Asus ROG Strix LC GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Review: The Fastest Card We've Ever Tested

Extreme performance and lots of RGB

By Jarred Walton
last updated
Asus ROG Strix LC GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Test Setup for Asus ROG Strix LC GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

TOM'S HARDWARE GPU TEST PC

Intel Core i9-9900K
MSI MEG Z390 Ace
Corsair 2x16GB DDR4-3600 CL16
XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB
Seasonic Focus 850 Platinum
Corsair Hydro H150i Pro RGB
OpenBenchTable
Phanteks Enthoo Pro M

Our test configuration for the hardware and software remains unchanged from other recent reviews. We're using an 8-core/16-thread Core i9-9900K running stock clocks, but with DDR4-3600 memory and the XMP profile enabled. The CPU generally runs at 4.7GHz during our gaming benchmarks, though the slightly older Coffee Lake architecture can be a bit of a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

We're also still running Windows 10 21H1. We plan to update to Windows 11 in the near future and see how that impacts performance — which will also require retesting a bunch of GPUs, so we're not looking to jump on the preview builds just yet.

We already tested ray tracing and DLSS performance using the reference RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition, so we're limiting testing on third-party cards to our standard 13 game test suite, running at 4K, 1440p, and 1080p at ultra (or equivalent) settings. Each test setting gets run multiple times, to ensure the consistency of our results. Now let's see how much the liquid cooling and factory overclock help with performance. 

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Jarred Walton
Jarred Walton

Jarred Walton is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on everything GPU. He has been working as a tech journalist since 2004, writing for AnandTech, Maximum PC, and PC Gamer. From the first S3 Virge '3D decelerators' to today's GPUs, Jarred keeps up with all the latest graphics trends and is the one to ask about game performance.

15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Tech0000
    yeah so high end graphics cards RTX-anything and AMD-anything are unobtainium - therefore any review is frustratingly meaningless. Scalpers and crypto mines are the only buyers - don't see this changing anytime. Hopefully "Lovelace" will have better availability when it launches next year. At this stage in the product generation cycle, you might as well skip and RTX 30xx all together. Stick with what you got until next year.
    Reply
  • saunupe1911
    So you guys have never tested a Kingpin??? Heck I should have resold you mine at a fair price LOL!!!!
    Reply
  • sizzling
    Tech0000 said:
    yeah so high end graphics cards RTX-anything and AMD-anything are unobtainium - therefore any review is frustratingly meaningless. Scalpers and crypto mines are the only buyers - don't see this changing anytime. Hopefully "Lovelace" will have better availability when it launches next year. At this stage in the product generation cycle, you might as well skip and RTX 30xx all together. Stick with what you got until next year.
    Depends where you are. I’m UK and I’ve just looked and can find several 3080Ti versions in stock between £1400-£1700 for delivery tomorrow.
    Reply
  • Jim90
    sizzling said:
    I’ve just looked and can find several 3080Ti versions in stock between £1400-£1700 for delivery tomorrow.

    But..!!!....in all honesty, only the braindead would shell out £1400-£1700 (-$2336.90) for a 'gaming' (!!) GPU.

    Shocking, disgusting, pathetic...need I say more!
    Reply
  • sizzling
    Jim90 said:
    But..!!!....in all honesty, only the braindead would shell out £1400-£1700 (-$2336.90) for a 'gaming' (!!) GPU.

    Shocking, disgusting, pathetic...need I say more!
    I agree the price is insane, I paid £750 for my 3080. You can’t compare GBP to USD as we have 20% VAT on the price. Usually the USD and GBP numbers are similar so 750GBP would normally sell at about 750 USD. However the point was they are in stock, if people would stop paying these prices they would drop.
    Reply
  • Schlachtwolf
    I have the Asus 6800xt version of this Asus WC line-up, apart from the Asus logo on the side it is nearly identical. And yes it is a 1440p beast.... cool, quiet (once I replaced the poor quality Asus fans that had a lot of play in them and rattled with Noctua fans) and looks a peach !!!
    Reply
  • LolaGT
    What a monster, but these are never seen owned by the masses, not even the similar cards of ten years ago. These are for the elite with literally money to burn.

    Also, PoW isn't going away any time soon. Certainly not in months, not in 2022, maybe in a couple years.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    I just find it harder and harder to get excited about GPUs as long as the prices are so out of whack, the economy looks worse every day, and the upper end becomes out of reach for more and more people.

    Back before this insanity and we had the $1200 2080 Ti it was expensive for sure, BUT it was the ultra high end AND with 12 month financing affordable for most anyone with a steady job, so it wasn't out of reach for the majority.

    In 2021 with rampant inflation affecting everyday life and insane GPU prices, it's a far different story. When you're talking upwards of $2000 for a GPU, even though it is ultra high end, it's not exactly attainable for most people anymore .

    And to me that just takes all the fun out of it. Unlike other things far too expensive for most people to ever dream of owning, such as an exotic car or expansive house, there's nothing about a GPU to marvel at or to get excited about for not owning one other than knowing that one day that performance will become the next mainstream and then entry level performance.

    The problem is, if the trend continues, that performance boost for mainstream and entry levels will be followed by a major price increase.
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    Every graphics card over $1000 should have a AIO style remote cooler.

    It seems like the marginal added cost shouldn't be very much. The difference between high end air and AIO is not too much.
    Reply
  • JWNoctis
    If I could have a guess, the middling people with both the income and financial sense to keep a healthy rainy-day reserve (but not much more) are also often financially too sensible to buy high-end GPUs like these for themselves at current prices, unless they need it for a living.

    Sometimes I wonder that - mining wannabes and actual miners excluded - how many of these are really bought by those both with the use themselves, as opposed to their offspring or S.O. etc., and the means themselves, as opposed to those of their guardians, or some other windfall.
    Reply