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ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 review: More efficiency for less power

By The Count - 24 Dec 2022

Benchmarks and Conclusion

Test setup

Here are the specifications of our test rig:

I'll be comparing the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 OC primarily against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition. The flagships ROG Strix GeForce 4090 OC is also compared here, to see just how much of a performance difference we can expect between these cards. An RTX 3090 Ti card is also compared just for good measure to see the kind of gen-on-gen performance boost to be expected here.

The following synthetic benchmarks and games were run, with the games chosen from a wide range of genres to give a better indication of performance across different segments:

  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  • Metro: Exodus
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • F1 22

 

While the ASUS card has a more aggressive boost clock speed of 2,625MHz in OC mode, compared to the Founders Edition card's 2,505MHz, the slight bump doesn't really net that big of a performance jump. There were negligible differences between both cards in 3DMark.

 

1080p Benchmarks (Max Settings)

In real-world games, the ASUS card inched ahead of the original GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition by a few frames in most titles, but it's not something you'd want to waste time splitting hairs over.

 

1440p Benchmarks (Max Settings)

The same was true at 1440p. Both cards traded blows, depending on the title, and it was difficult to tease out a clear winner.

 

4K Benchmarks (Max Settings)

Both cards maintained their neck-and-neck performance at 4K. If you're deciding between the two, gaming performance is not likely to be differentiating factor.

While the ASUS card has a more aggressive boost clock speed of 2,625MHz in OC mode, compared to the Founders Edition card's 2,505MHz, the slight bump doesn't really net that big of a performance jump. There were negligible differences between both cards in 3DMark.

 

4K @ Max Settings (Ray Tracing)

With ray tracing turned on, performance unsurprisingly takes a hit. However, the ASUS card still maintains a slight lead over the Founders Edition of the RTX 4080.

 

Temperature and Power

Cooling performance is what really matters when it comes to a comparison between these two cards. With its upgraded cooler that simply dwarfs everything else, ASUS' RTX 4080 card was able to shave nearly 4°C off the Founders Edition card's peak operating temperature.

Of course, this comes at the price of a higher power draw. Either way, you'll want to make sure your PSU has sufficient wattage, especially if you're also running a high-end CPU. NVIDIA recommends at least a 850W PSU for RTX 4080 GPUs. Also, notice again how much less power is consumed with the RTX 4080 as compared to an RTX 3090 Ti? NVIDIA wasn't kidding when they talked about power efficiency.

 

Conclusion

At an official price of S$2,639, the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 OC is one of the more expensive RTX 4080 card in the market, but it has everything that you would want from a custom card – factory overlock, a very capable and quiet cooler, and a very attractive design. The ROG Strix GeForce 4090 OC, at S$3,429, might be the most powerful card but it is also $739 more expensive and not quite as power efficient as its Strix RTX 4080 OC sibling. That could make the latter just a bit more palatable for most gamers' wallets.

If you're interested in snagging the best GeForce RTX 4080 in the market, you can get one on NVIDIA's Shopee store, which, right now, has CNY offers ongoing to make it more appealing. Vii PC Shop on Amazon SG also has it listed below S$2.3k.

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8.5
  • Performance 8.5
  • Features 8.5
  • Value 8
The Good
Good performance-to-watts efficiency
Makes last-gen flagship RTX 3090 Ti obsolete
Relative quiet
Sleeky asthethics
The Bad
Requires big PC casings to fit in
Might require a PSU upgrade as well
It's also expensive
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