• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z 11 GB

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
MSI's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z is the company's flagship RTX 2080 Ti. Its out of the box overclock is larger than on most other cards, and it actually provides significant performance gains. MSI also added a lot of features for overclockers, and RGB is present, too.

Show full review
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
5,717 (0.98/day)
System Name Virtual Reality / Bioinformatics
Processor Undead CPU
Motherboard Undead TUF X99
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory GSkill 128GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra
Storage Samsung 960 Pro 1TB + 860 EVO 2TB + WD Black 5TB
Display(s) 32'' 4K Dell
Case Fractal Design R5
Audio Device(s) BOSE 2.0
Power Supply Seasonic 850watt
Mouse Logitech Master MX
Keyboard Corsair K70 Cherry MX Blue
VR HMD HTC Vive + Oculus Quest 2
Software Windows 10 P
Hmm so I wonder which is better, the Kingping FTW3 or this one.
 

M2B

Joined
Jun 2, 2017
Messages
284 (0.11/day)
Location
Iran
Processor Intel Core i5-8600K @4.9GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
Cooling Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
Memory XPG 8GBx2 - 3200MHz CL16
Video Card(s) Asus Strix GTX 1080 OC Edition 8G 11Gbps
Storage 2x Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
Display(s) BenQ PD3200U
Case Thermaltake View 71 Tempered Glass RGB Edition
Power Supply EVGA 650 P2
I was expecting it to beat the Strix 2080Ti in terms of thermals and noise levels.
But seems like asus' cooling solution for 2080Ti is in another level compared to all other 2080Ti's.
I understand the fact that the power limit has increased for the lightning Z model and it's clocked higher but still, I don't think its cooling solution is as capable as asus'.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
3,275 (0.46/day)
Location
Sunny California
Processor Intel Core i9 13900KF
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero EVA Edition
Cooling Asus Ryujin II 360 EVA Edition
Memory 4x16GBs DDR5 6800MHz G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo Series
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX 4090 AMP Extreme Airo
Storage 2TB Samsung 980 Pro OS - 4TB Nextorage G Series Games - 8TBs WD Black Storage
Display(s) LG C2 OLED 42" 4K 120Hz HDR G-Sync enabled TV
Case Asus ROG Helios EVA Edition
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S910W - 7.1 Klipsch Dolby ATMOS Speaker Setup - Audeze Maxwell
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 1300W
Mouse Asus ROG Keris EVA Edition - Asus ROG Scabbard II EVA Edition
Keyboard Asus ROG Strix Scope EVA Edition
VR HMD Samsung Odyssey VR
Software Windows 11 Pro 64bit
My Asus Strix 2080 Ti OCs a bit higher than this card, but I have a feeling the real potential for this card is gonna be realized when people use LN2 to cool it, the power delivery circuitry is over engineered with that purpose in mind.

Thanks for the review.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,366 (3.72/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
Well done!

Any chance we can sort the maximum overclock table by maximum overclocks instead of alphabetical? :)
 

Nkd

Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
364 (0.06/day)
its a damn shame. I actually wanted to consider picking up a 2080ti. But there seem to none around the original promised MSR. 1300+ for everything. Even EVGA raised the price on their black edition card when it was supposed to be 999 but they switched it to 1100 now. Suckers! ROFL! Only reason I didn't buy it because they pretty raised the MSRP after press release. They can suck it.

Pretty much everyone is selling above founders edition. Last time actually we started seeing cards below 1080ti founders edition tax. But its almost 5 months now and everyone is milking it.
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2014
Messages
190 (0.05/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name NorthBlackGoldDream
Processor Ryzen 7600X
Motherboard Gigabyte B650M-DS3H
Cooling Arctic Freezer II 240
Memory 16 GB DDR5-5200C40
Video Card(s) GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB
Storage 1 TB NVMe PCIe 3.0
Display(s) 24.5" 240 Hz TN
Case Fractal North Black Mesh
Power Supply 650W
My Asus Strix 2080 Ti OCs a bit higher than this card, but I have a feeling the real potential for this card is gonna be realized when people use LN2 to cool it, the power delivery circuitry is over engineered with that purpose in mind.

Thanks for the review.

Honestly that might come down to sampling. Yes these cards aren't remarkable unless placed under LN2 - that is their purpose as far as I know.
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
Well done!

Any chance we can sort the maximum overclock table by maximum overclocks instead of alphabetical? :)
Click the header?
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2016
Messages
473 (0.17/day)
Long are the days of overclocking the crap out of your hardware without exotic cooling...

Even MSI's own Duke card achieved a higher GPU clock than their Lightning in W1zard's tests, and by the looks of it, it didn't run any cooler under load either.

In a couple years when GPUs are pumping out 100 FPS in 4k we're going to have some really unexciting competition between AIB partners.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2013
Messages
2,178 (0.54/day)
Location
Deez Nutz, bozo!
System Name Rainbow Puke Machine :D
Processor Intel Core i5-11400 (MCE enabled, PL removed)
Motherboard ASUS STRIX B560-G GAMING WIFI mATX
Cooling Corsair H60i RGB PRO XT AIO + HD120 RGB (x3) + SP120 RGB PRO (x3) + Commander PRO
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 2 x 8GB 3200MHz DDR4 C16
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX2060 Twin Fan 6GB GDDR6 (Stock)
Storage Corsair MP600 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD
Display(s) LG 29WK600-W Ultrawide 1080p IPS Monitor (primary display)
Case Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow (White) w/Lighting Node CORE + Lighting Node PRO RGB LED Strips (x4).
Audio Device(s) ASUS ROG Supreme FX S1220A w/ Savitech SV3H712 AMP + Sonic Studio 3 suite
Power Supply Corsair RM750x 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular
Mouse Corsair M65 RGB FPS Gaming (White)
Keyboard Corsair K60 PRO RGB Mechanical w/ Cherry VIOLA Switches
VR HMD Pico 4 128GB AIO VR Headset* (* = in consideration of getting one)
Software Windows 10 Professional x64 (Update 22H2)
so, the 2080Ti FE is $100 cheaper than the non FE?? whut? Am I seeing things? anyways, great review as always, W1zz. Anyways, I don't see the RTX cards not supporting Windows 7 as a drawback when the majority of userbase are using Windows 10.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
holy crap that power draw...
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
Yes.
And the price, and the size... and the price
But then we read things like or
followed by a very short list of cons... but no, tech press is not biased.
Look at perf/watt. It's more energy efficient than the Founders Edition.

