Conclusion
When the GeForce RTX 50 Series launched with its new Founders Edition blow-through design, we did wonder if MSI would either build upon the newer design or continue to use the already established MSI EXPERT design from the previous generation MSI GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16G EXPERT. It does appear that MSI will stick to its own push/pull design, though, inspired by a “Founders Edition” look, it is most definitely uniquely MSI. Today, we took a look at the new MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC video card, which has a factory overclock, and MSI’s iconic EXPERT look with an MSI storefront pricing of $1,299.99.
The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC features MSI’s push/pull front and reverse fan design in a gold/black themed color scheme, with a 3D mesh grill and air pass-through. This generation, MSI has both an OC Edition and a non-OC Edition of the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT. In addition, MSI also has the EXPERT series based on the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti as well, both OC and non-OC models. The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC has a factory overclock of 2715MHz out of the box, giving it a boost over a standard RTX 5080’s reference clock of 2617MHz. It features 16GB of GDDR7 at 30Gbps, and MSI’s Flow Frozr 2 thermal design.
Performance
In our gameplay performance testing today, we looked at the 4K gaming experience in ten games, with raster performance, DLSS Upscaling performance, and ray tracing with DLSS Upscaling performance. In Alan Wake 2, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC allowed a playable experience at 4K and the highest settings, and DLSS Upscaling allowed 90FPS gaming at 4K here. With Ray Tracing, performance was still playable, though challenging; moving down to Balanced DLSS Upscaling makes it more playable.
Black Myth: Wukong was challenging on performance, and required DLSS Upscaling at 4K to be playable at Cinematic quality, though really you’d want to drop it to Balanced DLSS Upscaling for this game. Ray Tracing is out of the question, even with DLSS Upscaling. In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, performance was challenging and required DLSS Upscaling to play smoothly at 4K at Epic quality settings. Cyberpunk 2077 played extremely well with high framerates, and did not require DLSS Upscaling, though with it gameplay is even smoother. This game also performed very well with Ultra Ray Tracing and DLSS Upscaling.
Doom: The Dark Ages played well at Ultra Nightmare, especially with DLSS Upscaling performance was in the 90s. Path Tracing is not going to be an option, though, at 4K and Ultra Nightmare, even with DLSS Upscaling, it’s just a bit over the top. Horizon Forbidden West played great at 4K with smooth performance. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle played extremely well at Supreme quality with high framerates. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II also played very well without DLSS, but with it performance was in the 90s. Stalker 2 does need DLSS Upscaling at 4K to enjoy Epic quality at 4K. Star Wars Outlaws definitely needs DLSS Upscaling at 4K to really enjoy it, and the RTX Direct Lighting is a bit too demanding.
Compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC has a factory overclock. In our gameplay testing, we found this provides an average of a 2% performance bump in games, at most 3%. We also included a GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER last-gen video card for comparison. The performance advantage compared to it varied a lot depending on the game and setting. We saw anywhere from mid-teen percentages, up to 30%, but it really depends on the game and settings. Overall, you can expect around an average of 20% performance advantage with the newer MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC. In our testing, overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC averaged 7% performance gain over the standard performance.
Overclocking – Power – Temp – Fans
We overclocked the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC as high as possible, trying both Voltage and without extra Voltage. Overall, we found that leaving Voltage alone was the best configuration and simply raising the core frequency and memory frequency, as well as the power target. The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC allows a power target increase of up to 11%, giving it more headroom than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition.
Overall, we achieved a higher overclock with the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC, reaching up to near 3200MHz when overclocked. This provided a good little bump in games, without exceeding TDP and without adding much heat or fan noise. Keeping the fans on auto, they only rose a couple of percent, and the fan noise level did not change while overclocked. The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC consumes more power than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition, however, and much more when overclocked.
Considering the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC is only about 2% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition, yet uses 6% more power, it doesn’t seem worth the performance increase. However, you can of course lower the power target, which will lower power usage, but at 355W, it is within the specified TDP for the video card and the official spec.
In our testing, MSI’s push/pull fan configuration is working very well; temperatures were better than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition. In fact, the memory temperature was very impressive, improving greatly upon the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition. Noise levels were excellent on the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC. We didn’t really get annoyed with the fans until a level well above 60% fan speed, which the video card never hit at all in gaming, staying in the 40% range, therefore quiet. Even when they did ramp up, the ramp-up was gradual and not abrupt.
Final Points
There is a lot to like about the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC video card. First and foremost, MSI is bringing an old-school Founders Edition design to the new GeForce RTX 50 series, something you won’t get from NVIDIA. The new NVIDIA blow-through design is new and unique in its own right, but it does move away from a previously well-known push/pull design from generations back.
MSI is therefore bringing a unique spin (ha get it?) to the design language for the GeForce RTX 50 series this generation. In addition, the color scheme and build quality are appealing and bring both a professional and eloquent look. It also functions well; it does not hamper its ability in any way, and in fact helps it in some ways. The only drawback for your build is that the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC is a physically larger video card than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition. It is longer, taller, and well, thicker; it will take up more slots. However, it will bring something unique to your build as well, and give it a great look.
Overall, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC continues upon the MSI EXPERT series that MSI has built up since the GeForce RTX 40 Series. This generation MSI offers an OC Edition and a non-OC model based on the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and GeForce RTX 5080. If you are looking for a video card that offers a unique design element to your build and offers a good 4K gameplay experience, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G EXPERT OC is a new card you might want to check out. It certainly earns our award for great design.
