ASUS GeForce RTX 3080 Noctua OC Edition (LHR), RTX3080-O10G-NOCTUA, 10GB GDDR6X, 2x HDMI, 3x DP

asus geforce rtx 3080 10g noctua edition news logoMit der GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua OC Edition (Test) gingen ASUS und Noctua eine Zusammenarbeit ein, die zu überzeugen wusste. Die erste Karte war allerdings eher als Testballon zu verstehen, denn eigentlich ist die Kühlung in der Lage, auf deutlich leistungsstärkeren Karten eingesetzt zu werden. Heute schauen wir uns mit der ASUS GeForce RTX 3080 Noctua OC Edition das zweite Ergebnis dieser Zusammenarbeit an und sind gespannt, ob die Ergebnisse ebenfalls so positiv ausfallen, wie beim kleineren Modell.

Asus hat sich nach der GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Editon erneut mit dem österreichischen Kühlerspezialisten Noctua zusammengetan und die im Herbst 2021 fast sehnlicher erwartete GeForce RTX 3080 Noctua OC Edition umgesetzt. Auch dieses Modell deklassiert im Test die versammelte Konkurrenz.

High-end graphics cards adhere to a tried-and-true formula; think the STRIX series, which has been a consistent success with very few alterations. Choosing a vendor these days is based on aesthetics, cooling performance, and, in 2022, availability. Most cards perform similarly and with that in mind, I'm beginning to appreciate what ASUS attempted with the Noctua Edition RTX 3080; it's something fresh, a different approach, and we dig it. It truly is one of the quietest high-end graphics cards on the market, however, it comes at the expense of a big 4-slot form factor and two high-quality yet brown/beige colored fans. In its default setup, the end result is a nearly silent product. Because of the incredibly low noise levels, this product can be slightly more expensive. Nauseating prices ... when released back in 2020, the 3080 Founder edition carried an MSRP of 699 USD. Then came the clusterfrack that is mining and COVID. Prices went up. The same FE card now costs 1000 USD/EUR. The Noctua card as tested sits at roughly 1100 USD/EUR, which is a huge no-go zone. The acoustic and temperature performance are both excellent; the appearance, while minor, does not detract from the performance. Overall, from an audiophile standpoint, the device has a lot of advantages. However, there are several luxury items on the market that perform similarly in terms of acoustics and appearance. Perhaps in the future, in addition to the DUAL, TUF, and STRIX lines, we'll see cards based on an ASUS Noctua line, targeted to individuals who require exceptionally low noise operation. And this is where we should stop. The release of the Noctua 3080 is an interesting card for the general public, if you're lucky, you'll be able to find one in retail. Recommended for individuals looking for truly silent operation. The price tag for a high-end graphics card however is outside the realm of realistic parameters.

Although it is probably reductive to use the kind of generalisations that are found more often in politics than the real world, for our purposes you'll excuse us if we resort to binary options. There are two types of people who purchase graphics cards. There are those who want the maximum performance at all costs. It could have a similar noise level to an Airbus A380 and the kind of temperatures usually reserved for the aforementioned politicians once they're sent to where they belong in the afterlife. Then there are those who want a card which provides an amount of performance typical of the architecture, and does so without leaving them deaf in one ear.

With four slots, the GeForce RTX 3080 Noctua is easily one of the biggest cards that I've ever tested. This is a total non-issue though, unless you're building a SFF PC. The vast majority of desktop cases will fit this card without problem, as ASUS made sure to keep height and length at reasonable levels which making the most out of four slots for thickness. Part of the reason why the card is so thick is that full-size retail Noctua fans are used, which take up more space than the usual fans installed on graphics cards. Averaged over our 25-game strong test suite, at 4K resolution, we find the RTX 3080 Noctua 2% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 3080 reference design. While any gains are welcome, I feel like a bit more would have been nicer. Compared to Radeon RX 6800 XT, the ASUS RTX 3080 is 4% faster, the Radeon RX 6900 XT is 3% faster than the RTX 3080. NVIDIA's RTX 3090 is 11% faster and much more expensive. Both GPU vendors recently refreshed their lineups, the Radeon RX 6950 XT is 10% faster than the ASUS Noctua card and the RTX 3090 Ti is 21% ahead.