MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G Review
MSI doesn't do the understated approach. The company likes to add a little extra whenever a reference specification looks too conservative. And why not, as long as there's value to tap into? In the case of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, we're already talking about the very highest-end graphics card available, short of Titan Xp. But MSI arms its interpretation with an available ~330W power target and a massive cooler, giving us reason to be optimistic about this board's prospects.
Since the actual performance of any third-party card depends on the GPU Boost frequency it can sustain, and thus on cooling, power limits, and processor quality, any review that relies on bar charts is little more than a snapshot of a single specimen. That's why we're putting our emphasis on the actual implementation of each model. To that end, a lot of equipment goes into thoroughly documenting a graphics card's behaviors. If you'd like a peek at what goes into such an evaluation, check out our Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Review. It makes for a good baseline on which MSI builds.
Specifications
The Package, Dimensions, and Interfaces
MSI doesn't aim for the absolute highest overclocked frequencies possible, even if the software-selectable ~330W power target makes room for aggressive tuning. It's our job, then, to figure out how well the substantial cooler copes (or doesn't cope) with GP102's excess heat.
Compared to MSI's GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X (without the Ti), this card is quite a bit heavier. We're not surprised, though. In our Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Graphics Card Roundup, we found problems with the way MSI cooled its voltage converters and memory modules. So it's only natural that the company made improvements between then and now.
With an impressive weight of 1.253kg, a moderate length of 27.9cm (measured from the outer edge of the slot bracket to the end of the shroud), a height of 13.5cm (from the top of the motherboard slot to the upper edge of the cover), and a width of 4.57cm, this effectively three-slot card is a bulky beast. Additionally, it requires an extra 0.5cm of space in the back; keep that in mind if you're using a large CPU cooler.
The fan shroud's mix of red and black plastic is a matter of taste. But it religiously follows MSI's corporate design, so you know what you're getting one generation after the next.
Up top, there's a back-lit MSI logo and printed GeForce branding. Two eight-pin power connectors are positioned at the end of the board and rotated by 180°.
A look at the end and bottom of the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G reveals that its fins are oriented vertically. They won't allow any waste heat to exhaust out the back. Instead, hot air is pushed from the top and bottom, warming up other components in your case, along with your motherboard underneath. As such, this design decision is rather counterproductive.
We spy another, more pleasing detail: MSI took past feedback to heart and integrated a real VRM heat sink in its large cooler.
The end of the card reveals three 6mm heat pipes and a single 8mm one for the right part of the cooling structure.
The slot bracket features five display outputs, of which a maximum of four can be used simultaneously in a multi-monitor setup. In addition to one dual-link DVI-D connector, the bracket also hosts two HDMI 2.0b ports and two DisplayPort 1.4-capable interfaces. No doubt, this is a nod to Rift and Vive owners who need at least one HDMI output for their HMD. The rest of the slot plate is dotted with openings for airflow, though they're not functional due to MSI's fin design.
A GPU-Z screenshot provides the most pertinent technical information, even if the GPU Boost values we observed were much higher than MSI's official specifications.
| Nvidia Titan X (Pascal) | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE | MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE | Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | GP102 | GP102 | GP102 | GP104 | GM200 |
| CUDA Cores | 3584 | 3584 | 3584 | 2560 | 2816 |
| Base Clock Rate | 1417 MHz | 1480 MHz | 1544 MHz | 1607 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| GPU Boost Clock Rate | 1531 MHz+ | 1582 MHz+ | 1658 MHz | 1733 MHz+ | 1076 MHz+ |
| Memory Size and Type | 12GB GDDR5X | 11GB GDDR5X | 11GB GDDR5X | 8GB GDDR5X | 6GB GDDR5 |
| Die Size | 471 mm² | 471 mm² | 471 mm² | 314 mm² | 601 mm² |
| Process Technology | 16nm | 16nm | 16nm | 16nm | 28nm |
| Transistors | 12 billion | 12 billion | 12 billion | 7.2 billion | 8 billion |
| Streaming Multiprocessors (SM) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 20 | 22 |
| GFLOPS (Base Clock) | 10,157 | 10,609 | 11,068 | 8,228 | 5,632 |
| Texture Units | 224 | 224 | 224 | 160 | 176 |
| Texture Fill Rate | 317.4 GT/s | 331.5 GT/s | 345.9 GT/s | 257.1 GT/s | 214 GT/s |
| ROPs | 96 | 88 | 88 | 64 | 96 |
| Pixel Fill Rate | 136 GPix/s | 130.2 GPix/s | 135.9 GPix/s | 114.2 GPix/s | 116.7 GPix/s |
| Memory Data Rate | 10 Gb/s | 11 Gb/s | 11 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s | 7 Gb/s |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit | 352-bit | 352-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 480 GB/s | 484 GB/s | 484 GB/s | 320 GB/s | 336 GB/s |
| L2 Cache | 3MB | 2816KB | 2816KB | 2MB | 3MB |
| TDP | 250W | 250W | 330W | 180W | 250W |
Test System & Methodology
We explained our test system and methodology in How We Test Graphics Cards. If you want to learn more about the procedures we're using in today's review, have a look at that story.
