The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is a mean machine based on NVIDIA's second-biggest implementation of its "Pascal" architecture, the 16 nm "GP102" silicon. This is the same chip that drives the TITAN X Pascal. The GTX 1080 Ti features the same number of CUDA cores as the latest TITAN, at 3,584 spread across 28 streaming multiprocessors. There is some cost-cutting here, but none that is designed to lower performance - the chip has a slightly narrower memory bus at 352 bit; that's a memory chip less than what you'd find on the TITAN X Pascal. The total memory amount is hence 11 GB. A cluster of ROPs is also disabled, so you now get 88 ROPs [as opposed to the 96 ROPs on the TITAN]. The memory chips are, however, clocked 10% higher to make up for the 8.3% narrower memory bus. This move also translates into cost savings due to the lack of a 12th memory chip and probably better yields for the GP102 chip.
The MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio came to us as a surprise and is probably one of the last custom variants of the GTX 1080 Ti that will be released. MSI has taken the fantastic thermal solution of the GTX 1080 Ti Lightning and put it on a GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X PCB, which should help with cost. Also removed are overclocker-specific features like dual BIOS and voltage measurement points.
Overall, this results in a card that makes huge promises: best noise and temperatures with a pretty RGB backplate without breaking the bank. We will investigate this closely in the following review.
According to MSI, the price for the Gaming X Trio is €829, which seems slightly off as the card is now listed for €899 in shops [both prices include VAT]. Its exact price in US dollars isn't available yet; for the comparisons in this review, we used $850, which should roughly match the expected price point.
MSI kills it yet again with their new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G, with one of the best graphics cards money can buy. It beats the Titan X, which costs $1200 - and does so looking better, running cooler, and having faster GDDR5X tech. Amazing stuff, MSI!
Introduction
MSI was the first AIB partner I wanted to see a custom GTX 1080 Ti from, and to my surprise - they were the first to send me a custom GTX 1080 Ti, so I spent my weekend benchmarking and writing my life away. MSI's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G is a monster of a graphics card, something I'm sure you'll be convinced of by the end of the review.
Until now, if you wanted a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, it had to be NVIDIA's own GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition - which is a kick ass card, but the custom PCB and overclocking ability of the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G is unmatched by the Founders Edition. MSI has put in some detailed work into the new card, with an improved cooler and new fans - all while keeping the GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G completely silent under load.
You should be able to pick up the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G for around $749 in the US, a $50 premium over NVIDIA's own GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition.
OC Profiles
MSI provides their usual 3 different OC profiles, with:
GPU/VRAM clocks
- Silent Mode: 1480/1582MHz [GDDR5X @ 11000MHz]
- Gaming Mode: 1544/1657MHz [GDDR5X @ 11008MHz]
- OC Mode: 1569/1683MHz [GDDR5X @ 11124MHz]
Twin Frozr VI Detailed
MSI's great Twin Frozr VI cooler is here, with a 'fierce gaming glow' that lets you customize the onboard LED lights and effects to your system or even your mood.
As you can see, MSI has some detailed stuff going on - with their awesome 'Close Quarters Cooling' that covers the entire custom PCB. The massive heat sink is great, with our card running at up to 67C under 100% load.
MSI has engineered an awesome heat sink with its Twin Frozr VI cooling tech, and the GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G benefits from this greatly.
Smooth heat pipes, with 8mm thick copper heat pipes.
Close Quarters Cooling... what's that? First off, there's a rugged anti-bending strip on the card, a memory cooling plate that allows you to get the 11GB of GDDR5X to its maximum clocks, and the PWM heat sink with micro fins that will provide cooler temperatures.
Detailed Look
There aren't many changes on the box work from MSI for the GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G.
The same goes for the back, but we do get all the details that we need for the card.
The front of the card looks nearly identical to most of the previous GTX 10 series cards from MSI, and that's not a bad thing at all.
Sitting inside of the Core i7-7700K test bed, the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G looks great, with the two Torx Fan 2.0 fans doing their job.
As you can see, there is some 'GEFORCE GTX' branding on top of the card - but unfortunately, there are no LEDs to light it up. Boo, MSI.
Still, the card looks so freakin' awesome.
The two fans spinning up during load, yet it's still silent.
The heat sink is chunky as hell, with MSI's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G coming in as a 2.5-slot graphics card, compared to the 2-slot requirement of the GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition.
Dat chunk, yo.
MSI's new GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G requires 8+8-pin PCIe power connectors.
The back of the card looks beautiful, with the black backplate - and the MSI dragon once again.
Test System Specs
I've recently edited my GPU test bed, which was powered by the Intel Core i7-5960X processor, and shifted into the arms of Kaby Lake and Intel's new Core i7-7700K. GIGABYTE hooked us up with their awesome new AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9 motherboard, which is the heart and soul of my new GPU test platform.