I thought I was clear about the price?
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
Yes.
And the price, and the size... and the price
But then we read things like or
followed by a very short list of cons... but no, tech press is not biased.
I consider peak power draw as important as average draw,you don't want those spikes to exceed your psu capabilities.
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
I consider peak power draw as important as average draw,you don't want those spikes to exceed your psu capabilities.
I'm sure a lot of people will use a $1600 card with a 450 W PSU ;)
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
I'm sure a lot of people will use a $1600 card with a 450 W PSU ;)
no but with peak draw at 360w stock, if you have a HEDT system with oc both the CPU and the card and running on a 650W,I would not be surprised to see OCP tripped.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
6,862 (1.17/day)
Location
S.E. Virginia
System Name Barb's Domain
Processor i9 10850k 5.1GHz all cores
Motherboard MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
Cooling Deep Cool Assassin III
Memory 2*16gig Corsair LPX DDR4 3200
Video Card(s) RTX 4080 FE
Storage 500gb Samsung 980 Pro M2 SSD, 500GB WD Blue SATA SSD, 2TB Seagate Hybrid SSHD
Display(s) Dell - S3222DGM 32" 2k Curved/ASUS VP28UQG 28" 4K (ran at 2k), Sanyo 75" 4k TV
Case SilverStone Fortress FT04
Audio Device(s) Bose Companion II speakers, Corsair - HS70 PRO headphones
Power Supply Corsair RM850x (2021)
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech Orion Spectrum G910
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2
Software Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Benchmark Scores https://www.3dmark.com/spy/34962882
$1600 for just a video card? I built a full top of the line system with a 780ti for about that much. Video card prices ARE OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE. I can buy a car for less money. It killed me to spend $750 on the 780ti, there is no way I could justify spending this much money on a video card, even if I was rich.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
that'll buy you 1080Ti SLI and a 9700K
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Messages
155 (0.07/day)
So, no voltage unlock and 2250 MHz on air/water I suppose?
Hm, where I can find more info about boost 4.0 - can't find it on the ocn.

So, simply put - this card is completely useless for 99.8% of users? Especially taking into account that price tag - 600$ for aib - are they nuts? And I bet pricetag on shelf will be even more ridiculous - 2000$ I guess?
Damn shame. Eventually, it will kill all the AIBs aswell, because from now, it's all about how quite and cold the card is - all other factors, such as max oc, VRM quality, PCB complexity is no more relevant, yeah.
And that's going to be nightmare for all of us, frankly speaking - because soon, with such approach, only asus/gigabyte/msi gonna stay, with nvidia sharing the whole market. Or even worse - only single nvidia puting prices out of a hat. I'm not even talking about myself - because, in that case, with nvidia videocard (not gpu!) monopoly, I won't see any solid gpu in my country at all. Why? Because nvidia doesn't sell it's gpus in ukraine - only aibs, there's no way you can get FE here. And now imagine the situation, if there were only FE available to buy, only directly from nvidia, only in preselected countries.
 

Black Haru

Staff member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
1,567 (0.30/day)
Location
Indiana
no but with peak draw at 360w stock, if you have a HEDT system with oc both the CPU and the card and running on a 650W,I would not be surprised to see OCP tripped.

You are right. So don't buy a 650 W system for a high end HEDT build.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT

Black Haru

Staff member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
1,567 (0.30/day)
Location
Indiana
or don't buy this and a hedt cpu for a gaming rig.

Certainly a fair point. Although a overclocked 9900k can still pull close to 300 W by itself, so mainstream isn't entirely safe either. (I know, I know, a 9900k isn't really necessary for gaming either)

The fact is that this is a halo product, it's about proving what MSI is capable of. As with all such products you pay a steep premium for that small bit of extra.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,366 (3.72/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
buy you 1080Ti SLI and a 9700K
It will? 1080 Ti is $1000+ itself now.

If you pick your power supply right (adequate headroom), peak values do not matter much honestly. MSI calls it a 300W card and suggests a 650W PSU for it. That will handle most PCs, even HEDT, with some overclocking. That said I am surprised they didn't suggest 750W. I'd be more comfortable there with HEDT fully OC'd and this GPU. I run my system now on a 750W PSU and the fan never turns on the thing (7960x @ 4.4 GHz, 2080 Ti FE overclocked). A 650W would suffice in most cases.
Click the header?
Awesome.. never knew that! Any chance it can be sorted that way by default? Its a table of OCs and its in alphabetical order. The first piece of info users should see is what the table shows IMO. :)
 
Last edited:

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
Awesome.. never knew that! Any chance it can be sorted that way by default? Its a table of OCs and its in alphabetical order. The first piece of info users should see is what the table shows IMO. :)
Problem is sort by max GPU OC or max memory OC? That's why I went for alphabetical
 
Top