Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G Review

1. Introduction2. Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G3. Testing Methodology4. 3DMark (1080p, 1440p, 4K)5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (1080p, 1440p, 4K)6. Far Cry 5 (1080p, 1440p, 4K)7. Ghost Recon: Wildlands (1080p, 1440p, 4K)8. Middle Earth: Shadow of War (1080p, 1440p, 4K)9. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, 1440, 4K)10. Clock Speed11. Temperatures12. Acoustics13. Power Consumption14. Overclocking: 3DMark and Games15. Overclocking: Thermals, Acoustics, Power16. Closing Thoughts17. View All Pages

The first aftermarket RTX 2080 card to pass through our office, I have to say it has been fascinating putting the Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G through its paces.

We'll start with the real-world performance difference between the two cards, and I have to say I did not expect it to be this close. Despite the fact that the Gaming OC has a +30MHz (when you enable the OC Mode in the software, that is) clock speed advantage over the Founders Edition, the two proved almost inseparable in terms of raw FPS.

It was interesting to see the Founders Edition take the lead over the Gigabyte card in a number of titles we tested, but I have to say the performance gap is so small that it is essentially inconsequential. To give you some figures, the difference between the two cards was just 0.6FPS playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 4K, while Ghost Recon: Wildlands showed a difference of just 0.4FPS. When gaming, you just wouldn't be able to tell the two cards apart.

Where the Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC does excel is with thermals and noise levels. Not only did we see the GPU core running 10C cooler than the Founders Edition RTX 2080, but it is also whisper-quiet when under load. Those looking for a cool and quiet RTX card will no doubt want to consider this model. There's also a fan-stop mode so the fans stop spinning when not under load.

When trying to push the chip via overclocking, we were unable to add more than 125MHz to the core, but we could manage an extra 600MHz to the memory – which is more than what we were able to do with our Founders Edition. Still, this overclock put the card's average frequency at just over 1970MHz – it did peak above 2GHz but quickly dropped down. This wasn't quite as fast as our Founders Edition would run when overclocked – that held steady at over 2GHz when under load – but I was quite impressed that the Gaming OC barely got any louder when running with its increased clock speed, while its core temperature only rose 2C.

So while the Gigabyte card can't improve on the overall gaming performance of the RTX 2080 – both out of the box or when overclocked – it is a noticeably quieter card that also runs significantly cooler.

The thing is, you have to ask yourself – is that worth an extra £110? That's because the Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G retails for £859.99, when Nvidia is selling its own Founders cards for £749. I said it in my initial review of both the RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti – but Nvidia has really made it hard for its partners with this generation of cards, simply because the Founders Edition itself is so good.

On top of that, the fact that the Founders card is clocked quite aggressively out of the box really eats into the GPUs' clock speed headroom which Nvidia's partners would usually use to ensure better performance for their cards. For instance, we generally observed aftermarket GTX 1080 Tis running between 5-10% faster than the 1080 Ti Founders. It looks almost certain that performance differences between Founders and aftermarket RTX 20-series cards will be nowhere near that big.

As such, that £110 price difference does make the Gigabyte card a tough sell considering the performance between the two is essentially identical. If you're looking for a high-end card that will be the heart of your system for years to come, I can see the benefit of spending extra for this Gigabyte model – the lower noise levels and temperatures will prove their worth over the years. That being said, the fact remains that the Founders Edition is faster, and also delivers better bang-for-buck.

You can buy the Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G from Overclockers UK for £859.99 HERE.

Pros

• Very quiet.
• Simple and stealthy design.
• Runs very cool under load.
• Barely got any louder/hotter when overclocked to 1970MHz.

Cons

• Couldn't match Founders Edition clock speed – either out of the box or when overclocked.
• £110 more than a Founders.

KitGuru says: There's no doubt that the Gigabyte Gaming OC is an excellent RTX 2080 card. It is cool, very quiet and looks good. The trouble is, it costs an extra £110 over the Founders Edition which proves to be the marginally faster card.

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