Shootouts

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super shootout: Which custom card should you buy?

By Koh Wanzi - 29 Dec 2019

Gaming performance & overclocking

Test Setup

The detailed specifications of our new graphics card testbed system is as follows:-

  • Intel Core i7-8086K (4.0GHz, 12MB L3 cache)
  • ASUS ROG Strix Maximus X Hero (Intel Z370)
  • 4 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 (Auto timings: CAS 15-15-15-35)
  • Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD
  • Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
  • ASUS PB287Q, 4K monitor

The full line-up of graphics cards are listed in the comparison table below and all were tested on ForceWare 441.12 driver edition.

Test cards compared
  ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming Advanced EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC Ultra Overclocked GALAX GeForce RTX 2080 Super EX 1-click OC Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming OC MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Super WGR Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Super Triple Fan
  ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming Advanced EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC Ultra Overclocked GALAX GeForce RTX 2080 Super EX 1-click OC Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming OC MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Super WGR Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Super Triple Fan
Launch SRP
  • From S$1499
  • From S$1119
  • From S$1119
  • From S$1220
  • From S$1288
  • From S$1165
  • From S$1099
Core Code
  • TU104
  • TU104
  • TU104
  • TU104
  • TU104
  • TU104
  • TU104
GPU Transistor Count
  • 13.6 billion
  • 13.6 billion
  • 13.6 billion
  • 13.6 billion
  • 13.6 billion
  • 13.6 billion
  • 13.6 billion
Manufacturing Process
  • 12nm FinFET
  • 12nm FinFET
  • 12nm FinFET
  • 12nm FinFET
  • 12nm FinFET
  • 12nm FinFET
  • 12nm FinFET
Core Clock
  • Core: 1,680MHz, Boost: 1,860MHz (OC Mode)
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,830MHz (Gaming Mode)
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,845MHz
  • Core: 1,665MHz, Boost: 1,860MHz (OC Mode)
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,845MHz
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,845MHz
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,845MHz
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,830MHz
  • Core: 1,650MHz, Boost: 1,815MHz
Stream Processors
  • 3,072
  • 3,072
  • 3,072
  • 3,072
  • 3,072
  • 3,072
  • 3,072
Stream Processor Clock
  • 1,650MHz
  • 1,650MHz
  • 1,650MHz
  • 1,650MHz
  • 1,650MHz
  • 1,650MHz
  • 1,650MHz
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs)
  • 192
  • 192
  • 192
  • 192
  • 192
  • 192
  • 192
Raster Operator units (ROP)
  • 64
  • 64
  • 64
  • 64
  • 64
  • 64
  • 64
Memory Clock (DDR)
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
  • 8GB GDDR6 15,500MHz
Memory Bus width
  • 256-bit
  • 256-bit
  • 256-bit
  • 256-bit
  • 256-bit
  • 256-bit
  • 256-bit
Memory Bandwidth
  • 496.1GB/s
  • 496.1GB/s
  • 496.1GB/s
  • 496.1GB/s
  • 496.1GB/s
  • 496.1GB/s
  • 496.1GB/s
PCI Express Interface
  • 3.0
  • 3.0
  • 3.0
  • 3.0
  • 3.0
  • 3.0
  • 3.0
Power Connectors
  • 2x 8-pin
  • 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
  • 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
  • 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
  • 2x 8-pin
  • 2x 8-pin
  • 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
Multi GPU Technology
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
  • Yes (2-way SLI)
DVI Outputs
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
HDMI Outputs
  • 2x
  • 1x
  • 1x
  • 1x
  • 1x
  • 1x
  • 1x
DisplayPort Outputs
  • 2x
  • 3x
  • 3x
  • 3x
  • 3x
  • 3x
  • 3x
HDCP Output Support
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes

 

Benchmarks

Next up, here's a list of all the benchmarks used. I've already run through a wider range of tests in my analysis of how the GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition stacks up against other GPUs, so I'll just be going through a more limited selection for this shootout focussed on the same GPU across all the brands we've gathered:

  • 3DMark
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Metro Exodus
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider

I used the Fire Strike Extreme benchmark and stress test in 3DMark for the temperature and power consumption tests respectively.

 

3DMark

The synthetic 3DMark benchmark tests graphics and computational performance at different resolutions, starting at 1080p and going all the way up to 4K. A series of two graphics test, one physics test, and then a combined test stresses your hardware in turn to assess its performance. Compared to the Founders Edition, these custom cards are a hair faster.

All the cards were pretty much neck-and-neck in 3DMark, which isn't really surprising. Minuscule differences in clock speeds aside, they're all based on the same GPU after all. At the most, the differences come up to just under 3 per cent. 

 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

The same goes for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, where the similarities in performance were perhaps even more stark than 3DMark shows at first. All the cards were within a frame or two of each other, and for all practical intents and purposes, their results can be described as pretty much identical. 

 

Metro Exodus

The results were remarkably consistent in Metro Exodus too, further proving that clock speeds don't really matter and that they're hardly a reason to pick one custom card over another.

 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn't bring anything new to the table either, and the results are once again unremarkably similar across the board. While the ASUS card may have the most aggressive clock speeds of the lot, it's hardly the top performer across all the benchmarks. 

 

Temperature and power consumption

I ran 40 loops of 3DMark's Fire Strike Extreme stress test and took the peak temperature readings during the run. For power consumption, I measured the total system power draw during the Fire Strike Extreme benchmark.

The ASUS card had the best cooling performance of the lot and was the only card to dip below 60°C. Conversely, the GALAX had the highest temperatures, while everyone else hovered around the mid-60s. When it came to fan noise, they all were quite a bit quieter compared to the Founders Edition model. 

 

Overclocking

I used the NVIDIA Scanner tool built into EVGA's Precision X1 software to overclock the cards. NVIDIA Scanner is an API that developers can bake into their overclocking software. In a nutshell, it leverages NVIDIA's knowledge of how its GPUs perform to help you achieve the highest possible overclock, with the goal of eliminating the tedious, trial-and-error nature of conventional overclocking. 

After you hit the Scan button, the software will work its way through your card's voltage-frequency curve, running arithmetic tests to see whether the card is stable or not. If it crashes, Scanner will automatically ramp up the voltage and try again. The entire process takes about 20 minutes, after which you'll get a custom voltage-frequency curve and overclocking profile that you can apply. 

Here's a table summarizing the clock speeds each card was able to achieve with NVIDIA Scanner (memory clocks remain unchanged):

  ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming Advanced EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC Ultra, Overclocked GALAX GeForce RTX 2080 Super EX 1-click OC Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming OC MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Super White GameRock Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Super Triple Fan
Base clock 1,689MHz 1,657MHz 1,665MHz 1,701MHz 1,658MHz 1,675MHz 1,696MHz
Boost clock 1,869MHz 1,852MHz 1,860MHz 1,896MHz 1,853MHz 1,855MHz 1,861MHz
% change in Fire Strike Ultra -1.52% -1.02% +2.05% +0.77% +0.98% +0.54% 1.84%

Overall, the cards don't seem to take too well to overclocking. The biggest increase I saw was a meagre 2 per cent, and what's odd was that that was on the GALAX card that didn't even register any change in clock speeds compared to its original 1-click OC values. And despite achieving the highest overclock and being the only card to break 1,700MHz for its base clock, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming OC registered barely any improvement at all.

Put simply, don't buy one of these cards and expect to squeeze out a ton of overclocking headroom. It's also clear that overclocking is hardly a differentiating factor when it comes to deciding between the cards, and it's really coming down to cooling, design, and price.

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