MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3080 Graphics Card Review

The latest and greatest range of graphics cards from Nvidia are here at last. Of course, not just Nvidia, as their partner brands such as MSI have their own versions to shout about too. Promising bigger performance than ever before, these FPS smashing titans are sure to impress. Not only that, but they're at a much more competitive price point than the RTX 2000 series launch, making them extremely appealing to those wanting to upgrade their current hardware. MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3080 Graphics Card The Gaming X Trio is a monster of a card, taking an already powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 platform, and delivering even more impressive performance. MSI is aiming to achieve this with their impressive Tri Frozr 2 cooler, which features a trilogy of TORX Fan 4.0 fans, extensive heat pipes and a high-airflow body. Throw in extra power, remove extra heat and dial-up those clock speeds, it's a technique that we all know works really well, so I'm pretty confident the Trio RTX 3080 will deliver some record-breaking performance. Keep in mind, this isn't even the flagship model from MSI or the RTX 3080 series either. Features 10GB GDDR6X Memory8704 Cuda CoresVR Ready/PhysX/CUDA EnabledNVIDIA Ampere Architecture8nm ProcessReal-Time Ray Tracing What MSI Had to Say "The latest iteration of MSI’s iconic GAMING series once again brings performance, low-noise efficiency, and aesthetics that hardcore gamers have come to recognize and trust. Now you too can enjoy all your favourite games with a powerful graphics card that stays cool and silent. Just the way you like it." - MSI Boost Clock / Memory Speed 1815 MHz / 19 Gbps10GB GDDR6XDisplayPort x 3 (v1.4a) / HDMI 2.1 x 1 TRI FROZR 2 Thermal Design TORX Fan 4.0: A masterpiece of teamwork, fan blades work in pairs to create unprecedented levels of focused air pressure.Core Pipe: Precision-crafted heat pipes ensure max contact to the GPU and spread heat along the full length of the heatsink.Airflow Control: Don't sweat it, Airflow Control guides the air to exactly where it needs to be for maximum cooling. RGB Mystic Light Mystic Light gives you complete control of the RGB lighting for MSI devices and compatible RGB products. Dragon Center MSI's exclusive Dragon Center software lets you monitor, tweak and optimize MSI products in real-time. Packaging The box is classic MSI design, with lots of bright colours, and a lovely big image of the card on the front. However, all their usual logos and colours are what we saw on previous generations. On the back, there's a quick breakdown of the main features. Tri Frozr 2 cooling, with TORX Fan 4.0, as well as a sneaky peak at some of the RGB integration. A Closer Look There's one thing that you'll notice very quickly about this card, it's size. It's a big card, and I like that. A massive cooler often transforms to cooler and quieter performance. Plus, it looks awesome, with that trilogy of fans spanning the length of it. There's a really funky fan surround too, with a heptagon design, albeit one with strangely unequal sides, but I like it. The fans are the MSI Torx 4.0, which are designed to work in pairs to pull huge amounts of air through the card. Of course, there's a zero RPM mode too, so the card will only spin the fans it needs when it needs them. The heatsink is pretty massive too, and no doubt explains why the card is so heavy too. You can also see thick copper heatpipes running through the card. Unlike the Founder Edition cards, or whatever they're calling them these days, there's no custom 12-pin cable. However, as you can see, it does require a whopping THREE 8-pin connectors. You'll want a pretty decent power supply to run this, remember, you can't use splitters. It'll be a good time to deploy some custom cables and cable combs though. The back of the card is gorgeous too, with a matte black backplate. There's an exposed bracket here, which is obviously what mounts the heatsink to the main chipset. There's a cheeky warranty sticker here though, so you best check with MSI if you're fitting a water block. Need some more RGB? The text down the side of the card is RGB lit. However, there's a lovely frosted white lightbar down this side too. That USB C VR port is gone this generation, I guess it didn't get much love, but you do get three DP and a single HDMI port. There's a small bracket in the bottom left here. The card can be fitted with the anti-droop bracket if required. