MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z Review
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Cooling & Noise
Cooling System & Backplate
MSI went all-out with the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z's cooler. We might have guessed as much from that almost-1.7kg specification cited on the first page of our review.
Cooling System Overview | |
---|---|
Type | 2.5-slot air cooler |
Heat Sink | Nickel-plated copperHeat pipes on the back |
Cooling Fins | Aluminum, horizontal orientationVery narrow configuration; larger cooling surface |
Heat Pipes | 2x 8mm and 4x 6mmCopper composite material, nickel-plated |
VRM Cooling | Via interior cooling frame |
RAM Cooling | Via interior cooling frame |
Fans | 2x 10cm (9.5cm rotor diameter)1x 9 m (8.5cm rotor diameter)14 rotor blades each, optimized for static pressureAll spin in same direction, semi-passive regulation |
Backplate | Aluminum, blackenedIntegrated heat pipe for GPU on backIncludes back-lit LED frame |
The backplate is an aesthetic add-on that also serves to stabilize the cooling frame on the board's other side. Inside the plate, where it faces the PCB, you'll find a horizontal heat pipe that MSI uses to claim active backplate cooling capabilities on its spec sheet. But this pipe is only touching two capacitors under the GPU package through a thermal pad. It doesn't really contribute to the card's cooling otherwise.
There is a cooling and mounting frame between the heat sink and PCB that somewhat resembles what EVGA's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 uses, particularly since MSI also employs a heat pipe to draw thermal energy away from the VRM array and distribute it across the plate. MSI adds to the plate's area with various protrusions that stick out from its surface.
The chokes and capacitors are equipped with thick thermal pads, allowing heat to move quickly through them and into the fin array. It would have been even more efficient to angle the cooling fins by 90° at this point, though, increasing the connecting surface area.
The flat, nickel-plated heat sink covers Nvidia's GPU. Six heat pipes are flattened and attached to the sink's back side, dissipating thermal energy as quickly as possible into the array of narrowly-spaced fins at their other ends. Four narrower 6mm pipes work quickly, complementing the two larger 8mm pipes with increased capacity.
The cooler's overall production quality is quite good. One factor contributing to this is that it spaces the heat pipes out, so they don't end up too close to each other. What results is good balance.
Fan Speeds and Noise
The fan curves indicate a conservative, volume-optimized setup. They might startle you on start-up, though. Our measurements indicate that the fans snap out of their semi-passive mode with a 2500 RPM impulse, their maximum speed! It should be possible to fix this initial howl with a firmware update, which we hope MSI follows through on.
Fan speed drops a little bit during our stress test, since GPU Boost isn't allowed to push the clock rate as high.
Fan Speed and Noise Output | |
---|---|
Fan Speed (Open Test Bench, Maximum) | 1310 RPM |
Fan Speed (Open Test Bench, Average) | 1196 RPM |
Fan Speed (Closed Case, Maximum) | 1515 RPM |
Fan Speed (Closed Case, Average) | 1278 RPM |
Noise (Air Cooling, Maximum) | 38.8 dB(A) |
Noise (Air Cooling, Average) | 35.4 dB(A) |
Noise ( Air Cooling, Idle) | 0 dB(A) |
Acoustic Characteristics | Light motor noises <1 HzHardly any coil buzzing noiseAudible air/tearing noise under full load |
This snapshot illustrates the entire frequency range of our laboratory measurements, adding some data to our subjective observations.
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samer.forums 20% more performance for 100% more price ?Reply
no ty .. I can GET 2x SLI GTX 1080 ti for the same price. -
mahanddeem Nice 1080ti, I had an msi 680 Lightning and it was the greatest gpu I ever had, and I had like 20 gpus thought the years.Reply -
TMTOWTSAC After allowing for driver improvements since the review, the final result looks an awful lot like a Titan XP with maybe an extremely mild OC. Or a stock Titan XP in an 18C room rather than a 20C room. For $200 more.Reply -
Gam3r01 20297187 said:20% more performance for 100% more price ?
no ty .. I can GET 2x SLI GTX 1080 ti for the same price.
Well, thats not really the point is it?
Nobody buys a Lightning card because its affordable, you buy it because its a Lightning card. -
Sam Hain $2K for??? There are several "high-end" Ti's in the $700 range (on air) that run better specs than this overpriced card and run same or better benches.Reply
What is the purpose of this card, LOL. -
redgarl Remember about the line, no bad products, just bad price... well this is the case. The price is just ridiculous.Reply
I cannot believe you gave an Award to this. So basically any overpriced piece of hardware deserve an award by the same logic.
Also, you never talk about reliability or engineering flaws. For example, you gave that piece of garbage an award...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-graphics-cards,4725-4.html
Just take a look at this from a fellow user and me... you guys cannot even point out these simple issues and give feedback about the manufacturers design quality.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3547768/evga-ftw-1080-caught-fire.html -
jasonelmore This card does not even match the Asus ROG Poseidon's base clocks nor boost clock.. So basically your paying $2K for the coolerReply -
Lasselundberg why are the charts only stock nvidia stuff and none of the competitions overclocked cards.....why is there a stupid video on all pages i hate it....why is there a stupid email popup every time i visit this site. tomshardware i bid you goodbye i have been with you since the beginning, but all the spam video's and popups...and worst of all comparisons thats useless....byeReply -
derekullo For the most part you can always ignore the seemingly helpful prices that Tom's shows in the big green stickers.Reply
The price of the card is not $2000.
Bit-tech did a review of the card and mentioned they bought it for $870.
https://www.bit-tech.net/reviews/tech/graphics/msi-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-lightning-z-review/1/
When sites sell out of the cards they remove the price from the page making the overpriced $2000 cards the only ones left to actually advertise, hence the price grabber code pulling $2000 and saying that is the price.
If you dig deep enough you can find the actual vendor Tom's is talking about, Ecotest with 33 whole reviews over the past year, that sells it for $2000 hoping some one will inadvertently hit purchase.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B074DKRWG3/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new -
Artakra I simply cannot imagine something of this weight and width is a good thing to be hanging off your PCI bridge...Reply
Ill pass thanks. And take just about any other similarly spec'ed 1080ti.