MSI RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z Graphics Card Review

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

Stock on this card is thin on the ground, as so few boards make the grade for these ultra-high-end models. However, if you can find one, it’ll likely be on pre-order. Even then, you’ll be dropping a bit over £1400 for the honour of owning one. Most gamers, you’ll be fine with the usual high-end RTX cards from MSI. However, if you care about pushing the bit harder, and having a card suitable for extreme overclocking, you’ll have to pay the premium.

Overview

MSI has absolutely killed it with this card. It’s so over the top that it’s sickeningly powerful. The RTX 2080 Ti is no slouch, but dumping this much power into the PCB, and throwing such an obnoxiously big cooler on there helps push it just that much harder. It’s not cheap, but if you want to be the fastest, the rules of diminishing returns are hard at work here. That being said, it’s not even the most expensive RTX 2080 Ti out there, but it’s certainly one of the fastest and most overclockable on the market.

Performance

When it wasn’t scoring new high scores in the latest and greatest games, it wasn’t far behind first place. This is a superb gaming card, and if you care about High+ graphics settings and extreme resolutions, then look no further. Out of the box, it’ll run anything you throw at it. Overclock it, and it’ll run everything with its eyes closed and one arm behind its back.

Build Quality

There’s no doubting the robust design here, it’s a freaking strong card. In fact, it has to be the heaviest GPU I’ve ever handled, and that’s saying something (Looking at You Sapphire Vega 64!). The carbon fibre backplate is beyond awesome, but given the size of the card, it also feels like it was required, not just tacked on. This card doesn’t droop that much but use the included bracket to hold it up anyway, it’s a lot of weight for any motherboard to handle. Triple 8-pin power headers, a redonkulous VRM configuration, massive fans, massive heat pipes. This is like bringing a truck to a destruction derby of hatchbacks.

Should I Buy One?

Well, it’s probably not suitable for most people. It’s a wickedly expensive card, and so massive, there’s quite a few chassis that just won’t support it. Plus, it has huge power requirements, and you’ll want a beefy PSU, and even then, it’s not the prettiest looking card ever. Of course, that last part is subjective, but I think this card could benefit from trimming the OLED, the RGB, and even the gold trim, and just being a super fast card without the premium add-ons. Overall though, if you care about extreme performance, and massive overclocking potential, over everything else, get your order in now. This is a true Extreme Performance graphics card worthy of any enthusiast PC build.