EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Hybrid Review: Cool Running, but Worth It?

EVGA uses liquid cooling to help with noise and thermals, but it comes with a steep price tag.

Reviews
By
last updated
EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Hybrid
(Image: © Shutterstock, EVGA)

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Moving up to 4K, we chose to use the ultra results as the EVGA 2080 Super XC Hybrid (and the other 2080 Supers) averaged over 60 fps in our tests — albeit by a slim margin. The EVGA card reached 62 fps, the Asus 61.6, and the Founders Edition at 61.2 fps. Again we see very little difference between the three 2080 Super cards, but average fps doesn’t tell the whole story. 

Of our nine games, five of them, Shadow of the Tomb Raider (55.4 fps),  Red Dead Redemption 2 (46.5 fps), Metro: Exodus (42.1 fps), The Division 2 (46.2 fps) and Borderlands 3 (38.9 fps) were below 60 fps. You can likely have a smooth gaming experience on SOTTR (without ray tracing), but other games would require a reduction in image quality for the best results.

9 Game Average

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Borderlands 3

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Division 2

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Far Cry 5

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Forza Horizon 4

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Metro: Exodus

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Red Dead Redemption 2

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Strange Brigade

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

MORE: Best Graphics Cards

MORE: Desktop GPU Performance Hierarchy Table

MORE: All Graphics Content

Joe Shields
Joe Shields
Motherboard Reviewer

Joe Shields is a Freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He reviews motherboards.

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Phaaze88
    The TL;DR:
    No, no it is not.

    I would've thought a liquid cooled gpu like that would've performed a fair deal better than an air cooled model like the ROG Strix...
    Did they take a FE 2080 Super PCB and slap the AIO on it? The FE only has a 280w power limit, and Asus Strix has a 313w limit on the OC model.
    Reply
  • Blas
    It would be nice to see comparisons of the different hybrid cooled cards out there (EVGA's Hybrid, Gigabyte's Waterforce, Inno3D iChill, etc.). I use these for my iTX build, and apparently there are many differences in noise and cooling performance. And while there are some reviews online, it's really hard to come across comparisons.
    Reply
  • willie_t
    Some of us like to use the high end cards for Folding. Most card reviewers don't give a single sentence in that area as to how various cards do in that arena. So, we have to search that info out in other areas. "It would be nice" to see a reference in video card reviews - even if it's only a sentence or two.
    Reply
  • saunupe1911
    admin said:
    The EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Hybrid performed well, averaging over 100 fps at 1440p ultra and 60 fps at 4K ultra. The hybrid cooling kept the card much cooler than other cards, but the pump has a soft hum. Priced at $789.99, it's one of the most expensive 2080 Super cards available, but only similar Hybrid setups can cool as well.

    EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Hybrid Review: Cool Running, but Worth It? : Read more

    Why didn't you guys review the FTW3 version of this card which has a higher boost of 1845Mhz? I paid $769 for it too on Newegg back in September. It's actually going for around the same price right now.

    Everything in your review is spot on. It rarely eclipses 53 degrees even when it's working it's hardest. It can overclock it's butt off but I put it back to stock as it's really not necessary since I'm gaming on the Dell S3220DGF monitor. The pump wine does sort of bother me but I've gotten used to it. I wish it could be controlled.

    The one real issue with this is card is that the radiator fan can't be software controlled with Precision X1 or Afterburner. You can only independently control the GPU fan. All software reports them running at the same speeds which certainly isn't true.
    Reply
  • PBme
    willie_t said:
    Some of us like to use the high end cards for Folding. Most card reviewers don't give a single sentence in that area as to how various cards do in that arena. So, we have to search that info out in other areas. "It would be nice" to see a reference in video card reviews - even if it's only a sentence or two.
    Are you aware of any objective way to test that? F@H doesn't have a benchmark tool (that I'm aware of) and of course they can't just sit there hoping they get a WU, wait for 2 hours, repeat to average results, and just cross their fingers that one WU will be the exact same as another from the same day let alone of months.
    They can perhaps derive it from the other tests done but that specific one would have to be speculation.
    Reply