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The GeForce RTX 2080 series of video cards is represented by many models from different manufacturers. We recently got acquainted with the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition and ASUS DUAL-RTX2080-O8G. Now let’s see what Gigabyte offers us. Our focus was on the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC (GV-N2080GAMING OC-8GC) graphics card. Let’s study its features, check the overclocking capabilities and compare it with other NVIDIA solutions.
Gigabyte GV-N2080GAMING OC-8GC
Gigabyte Gaming comes in a large box with a stylized image of a robotic eye. The equipment is minimal, among the accessories there is only a disk with software.
Before us is a large video card about 29 cm long. Three fans are used for cooling, which has long become standard for top Gigabyte models. Outwardly, it resembles the GV-N1080G1 GAMING-8GD, but with slight changes in the body design.
If in the past generation most Gigabyte video cards fit into the standard dimensions of two slots, then the GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC is thicker. The adapter occupies two and a half slots. Against the backdrop of a general increase in heat dissipation in the new flagships, an increase in cooling dimensions is a logical step.
The reverse side is covered with a metal plate. In the corner of the board there are two power connectors – eight and six pins.
There is an illuminated manufacturer’s logo on the side silver insert of the case.
The backlight color and glow mode can be changed in the Aorus Engine app.
Gigabyte has a standard set of image output connectors: three DisplayPort, one HDMI and one VirtualLink USB Type-C. Four ports have gold-plated contacts to protect against oxidation.
The WindForce 3X system is responsible for cooling.
The massive heatsink consists of three sections of plates pierced by heat pipes. A large square plate at the base covers the memory chips. On the side section there are areas for heat removal from all elements of the power unit. Thermal pads provide contact with transistors, chokes and capacitors.
In the center of the base there is a window for contact with the GPU chip. Implemented direct contact with heat pipes. The imprint shows that six tubes completely cover the area of the crystal. The tubes are tightly fitted to each other, but one has a small dent, which is compensated by thermal paste. This is the only niggle, and it does not interfere with the high efficiency of this cooling.
The design involved six heat pipes. Four pass through all sections of the radiator. Two additional tubes – only in the central section.
A casing with three Power Logic fans is screwed onto the radiator. Blade diameter 82 mm. The blades themselves are uniquely serrated and capped to create a more powerful airflow.
Gigabyte fans also rotate in different directions, creating a single directional airflow around the edges. This avoids small areas of turbulence during synchronous unidirectional rotation.
The reinforcement plate also acts as a heatsink. On its surface there are three thermal pads that provide contact with different areas of the printed circuit board.
For clarity, let’s add a slide from the official site, which shows the general design of the video card.
The PCB follows the design of the standard NVIDIA Founders Edition.
A significant part of the board is occupied by the power system. The TU104 processor is powered by eight phases, the GDDR6 memory is powered by two phases.
Full marking of the processor TU104-400-A1. It is a massive crystal with an area of 545 mm².
The memory capacity is eight gigabytes, typed in Micron microcircuits marked 8QA77 D9WCW.
The base core frequency is 1515 MHz with Boost Clock 1815 MHz. Standard specifications imply a frequency formula of 1515/1710 MHz for the simplest versions and 1515/1800 MHz for the Founders Edition. The effective memory frequency is 14000 MHz.
For monitoring and overclocking, we used the EVGA Precision X1, although the proprietary Aorus Engine utility can handle this.
Boost frequencies depend on the load. When loaded with the Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition benchmark at 4K, the average frequency range was 1843-1860 MHz, which is close to the Founders Edition. At the same time, peak temperatures reach 64–65 °C, which is lower than the operating temperatures of the standard version of NVIDIA. The fans ran at about 1300 rpm, creating minimal noise. These indicators are relevant for an open bench at 21–22 °C indoors, but even in a closed case, such a video card will show excellent temperature and noise characteristics.
At lower resolutions, the frequencies may be higher. So, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 1440p mode at maximum settings, the average frequency level was closer to 1900 MHz.
The built-in overclocking scanner showed the possibility of increasing the core frequency by 97 MHz, although we were able to increase the frequency by 120 MHz while maintaining stability in games.
This is a base value of 1635 MHz with peak Boost up to 2130 MHz.
In the heavy test of Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition, frequencies ranged from 1965-2025 MHz. The memory was overclocked to an effective value of 16150 MHz. Increasing the fan speed to 1550 rpm provided the core temperature in the region of 61 °C.
The final frequencies in Boost turned out to be approximately at the same level as that of the ASUS DUAL-RTX2080-O8G, but the memory overclocking is slightly lower.
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