Since its publication, however, we did beef up our platform and CPU cooling, mostly to rule out the possibility of a processor-imposed bottleneck. This is particularly important given the flagship status of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.
| Test Equipment And Environment | |
|---|---|
| System | Intel Core i7-6900K @ 4.3 GHz MSI X99S XPower Gaming Titanium Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200 1x 1TB Toshiba OCZ RD400 (M.2, System SSD) 2x 960GB Toshiba OCZ TR150 (Storage, Images) be quiet Dark Power Pro 11, 850W PSU Windows 10 Pro (All Updates) |
| Cooling | Alphacool Eisblock XPX Alphacool Eiszeit 2000 Chiller 2x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 PWM (Closed Case Simulation) Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (Used when Switching Coolers) |
| PC Case | Lian Li PC-T70 with Extension Kit and Mods Configurations: Open Benchtable, Closed Case |
| Power Consumption Measurement | Contact-free DC Measurement at PCIe Slot (Using a Riser Card) Contact-free DC Measurement at External Auxiliary Power Supply Cable Direct Voltage Measurement at Power Supply 2 x Rohde & Schwarz HMO 3054, 500MHz Digital Multi-Channel Oscilloscope with Storage Function 4 x Rohde & Schwarz HZO50 Current Probe (1mA - 30A, 100kHz, DC) 4 x Rohde & Schwarz HZ355 (10:1 Probes, 500MHz) 1 x Rohde & Schwarz HMC 8012 Digital Multimeter with Storage Function |
| Thermal Measurement | 1 x Optris PI640 80Hz Infrared Camera + PI Connect Real-Time Infrared Monitoring and Recording |
| Noise Measurement | NTI Audio M2211 (with Calibration File, Low Cut at 50Hz) Steinberg UR12 (with Phantom Power for Microphones) Creative X7, Smaart v.7 Custom-Made Proprietary Measurement Chamber, 3.5 x 1.8 x 2.2m (L x D x H) Perpendicular to Center of Noise Source(s), Measurement Distance of 50cm Noise Level in dB(A) (Slow), Real-time Frequency Analyzer (RTA) Graphical Frequency Spectrum of Noise |
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But I can't spoiler the other reviews results before publishing it
But you can monitor the GPU temperature by yourself with tools like GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner (also with an OSD). Then compare the results with my IR pictures and you have a good point to calculate the other temps by yourself.
Nvidia has never sampled this card.
I have here a Quadro P6000 and this card is similar. Due the thermal limits of Nvidias stock cooler it is not significant faster. Ok, a little bit, but not a whole universe. And Nvidia will not be amused, if I use a 5000 USD workstation card in gaming benchmarks
Tom's was given an unlocked version of MSI AB back in March to test an FE Ti with it and was done using H20 cooling; http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-1080-ti-water-cooling,4975-2.html They also give instructions on how to manipulate AB to access the voltage settings, until a new(er), unlocked version of AB rolls...
"We're fortunate enough to have a version of MSI’s Afterburner utility unlocked especially for us. If you want access to similar settings before a new version of Afterburner is released, you can manually add your 1080 Ti to the third-party database using the VDDC_Generic_Detection entry under the VEN_10DE&DEV_1B06&SUBSYS_120F10DE&REV_?? key. A quick search online should turn up plenty of in-depth instructions on how to do this."
However, you can just move the POWER-LIMIT slider to the max, along with bumping your clock settings. These aftermarket cards will crack past 2K MHz, no problem w/out touching voltage, this card included... It's a CHAMP!
So don't worry. Also online in German are the EVGA 1080 Ti FTW3 and the Zotac 1080 Ti Amp! Extreme. Both are also in translation now. The Galax 1080 Ti EXOC Black and the Palit 1080 Ti SuperJetstream are in the Pipeline, after this I test the Asus Strix too.
But atm I'm reviewing the single-slot Galax GTX 1070 Katana with a BIOS-improvement togeter with Galax
The GTX 1080 Ti was the answer for me dropping a 2-way GTX 980 Ti setup... Great for titles that supported it BUT SLI support in newer titles is waning. With these newer GPU's getting more and more powerful, with each series release especially the top-tier ones, SLI has seen it's hey-day IMO.
For the most part, the vendor versions do not vary much other than the overclock's, cooling solutions and "make-up" they slap on them from the factory, with some exceptions. However, take note of the following before deciding:
1. effectiveness of cooling solution/fans, etc.
2. power-phases; the more phases means more clean& consistent power to the GPU for better stability esp. if OC is your thing
3. do your home-work on reviews of all models within your budget, both pro and customer; tom's, guru3d etc. and Newegg for customer/buyer inputs
4. avoid brand loyalism/fanboyism to a particular brand and/or company; go with what is best rated for your dollar(s)
5. be sure to check what kind of warranty policy is offered by the manufacturer prior to purchase
6. be sure to read the RMA/return/refund policy of the vendor you purchase from prior to purchase, should issues arise
This is not all inclusive but should help point you in a somewhat good direction.
This is mostly marketing and a lie (we have 19 phases - Zotac). The currect IC's doesnt't allow more than 6 or 8 separate controlled phases. The vendors are using very often the so-called phase doubling to split the current (and as follow) the heat. A card with 12 CPU "phases" owns in real only 6 phases, but each of them is splitted into 2 ciruits. I can use a 1080 Ti reference board to supply over 500 Watts without any problems. There are "only" 7 real phases and one of these is also working as load balancer between PCIe connector and mainboard. All this "better OC stability" due more phases is an urban legend and pure marketing, nothing else