Preview: The new MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio
Back at Computex 2017 I was chatting with the MSI team, they have been looking for some feedback and back then I mentioned that while the Twinfrozr design is fantastic in cooling, looks and performance people would probably and really like to see some design changes, just for the sake of different looks.
It's now a few months later and MSI releases its GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio. The new card has new looks, it's styled a bit after the Lightning in RGB design elements with a combination that hints towards the older Twinfrozr looks. At that Computex meeting I told MSI that people like dark design look card, and guess what ... the new Trio is just that. The card comes with MSI's that new design and also what MSI mentions as "Premium Thermal Compound X".
GTX 1080 Ti FE | MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio (Silent Mode) | MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio (Gaming Mode) | MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio (OC Mode) | |
GPU | GP102 | GP102 | GP102 | GP102 |
Shader Cores | 3584 | 3584 | 3584 | 3584 |
Base Clock | 1480MHz | 1480MHz | 1544MHz | 1569MHz |
Boost Clock | 1582MHz | 1582MHz | 1657MHz | 1683MHz |
gDDR5x | 11GB | 11GB | 11GB | 11GB |
VRM | 7+2 | 7+2 | 10+2 | 10+2 |
Power | 8+6 pin | 8+8-pin | 8+8 Pin | 8+8 Pin |
Currently the card is running in the background running Time Spy, that huge new three fan cooler with a 6 heatpipe / radiator design works alright as I cannot even hear the card slightly and neither is it running hot whatsoever.. The card clocks in at the gaming mode for defaults at a 1544 MHz base and 1657 MHz boost clock with memory at 1376 = 11 Gbps. The card comes with two 8-pin power headers and is based upon a 10+2 phase power design. included is a back-plate as well as a mounting strut to stabilize the card which MSI calls a "LAN Party Guard", so if you move around the card it'll be secure and tight preventing a sagging card due to movement. The card offers two HDMI ports and two DisplayPort outputs as well as DVI.
MSI is heading into a new direction with this card, I merely spend half an hour on it as we slowly startup the full review, but it is impressive alright. New looks, cool temps and totally 100% silent is not a bad thing for anything GTX 1080 Ti to be brutally honest. Below some photos and a Time Spy test run. Have a peek. The full review will follow shortly. let us know what you think about the new design in the forum thread below.
Preview: Unboxing Ryzen Threadripper 1920X & 1950X - 08/03/2017 03:01 PM
Today we can show you a bit of hardware, and that would be the media kit that AMD has shipped out for review. We have the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X and 1920X in-da-house, as well as the RIG Zenith X399...
Sneak preview: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z - 06/29/2017 05:59 PM
Hey now, look what the cat just dragged in ! MSI just shipped in the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z. And it's a beast alright. The new card card comes with a three-slot cooler, remains passive yo-t...
Preview: Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3 - 06/16/2017 10:31 AM
Let's preview the Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3 which is intended for the first wave of Intel's Skylake-X processors that will be released next week. This is just some simple common coverage with an ...
Preview: Intel Core i9 Skylake-X processors - 06/05/2017 09:51 AM
In this technology preview we'll have talk a little more about what Intel has announced at Computex, Kaby Lake-x and Skylake-X processors with a spread from 4 to 18 core processors on that new X299 p...
Preview: AMD VEGA GPU Architecture - 01/05/2017 04:46 PM
It is time to talk through a few mysteries from the AMD VEGA graphics processor architecture, join us in a preview architecture breakdown of what is to be expected with AMD VEGA graphics processors. R...
Senior Member
Posts: 1068
Joined: 2012-04-18
I think it good that they have stepped away from the red and black combination of the gaming x edition , im looking forwards to the review and cooling performance as we all know that Pascal is all about the cooling in order to maintain high clock speeds and stopping the throttling .
Senior Member
Posts: 410
Joined: 2016-06-08
This seriously is a very good looking design. And the 3de fan makes it even better. Well done MSI.
Senior Member
Posts: 9797
Joined: 2011-09-21
Isn't this just a lightning LE?
Don Vito Corleone
Posts: 46320
Joined: 2000-02-22
You say that like it's a bad thing

Senior Member
Posts: 852
Joined: 2015-05-19
More interesting is how the performance and cooling changes from the original Ti Twinfrozr design. Way too much emphasis on looks of internal components these days. Function over looks any day.
The clocks are identical to the original 1080 Ti Gaming X, so presumably performance remains quite similar. Hopefully the review contains numbers for that card, and not just reference, for comparison.