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test bench to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Graphics Card Test System MotherboardASUS Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi)ProcessorAMD Ryzen 9 3900XTRAMTEAMGroup DarkZa 16GB 3600MHz (2x8GB)CPU CoolerNoctua NH-D15SPower SupplyPhanteks Revolt Pro 850StorageSeagate FireCuda 520 2TBChassisOpen BenchtableMonitorDell UP3218KOSWindows 10 Pro Version 2004 Additional Hardware Killawatt style electricity usage meter wall plugPrecision Gold N05CC Decibel meter Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. We now use the “High” profiles for all games or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, as are FreeSync and G-Sync technologies or similar. Graphics card power usage is set to optimised or balance, and the system power mode set to High Performance within Windows and the available GPU driver software. Identical settings are used for all resolutions unless otherwise stated. Games Deus Ex: Mankind DividedShadow of the Tomb RaiderFinal Fantasy XVDoom EternalBorderlands 3Metro ExodusBattlefield VApex LegendsControlGears of War 5FarCry New DawnGhost Recon WildlandsWolfenstein Youngblood Resolutions Tested 1080p (Full HD)1440p (2K)2160p (4K)4320p (8K) Some tests will also include features such as Nvidia DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. Software Used 3DMark Fire Strike (download)FireStrikeFireStrike UltraPort Royal DXRTimeSpyTimeSpy ExtremeUnigine Superposition (download)4K Optimised BenchmarkHWMonitor (download)GPU-Z (download)MSI Afterburner (download) Noise Everyone has a reasonable noise level preference when it comes to components on a computer. Some can handle all fans at 100% load to keep temperatures down; some want an entirely silent computer. To accurately gauge the noise output of a graphics card, we position a Precision Gold N05CC one meter above our open-air test bench and take an average reading at idle and load. Power Consumption We take power readings during the idle state with no background applications running. Then again at 50% completion of the Unigine Superposition benchmark, using the average as the final published result. Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered from Unigine Superposition after a 4K optimised run, confirming the numbers are accurate with HWMonitor. Furthermore, the ambient temperature is always kept +/- 1c from 21c. Synthetic Benchmarks 3DMark FireStrike - 292393DMark FireStrike Ultra - 108303DMark TimeSpy - 161113DMark TimeSpy Extreme - 83913DMark Port Royal (DXR) - 11308Unigine Superposition 4K Optimised - 14226 3DMark FireStrike 3DMark FireStrike Ultra 3DMark TimeSpy 3DMark TimeSpy Extreme 3DMark Port Royal (DXR) Unigine Superposition 4K Optimised Now an experienced covert operative, Adam Jensen is forced to operate in a world that has grown to despise his kind. Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy. Available now on Steam. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Performance 1080p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 138.71440p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 126.12160p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 77.6 Experience Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Available now on Steam. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance 1080p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1401440p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1342160p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 96 For the first time, players take control of Noctis's greatest foe in this brand-new episode of FINAL FANTASY XV! Delve into the dark tale of scorned saviour Ardyn Lucis Caelum and unravel the secrets surrounding his mysterious past. Available now on Steam. Final Fantasy XV Performance 1080p Final Fantasy XV - 136951440p Final Fantasy XV - 117242160p Final Fantasy XV - 7538 Experience Aloy’s entire legendary quest to unravel the mysteries of a world ruled by deadly Machines. An outcast from her tribe, the young hunter fights to uncover her past, discover her destiny… and stop a catastrophic threat to the future. Unleash devastating, tactical attacks against unique Machines and rival tribes as you explore an open world teeming with wildlife and danger. Horizon Zero Dawn™ is a multi-award-winning action role-playing game – and this Complete Edition for PC includes the huge expansion The Frozen Wilds, featuring new lands, skills, weapons and Machines. Available now on Steam. Horizon Zero Dawn Performance 1080p Final Fantasy XV - 1451440p Final Fantasy XV - 1272160p Final Fantasy XV - 80 Hell’s armies have invaded Earth. Become the Slayer in an epic single-player campaign to conquer demons across dimensions and stop the final destruction of humanity. The only thing they fear... is you. Available now on Steam. Doom Eternal Performance 1080p Doom Eternal - 352.9851440p Doom Eternal - 308.0422160p Doom Eternal - 183.452 The original shooter-looter returns, packing bazillions of guns and a mayhem-fueled adventure! Blast through new worlds and enemies as one of four new Vault Hunters. Play solo or with friends to take on insane enemies, score loads of loot and save your home from the most ruthless cult leaders in the galaxy. At the hard edge of the galaxy lies a group of planets ruthlessly exploited by militarized corporations. Brimming with loot and violence, this is your home—the Borderlands. Now, a crazed cult known as The Children of the Vault has emerged and is spreading like an interstellar plague. Play solo or co-op as one of four unique Vault Hunters, score loads of loot and save the galaxy from this fanatical threat. Available now on Epic Games Store. Borderlands 3 Performance 1080p Borderlands 3 - 125.231440p Borderlands 3 - 120.182160p Borderlands 3 - 78.66 Metro Exodus is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter from 4A Games that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Flee the shattered ruins of dead Moscow and embark on an