facebook rss twitter

Review: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio

by Parm Mann on 10 November 2017, 09:00

Tags: MSI, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadmxt

Add to My Vault: x

Conclusion

...a stepping stone to Lightning Z, with three fans, a huge heatsink and cooling performance that puts the Founders Edition to shame.

Nearly 18 months after its debut, the efficient yet powerful Nvidia Pascal architecture retains a firm grip on the high-end GPU landscape.

At the top of the 10-series portfolio, the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti continues to serve as the preferred GPU for many enthusiasts, and substantial partner support has given would-be buyers an embarrassment of riches to choose from.

MSI already has over a dozen models in production, including both air- and liquid-cooled variants, but there's still room for more. Hoping to appeal specifically to users who shy away from the traditional Gaming X colour scheme, the new Gaming X Trio serves as a stepping stone to Lightning Z, with three fans, a huge heatsink and cooling performance that puts the Founders Edition to shame.

GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio is an impressive beast, yet with so many alternatives it is easy to nitpick some of the finer details. Are those red LEDs going to scupper a themed build? Is the factory overclock too conservative? And is the size and weight a little too cumbersome for your liking? Such points are worth bearing in mind, but they are minor blemishes on what is ultimately a top-class graphics card.

The Good
  
The Bad
Still the best GPU for enthusiasts
Solid build quality throughout
Excellent cooling performance
Ample overclocking headroom
Runs quiet under load
  
Red LEDs don't suit all builds
Big and heavy



MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio

HEXUS.where2buy

The MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio graphics card is available to purchase from Scan Computers.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


« PREVIOUS PAGE

HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Posted by Tunnah - Fri 10 Nov 2017 13:20
That's a crappy boost. My FE goes to 1840mhz, and it has the stupid hoover-sounding cooler.

EDIT: oops, checked GPU-Z and what it says under boost is different to what it actually runs at. What mhz did the card actually go up to ? For instance, my boost value says 1582mhz but in practice runs at 1840mhz
Posted by Parm - Fri 10 Nov 2017 15:35
Tunnah
EDIT: oops, checked GPU-Z and what it says under boost is different to what it actually runs at. What mhz did the card actually go up to ? For instance, my boost value says 1582mhz but in practice runs at 1840mhz
Out the box it hovered between 1,870MHz and 1,900MHz. With the overclock in place it stays above 2,000MHz.
Posted by TooTay - Mon 13 Nov 2017 19:39
Tunnah
That's a crappy boost. My FE goes to 1840mhz, and it has the stupid hoover-sounding cooler.

EDIT: oops, checked GPU-Z and what it says under boost is different to what it actually runs at. What mhz did the card actually go up to ? For instance, my boost value says 1582mhz but in practice runs at 1840mhz

I've got this card and it boosted to 1976Mhz without touching anything, I've got it at 2050Mhz with the sliders maxed in afterburner and +75 on core and that seems to be it's limit as with most of these cards. Temperature wise I use a custom fan curve with 10% for every 10 degrees and after a long gaming session in a 25c room it goes to 63c @ 60% fan speed, it's inaudible when gaming with headphones on and silent when at idle.

I used to water cool all my cards primarily for the noise reduction but since using these MSI Twin Frozr cards (I have a 1070 one as well) I don't see the need.
Posted by alsmith - Tue 14 Nov 2017 18:14
yep. Red seems to be everywhere.
What about :stop: red?
Or use those multi-colour leds (like some do) and supplying a few different coloured plastic trims so we can customise to what we want? It's not like graphics cards are cheap, they could easily absorb the cost of a few bits of coloured plastic and multi-colour leds.