MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X 12G LHR, 12GB GDDR6X, HDMI, 3x DP

In Nvidias High-End-Segment ist es eng: Unterhalb der GeForce RTX 3090, zwischen der GeForce RTX 3080 und der 3080 Ti, platziert sich seit Januar noch die neue 12-GB-Version der GeForce RTX 3080. Ein Test der GeForce RTX 3080 mit 12 GB fehlte auf ComputerBase noch. Mit der Suprim X von MSI holt die Redaktion das jetzt nach.

Ohne Vorab-Treiber und somit ohne Review am Starttag führte NVIDIA vor wenigen Tagen die GeForce RTX 3080 mit 12 GB anstatt wie bisher 10 GB an Grafikspeicher ein. Neben dem größeren Speicher gibt es auch noch ein paar zusätzliche Funktionseinheiten und schon ist eine Karte fertig, die für NVIDIA vor allem dazu da ist, eine höhere UVP zu rechtfertigen. Doch zur Einschätzung des Preises kommen wir noch. Zunächst einmal wollen wir uns ein solches Modell in Form der MSI GeForce RTX 3080 12G Suprim X genauer anschauen.

I'm giving our Recommended award to the RTX 3080 Suprim X because it's a fantastic custom-design with an excellent cooler, good factory overclock, large power limit increase, and good fan settings (in quiet mode). However, it was a close call because the card is definitely not for everyone at that price point; it's just SO much money. But if you're in the market for a high-end graphics card, it's definitely a product worth considering.

MSI's custom GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X 12G LHR is a force to be reckoned with, keeps up with the RTX 3080 Ti at stock, and beats both the RTX 3080 Ti + RTX 3090 with some OC. rnrnThe GA102 GPU with more CUDA cores + 12GB of VRAM + 384-bit memory bus + MSI SUPRIM X style = winning package.

If memory serves me right, the original 3080 was introduced in September 2020; and we're now in January 2022. With the 3080 reconfigured to 12GB, a handful more shaders available, and a wider memory bus NVIDIA seems to be buying time. In that respect, we're left wondering what this release is truly about? This release has the appearance of a product released to buy additional time for the next generation of competing graphics cards. Which makes sense. We believe NVIDIA is observing the GPU releases from Intel and AMD. Reorganizing, reshuffling, and repositioning items to achieve optimal performance is what they're doing. Also, fabbing GPUs these days takes money and time, the world is still facing a chip shortage. So yeah, time is trivial here. Back to the product though. Without a doubt, we like the GeForce RTX 3080 12GB for what it is; and the MSI SUPRIM X in particular. Indeed, MSI has a wild card with the SUPRIM X. Despite the prophetic moniker, this is a graphics card that exudes quality at that hardware level; the hardware is outstanding. The aesthetics are fantastic; with a metal backplate, a freshly designed cooler, and dual BIOS, is the price premium justified? To be honest, we have some reservations about that. However, this is the pinnacle of over-engineering. Bear in mind that all cards are roughly in the same performance range, resulting in a paltry 5% increase in performance over a 3080 12GB FE edition (if it would exist) for this reshuffled and beefed-up offering. In general, I believe that everyone would concur with me; we would all love to acquire a 3080 12GB. This is an excellent close to an enthusiast-class graphics card that is extremely well-balanced. Essentially, it's a 3090 with half the RAM and configuration changes. I'm quite pleased with the 12GB RAM, but 10 GB is just as fine as well. In the year 2022, 12GB is a well-balanced number though. You'll be considerably ahead of the competition in the top performance regions, and even at Ultra HD, you can enable Raytracing, when combined with DLSS the performance can be dazzling. MSI's offering of the GeForce RTX 3080 12GB works admirably on all fronts, including performance, cooling, and acoustics, as a complete package. Ultimately, the choice comes down to availability and... cost at the end-user level. If etailers keep their pricing in check, this card will be a hit—and what a card it is. But yeah, a little puzzling it is to see as to why NVIDIA has released this series in a very saturated product stack. Only if you can locate it at a reasonable price, it is recommended.