epic, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Explore the Russian wilderness in vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. Available now on Epic Game Store. Metro Exodus Performance 1080p Metro Exodus - 124.411440p Metro Exodus - 115.922160p Metro Exodus - 79.17 Enter mankind’s greatest conflict with Battlefield™ V in the most intense, immersive, and innovative Battlefield yet. Lead your squad to victory in all-new multiplayer experiences like the multi-map Grand Operations. Fight for survival in Firestorm – battle royale, reimagined for Battlefield. Witness a never-before-seen portrayal of WW2 in the single-player War Stories campaign. Assemble your Company of customized soldiers, weapons, and vehicles – then take them on an expanding journey where every chapter brings a new battlefield. You will never be the same. Available now on Origin. Battlefield V Performance 1080p Battlefield V - 171.2431440p Battlefield V - 1155.2872160p Battlefield V - 101.338 Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play Battle Royale shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier. Master an ever-growing roster of diverse Legends, deep tactical squad play and bold new innovations that level up the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Battle Royale. Available now on Steam. Apex Legends Performance 1080p Apex Legends - 143.7451440p Apex Legends - 143.7992160p Apex Legends - 136.175 A corruptive presence has invaded the Federal Bureau of Control…Only you have the power to stop it. The world is now your weapon in an epic fight to annihilate an ominous enemy through deep and unpredictable environments. Containment has failed, humanity is at stake. Will you regain control? Winner of over 80 awards, Control is a visually stunning third-person action-adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Blending open-ended environments with the signature world-building and storytelling of renowned developer, Remedy Entertainment, Control presents an expansive and intensely gratifying gameplay experience. Available now on Steam. Control Performance 1080p Control - 143.7451440p Control - 143.7992160p Control - 136.175 Squad up with Dom Santiago in Operation 4 Brothers in Arms, available now. Play today with new heroes, new maps and new rewards. From one of gaming’s most acclaimed sagas, Gears is bigger than ever, with five thrilling modes and the deepest campaign yet. Available now on Steam. Gears of War 5 Performance 1080p Gears of War 5 - 125.41440p Gears of War 5 - 127.12160p Gears of War 5 - 95.1 Seventeen years after a global nuclear catastrophe, civilization re-emerges from the chaos to find a world dramatically changed. In Hope County, Montana, the remaining populace has gathered into different groups, each with their own rules for survival. In this new world order, the vicious Highwaymen, led by twin sisters Mickey and Lou, travel from place to place bleeding people dry of all available resources. As the Survivors try to defend their lands against the Highwaymen's relentless onslaught, it's up to you to come to their aid and lead the fight. In the latest instalment of the award-winning Far Cry franchise, you are the last line of defence in a transformed, post-apocalyptic Hope County. Help the community of Survivors grow stronger, craft a makeshift arsenal through Turf Wars and cross-country Expeditions, and form unexpected alliances to fight for survival in a dangerous new frontier. Available now on UPlay. Far Cry New Dawn Performance 1080p Far Cry New Dawn - 1181440p Far Cry New Dawn - 1132160p Far Cry New Dawn - 92 The Ghosts, an elite US Special Forces team, are sent behind enemy lines to wreak havoc, destabilize, and eventually break the alliance between the cartel and the corrupted government. Facing an almighty enemy in a massive and hostile environment, the Ghosts will need to make critical moral choices and engage in tough battles to complete their mission – their grittiest and most dangerous operation to date. Available now on UPlay. Ghost Recon: Wildlands Performance 1080p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 150.811440p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 137.652160p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 91.76 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint puts you in the boots of the Ghosts, an Elite US Special Operations Unit stranded behind enemy lines. This time there is no briefing. All contact has been lost with Auroa. This archipelago is home to Skell Technology, a high-tech company. You are sent there with your unit for a recon mission, but your helicopters are shot down: Skell Tech has fallen into the wrong hands. The Wolves, a lethal ex-US military unit gone rogue, have taken over the island. Led by your ex-brother-in-arms, Colonel Cole D. Walker, they have reprogrammed Skell’s drones into killing machines and are ready to use them, no matter the casualties. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a military shooter set in a diverse, hostile, and mysterious open world that you can play entirely solo or in four-player co-op. Injured, without support, and hunted down by ex-Ghosts, you must fight to survive while lost in Auroa. Choose the right alliances and decide how to take down your toughest enemy. Available now on UPLAY. