As Nvidia is ramping up shipments of its low hash rate (LHR) graphics processors, graphics cards makers update their families with new GPUs and therefore can claim a new product release. This week MSI introduced its GeForce RTX 3080 Sea Hawk X 10G LHR board that brings together a hybrid cooling system with quiet fans, low hash rate to make it less appealing to miners, and some light factory overclocking.
MSI's GeForce RTX 3080 Sea Hawk X 10G LHR carries Nvidia's GA102 GPU with 8704 CUDA cores that can boost to 1785 MHz (up from recommended 1710 MHz) as well as 10GB of GDDR6X memory with a 19 GT/s data transfer rate. The custom-designed printed circuit board has two 8-pin auxiliary PCIe power connectors as well as a standard configuration of display outputs: three DisplayPort 1.4a as well as one HDMI 2.1.
The key selling feature of the GeForce RTX 3080 Sea Hawk X 10G LHR is of course its closed-loop hybrid cooling system designed in collaboration with Asetek. The all-in-one cooler features a custom-designed copper cold plate with micro fins that covers not only the GPU, but also GDDR6X memory (albeit using thermal pads), which should help with VRAM overclocking. The copper base is equipped with Asetek's low-profile pump that circulates warm liquid back to the 240mm radiator with two MSI Torx 4.0 120-mm fans that promise to combine high performance and quiet operation. Meanwhile, the fan located on the graphics board itself cools down the card's voltage regulating modules (VRMs) to amplify overclocking potential of the product. Finally, there is a metal backplate installed.
Out-of-box, MSI's GeForce RTX 3080 Sea Hawk X 10G LHR can hardly offer a significant performance improvement compared to standard GeForce RTX 3080/3080 LHR models since 75 MHz of additional boost frequency is hardly significant. Yet with the cooling system that the board uses, its overclocking potential will likely be considerably higher compared to that of standard cards even in a chassis with imperfect airflows.
Speaking of cases, we should mention that the card measures 271.4 × 125.8 × 44.3 mm, so it is actually shorter compared to Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition, but it taller and thicker. Therefore, a case with plenty of space is recommended.
This week MSI introduced its GeForce RTX 3080 Sea Hawk X 10G LHR in Japan (via Hermitage Akihabara), but naturally without disclosing its recommended price. Meanwhile, since the product is listed on the company's global website, expect it to hit store shelves in the U.S. and Europe shortly.
