MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X 12GB review - Introduction

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X 12G review

That is correct, 12 GB! Familiarize yourself to the GeForce RTX 3080 Sumprim X 12GB and revel in the stillness. Join us as we examine the all-new GeForce RTX 3080, a refresh model that features increased memory and even faster-rendering performance. We put MSI's Suprim X revision to the test. And you're aware of what that entails: complete silence and enthusiast performance levels. NVIDIA's refresh RTX 3080 graphics cards include increased graphics RAM and memory bus width. Additionally, the number of shader cores has been increased to 8960, up from 8704 on the RTX 3080 10GB. The GA-102 chip will remain the GPU of choice for the card. A 384-bit memory bus width increase gives the card 912 GB/s of bandwidth, which is comparable to the RTX 3080 Ti (which had 760 GB/s). The GeForce RTX 3080 12GB will have a thermal design power of 340-350W, which is similar to the thermal design power of the RTX 3080 Ti despite having more cores but the same memory configuration.

This review tests the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti SUPRIM X; yes, this is a factory tweaked 3080 that brings in an additional extra performance when compared to reference values, whilst merged with a custom PCB and cooling design. It's a graphics card series that accumulated with its factory tweak stays close to 3080 Ti performance levels.  It's been an odd last year if we're just talking about computer components, silicon shortages, and mining; for a long time now, it's been a case of sour grapes. That is unlikely to change very soon. People are nearly fighting over a moderately priced graphics card, which frequently costs up to three even four times the MSRP. NVIDIA, on the other hand, is continuing on its current path, placing hash rate constraints on consumer-grade GPUs and launching refresh products as expected. Today, we see such a refresh product, the GeForce RTX 3080 with 12GB, which is positioned between the 3080 and 3090. This card features a shader core count of 8960 and is combined with 12 GB of GDDR6X graphics memory running at a 19 Gbps rate. Much has been written, rumored, and spoken about this card, and with its libidinous shading core count, it is certain to be a beast in the enthusiast performance category. Keep in mind that NVIDIA released their Ampere GPU series in September 2020. NVIDIA's GPUs are manufactured on Samsung's 8nm technology. This method advances Samsung's 10nm process; no EUV is currently used in production. 

	RTX 3090 Ti	RTX 3090	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 3080 12GB	RTX 3080 10GB
GPU	GA102-350	GA102-300	GA102-225	GA102-220	GA102-200
GPU Clusters	84	82	80	70	68
CUDAs	10752	10496	10240	8960	8704
RT Cores	84	82	80	70	68
Tensors/TMUs	336	328	320	280	272
Base Clock	TBC	1395 MHz	1365 MHz	1440 MHz	1440 MHz
Boost Clock	TBC	1695 MHz	1665 MHz	1710 MHz	1710 MHz
Memory	24 GB G6X	24 GB G6X	12 GB G6X	12 GB G6X	10 GB G6X
Bus	384-bit	384-bit	384-bit	384-bit	320-bit
Memory Clock	21 Gbps	19.5 Gbps	19 Gbps	19 Gbps	19 Gbps
Bandwidth	1008 GB/s	936 GB/s	912 GB/s	912 GB/s	760 GB/s
TDP	450W	350W	350W	350W	320W
MSRP	TBC	$1,499	$1,199		$699
Release Date	January 2022	September 24th, 2020	June 3rd, 2021	January 2022	September 17th, 2020

MSI RTX 3080 SUPRIM X

This review will focus on the flagship 3080 12G from MSI. The MSI RTX 3080 SUPRIM X boasts a massive 1890 MHz boost clock straight out of the box. That’s a rather noteworthy 180 MHz bump seen from the reference boost frequency. The SUPRIM X model also features a TDP of close to 400W which is 350W for the reference 12GB revision 3080. In return, you'll gain more performance, bringing the series very close to 3080 Ti performance levels, and even passing it every now and then. MSI equipped the card with a semi-passive design; the three fans start to spin and cool once the GPU warms up. It has a dual BIOS with gaming (perf) and silent mode. Make no mistake; both modes offer the same performance within a 1% differential; just a marginal difference in temperatures and acoustics can be perceived. SUPRIM X has been fitted with a TRI FROZR cooling solution with three TORX 4.0 fans. New in the design is that it has close quarters heat pipes around the VRM and a backplate (which is now made of metal). So that provides even better cooling. To power such large values, the cards have been equipped with 3x 8 (6+2) pins, which creates compatibility issues with some power supply cables and power supplies. Therefore, it is recommended that you have at least a 750 Watt power supply for this graphics card. At 1853g, this puppy is fairly hefty and large, measuring 336 x 140 x 61mm. You'll also receive a complimentary mouse mat and an additional stand to accommodate the card's weight if desired. It is nonetheless a thing of beauty.

Please note, we do not review a founder card ... ergo it's faster.

The GeForce RTX 3080 12GB in a reference configuration will sit in-between regular 3080 and 3080 Ti performance. Please understand that the product we review today is factory tweaked with an increase of almost 50 Watts on the power limiter and an added 180 MHz. As such this card performance is NOT comparable towards reference performance, often this 12GB SKU passes the 3080 Ti and sometimes in CPU limited resolutions even the RTX 3090. Again; this article does not show reference performance as Nvidia did not release a founder edition card, capiche? Alright then. Please proceed to the next page.