MSI Gaming Z and Gaming X Differentiated Some More

btarunr · May 31, 2016

We found out more information on what sets MSI Gaming Z series graphics cards apart from the Gaming X series. The Gaming X series cards, such as the GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X, which was part of the company's first wave of GTX 1080 cards, is the middle grade of the Gaming series. The Gaming Z series (such as the GTX 1080 Gaming Z, which is coming soon), is the top-tier variant.

The Gaming X GTX 1080 features double ball bearing fans, a few gamer-specific features though MSI Gaming Control Center, a back-plate, and a significant factory OC. The Gaming Z, on the other hand, gives you all the features of the Gaming X, but higher clock speeds, and a custom RGB LED setup lining the top logo and an MSI "Dragon" logo on the back-plate.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

atomicus · May 31, 2016

Custom RGB with red plastic all over the card. WHEN WILL THEY LEARN!?!

P4-630 · May 31, 2016

Red/black fits just nicely in my new system

Prima.Vera · May 31, 2016

There going to be 2 types of TwinFrzr Gaming cards??? Z and X ??? Wth....

ensabrenoir · May 31, 2016

atomicus said:
Custom RGB with red plastic all over the card. WHEN WILL THEY LEARN!?!

Silly human ...RGB is the future......resistance is futile.....you will be assimilated......

Frick · May 31, 2016

I must have developed dyslexia or something, because I found this part really messy.

"We found out more information on what sets MSI Gaming Z series graphics cards apart from the Gaming X series. The Gaming X series cards, such as the GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X, which was part of the company's first wave of GTX 1080 cards, is the middle grade of the Gaming series. The Gaming X series (such as the GTX 1080 Gaming X, which is coming soon), is the top-tier variant."

Then I figured you've mixed them up.

P4-630 · May 31, 2016

Frick said:
The Gaming X series (such as the GTX 1080 Gaming X, which is coming soon), is the top-tier variant."

Right, that should be GTX 1080 Gaming Z then

Moofachuka · May 31, 2016

I got even more confused after reading the article...

Random Murderer · May 31, 2016

So the only thing that sets the Z apart from the X is a slight OC from the factory and RGB lighting on a small portion of the back...
I wonder how much of a premium MSI will be charging for these "features?"

P4-630 · May 31, 2016

Random Murderer said:
So the only thing that sets the Z apart from the X is a slight OC from the factory and RGB lighting on a small portion of the back...
I wonder how much of a premium MSI will be charging for these "features?"

My guess is $25~$30

silentbogo · May 31, 2016

And I was just having a laugh at their motherboards branding.... :laugh:

Can't wait for an upcoming MSI GTX1070 PRO RGB GAMING PLATINUM/OC SPECIAL EDITION

Ruru · May 31, 2016

There are still plenty of alphabets left for future models. :laugh:

rtwjunkie · May 31, 2016

silentbogo said:
And I was just having a laugh at their motherboards branding....

Can't wait for an upcoming MSI GTX1070 PRO RGB GAMING PLATINUM/OC SPECIAL EDITION

That wins the prize for best naming!!

Seriously though, I wouldn't be surprised to see sonething almost that bad.

Prima.Vera · Jul 26, 2016

Anyone know if a Gaming X can be flashed successfully with a Gaming Z firmware?
Tryed to look it up on the Internets but no luck....

P4-630 · Jul 26, 2016

Prima.Vera said:
Anyone know if a Gaming X can be flashed successfully with a Gaming Z firmware?
Tryed to look it up on the Internets but no luck....

Don't know about that.
Why would you want?
You can OC it manually to Gaming Z clocks.

cadaveca · Jul 26, 2016

P4-630 said:
Don't know about that.
Why would you want?
You can OC it manually to Gaming Z clocks.

But that requires running additional software. So many people complain about having to run software when it comes to the GAMING APP, so it only makes sense such users want a card that is high clocked without needing software to do so...

Prima.Vera · Jul 27, 2016

P4-630 said:
Don't know about that.
Why would you want?
You can OC it manually to Gaming Z clocks.

The Z has quite big freqs on OC mode. I tried reaching those via the Afterburner, but the game froze and driver crashed. My guess you need to adjust the power mode and voltage too for that, which can only be done properly via the Firmware.

kill_and_eat_u · Sep 1, 2016

Prima.Vera said:
Anyone know if a Gaming X can be flashed successfully with a Gaming Z firmware?
Tryed to look it up on the Internets but no luck....

