MSI Brings Frozr Coolers To Pair Of GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Cards

By Steven Lynch
published

MSI offered up a few (very few) details on two upcoming Pascal-powered graphics cards. Although the company is being tight-lipped ahead of the official unveiling, we can only assume, based on previous versions of the Lightning and Gaming X GPUs, that these cards will come overclocked from the factory.

The MSI GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z and GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G graphics cards will both be equipped with one of the company's signature Frozr-branded coolers. The Lightning Z will feature a triple-fan TriFrozr, whereas the Gaming X 11G will be fitted with a Twin Frozr VI custom cooling solution. The TORX 2.0 fans on both graphics cards direct airflow through aluminum fins that are connected to a large nickel-plated copper base via five large 8mm heatpipes. MSI said the Torx Fan 2.0 generates 22% more air pressure than the previous Torx Fan technology. Both cards include a solid metal backplate that adds structural strength to prevent the card from bending and twisting.  

In addition, MSI's GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G also comes with a USB Type-C connector as well as a standard DVI-D, DisplayPort, and two HDMI 2.0b display outputs. There is no word on the display outputs on the MSI GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z.

All MSI graphics cards feature military class MIL-STD-810G certified components that the company claimed enables higher stability and reliability. MSI also bundles its Afterburner overclocking utility, which is an overclocking tool that also allows you to benchmark your graphics card, customize fan profiles, and capture video.

Pricing and availability were not available at press time.

Steven Lynch
4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dstarr3
    Pleasepleaseplease don't let triple-slot coolers become the norm. I know GPUs are hot, but that just takes up too much space. I need all those PCI-E slots you're covering up, y'know.
    Reply
  • IceMyth
    I started to believe the 1080Ti has cooling issues with the normal cooler as in the 1080, thus companies increased the width of the cooler for 1080Ti otherwise it will hit super high temps. I think EVGA is the only company that had a great cooling to keep the normal width of 1.5 slot. Beside that MSI really need to change the design of their coolers.
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    I think we are seeing this trend because ....

    a) SLI has become pretty much a non-factor outside of 4k.

    b) I don't see that changing until AMD offers up some competition at the high end. The only effect of improved SLI performance would cannibalize sales of the high end nVidia cards which reap greater profit than a pair of lower tiered cards.

    c) We are seeing more folks choosing higher end MoBos which provide 3 slot spaces.

    d) Noise ... the smaller cards are loud.

    As for cooling, that's always going to be a balance between how fast you are going to go and how much cooler you are willing to provide. I can't quite look at EVGA to "lead" here, at least w/ the SC series, as their VRM solutions have always been weak and the 9xx and 10xx series coolers were significant failures.... with 10xx even on the FT W series. I do like the extra monitoring capabilities of the new iCX series coolers, but given the choice, I'd rather have better cooling / lower noise than the info. In TPUs eviews, the SC came up with a 9.4 rating, just above the reference card's 9.3. The AMP got a 9.6 and everyone else 9.7 to 9.9. So it would appear that squeezing into the 2 slot width has a downside.

    Their 1080 Ti SC has been noted for ...

    a) Again the SC uses what is just a teeny variant from the FE reference design; the VRM circuitry ... yet again ... remains unchanged.

    b) This time around, EVGA did provide thermal pads for the VRM circuitry at least

    c) At 37 dbA, that's significantly higher than the 2.5 slot coolers.

    d) As is typical for the CS series, there's no update to the power delivery which means the power limit is set much lower than competing cards.... because of their higher power limit, the other cards need more cooling.

    To avoid these pitfalls, you'd have to jump to the FT3 which provides comparable features to the AIB's competiting cards, tho to get features comparable to the competitor's $740 cards, you'd have to spend $780 for the FT3. They did manage to make this card a 2 slot unit but again, with the slim fans ... even w/ 3 fans, there is a noise impact that is mitigated when ya use thicker fans. So it's basically a decision of what matters most to you... the space or the noise.

    1. On any mobo, single card will work just fine.
    2. On Mobos that have the PCIE slots as 1 and 3, ya can't fit two cards with the 2.5 slot cards .... but there, with no space between the cards, you are stuck with feeding the top card's fans with the lower card's exhaust.
    3. With SLI air cooled builds, we have always selected boards with PCIEs are provided such that:

    Top Card = Slot's 1 & 2
    Bot Card = Slot's 4 & 5 (or 5 and 6)

    That solves the fit problem, leaving you between 0.5 and 1.5 slots between the cards

    With a MP fan mounted on the back of the HD cage blowing fresh cool air between the cards, have been able to maintain minuscule temp differences between the cards. Tho most SLI builds that we have been involved in have been either custom cooled or comprised of OLC type AIO (i.e Swiftech) or supplied with factory installed EK Water blocks (Seahawk) and an extra rad.
    Reply
  • ZRace
    The name "Lightning" fell. Anticipating an awesome-looking (and performing) card!
    Reply