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Fan Speeds, Clock Rates, and Temperatures
Gaming
GeForce RTX 2080 Super utilizes the same thermal solution as GeForce RTX 2080, yet it dissipates an extra 25W of waste heat. So it’s no surprise that the 2080 Super’s two axial fans start spinning up sooner than the 2080 Founders Edition, 2070 Super, or 2070 Founders Edition.
What’s more, the 2080 Super’s fans are still speeding up, even as our three-loop Metro benchmark ends. At that point, they’re at 2,100 RPM, or 250 RPM higher than the next-closest contender, GeForce RTX 2070 Founders Edition.
Faster-spinning fans are a symptom of higher operating temperatures. A TU104 processor with more active resources and higher clock rates naturally runs warmer.
Despite its more aggressive fan curve, our sample tops out at 78°C through this real-world gaming test, surpassing even AMD’s Radeon VII. In comparison, the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition, 2070 Super, and 2070 Founders Edition all maintain temperatures closer to 70°.
Nvidia needs a higher voltage setting to maintain GeForce RTX 2080 Super’s more aggressive clock rate. At the beginning of our three-run Metro loop, we saw frequencies as high as 1,980 MHz. By the end, GeForce RTX 2080 Super bounced between 1,890 and 1,905 MHz.
FurMark
As we saw under Metro, FurMark’s intensive nature causes the GeForce RTX 2080 Super’s fans to kick in earlier than the rest of Nvidia’s cards. This time around they approach 2,200 RPM—350 RPM higher than GeForce RTX 2070 and 2070 Super.
AMD’s Radeon VII heats up faster than Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Super, but they both get to the same 78°C during 15 minutes of running FurMark’s stress test. The other GeForce boards we included hover around the 70° mark in comparison.
Running into a power limit takes its toll on GeForce RTX 2080 Super’s peak clock rate. However, the card is still able to stay within a range of 1,665 and 1,695 MHz through our run. That’s higher than Nvidia’s base frequency rating in a worst-case scenario.
We call this out because, after reviewing five new graphics cards this month, all of them except for GeForce RTX 2080 Super dip below their rated clock rate floors.
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