Gameplay Performance
Alan Wake 2
In Alan Wake 2, we are running a beta developer build, which NVIDIA provided us access to, which supports DLSS 4. We are running at the highest quality settings at 4K, and we find that the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC allows a very playable experience in this game near 60FPS at 4K and maximum settings. Turning on DLSS improves that to almost 100FPS. The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC is a tad faster than the RTX 5080 FE. What is really amazing though is the overclock, when we overclocked the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC performance increased by 7% and is now much closer to the GeForce RTX 4090 FE, only 10% slower now.
Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong was very demanding at 4K in the Cinematic quality preset, so we lowered the game to 1440p, which did provide a playable experience on the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC at 62FPS. Oddly, it was a bit slower than the GeForce RTX 5080 FE, but the DLSS performance was exactly the same at 85FPS, providing a similar experience.
Where the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC stood out was when we overclocked it, overclocking performance improved by 8%. Look how fast the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC is compared to the GeForce RTX 4090 now when it is overclocked, they are only 1FPS apart! Even the DLSS performance is practically the same. Finally, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC is on par with the GeForce RTX 4090 in this game when it is fully overclocked.
Cyberpunk 2077
Wow, what a turn of events for the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC in Cyberpunk 2077! Before overclocking, yes it is just a bit faster than the GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition. When we overclock the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC though, performance increases by 9%, and it actually outperforms the GeForce RTX 4090 for the first time ever! For the first time,e we can really say that the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC is 7% faster than the GeForce RTX 4090!
Dying Light 2
In Dying Light 2 at 4K the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC easily provides a playable experience. Again, it is slightly faster than the GeForce RTX 5080 FE, and when we overclock it performance increases by 8% and it is much closer to the GeForce RTX 4090 FE.
F1 24
In F1 24, the blows through this game easily, and it’s a little faster than the GeForce RTX 5080 FE. When we overclock it, performance increases by 10%, which is very impressive.
Horizon Forbidden West
In Horizon Forbidden West the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC also provides a very smooth experience at 80FPS at 4K. It is about 2% faster than the GeForce RTX 5080 FE, but when we overclock it performance increases by 7% and now it is 9% faster than the GeForce RTX 5080 FE.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
In Indiana Jones the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC is more than playable at Supreme quality at 4K. It’s 3% faster than the RTX 5080 FE, but overclocking improves it by another 8% and now it is within spitting distance of the GeForce RTX 4090.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
In Stalker 2, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC does allow a playable experience, but it is not as much faster in this game from overclocking as the other games. Still, with the overclock it is only 6% behind the GeForce RTX 4090 FE.
Star Wars Outlaws
In Star Wars Outlaws the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G VANGUARD SOC actually helps quite a bit for this game. It made a real difference at 4K when overclocked, giving us a 60FPS average beating the GeForce RTX 5080 FE by 10% when it is overclocked. Overclocking improved performance by 8%. It puts it 13% behind the RTX 4090 FE.