Why this card is more expensive?

 

[HD64G]

Great review as always W1z!

Some points about the conclusion and rating from my point of view though:

1) Price isn't good at all, being over the greedy FE.
2) OC is small as it results in less than 10% more FPS when done.
2) Power consuption is high (+70W for the 6-7% more FPS compared to the reference).

So, I would give this specific model 8,5/10 max, 9,8/10 is too much for it imho.

 

[GreiverBlade]

The EVGA ACX 3 is only $649 and has the same perf. Why this card is more expensive?

my side :
ACX SC = 839chf ... 868.85$
ACX FTW= 899chf... 930.99$


same player try again ...

 

[the54thvoid]

Great review as always W1z!

Some points about the conclusion and rating from my point of view though:

1) Price isn't good at all, being over the greedy FE.
2) OC is small as it results in less than 10% more FPS when done.
2) Power consuption is high (+70W for the 6-7% more FPS compared to the reference).

So, I would give this specific model 8,5/10 max, 9,8/10 is too much for it imho.

Price doesn't make it a bad product. Just expensive. Given the 4k summary:

It destroys everything out the box.

If it is the fastest card by a long shot (it is) and it consumes less power than last gen's top dog (it does) and it is whisper quiet (it is) it would have been a 10.

It's not a 10 because of the factors you mention.

Though OC shouldn't be a factor as W1zzard never uses over volting so it's not really that much of a proper OC.

 

[pat-roner]

I have a Kingpin 980ti - and this is too silly a price for me......

I know the feeling. 980ti extreme edition from gigabyte here. Looks like the 1080 is around 10% performance increase over my 980ti overclocked. Not that impressive when factoring in the price TBH.

 

[Fluffmeister]

2) Power consuption is high (+70W for the 6-7% more FPS compared to the reference).

True, but then people seemed to balk at cards with just a single 8pin connector when in reality it seems they will clock exactly the same.

Cheaper cards like the EVGA SC or a Palit Jetstream would be my preference if I was in the market for a 1080.

 

[pat-roner]

True, but then people seemed to balk at cards with just a single 8pin connector when in reality it seems they will clock exactly the same.

Cheaper cards like the EVGA SC or a Palit Jetstream would be my preference if I was in the market for a 1080.

Looks like design and cooler performance is the thing to consider when buying a 1080. The FE has done pretty well performance and OC wise - to bad it's getting gimped by the cooler.

 

[Air]

Ok question: Is it possible to undervolt these cards using the new boost 3.0 features? I mean, instead of increasing clocks for each voltage value, reduce voltage for each clock value. If so, by how much? Can these cards be undervolted at all?

 

[the54thvoid]

Ok question: Is it possible to undervolt these cards using the new boost 3.0 features? I mean, instead of increasing clocks for each voltage value, reduce voltage for each clock value. If so, by how much? Can these cards be undervolted at all?

Why would you?

Besides, after reading a little at OCN, Pascal seems to be really closely controlled for TDP and voltage. Shame really. It's looking to be Nvidia's Fury X for overclocking.

 

[SmokingCrop]

I do and I have the measurements to back it up.

You have a MSI 970 Gaming, which should be roughly the same noise level. No way you can hear that when in installed in a case and you sit next to it.

Do you know at what fanspeed I should set my MSI 970Gaming in order to test this?
Because I can clearly hear it at 42% with the case next to me on the ground. (case fans run at 450~ RPM, Dual CPU fans at 350~ in idle with 550~ under load, passive PSU, no HDDs)
And that's by manually setting the fan, in auto mode it's just too loud for me.

ps: 42% is silent enough to not notice it while gaming (a lot of games have moments where it's almost dead silent and hearing fans at that point is annoying to me).

edit:
also, "MSI has also included the idle-fan-off feature we love so much since it provides a perfect noise-free experience during desktop work, Internet browsing, and even light gaming." is very contradicting as you couldn't even hear it at full load..?

 

[TheDeeGee]

Do you know at what fanspeed I should set my MSI 970Gaming in order to test this?
Because I can clearly hear it at 42% with the case next to my on the ground. (case fans run at 450~ RPM, Dual CPU fans at 350~ in idle with 550~ under load, passive PSU)
And that's by manually setting the fan, in auto mode it's just too loud for me.

That's why i will be getting the 1070 AERO and slap an Arctic Accelero Xtreme 4 on it ^^

Been using Arctic on my GPUs for over 10 Years and i only trust them when it comes to a Dead Silent GPU under load.

My current 680 has a Twin Turbo 2 with the Fan Speed Fixed at 35%, and it never goes above 70C.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Not very impressive given the price. Given that these 8+6 pins cant OC any better then the 8 pin models, something like the $620 EVGA ACX 1080 is the way to go this round. Hopefully that card has as good of temps as the MSI model.

 

[ZoneDymo]

that power ussage, what happened

 

[Air]

Why would you?

Besides, after reading a little at OCN, Pascal seems to be really closely controlled for TDP and voltage. Shame really. It's looking to be Nvidia's Fury X for overclocking.

Well with my current card (R9 270X) i can overclock to get an negligeable improvement in performance, around 4% i think, or i can undervolt to -81 mv, an get a VERY noticiable drop in temperatures (6-7 C), and fan speed. Its nice to have this option.

Edit: also because maybe im getting an FE and Im very afraid of the noise.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Well with my current card (R9 270X) i can overclock to get an negligeable improvement in performance, around 4% i think, or i can undervolt to -81 mv, an get a VERY noticiable drop in temperatures (6-7 C), and fan speed. Its nice to have this option.

Edit: also because maybe im getting an FE and Im very afraid of the noise.

I;ve heard that the FE editions are rather quiet, although I would question why wouldnt you get one of the much cheaper ACX editions from EVGA that are $80 cheaper.

I also do the same undervolt thing with my CPUs. My 3570k is running at stock boost speeds of 3.8 GHz at .975 volt or so, much lower then the stock voltage. It's fun when nothing in your PC really heats up.

 

[Assimilator]

If AMD really can sneak Polaris' promised performance in at $200 they're gonna have a winner on their hands. The prices for the Pascal cards are insane.

 

[rtwjunkie]

If AMD really can sneak Polaris' promised performance in at $200 they're gonna have a winner on their hands. The prices for the Pascal cards are insane.

Even at a bit more (they need the cash) and they will snag half the market. I just don't see these Pascal's selling at even half that rate.

 

[GreiverBlade]

Even at a bit more (they need the cash) and they will snag half the market. I just don't see these Pascal's selling at even half that rate.

Well then definitely 2 RX480 for me if I can sell my Poseidon Platinum when they will be available...

 

[Air]

I;ve heard that the FE editions are rather quiet, although I would question why wouldnt you get one of the much cheaper ACX editions from EVGA that are $80 cheaper.

I also do the same undervolt thing with my CPUs. My 3570k is running at stock boost speeds of 3.8 GHz at .975 volt or so, much lower then the stock voltage. It's fun when nothing in your PC really heats up.

Yeah i do the same to my cpu 4670 non-k, stock, 120 mV undervolt. In this condition even the stock cooler is overkill, silent in most applications.

Im considering the Evga cards aswell, just waiting for reviews on noise. Past generation was not so good in this departament according to reviews.

 

[jihadjoe]

Wait, so the regular reference card actually clocked higher than this OC special...