GRAPHICSCARDS
80 JANUARY2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE383
UNLIKETHERESTof the RTXline-up,there’s
been no Super-branded do-over forthe RTX
2080 Ti.Perhaps that’s because it simply
doesn’tneed one: forall theimprovements
introduced by its more recentGeForce
brethren, includingthe RTX2080 Super, the
RTX2080Tiremainsinaleague of its own
forprice and performance.
That said,there have been some
developments sincewefirstlooked at Nvidia’s
own Founders Editionofthe RTX2080Tiback
inShopper371:mainly, the launchofpartner
card models.For the purpose of this group
test, then, we’ve doneafresh round of testing
with the MSIGeForce RTX2080 Ti Gaming X
Trio,which hasthe same 11GB of GDDR6 but
comes with afactory overclock of 1,755MHz.
An even more alluringupgrade is thetriple
fancooler,which you’ll notice is thesame as
that of theGeForce RTX2080Super GamingX
Trio.The dual-fancoolerofthe Founders
Edition was fine, but havingathird fanis
especially welcome whenthe GPU and circuit
board are as giganticasthis one.
GREATLENGTHS
On that note, yourfirstconcern when shopping
foranRTX 2080Tishould be whether youcan
actuallyfititinside your PC case.The GeForce
RTX2080TiGamingXTrio is almost
outwardly identical to MSI’s RTX2080Super
model, whichmeans it’s agargantuan 327mm
long, afull60mmmorethanthe Founders
Edition. Mostmid-tower chassisdesigns
should be able to squeeze it in,but alot of
smaller casessimplywon’t have room.
Another thing to check before buying is
howmany PSU cables youhave. This is the
firstgraphicscard we’vetestedtorequire nottt
one,not two,but three powerconnectors: twwwo
8-pin and one 6-pin. Whileit’s not uncommonnn
formodular andsemi-modular PSUstoincluddde
the requisitecables,cheaper and non-modulaaar
unitsmight only have oneortwo 6+2-pin
cables, so as with case size we strongly
suggest double-checking whether your PC caaan
accommodateagraphics card of this stature...
Once thesebarriers are cleared, however
–and you’ve paid the small fortune of £1,170
–the RTX2080Tirewards your investments
with performance that can go well beyond its
peers. Metro: Last Light Redux providesthe
best demonstration of this, with theRTX 208
Ti averaging 126fps at 1080p,97fps at 1440p
and45fps at 4K. At all three resolutions,
the game runs visiblysmoother thanthe
NVIDIA GeForce
RTX2080Ti
★★★★★
£1,170•From http://www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
NothingbeatstheRTX2080Tiforsheer
performance,althoughitspricingandpower
consumptionarejustashigh
RTX2080 Super
(assuming you have a
mmmooonnniiitttooorrrwwwiiittthhhaaasssuuuffiffifficcciiieeennntttlllyyyhhhiiiggghhh
refresh rate), andthis is also the only graphics
card of the bunchwithwhich disabling SSAA
isn’t essential forgood4Kperformance.Then
again, turning it off produces88fps, so it’s
worth doing regardless.
Tomb Raideralso sees the RTX2080 Ti
breaking records,with aspectacular 303fps
at 1080p and212fps at 1440p.Admittedly,at
these resolutions it wouldbenearly
impossible to perceive thedifference
between thiscard and the RTX2080Super,
but at 4K it still holdsameaningfuladvantage,
with110fpstothe slower GPU’s 87fps.
TEAM GAME
In Dirt Showdown,unfortunately,the RTX
2080 Ti is held back by the CPU –itcouldn’t
get past 112fps at both 1080p and 1440p.
At 4K, on theother hand,itmanagedtocreep
to the topofthe leaderboard, although its
113fps result is only marginally better than
thatofthe RTX2080Super.Ifyou’rewilling
andeager to buildaPC aroundthis GPU,
you’d betteradd arecent and high-powered
CPU to your shopping list, as holding it back
iiin bbbottllleneckkk-prone games iiiseven more offfa
shame than usual.
VR perormanceisnoconcern,asthe RTX
2080 Ti breezed to aperfect 11, and MSI hasn’t
fffooollllllooowwweeedddAAAMMMDDDaaannndddZZZoootttaaaccciiinnnttthhheeeiiirrraaabbbaaannndddooonnniiinnnggg
of the VirtualLinkconnection standard.
CompatibleVRheadsets owners will therefore
be able to getpower,video output and dataall
through asingle USB Type-C portonthe RTX
2080 Ti’s rear,and thereare still plenty of
portsfor regular monitors, including three
DisplayPort outputsand one HDMI socket.
Noise-wise,weexperienced abit morecoil
whinethan withthe RTX2080Super, although
it was still averyinfrequent occurrence,and
the three fans successfullyavoided excessive
volumeunder load.
Likewise,althoughthiswas thetoastiest of
Nvidia’s high-endGPUs,it’s nowhere near as
pronetooverheating. An idle temperature of
52°C might initially be cause foralarm, but this
only rises to 71°C under load, and the absolute
highest peak we witnessedwas 73°C.Even
with one shrunkenfan, MSI’scooler design is
more than amatch forthis hulking GPU.
Thosethree power connectors aren’t just
theretobeacable-tidying nuisance,however.
The RTX2080Tiisaverythirsty GPU indeed,
and the official TDP of 300W is accurate: we
recorded it jumpingaround the 298-305W
rangewhhhen running benchmarks. It shouldn’t
be surprising that an incredibly powerfulcard
needsanincrrredible amount of power, buta
capable PSU is vital. Nvidia suggests a650W
unit at minimmmum,and we’reinclinedtoagree.
LONELYATTHETOP
Therewillalwwwaysberoominthe market for
mbitious GPPPUs like this,even if the price is
ll outside sensibleterritoryfor most
ve bbbuyers, butatleast the RTX2080
perrrformance to back it up.
luxury purchase,however,and
000 Super, RTX2080 Super and
eon RX 5700XTcan all make
pectable runs at 4K for
nsiderably less cash, and mostly
thlower hardware requirements.
elogical choice is to getone of
ese instead, unless you’re lucky
oooughtohave£1,170 to spare.