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint 1080p Breakpoint - 1811440p Breakpoint - 1672160p Breakpoint - 128 Wolfenstein: Youngblood is the first modern co-op Wolfenstein adventure. Nineteen years after the events of Wolfenstein II, BJ Blazkowicz has disappeared after a mission into Nazi-occupied Paris. Now, after years of training from their battle-hardened father, BJ’s twin daughters, Jess and Soph Blazkowicz, are forced into action. Team up with a friend or play alone. Level up, explore, and complete missions to unlock new abilities, weapons, gadgets, cosmetics, and more to complement your playstyle and customize your appearance. Wolfenstein: Youngblood features the most open-ended Wolfenstein experience to date. From a new base of operations located deep in the heart of the Paris catacombs, plan how and when to attack and dismantle the Nazi regime. Available now on Steam. Wolfenstein Youngblood Performance 1080p Wolfenstein Youngblood - 3751440p Wolfenstein Youngblood - 2732160p Wolfenstein Youngblood - 160 It's time to separate the weak from the strong, as this test is all about punishment. The issue with this, it's 4 x the resolution of 4K, and that means it's going to put a frankly appalling strain on VRAM, even on flagship cards. However, it's fun, and we're doing this. Any result showing a zero either would not run or typically failed during the run and wouldn't complete. Ray tracing is the true next-gen feature that many of us have been watching develop over the last couple of years. However, with more and more cards, as well as next-gen consoles supporting the feature, it's expected to take off in a big way now. Obviously, AMD cards are omitted from this test right now, but we're certain it won't be long before we see some competition in these benchmarks. Power Consumption Temperatures Acoustics How Much Does It Cost? While I don't have retail links just yet, as we're writing this review before the product is live on retail sites, we do know it has an MSRP of just £759.99 here in the UK. I can't imagine the US price will be much different, but most likely $799.99. Of course, there will be some variation based on retailer and availability, but this launch does at least seem to scale the pricing much better than what we saw with the RTX 2000 series launch. You can Amazon UK for up to date stock and prices here. Alternatively, you can also find them on eBuyer here. Overview So far, I must admit that I'm very impressed with the latest cards from Nvidia, and even more so with the AIB cards such as the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio we've tested today. Of course, I can understand some users are frustrated as we've heard claims of "twice the performance" from the previous gen, and while that may be true in some games, at some resolutions, I always think you should take manufacturer claims with a pinch of salt. Let's put any claimed performance aside though because now we have solid figures. This is the RTX 2080, and it's clear to all that it gave the RTX 2080 Ti an absolute bloody thrashing. That's impressive for a card that is launching for roughly half the price of what the Ti did at its launch. Of course, we haven't tested anything above the 3080 yet, but I expect them to be insanely fast cards. The 2080 Ti is a phenomenal card for 4K gaming, ultra-high frame rates, ray tracing and more. So, for the RTX 3080 to blow the RTX 2080 Ti away at this price point is nothing short of incredible. In all our games, we got past 60 FPS at 4K, a lot past it actually. Well, except Control that averaged an annoying 59.6 FPS, but we'll let that slide. 8K Ain't Easy We thought it was going to be fun to run some stuff at 8K, and in short, it wasn't. The monitor is prohibitively expensive to begin with, but so is the tax on VRAM. Some of the "older" cards just simply wouldn't load that resolution in some games. Some games wouldn't even allow the option, and others ran but didn't run well. Even Deus Ex only got 26 FPS with the RTX 3080! However, Doom Eternal hit a very playable 53.4 FPS, Control managed 55.2, etc, so it's not all bad. Remember, that's 4x the pixels of 4K, so that's pretty impressive really. RTX, DLSS and Beyond Ray Tracing, DLSS a and other RTX benefits are here too and certainly gave us some exciting results. We stuck with 4K testing for all of that, as DLSS isn't supported at some resolutions on some cards, and it gets a bit complex for comparison purposes. However, hitting 91 FPS at 4K, with RTX on and DLSS off in Youngblood was impressive. That rocketed to 159 FPS with DLSS turned on! Control was pretty demanding, but that was expected. However, with DLSS and RTX on, it still put out 67.6 FPS at 4K. Plus, it looked insanely good while doing it. Battlefield V looked incredible at 61.2 FPS with full RTX on, and DLSS took that to an impressive 77.9 FPS. Should I Buy One? Without a doubt this is an exceptional card. For 4K gaming, it's a true power house, and the benefits of ray tracing don't have to be compromised any more even at more demanding resolutions. This card is the sweet spot for those seeking ultra-fast refresh rates or extremely high graphics settings at high resolutions. MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3080 Graphics Card Review