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FRONTPAGE MSI GTX 1080 Gaming Z 8G Video Card Review

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Today we will take a detailed look at the performance and features of the MSI GTX 1080 Gaming Z 8G video card. For this Gaming card, MSI strapped on its TwinFrozr VI cooler and gave the VRM area some additional support for quieter, cooler running parts, and a more stable overclock. Let's see how they did!

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Thanks Joe, very nice review. It's good being you lately, huh?

I've been reading up on the various iterations of these cards, even spent some time on MSI's website yesterday, trying to understand the different tweaks vs. the marketing name scheme. And I remain slightly befuddled. From your experience, which of the MSI cards would be a better pick for a folder/light gamer? Yes, I know, complete overkill for my office needs, but hey, I'm wanting to keep Don256us on his heels!
 
In order to use the voltage settings in afterburner for the GTX1080 you have to update to the latest beta build. Sorry I don't have the exact version at this time, but try the latest beta build, and you should see that the voltage works with the GTX 1080.

- - - Updated - - -

I also want to add that I was able to flash the bios of the MSI GTX 1080 "Gaming" to the "Gaming X" version, then overclock successfully to the "Gaming Z" settings through afterburner without any issues at all.

Also IMO the only place the GTX1080 really shines is at 4K resolution where the GDDR5X memory gets taken full advantage of. I don't think it's really fair to benchmark the GTX1080 on any games at 1080 resolution. Yes it will do well there, but where most cards have trouble is at the higher resolutions and calling information from memory. What I really would have liked to see in the GTX1080 is HBM or HBM2 memory. That little change would greatly increase the FPS performance at higher resolutions. We see it in the new Tesla GPU, it would have been nice to also have it in the consumer product as well. I think at $700 it couldn't be any more expensive than it already is.

Purchase the MSI GTX1080 "Gaming" for ~$700, visit the manufacturer site and download the latest bios for the GTX 1080 "Gaming Z", then flash the firmware on the card. This will instantly give you the option to overclock the card without manually having to tune the overclock. That would be the best deal.
 
Thanks for chiming in and welcome!

I do have the latest public MSI AB beta build... 4.3.0 beta4. If there is a newer one, I can't find it - http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/msi-afterburner-beta-download.html

Also, I mentioned I was able to change voltage but it BARELY changes (~.03V - like the 1070). This is a clear departure from the previous generation. If there is another beta build, I would love to get a link to it!!!

It may shine at higher resolutions, but as of the time of that testing (a few days before publishing), we didn't have a 4K monitor (I do now!). But yes, this is clearly a 2560x1440p card or above. To get a 1080 for 1080p is really a waste of cash for most people. Now, that said, there are some uses for it there, specifically for those that have 120-144Hz monitors. You can see some of our titles aren't close to 120-144 FPS, so there is that. But I do agree, this is a higher res card for sure. 2 would be great in 4K for reaching 60 FPS.

As far as BIOS flashing, well, that is your choice. Not all will work at those speeds, so you need to be careful (though most should). I would test it out through MSI AB for stability first, then flash. But really, there isn't a need to risk flashing (single BIOS) when you can simply have a profile in MSI AB and enable at startup, or hotkey before going in game. People are too quick to suggest BIOS modding for the masses........

Thanks Joe, very nice review. It's good being you lately, huh?

I've been reading up on the various iterations of these cards, even spent some time on MSI's website yesterday, trying to understand the different tweaks vs. the marketing name scheme. And I remain slightly befuddled. From your experience, which of the MSI cards would be a better pick for a folder/light gamer? Yes, I know, complete overkill for my office needs, but hey, I'm wanting to keep Don256us on his heels!
I would go with the gaming line. It has more robust VRM and the twinfrozr VI cooler on it which will keep the card nice and cool while running full out for God knows how long.
 
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