Conclusion
...a factory overclocked beastie whose build quality, RGB lighting and cooling performance live up to expectations.Despite its performance potential and forward-looking Turing architecture, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2080 isn't currently a straightforward GPU to recommend.
With prices starting at £725, the second-tier RTX isn't meaningfully quicker in today's games than a GTX 1080 Ti that is readily available for less. Yet there's always merit in attempting to future-proof a PC build, and the hope is that developer support for emerging technologies such as ray-tracing and DLSS will soon allow the RTX 2080 to punch at a higher level.
It's a gamble whose outcome remains uncertain, but MSI isn't waiting around and joins the RTX 2080 fray with no fewer than nine custom designs, seven with air coolers and two employing liquid. Prices range from £770 for a basic Aero model to £920 for a Sea Hawk X, and the firm's flagship air-cooled model is the Gaming X Trio, priced at £815.
In keeping with prior generations, the triple-fan colossus is a factory overclocked beastie whose build quality, RGB lighting and cooling performance live up to expectations. Such accolades used to be enough to steer end users away from reference boards, but improvements to Nvidia's Founders Edition are such that the £750 FE is practically as quick, more efficient, and, surprisingly, a tad quieter when gaming.
Bottom line: MSI's Gaming X Trio doesn't do a lot wrong, but as with most RTX 2080 cards, we feel as though pricing needs to drop below £800 in order for it to warrant consideration.
Turing architecture holds promise
Excellent build quality throughout
Silent when idle, quiet when gaming
Considerably larger than reference
Not much faster than GTX 1080 Ti
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio
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The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio graphics card is available to order from Scan Computers.
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