Review and testing of the MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X 24G video card. Pumped flagship

Recently, MSI introduced the Suprim line of graphics cards, which includes top versions of the GeForce RTX 3000. These models have absorbed the best that MSI engineers and designers can offer – high-quality PCB, powerful cooling and stylish appearance. Previously, we already met the GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X, now we have the “pumped” flagship MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X 24G graphics card in our hands.

Let’s see how the improved flagship with impressive characteristics can surprise, check its overclocking potential and the efficiency of the cooling system.

MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X 24G

The video card comes in a large box made in light colors.

Complete with a set of printing (instructions, comics, etc.), a mouse pad.

The set also includes a support for the video card.

And this is the correct vertical support with an adjustable height of the supporting “foot”.

MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X 24G has impressive dimensions. The graphics card is 33.5 cm long, 6 cm thick, and 12 cm wide (not including the PCI-E slot). And this graphic monster weighs 1.9 kg, so you simply cannot do without a backup.

Visually, the video card does not differ from the GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X. The case is made in gray and cream colors, which, combined with a special design, gives a solid appearance.

The reverse side of the board is covered with a metal plate, on which there is an illuminated logo in the form of a stylized dragon image. On the side there is an NVLink connector for connecting a pair of devices together. In the new generation of Ampere, only the GeForce RTX 3090 has the ability to hardware-switch graphics cards for co-rendering.

Suprim has three eight-pin power connectors. Next to them is a switch to select one of the two BIOSes. This is the standard Gaming firmware and the quieter Silent mode.

At the start of the new generation of GeForce RTX, there were complaints about the unstable operation of some models at high frequencies. The problem was associated with savings on filter capacitors in the GPU piping. The Gaming video card had five filtering tantalum capacitors and ten ceramic ones soldered in the GPU zone. Suprim has two tantalum capacitors with 40 ceramic ones.

An external examination shows that the entire internal space is occupied by a massive radiator – there is no free space under the case. On the side of the casing there is an illuminated window with a logo.

As for the backlight itself, it will clearly please fans of luminous PCs. The graphics card has illuminated elements on both sides and a large illuminated side stripe with the Suprim logo.

Three DisplayPort ports and one HDMI are provided for image output.

Time to take a look at the cooling system. It is interesting to compare the design of the cooler with the MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X cooler, and there should be differences, because with similar dimensions, Suprim weighs 340 grams more.

Both graphics cards use a metal backplate with two heatpipes that remove heat from the memory chips, but MSI Suprim has longer heatpipes.

In the side zone, the tubes are in contact with the lower platform of the main radiator through a special thermal pad.

Suprim uses a single heatsink for all elements on the board. Below there are many areas for heat removal from memory chips, transistor assemblies, chokes and other elements. All elements of the base are made of nickel-plated copper.

Contact with the GPU is made through a massive flat base, around which stretches a flattened heat pipe, which is involved in the removal of heat from the memory chips. MSI Gaming has direct contact with heatpipes and does not have a separate heatpipe for GDDR6X chips.

The radiator is pierced by seven heat pipes. At the base, they are pressed and tightly fitted to each other due to the rectangular shape.

The radiator consists of a large number of densely spaced plates. The wavy surface and additional guide baffles help to improve the flow of such a dense design.

Three large 100 mm standard fans (impeller diameter 95 mm) are installed on top of the radiator.

MSI’s top products use TorX Fan 4.0 fans with dual blades and durable ball bearings. The special shape of the blades allows you to increase the power of the air flow.

A separate stiffening rib is provided, which stretches along the side face of the board.

The main heatsink of the GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X 24G is identical to the heatsink of the GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X 10G. The difference is in the improved backplate with heat pipes.

The design of the printed circuit board is recognizable as a modified version of the MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio.

The GPU power system has 17 phases, the memory is powered by 4 phases.

The GA102-300-A1 GPU operates with 10496 CUDA stream cores, 328 tensor cores, and 82 RT cores. The board has 24 gigabytes of GDDR6X memory from Micron labeled OST77 D8BGX.

With the standard GPU base value of 1395 MHz, the Boost Clock is increased to 1860 MHz (reference 1695 MHz). The effective memory frequency remained at the recommended level of 19500 MHz. The power has been increased from the recommended value of 350W to an impressive 420W.

Testing was carried out at 22-23°C indoors (open case). In the standard Performance mode, Boost frequencies ranged from 1860-1950 MHz with peak values ​​up to 1995 MHz. This is a higher frequency level than the GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X. The GPU temperature did not rise above 71 ° C with a maximum fan speed of 1800-1900 rpm. The Suprim is a few degrees colder than the Gaming, but the noise is higher due to the higher fan speeds. Below, this is reflected in the screenshots of monitoring parameters during the load of Bright Memory: Infinite RTX and Horizon Zero Dawn.

The most serious drops in frequencies were observed in The Division 2. In 4K, the game lowered the frequency up to 1785-1800 MHz (for Gaming up to 1650-1700 MHz).

In Silent mode, the fan speed is limited to a lower level of 1400 rpm, the noise is minimal. But the heating increases to 80 ° C, along the way, there is a slight decrease in Boost frequencies.

Overclocking results are excellent. Relative to the initial frequencies, the GPU was accelerated by 75 MHz, the power limit was increased to the maximum. The final memory frequency was 20864 MHz.

In most games, Boost kept within 2070-1935 MHz. And even in The Division 2, the core frequency was not allowed below 1890-1900 MHz.

To maintain stability in accelerated mode, we had to manually exceed the speed of the fans above 2000 rpm. This is due to a certain noise, and in order to maintain a comfortable acoustic mode, you will have to limit yourself to a more modest overclocking.

But with such powerful cooling, you can find a balance between frequencies and noise levels.