Conclusion
We have now reviewed our first retail custom video card based on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GPU. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GAMING X TRIO is going for around $749, which is a price premium of $50 over the reference Founders Edition price of $699.
Performance-wise this video card provides a high level of GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER based performance. It has a high 1845MHz boost clock, but because of its robust TRI-FROZR thermal design and custom PCB GPU Boost can run this video card much higher when gaming, 1965MHz sustained.
This level of performance did provide a performance boost versus a standard GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Founders Edition. In addition, it proves a boost in performance over the original GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition. The only thing faster than this video card is the next GPU in the lineup, the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. It brings performance much closer to that GPU, more than the RTX 2080 FE ever could.
Watch our video preview of this video card on our YouTube channel.
Overclocking
Overclocking is what really sets this video card apart. We managed to get a high degree of overclocking out of it. With the robust cooling, we were not held back by temperature. The only thing holding us back was TDP and the silicon lottery. We had a lot of headroom for overclocking.
We managed to actually get it up to 2.1GHz (2100MHz) for a short period of time. Otherwise, it settled on 2085MHz for prolonged gaming. That is a very high frequency for this GPU. It really pushes it and guarantees you are getting the most from the TU104 GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GPU. It’s probably right at the limits of what you can get on air.
Then there is the memory overclock, it also impressed us. The default memory frequency is 15.5GHZ, but without any voltage increases, we managed to get it to 17GHz! That really pushes the memory bandwidth past that magical 500GB/sec mark up to 544GB/sec.
Overclocking Performance
At this level of overclocking the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER really shines over the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition. We experienced some results of 17-20% faster with the overclock. That’s the kind of boost you want to see. It does show however that it takes an overclock like this to get that kind of boost.
It’s interesting because originally the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER was only like 4-7% faster than the GeForce RTX 2080 FE. However, when you apply an overclock like this to it then it makes it worth it, it makes the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER actually appealing.
There is no doubt that the cooling on this video card is not holding the GPU back. MSI has over-engineered this video card in that department, it is way more than this GPU actually needs. That’s a good thing though for the hardcore hardware enthusiast. It really gives you confidence in this video card.
Final Points
Confidence-inspiring really is the catchphrase for the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GAMING X TRIO. With its incredible build quality, and its over-engineered cooling and customization this video card inspires overclock. It is overclocking that really sets the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GPU apart and makes it appealing. It brings performance much more forward, past the original GeForce RTX 2080 FE and closer to the next tier of performance.
At $749 it brings performance to the top-level of the performance of the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER and what it is capable of. That overclocking is what makes that price premium worth it. Then there is the fact that the video card does also have a very high out-of-box frequency, to begin with. These kinds of boosts are needed to make the RTX 2080 SUPER GPU worth the price. Thankfully, the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GAMING X TRIO makes that so.
