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There is a danger of sounding repetitive with the MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus since it is so similar to last year's Gaming X. However, the key points are worth reiterating for anyone seriously considering upgrading to a GTX 1080.
Memory aside, it's still the same cooling solution, PCB and overall design, pricing is pretty similar too. MSI has done a stellar job with this card in the way of thermal performance and noise output. Both are exceptionally good which means MSI doesn't have to worry about being outperformed by the competition. That said the competition is still as strong as it was last year and other graphics card vendors are selling 11 Gbps variants of the GTX 1080.
MSI's Gaming X Plus GTX 1080 offers a reasonable incremental performance boost over the standard Gaming X by using Micron's faster GDDR5X memory. Giving the similarity of pricing anyone in the market for a GTX 1080 should definitely opt for a faster 11 Gbps model unless pricing is particularly attractive on an older 10 Gbps model that retailers will now seek to clear stock of.
MSI's take on the 11 Gbps GTX 1080 warrants consideration for its attractive design and ultra quiet operation, the strong build quality, tidy backplate and RGB lighting further refine the overall package. In the coming weeks KitGuru will be assessing the ASUS ROG Strix 11 Gbps GTX 1080.
The MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus 8GB is currently retailing between £500 and £550 at a variety of UK retailers. Until the 31st of May in the United Kingdom the MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus is eligible for MSI's Spring Cashback deal, worth £43, when bought from a participating retailer, more information here. MSI offers a standard 3 year warranty with this product.
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Pros
- Faster memory gives nice performance boost
- Pricing close to 10 Gbps model
- Sleek aesthetics
- Good overclocking headroom
- Excellent cooling performance and low noise
- RGB lighting
Cons:
- Red accents mean colour scheme is not neutral
- RGB lighting not controllable within Afterburner
KitGuru says: MSI's Gaming X Plus is a marvellous implementation of the Nvidia GTX 1080 and a brilliant high-end graphics card. The faster 11Gbps GDDR5X delivers a tangible performance increase over last year's models.
I’ve had this card for 3 weeks now and paid £503 before the £43 cashback. I bought it to replace a 290X which I advertised and sold within one day for £200 (is Bitcoin mining still a thing?), so all in this new card has cost me £260. That’s the only way I can justify paying such a ludicrous amount for a GPU.
My 290X Vapor-x was a brilliant card but it was huuuuuuge, 2.5 slots, triple fan, weighed a ton and was seriously loud more so under any sort of Overclock. My first impressions of the MSI GTX1080 Gaming X was just how small it seemed, small but wide, this made sense as the fans are a lot bigger. Once I installed it I visited the MSI site and was bombarded with software: afterburner, MSI app, streaming software, in an ideal world I’d love to see it all under one program but I understand some non MSI owners just want afterburner. As for the card, I’ve been blown away by just how many games I can play with the fans in stop mode and as for the triple AAA titles, I’m playing them all at Ultra 1440p and the fans are totally inaudible in my Phanteks Evolv mATX Tempered Glass. I can’t recommend this card highly enough.
Double posting as I have a question and a note:
Firstly at 1440p I’ve restarted The Witcher 3 and everything is on Ultra/Max whatever you want to call it with Hairworks on all and I’m seeing a steady 85-90fps.
Secondly If I got a 4K GSYNC monitor I know the card is not upto the resolution in all games so I know I can drop the settings from Very high to high etc, but if I drop the resolution from 4K to a lower resolution for select games does GSYC still work as intended?
I’m torn between a 4K monitor or a Very good 1440p higher refresh rate monitor.
Take both.
What kind of game are you playing ?
All the new stuff from Esports to Cinematic, so Overwatch to Witcher 3, Battlefield 1, Total warhammer, minds gone blank cos I’m at my folks…. hi burglars I’m watching you, but heavy heavy gpu stuff. I will get my money’s worth. Thanks in advance for any advice.
G-Sync doesn’t care about resolution.
That’s good to know, thanks.
I’v got a 27″ (1440p) IPS DELL (60hz) and I think, from what read about, i’m going to upgrade to 27″ 144hz. I’ll keep my DELL for Photo stuff but for gaming, 144hz might be the point of no return.
Don’t expect to see good IPS 2160p 144hz monitor anytime soon. Plus, there is no graphic card today capable of running a 4K game (with high settings) at +100fps. So what’s the point ? :p
For game way slower like witcher 3 a 60hz should be fine.
For people wanting this card a user has posted his came with 210W nominal and 220W max power limits vs the review card which has 220W nominal and 250W max.
What gives? Is MSI up to their old tricks with 1080’s by giving reviewers cards with higher performance than retail? This is pretty disgraceful if so and makes a mockery of reviews.
X Plus VBIOS 86.04.66.00.52 with 220W max power limit. https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/193984/193984