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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition Review – Finally The Graphics Card for 4K Gaming!

GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition Packaging and Closer Look


NVIDIA’s packaging of their Founders Edition graphics card hasn’t change pretty much. You get that nice rectangular compact box that you need to slide up to reveal the graphics card inside. As expected, the box art is changed and you get that big GeForce RTX logo in the front of the box and a small “2080 Ti” at the bottom.

Sliding up the top cover reveals the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition sitting nicely on the lower portion of the box, wrap with a plastic covering. The box includes a DVI to HDMI adapter, since NVIDIA has removed and replaced the DVI port on the RTX 20 series cards with a USB Type-C VirtualLink connection for VR headsets. There’s also a quick start guide and a support guide.

NVIDIA has completely redesigned the Founders Edition for their RTX 20 series graphics cards. The blower cooler design is gone and it is replaced by a dual fan cooler. Majority of the materials on the cooler shroud is metal and oh man this card really feels rock-solid and premium! It’s heavy and the metal shroud wraps around the graphics card, giving it a “more cohesive look”.

According to NVIDIA, the new GeForce RTX Founders Edition graphics cards have been tailored for gamers who demand the most from their graphics card. With the new cooling solution and factory overclock settings, looks like the Founders Edition will compete with custom designed RTX 20 series graphics cards from AIB partners.

On the rear output ports, you can see the usual suspects but without the DVI port. The DVI port is replaced with a USB Type-C VirtualLink connector for next-gen VR headsets. This eliminates the need to connect several cables on the graphics cards. There are three DisplayPort 1.4a (with DSC 1.2) that are capable of driving up to 8K resolution at 60Hz from a single cable. The single HDMI port is version 2.0b with HDCP 2.2 support.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition draws power from two 8-pin PCIe power connector. It is recommended to power the graphics card with a 650W PSU, as it draws around 260W. I would strongly recommend that you use a high quality, 80 Plus certified PSU for the RTX 20 series graphics card.

NVIDIA also made some serious improvements on the power subsystem of the graphics card. It’s now built with an all-new 13-phase iMON DrMOS power supply that features a new dynamic power management system. It is capable of sub-millisecond current monitoring and control, which allows the power supply to more tightly control the flow of power into the GPU. As a result there is more power headroom for overclocking.

The two fans on the new cooler is a 13-blade axial fans built with a three-phase motor. The fans are silent and inaudible (up to a certain point); and the 13-blade design helps to push more air without the need to spin faster. The fins on the full-length vapor chamber on the RTX 20 series Founders Edition cards are position vertically. This means that air is blown sides ways (toward and outward the motherboard). Hot air is no longer exhausted at the back or through the output ports of the graphics cards. You will need to consider this if you plan to install this card on a small casing or a system with limited air flow.

Gone are the typical SLI fingers that we are familiar with for so many years; and are replaced with the new NVLink. The NVLink connector is covered with a matching cover, which I think did a really good job at “hiding” it discretely. Only the TU102 and TU104 (or RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080) will support NVLink or SLI for gaming. With the GTX 10 series, SLI was still supported up to GTX 1070; but the upcoming RTX 2070 will no longer support SLI as it doesn’t have any NVLink connector.

Additionally, NVIDIA’s NVLink is a high-speed interconnect that provides dependable, high bandwidth and low latency connectivity between pairs of Turing GPUs. With up to 100GB/sec of bidirectional bandwidth, NVLINK makes it possible for customized many workloads to efficiently split across two GPUs and share memory capacity. For gaming workloads, NVLINK’s increased bandwidth and dedicated inter-GPU channel enables new possibilities for SLI, such as new modes or higher resolution display configurations.

I haven’t dismantled my GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition yet, but above you can see how the RTX 2080 Ti PCB looks like underneath the cooler shroud. The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is built with a 3-phase power system dedicated for the 11GB GDDR6 memory running at 14Gbps. Note that aside from having a full-length vapor chamber, all the memory and VRMs are passively cooled as well. There are thermal pads installed to transfer heat from those components to the heatsink.

Let’s proceed to the next page for the test setup, noise and temperature.

GeForce RTX 2080 Ti latest pricing and availability:
For US: Available at Amazon.com here
For Canada: available at Amazon CA here
For UK: available at Amazon UK here
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Peter Paul
Peter is a PC enthusiast and avid gamer with several years of hands-on experience in testing and reviewing PC components, audio equipment, and various tech devices. He offers a genuine, no-nonsense perspective, helping consumers make informed choices in the ever-changing world of technology.

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