- Msi geforce gtx 1080 directx 12 gtx 1080 gaming x software#
- Msi geforce gtx 1080 directx 12 gtx 1080 gaming x series#
The lone RGB LED is the MSI logo on the side, which is not only quite small but nobody really wants the company logo to be illuminated in the first place. First of all the card has two lights but you can only control the color of one of them, which by today's standards is pretty underwhelming.
Msi geforce gtx 1080 directx 12 gtx 1080 gaming x software#
The software also lets you control the card's lighting, and to be honest, it's a pretty lame setup. All these incremental clock speed changes are irrelevant though, as the card's built-in GPU Boost technology will allow the card to run much faster than these modest clocks under load without any user intervention. Silent Mode lets the card run at 1582MHz Boost clock, which is the same as the reference design, aka Founder's Edition.
OC Mode sets the Boost Clock at 1683MHz, while Gaming Mode puts it at 1657MHz.
Here’s what it looks like: Overclocking is accomplished by simply clicking one of the three available options: OC Mode, Gaming Mode, or Silent Mode. Dubbed Gaming App by MSI, the software actually lets you do some pretty cool stuff. Since the GPU doesn’t include any hardware novelties like EVGA’s ICX sensors or even ASUS’s fan headers that let the GPU control case fans, I’ll focus a bit on the software since it’s unique to MSI and actually quite useful. The card’s fans don’t even spin unless the GPU is hotter than 60C, so it’s silent when you’re not gaming. The cooling mechanism is dubbed Twin Frozr VI and uses alternating fan types to generate more air pressure than if all the fans were of the same type. The card features a custom PCB and a swank backplate with a dragon it, but it’s subtle enough to not really stand out much. It offers RGB lighting in two zones the MSI logo that’s visible on the side, and on several blades that are unfortunately underneath the card so to speak, so you can’t really seem them when the card is operating. Unlike the Founder’s Edition it includes a dual-link DVI connector, in addition to three DisplayPort and one HDMI 2.0 connector. The GPU itself is standard issue for a GTX 1080 Ti as it uses dual 8-pin PCIe connectors and measures 11 inches in length. For example, this particular card is spec’d to clock up to 1620MHz but goes far beyond that right out of the box without touching anything in the controls. Kevin Lee + 1 moreThe company sells a few different variants of this particular GPU and this one is clocked reasonably high for a 1080 Ti, but honestly none of that really matters since all these cards overclock much higher automatically than the listed spec for the card. Those features include one-click overclocking, Twin Frozr cooling, RGB lighting, and MSI’s excellent gaming software (that isn’t sarcasm).
Msi geforce gtx 1080 directx 12 gtx 1080 gaming x series#
The Gaming X 11G is a pretty straightforward spin of the GTX 1080 Ti so there’s nothing here that will surprise or intrigue, as all of the features present were available in its previous 10 Series GPUs. Before we dive into the details, let’s take a look at the spec chart - this includes specs for the previous 1080 Ti cards we've tested: The Gaming X still sits above the Armor and Founder’s Edition, however, and its MSRP is $739 so it's roughly $40 more expensive than the vanilla Founder's Edition. The GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G (See it on Amazon) / (See it on Amazon UK) is the company’s midrange offering as there are three SKUs above it the Duke tri-fan series, the water-cooled Sea Hawk X, and the pinnacle air-cooled GPU, the Lightning Z. That’s a good thing, because though MSI can often times push things a bit too far with its design and marketing lingo, this one strikes just the right balance between looking aggressive without overdoing it. It shares the exact same overall design as the previous GTX 1080 GPU albeit with a slightly thicker heat sink. If you’ve seen any of MSI’s high-end Nvidia series GPUs its midrange GTX 1080 Ti should look quite familiar. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. Be sure to visit IGN Tech for all the latest comprehensive hands-on reviews and best-of roundups.