Detailed Tech Specs
- CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K
- Cooler: Nocua U12S
- MB: AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9
- RAM: 16GB [2x8GB] G.SKILL Trident Z 4000MHz DDR4
- SSD: 1TB OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2
- PSU: Corsair AX1500i
- Chassis: In Win X-Frame
Detailed Look
There's a bigger article I've got coming that will detail the new system, but for now - here are some shots I've taken of the new system in action:
Benchmarks - Synthetic
3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark Fire Strike - 1440p
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark Fire Strike - 4K
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
Heaven - 1080p
Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.
Heaven - 1440p
Heaven - 4K
Heaven - 3440x1440
Benchmarks - 1080p
1080p Benchmarks
Ubisoft's latest installment in the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series is Ghost Recon Wildlands, an open world tactical shooter with some of the best graphics on the market, with Ubisoft Paris using a modified version of the AnvilNext engine.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.
Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.
You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.
Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.
You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.
Benchmarks - 1440p
1440p Benchmarks
Ubisoft's latest installment in the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series is Ghost Recon Wildlands, an open world tactical shooter with some of the best graphics on the market, with Ubisoft Paris using a modified version of the AnvilNext engine.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.
Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.
You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.
Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.
You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.
Benchmarks - 4K
4K Benchmarks
Ubisoft's latest installment in the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series is Ghost Recon Wildlands, an open world tactical shooter with some of the best graphics on the market, with Ubisoft Paris using a modified version of the AnvilNext engine.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.
Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.
You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.
Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.
You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.
Benchmarks - 3440x1440
3440x1440 Benchmarks
Ubisoft's latest installment in the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series is Ghost Recon Wildlands, an open world tactical shooter with some of the best graphics on the market, with Ubisoft Paris using a modified version of the AnvilNext engine.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.
Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.
You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.
Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.
You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.
Benchmarks - DX12
DX12 Benchmarks
Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.
3DMark TimeSpy [DX12] 1440p
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
Performance Analysis & Final Thoughts
Performance Analysis
NVIDIA created a monster with its GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, providing Titan X performance that normally costs $1200 - for just $699. Now we have custom GTX 1080 Ti cards showing up, with MSI's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G being the first we've tested, and it's an absolute behemoth.
We have 8+8-pin PCIe power connectors, a massively improved 2.5-slot cooler, a revamped look, and some truly stellar performance. We're talking 4K 60FPS performance in most games on the market except for our testing with Ghost Recon Wildlands, we had 60FPS+ average with MSI's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G.
But as I've said in a few reviews and FB Live streams, I personally recommend UltraWide gaming monitors with resolutions of 3440x1440 - as they offer a much better desktop and gaming experience, without as much GPU horsepower required for gaming at 4K 60FPS. Running games as good looking as Rise of the Tomb Raider at 3440x1440 on MSI's super-fast GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G at 102FPS average [compared to 94FPS on the GTX 1080 Ti, and 75FPS on the GTX 1080] is a truly awesome experience.
Final Thoughts
I knew that I would be impressed with MSI's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G before it arrived, for the simple reason of: you can't stuff something up that is already great. NVIDIA has effectively provided consumers with a $1200 graphics card at $699, and then MSI has grabbed that GTX 1080 Ti and nurtured it - and its first custom GTX 1080 Ti graphics card is a monster.
4K 60FPS gaming on a single graphics card for the most part, and amazing 3440x1440 performance - all from a card that is whisper quiet, looks great, and would be even better in SLI with another GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G.
MSI only makes quality high-end graphics cards thanks to its Twin Frozr VI cooling technology and expertise with custom PCBs, so you have a card that will last you for years - both in performance, but from a physical product point of view as well.
During all of our testing, the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G ran at 67C maxed out - but we have some overclocking numbers that we're going to share with you in another article coming soon. I'm expecting some big things from the card in the OC department, and if what we're seeing with out of the box performance like this - overclocked performance should be another beast in itself.
MSI has come out of the gate with one of the best graphics cards money can buy right now, an improvement over the GTX 1080 Gaming X 8G, in a huge way.
Is MSI 1080 Ti good?
The MSI GTX 1080 Ti is just as fast as the EVGA and Asus cards we tested, with no major performance deltas present in any benchmark. Right out of the box with no fiddling the MSI card ran at 1923MHz under load, which is decent but expected.
Is A RTX 1080 Ti good for gaming?
Yeah, the 1080ti is still a great card… I still have two of them. They're workhorses. It's typical gaming performance is slightly ahead of an RTX 3060 12GB.
Is 1080ti better than 3060ti gaming?
3060ti is not much above 1080ti; overall 5~10% or more in different scenarios or settings like ray tr. also you are pushing it 4k, the 1080 was made for 4k games [from it's time], 3060ti not really ideal. You will see a slightly bigger difference in fps at lower resolutions.
Can a 1080 Ti run most games?
Top tier cards usually do not lose the value and performance that fast. a 1080 Ti might be something like a 3060 Ti today in terms of performance, and 3060 Ti is perfect for 1080p gaming. This means your 1080 Ti is still good for most games with very good graphical settings.