It sure can done it myself on a GTX 1080 in OC mode but going much more on base clocks became unstable, got mine out to 1780mhz base clock and +500 on memory not quite sure if it changes the power draw either but sits around 80%, also watercooled witch also seems to be better and doesnt fluctuate, on air though it wouldnt run the gaming Z bios for more than 30mins without crashing, running gaming mode bios was fine though at 1733mhz...
link to the bios can be found here just go down a bit on the page

http://www.overclock.net/t/1601288/official-nvidia-gtx-1080-owners-club/5530

rtwjunkie · Sep 1, 2016

cadaveca said:
But that requires running additional software. So many people complain about having to run software when it comes to the GAMING APP, so it only makes sense such users want a card that is high clocked without needing software to do so...

Well if you want a custom fan profile which will cool infinitely better that the default, then you'll be running Afterburner anyway. I can't imagine ever not using a custom fan profile.

cadaveca · Sep 1, 2016

rtwjunkie said:
Well if you want a custom fan profile which will cool infinitely better that the default, then you'll be running Afterburner anyway. I can't imagine ever not using a custom fan profile.

I can't imagine ever actually needing one on an MSI card. I use MSI GAMING GPUs pretty much exclusively these days; GPUs don't get hot, and are virtually silent. That's a hard thing to do effectively, but MSI does (just check W1zz's reviews).

So for me, I'd buy the GAMING Z to get the highest clocks I could, and leave well enough alone. I'm not about to OC a GPU as the performance difference never really justifies it for me.

That said, I do run the added software. I wasn't speaking from my own perspective; I was merely relating common complaints. I won't use afterburner though; the GAMING APP is sufficient for me.

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Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
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Processor	Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
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Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s)	KUROUTOSHIKOU RTX 5080 GALAKURO
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Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
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Audio Device(s)	Plantronics 5220, Nektar SE61 keyboard
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Keyboard	Dell SK3205
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

MSI Gaming Z and Gaming X Differentiated Some More

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

atomicus

P4-630

Prima.Vera

ensabrenoir

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

P4-630

Moofachuka

Random Murderer

The Anti-Midas

P4-630

silentbogo

Moderator

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

Prima.Vera

P4-630

cadaveca

My name is Dave

Prima.Vera

kill_and_eat_u

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

cadaveca

My name is Dave

System Name	No Name
Processor	i7 980 @ 4.2ghz
Motherboard	GA-X99M-GAMING
Video Card(s)	MSU Gaming X 1070
Audio Device(s)	X7 Creative LE
Mouse	Razer Naga
Keyboard	K95 Corsair RGB Blue

System Name	TOO MUCH RADIATOR! \| The TV Box a.k.a. The Shoebox
Processor	Core i7 4930K @ 4.5GHz \| Core i5 6600K @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard	Asus X79 Rampage IV Extreme \| Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
Cooling	Custom water on CPU and GPU, dual 360mm radiators \| Corsair H80i
Memory	4x 8GB G.Skill TridentX DDR3-1600 \| 2x 4GB G.Skill RipJaws 4 DDR4-3000
Video Card(s)	Sapphire AMD R9 295x2 \| PowerColor AMD HD7970
Storage	Samsung SSD 830 256GB, various others \| 2x 1TB Seagate Barracudas in RAID1
Display(s)	Dell U2713HM 2560x1440 IPS \| Panasonic TC-L32E5 1080p IPS TV
Case	Thermaltake Suppressor F51 (stripped down to hold two radiators) \| Cooler Master Elite 130
Audio Device(s)	RM-DAC -> Xiang Sheng 708b -> Sennheiser HD650 \| HDMI sound device on 7970
Power Supply	LEPA G1600-MA 1600W \| Corsair CX750M 750W
Software	Win 10 64
Benchmark Scores	over 9000 BungholioMarks, "Bitchin' Fast"

System Name	WS#1337
Processor	Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard	ASUS X570-PLUS TUF Gaming
Cooling	Xigmatek Scylla 240mm AIO
Memory	64GB DDR4-3600(4x16)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	ADATA Legend 2TB
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Audio Device(s)	ALC1220
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VR HMD	Google dreamview headset(aka fancy cardboard)
Software	Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

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VR HMD	Oculus Rift CV1
Software	Windows 11 Pro / Windows 11 Pro
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Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax ETS-T50 Black CPU cooler
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Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

Processor	6700k
Motherboard	asus formula viii
Cooling	ek predator AIO 360mm cooling both CPU and GPU
Memory	32gb kingston hyperX ddr4
Video Card(s)	MSI gtx 1080 gaming X
Storage	240gb samsung evo, 500gb samsung evo M.2
Display(s)	asus PG279Q ips g-sync 1440p
Case	Corsair 780t
Audio Device(s)	none
Power Supply	EVGA supernova G2 1000w
Mouse	ROG spatha
Keyboard	Corsair K95
Software	windows 10