Here is where we begin the benchmark portion of this article, but first let me show you our test system plus the software we used.
Mainboard
MSI X99A GODLIKE Gaming - Review
Processor
Core i7 5960X [Haswell-E] @ 4.4 GHz on all eight cores - Review
Graphics Cards
GeForce GTX 1080 - 8 GB GDDR5X graphics memory MSI Sea Hawk X edition
Memory
16 GB [4x 4096 MB] 2,133 MHz DDR4
Power Supply Unit
1,200 Watts Platinum Certified Corsair AX1200i - Review
Monitor
Dell 3007WFP - QHD up to 2560x1600 ASUS PQ321 native 4K UHD Monitor at 3840 x 2160 - Review
OS related software
Windows 10 64-bit DirectX 9/10/11/12 End User Runtime [Download] AMD Radeon Software Crimson Driver 16.6.1 [Download] NVIDIA GeForce Driver 368.39 [Download]
Software benchmark suite
- [DX12] Hitman [2016]
- [DX12] Rise of the Tomb Raider [2016]
- [DX12] Total War: Warhammer
- [DX12] Ashes of Singularity
- [DX11] The Division
- [DX11] Far Cry Primal
- [DX11] Fallout 4
- [DX11] Anno 2205 [2016]
- [DX11] Battlefield Hardline
- [DX11] Grand Theft Auto V
- [DX11] The Witcher III
- [DX11] 3DMark 11
- [DX11] 3DMark 2013 FireStrike
- [DX11] Thief
- [DX11] Alien: Isolation
- [DX11] LOTR Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
- [OpenGL] DOOM [2016]
A Word About "FPS"
What are we looking for in gaming, performance wise? First off, obviously Guru3D tends to think that all games should be played at the best image quality [IQ] possible. There's a dilemma though, IQ often interferes with the performance of a graphics card. We measure this in FPS, the number of frames a graphics card can render per second, the higher it is the more fluently your game will display itself.
A game's frames per second [FPS] is a measured average of a series of tests. That test is often a time demo, a recorded part of the game which is a 1:1 representation of the actual game and its gameplay experience. After forcing the same image quality settings; this time-demo is then used for all graphics cards so that the actual measuring is as objective as can be.
Frames per second Gameplay 60 FPS Best possible gameplay
- So if a graphics card barely manages less than 30 FPS, then the game is not very playable, we want to avoid that at all cost.
- With 30 FPS up-to roughly 40 FPS you'll be very able to play the game with perhaps a tiny stutter at certain graphically intensive parts. Overall a very enjoyable experience. Match the best possible resolution to this result and you'll have the best possible rendering quality versus resolution, hey you want both of them to be as high as possible.
- When a graphics card is doing 60 FPS on average or higher then you can rest assured that the game will likely play extremely smoothly at every point in the game, turn on every possible in-game IQ setting.
- Over 100 FPS? You either have a MONSTER graphics card or a very old game.
Monitor Setup
Before playing games, setting up your monitor's contrast & brightness levels is a very important thing to do. I realized recently that a lot of you guys have set up your monitor improperly. How do we know this? Because we receive a couple of emails every now and then telling us that a reader can't distinguish between the benchmark charts [colors] in our reviews. We realized, if that happens, your monitor is not properly set up.
What Are You Looking For?
- Top bar - This simple test pattern is evenly spaced from 0 to 255 brightness levels, with no profile embedded. If your monitor is correctly set up, you should be able to distinguish each step, and each step should be visually distinct from its neighbours by the same amount. Also, the dark-end step differences should be about the same as the light-end step differences. Finally, the first step should be completely black.
- The three lower blocks - The far left box is a black box with in the middle a little box a tint lighter than black. The middle box is a lined square with a central grey square. The far right white box has a smaller "grey" box that should barely be visible.
You should be able to distinguish all small differences, only then you monitor is setup properly contrast and saturation wise.
When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
The number of pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.
Floating-point performance is a measurement of the raw processing power of the GPU.
The number of textured pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.
The memory clock speed is one aspect that determines the memory bandwidth.
Shading units [or stream processors] are small processors within the graphics card that are responsible for processing different aspects of the image.
TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene. More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.
The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.
Memory
The effective memory clock speed is calculated from the size and data rate of the memory. Higher clock speeds can give increased performance in games and other apps.
This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.
VRAM [video RAM] is the dedicated memory of a graphics card. More VRAM generally allows you to run games at higher settings, especially for things like texture resolution.
Newer versions of GDDR memory offer improvements such as higher transfer rates that give increased performance.
A wider bus width means that it can carry more data per cycle. It is an important factor of memory performance, and therefore the general performance of the graphics card.
Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.
Features
DirectX is used in video games, with newer versions supporting better graphics and features. The latest version is DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes support for ray tracing, mesh shaders, and variable rate shading [VRS].
OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit [GPU] for non-graphical computing. Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.
The graphics card supports multi-display technology. This allows you to configure multiple monitors in order to create a more immersive gaming experience, such as having a wider field of view.
A lower load temperature means that the card produces less heat and its cooling system performs better.
Ray tracing is an advanced light rendering technique that provides more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in games.
Allows you to view in 3D [if you have a 3D display and glasses].
DLSS [Deep Learning Super Sampling] is an upscaling technology powered by AI. It allows the graphics card to render games at a lower resolution and upscale them to a higher resolution with near-native visual quality and increased performance. DLSS is only available on select games.
AMD's Smart Access Memory [SAM] and Intel's Resizable BAR are two technologies that allow the CPU to have faster access to the graphics card, which can give a performance boost. It requires a compatible motherboard, graphics card, and CPU.
Ports
Devices with a HDMI or mini HDMI port can transfer high definition video and audio to a display.
More HDMI ports mean that you can simultaneously connect numerous devices, such as video game consoles and set-top boxes.
Newer versions of HDMI support higher bandwidth, which allows for higher resolutions and frame rates.
Allows you to connect to a display using DisplayPort.
With more USB-C ports, you are able to connect more devices/peripherals.
Allows you to connect to a display using DVI.
Allows you to connect to a display using mini-DisplayPort.
General info
The thermal design power [TDP] is the maximum amount of power the cooling system needs to dissipate. A lower TDP typically means that it consumes less power.
A higher transistor count generally indicates a newer, more powerful processor.
Small semiconductors provide better performance and reduced power consumption. Chipsets with a higher number of transistors, semiconductor components of electronic devices, offer more computational power. A small form factor allows more transistors to fit on a chip, therefore increasing its performance.
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express [PCIe] is a high-speed interface standard for connecting components, such as graphics cards and SSDs, to a motherboard. Newer versions can support more bandwidth and deliver better performance.
When covered under the manufacturer’s warranty it is possible to get a replacement in the case of a malfunction. Note: This may vary by region.
The graphics card uses a combination of water and air to reduce the temperature of the card. This allows it to be overclocked more, increasing performance.
What is a good temperature for a 1080 TI?
While NVIDIA doesn't publish this information directly, the GTX 1080 Ti's preset thermal throttle point is 84C, which is a degree or two higher than on NVIDIA's previous cards. As a result, the card reaches equilibrium at a slightly higher temperature than NVIDIA's other cards.
What is the normal temperature for MSI 1080?
While it is safe for the GPU to reach temperatures as far as 90°C or beyond, around 85 under load is perfectly normal and preferred. If it goes beyond that, say it touches 90, you could check your case's airflow.
What is the idle temperature of MSI 1080ti?
MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X temps @58-60C idle.
What is the temperature of MSI GTX 1080 armor?
Performance Continued – Temperatures/Audibility.