This is a good, solid performing graphics card that provides an outstanding value for the price. Be aware however that the default fan curve behavior is problematic and can result in your card not working to its true potential. This is easily fixable and I will explain below what to do to correct this.
First, let’s compare this card to it’s competition. For $500 USD you could get a more flashy GTX 1070Ti at this price. But based on the specs and benchmarks the GTX 1080 is still a superior performer across the board versus it’s younger sibling. It handily beats Vega 64 in most games even if prices were equal at the moment (which they are not). Assuming you have a decent aftermarket case, you will get better thermal and performance potential with a traditional heatsink/fans versus a blower-style (Founder’s Edition) style cooler.
If you’re looking for rock solid HD and 1440p (2K) performance, this card will deliver. (It also reportedly benchmarks respectably in 4K also, but my monitor is only 1440p, so I can’t comment there.) Basic benchmarks/technical stats below.
In my experience, the card does tend to run hot out of the box and can thermal throttle at the DEFAULT settings, even with a well-ventilated case. There’s been some misguided (in my opinion) criticism of the radiator design/fans not being sufficient for the card. Likely, folks are confusing this with the GTX 1080Ti Armor which is a COMPLETELY different card (250TDP vs 180TDP – the 1080Ti draws more power, and therefore generates more heat).
This same cooler was also used with the GTX 980Ti which does have a similar power/thermal footprint to the 1080Ti, so just based on the numbers, criticism here is overblown. All things considered, the GTX 1080 inherently runs cooler, so this cooler should technically be “overkill” versus the older, hotter, GTX 980. In my experience this cooling setup actually does a good job of with this GTX 1080 card and even offers overclocking headroom to spare if you’re into that kind of thing.
Some recommendations to get the most out of this card:
Double-check your case fan placement. I have two 140MM intake fans on the front, one 140MM exhaust on the back, and two 140MM exhaust fans on the top. Originally, I had the two top fans set to intake. I assumed that getting positive pressure in my case would promote pushing air past the video card, out of the case. However, I got a good 5 degrees C temp decrease by changing the top fans to exhaust instead. Heat rises? Who would have thunk.
I highly recommend downloading the MSI Afterburner utility from MSI’s website even if you don’t intend on overclocking. Why? My main gripe with this card comes down to the default fan curve. Out of the box, this card idles the fan at 50 degrees C or lower, and DOESN’T RUN THE FANS AT FULL POWER UNTIL THE CARD HITS 90 DEGREES C. GTX 1080 cards are set to thermal throttle at 83 degrees or higher… See where I’m going with this? If you set a more aggressive fan curve you can completely eliminate the boost clock throttling issues (I’ve got my fans set to 50% @ 50 degrees, 90% at 70, and 100% at 80). The fans run quiet and have hydrodynamic bearings, so running them at full load should not decrease the lifespan significantly. They are also very quiet under full load, so I’m genuinely perplexed why MSI was so conservative with their out-of-the-box tuning here.
Another minor nitpick is the lack of a back plate – but that’s COMPLETELY cosmetic. Backplates do not provide any thermal benefits, they are 100% for show. Card sag is an urban legend made up to sell you hunks of aluminum. It also lacks bells and whistles like RGB lighting or fan headers, but that’s a reasonable compromise for the price point. If you’re buying this card, you’re buying it for the performance. The black and white aesthetic is minimalist and looks pretty darn classy. It’s not flashy, but you’re planning to be looking at the screen, not at your chassis, right?
Technical Details:
My custom fan curve setup (all benchmarks done with my custom fan curve):
| Fan Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|
| 0% | <50 degrees C |
| 50% | 50 degrees C |
| 90% | 70 degrees C |
| 100% | <80 degrees C |
Stock Settings (Factory overclocked versus reference GTX 1080, and I got better than advertised speeds)
| Ambient Room Temp | 21 C (70 F) |
| Idle Temp | 39 C |
| Full Load Temp | 64 C |
| Performance | |
| Boost Clock | 1961 Mhz |
| Memory Speed | 5005 Mhz(x2) |
| Unigine Heaven Benchmark | Ultra Quality/Extreme Tessellation/1440p |
| Min FPS | 28.9 |
| Max FPS | 136.3 |
| Avg FPS | 62 |
Overclocked Settings – Boost Clock 2050 Mhz, Memory 5404 Mhz (x2)
Core Voltage +75
Power Limit 120
Temp Limit 83
Core Clock +91
Mem Clock +400
Ambient Temp: 70F/21C
Card idles at 39C, Under full load peaks at 70C (During extended gaming, can vouch that temp never goes above 75C)
Unigine Heaven @ Ultra Quality/Extreme Tessellation/1440p – 32.8 FPS Min, 150.3 Max, 66.8 Avg