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CERBERUS-X : Testing MSI RTX 5080 OC (18th March 2025)
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This RTX5000 launch was just a nightmare…unfortunately it is still pretty bad.
Getting my hands on one RTX 5080 was the worst challenge ever in my, pretty long life, of IT geek. I was beaten by scalpers, I was scammed by fake scalpers…but I finally got one from official retailers…I definitely caught RTX fever that leads to bad bets/decisions.
It was even harder as not so many cards are compatible with SFF, basically 4, including the ghost FE model.
I gave up trying to catch one FE. Dislike former releases, Nvidia really screwed this launch like a champion!
Here is a RTX 5080 selection I built :
In the end, I got one MSI RTX 5080 Ventus OC:
In detail, this MSI RTX 5080 Ventus OC is the model with 4 big heatpipes (the “PLUS” version seems to have 6 smaller heatpipes, do not expect any performance gap between the 2 models). There are 3 fans of ~90mm, directly controllable by the software Fan Control (2 fan controllers, 1 for the i/o fan and 1 for the middle/last fan). Fan speed range is approx between 1000 rpm to 2200 rpm. This card is pretty light, with just 1.1kg in total weight.
Most important : My RTX 5080 has 112 ROPS…a full chip!
I must admit I was a bit reluctant as few reviews/feedback were not so gentle, and I was not sure who was wrong…at least, now I know..
To test & benchmark it I used my beloved, cherished, almighty Cerberus-X!
Here is the full setup :
- CPU : Intel Core i5 12600K, stock
- CPU Cooler : Noctua C14S + NF-A14 (exhaust)
- MB : Asus Prime Z690-P Wifi
- RAM : 4x8go DDR4 GSkill Flare-X 3200MTS CL14-14-14-34
- GPU : MSI RTX 5080 Ventus OC
- PSU : Corsair SF750 + Cablemod 12vhpwr (3xType 4)
- SSD #1 : ADATA SX8200 Pro 2To
- Bottom Fans : Pair of Noctua NFA12x25 (Intake) + Spacer NA-IS1-12 chromax.black Sx2
Strangely enough, colors (silver+black) of the Asus motherboard are matching 100% the ones on the MSI RTX 5080..
One of the best selling points of getting an MSI GPU is that it is fully compatible with MSI Afterbuner, which remains the best software to tweak a GPU.
Please note that the MSI RTX 5080 OC does not have the possibility to increase the power limit. It is 100% and that’s the full maximum! Anyway I was never a fan of increasing the power limit.
Speaking of overclocking, I was able to apply a +300Mhz on the core (exceeding the 3000Mhz during load) and +1000Mhz on the GDDR7. These are still early numbers and I will continue playing with them later on.
At last, I did not apply any undervolting as it is impacting significantly the performance of the RT cores. I prefer to use DLSS4 mode to limit the power consumption.
Here are the benchmarks, comparing with my RTX 4080 FE and even my RTX 3090 FE!
Thanks to the “free” overclocking the RTX 5080 is a step up versus my RTX 4080 FE, especially with ray tracing.
But what about the thermals & noise of this MSI RTX 5080 Ventus OC card?
Let’s be honest, fans on the MSI RTX 5080 Ventus are miles away from Noctua’s ones, but they are at least decent. They have some parasite noise but overall they are OK. It is useful to say that “deshroudding” this card is easy & simple and is not removing the warranty. However I might wait for a retail 3D printed kit to test it properly.
Zero fan mode at idle is working fine too.
There is some coil whine but at a very acceptable level & occasional.
At last regarding thermals, within the Cerberus-X, with this very optimized airflow (tons of fresh intake air, quickly exhausted once heated up), the MSI RTX 5080 is running like a charm/champ! If I leave the original fan curve, the RTX 5080 is not exceeding 70°C under ~300W load.
Thus I decided to use a custom fan curve, limiting the fan speed to 50%, ie 1500rpm. With this setup the RTX 5080 is reaching 72-73°C under 300W load.
Here is a gameplay session in “The last of Us”
Time to conclude on this MSI RTX 5080 Ventus OC!
Let’s be simple, in an optimized airflow, this GPU is working very well. I’ve very little to complain about.
However, unlike the RTX 4080 FE, the heated air of the MSI RTX 5080 Ventus is not oriented. So within a case with little to no airflow, thermals & noise should be hurt significantly.
Stay tuned as I’m already testing it in my U-ITX.