ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080: How to choose your graphics card?

As part of the operation ASUS PCDIY, that we made with ASUS ROG, it was a question of mounting a complete and identifiable / purchasable configuration directly from their site. More information in our article: Properly build your PC Gamer in 2022.

Differentiate designer and assembler

It is interesting to highlight this key point which will be able to disturb many buyers during the first searches. Indeed, if there are only two designers who are NVIDIA and AMDmanufacturers and assemblers go to great lengths to offer a graphics card that suits them.

This is also the aspect that fluctuates the price of graphics cards. Although their characteristics are substantially identical, for products of the same reference, some have better cooling while others accept overclocking more easily, to give only these examples. These are called “custom models” while those native to NVIDIA and AMD designers are respectively called “Founder Edition” and “Frontier Edition”.

In this article, we will only come back to NVIDIA graphics cards and in particular the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 which is part of our configuration following the article “Building your PC Gamer well in 2022”.

Identify its components

As with many configurations, it is the whole that governs the choice of component. Indeed, buying a graphics card that is too powerful or not powerful enough will have a significant impact on the stability and efficiency of your computer. It is also good to remember that, for simple office automation, the processors of the moment have, for the most part, a dedicated graphics chipset which is more than sufficient. The graphics card, as dedicated hardware, is intended for those who wish to play games, enjoy better 3D rendering or VR. Finally, depending on the graphics card (GPU) chosen, the size of your tower will be more or less important.

• Feed : Depending on the manufacturer and the CGU chosen, it will be necessary to have between one and three PCIe connectors which will require between six and eight pins. Not all power supplies are able to offer these connectors. For more information on choosing your diet, we advise you to read our article on how to choose your diet.

• Box: There are three types of towers capable of integrating your configuration. They are easily identifiable by their name: Mini Tour, Moyen Tour and Grand Tour. As a general rule, the size and available space of the boxes are written in the characteristics of the latter. For our application, we use the ASUS ROG Strix Helios RGB ATX/EATX Gaming PC Case. Identifying these last designations, if you want to understand more easily the internal sizes of cases and their compatibility with motherboards, we invite you to read our article “how to choose your motherboard? »

• Processor : A little more technical, it is necessary to ensure the bilateral compatibility of the two components. There is a term for whether your CPU or GPU is not powerful enough for the other. This is CPU/GPU Limited. We will not go into the details at the heart of this article since there are already many sites offering to calculate the compatibility of the two components for you. So with a processor or a state-of-the-art graphics card, is not necessarily the solution to your problems of use in game. This point is all the more important when you wish to carry out an evolution of your configuration. Find more information about choosing your CPU in our article on how to choose your processor?

• The screens and their connectors: We very often forget it, however, not all screens are equipped with the same connectors. It is possible to find VGA, HMDI or even Display port recently. Each graphics card has a certain capacity and type of outputs for these. The most recent still tend to offer more DisplayPort than HDMI.

Understand the features

graphics processor

As said at the beginning of the article, here we take into account the graphics chip from a designer such as NVIDIA or AMD. The latter is defined by an operating frequency as well as a fineness of engraving. Without dwelling on that, let’s go back to the frequency. Expressed in MHz or GHz, it determines the speed of the calculations made by the graphics card. However, we advise you not to make your entire judgment on this characteristic which, on its own, is not enough to decide between two GPUs. For this, we invite you to take advantage of all the sites offering specialized benchmarks.

Standard bus

This is simply the connection that will be requested from your motherboard to be able to use the GPU in question.

RAM

We are getting to the heart of the matter with the characteristic that will be able to greatly influence your choice. Above all, you should know that it is the set of three components that are:

• The amount : it can vary between 1 to 32 GB. For the moment, the most frequent, especially on RTX 30 GPUs, are between 8 and 12 GB. It allows you to manage textures, highlight smoothing effects or antialiasing and, ultimately, support multiple displays. The quantity therefore influences the quality of the visual rendering as well as the acceptable load.
• The type : characteristic more difficult to explain since it is a question of differentiating between architectures and memories. For simplicity, we recall that GDDR6 is currently the most common type on the market.
• Frequency : it comes back in many products and always remains the key element. If we talked above about the importance of the amount of memory, it is governed by the frequency. Indeed, the higher it is, the faster the exchange of data with the GPU. Thus, while remaining reasonable, we advise to favor speed over quantity.

Overview ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080

As part of the ASUS PCDIY operation, our configuration was equipped with a ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080. As we said in the preamble, ASUS ROG is an assembler, who uses an NVIDIA graphics processor on which he adds his personal touch. On all ROG products, it is the ventilation that is in the spotlight. Take advantage of three high-performance fans, for optimal cooling, whatever the application. We note all the same that this process requires a three-pin power supply, which is not within the reach of all power supplies on the market. The manufacturer recommends, at least, an 850W. It is possible to monitor GPU/CPU temperatures directly from ASUS ROG’s Armory Crate software.

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
• Standard buses: PCI Express 4.0
• OpenGL: OpenGL 4.6
• Video memory: 10 GB GDDR6X
• GPU Frequency:
  • OC Mode – 1935MHz (Boost Clock)
  • Gaming Mode (Default) – GPU Boost Clock: 1905 MHz, GPU Base Clock: 1440 MHz
• CUDA cores: 8704
• Memory frequency: 19 GB/s
• Memory interface: 320-bit
• Resolution : Digital Max Resolution 7680 x 4320
• Interface:
  • Yes x 2 (HDMI 2.1)
  • Yes x 3 (DisplayPort 1.4a)
  • Yes (HDCP 2.3)
• Supported screens: 4 max
• NVlink / Crossfire compatibility: Nope
• Accessories :
  • 1 x ROG Velcro Hook&Loop
  • 1x ROG ruler
  • 1x Collection card
  • 1 x Speedsetup manual
• Software: ASUS GPU Tweak II & GeForce Game Ready Driver & Studio Driver.
• Dimensions: 31.85 x 14.01 x 5.78cm
• Recommended diet: 850W
• Power connectors: 3 x 8-pin
• Slot: 2.9 Slots

Finally, find all the graphics cards offered by the brand, directly from the manufacturer’s website. Note that the latter highlights two different ranges that are the Strix and the Matrix.

Current prices

The current situation is not conducive to the acquisition of a graphics card. Not to mention material shortages, scalpers and speculation as well as the lack of stock for next-gen consoles, prices are skyrocketing. Where the RTX 3070 and 3080 were respectively announced, in their Founder Edition format, at 519 and 719 €, it will be necessary to count between 1500 and 2000 €. To overcome this type of problem, many manufacturers offer additional solutions by combining a complete configuration such as the RTX 3070 Ti Builders Bundle from CORSAIR at 1199 €. Of course, this does not help to obtain a GPU at the price initially fixed, but gives the possibility to some buyers to take advantage of an up-to-date configuration capable of accommodating the new games on the market.

For the moment, we are not able to direct you to a standard GPU price as the market is fluctuating and stocks are unstable. We also note the willingness of designers to offer add-on products, such as the RTX 3060, which should allow gamers with aging configurations to take advantage of RTX technology. However, even here, with a starting price of €272, the graphics card does not sell for less than €650. The NVIDIA site itself is selling its FE graphics card for €480 and is currently out of stock. The best solution therefore remains to wait for sets assembled by the manufacturers or simply to diligently follow restocking at prices adapted to your needs.