Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC Graphics Card Review – Let’s Generate Some Frames!

Today, let’s check out one of the GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards that will be released starting November 16. We have the Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC to test and review. It features a design similar to Zotac’s flagship lineup, the AMP Extreme AIRO model. However, the Trinity OC has less RGB lighting but comes at a lower price than the AMP Extreme AIRO. One of the main features of the RTX 40 series GPUs is the DLSS 3. In this review, let’s find out how fast the RTX 4080 is versus its predecessors, the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080. Please continue reading out Zotac RTX 4080 16GB review below.

UPDATE: NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 4080 Super is now out. Check out out GeForce RTX 4080 Super review here.

Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC Review

Let’s discuss the general features of NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 4080 GPU. Officially announced in September 2022, we already know that the RTX 4080 is coming this November with a starting price of $1,199. It’s based on an AD103 GPU chip, which is smaller than the current flagship RTX 4090 with its AD102 GPU.

The AD103 GPU is based on TSMC’s 4N NVIDIA custom process, which is basically a customized 5nm process. Like the flagship RTX 4090, the Ada Lovelace architecture powers the RTX 4080 GPU. The GeForce RTX 4080 has 9,728 CUDA cores, providing 49 Shader-TFLOPS of power for traditional rasterized graphics; 304 Fourth Generation Tensor Cores offering 780 Tensor-TFLOPS (with Sparsity) for AI processing and DLSS; and 76 Third Generation Ada RT Cores capable of 113 RT-TFLOPS for powering next generation ray-traced graphics, and 16GB of GDDR6X memory.

When the GeForce RTX 20 series GPUs were introduced and released, ray tracing and deep learning super sampling (DLSS 1.0) were the key features. The RTX 30 series GPUs are basically faster versions of the RTX 20 series. This time, with the release of the RTX 40 series GPUs, NVIDIA introduces DLSS 3 along with other improvements.

NVIDIA’s DLSS 3 combines Super Resolution, Frame Generation, and NVIDIA’s Reflex technologies. DLSS 3 significantly boosts the frame rate while reducing the latency resulting in a smooth and responsive gaming experience.

On paper, the technology sounds fantastic. DLSS 2 was impressive at boosting the game’s frame rate. It was handy, especially for the lower and mid-range graphics cards. However, unlike DLSS 2, DLSS 3 is limited to the RTX 40 series GPUs. And at the time of publishing this review, only a few games support DLSS 3. Although, expect that to change soon as the technology gets adopted.

Other Technological Innovations of RTX 40 Series GPUs

• New Streaming Multiprocessors (SM) – The new SM delivers up to 2x performance and power efficiency
• 4th Generation Tensor Cores and Optical Flow – Enable and accelerate transformative AI technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS and the new frame rate multiplying NVIDIA DLSS 3
• 3rd Generation RT Cores – Up to 2x ray tracing performance, delivering incredibly detailed virtual worlds like never before
• Shader Execution Reordering (SER) – SER improves ray tracing operations by 2x, boosting FPS up to 44% in Cyberpunk with RT: Overdrive Mode
• DLSS 3 – A revolutionary breakthrough in AI-powered graphics that massively boosts performance using AI to generate additional high-quality frames
• NVIDIA Studio – Unmatched performance in 3D rendering, video editing, and livestreaming
• Dual AV1 Video Encoders – The 8th generation NVIDIA Encoder (NVENC) with AV1 is 40% more efficient than H.264, enabling new possibilities for streamers, broadcasters, and video callers.

Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC Features

All the GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards in the market share all the features that the Ada Lovelace architecture offers. After all, they are powered and made with the same GPU inside. What separates the RTX 4080 graphics cards from add-in-card partners are the design and aesthetics. Some manufacturers have custom PCBs aside from the card’s cooler. But basically, all RTX 4080 cards will have the same performance since NVIDIA sets the limit and controls how these graphics cards perform.

Zotac introduced a new graphics card design when the RTX 40 series was released. They have the Trinity lineup and the AMP Extreme AIRO. The Trinity (OC) cards are cheaper and have less RGB lighting. The non-OC features the base clock speed, while the OC variant has factory overclock settings. The AMP Extreme AIRO has a higher or faster boost clock speed out of the box. But don’t worry, as I mentioned before, they will all perform similarly, regardless if it’s an OC or non-OC, all thanks to NVIDIA GPU boost technology.

The Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 Trinity OC features Zotac’s IceStorm 2.0 advanced cooling system. It also has a “Freeze” fan stop, active fan control, and dual BIOS. As for RGB lighting, it has Spectra 2.0 RGB lighting that is compatible with external LED strips.

Let’s take a closer look at the card itself, then find out how it performs.

GeForce RTX 4080 Specifications

Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 Series graphics cards latest pricing and availability: (#ad)
Trinity RTX 4080 is available on Amazon.com here.
Trinity OC RTX 4080 is available on Amazon.com here.
AMP Extreme AIRO is available on Amazon.com here.

Packaging and Closer Look

With the new RTX 40 series GPUs, Zotac’s packaging for its graphics card has changed. For the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, expect a large box, a huge box. The box art is new, bearing NVIDIA’s new GeForce logo and GPU model. You can see at the front of the box a curvy and wavy art. This is because Zotac’s new RTX 4090 and 4080 Trinity (OC) and AMP Extreme AIRO graphics cards has a “curvy” body.

Maybe Zotac is done with a rectangular or brick-type design and decided to try a new approach. Nevertheless, it’s still a large, chunky graphics card with a thick aluminum heatsink.

Above are the front and rear views of the Zotac RTX 4080 Trinity OC graphics card. The front cooler shroud is made of plastic, but the backplate is metal. Notice that the three fans on the front vary in size. The middle fan is smaller compared to the other two fans. Unlike in the AIRO model, where the middle fan is spinning in the opposite direction, all three fans spin in the same direction in the Trinity variant.

We can also see a blow-through design towards the rear end of the graphics card. Like most current-generation graphics cards, the Trinity OC also features a fan stop feature.

For its output ports, it has three DisplayPort 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1 port. NVIDIA didn’t use the newer DisplayPort 2.1 interface. Whether it will be an issue when the new gaming monitors are released next year remains to be seen.

The RTX 4080 graphics cards use the new and infamous 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. The included adapter only requires three 8-pin PCIe power connectors. I didn’t use the included adapter since the PSU I used comes with the native 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. So far, I haven’t encountered any (burning) issues with the setup. I’m hoping that the problem is limited to the RTX 4090 cards since it draws more power than the RTX 4080.

Right beside the PCIe power connector is a BIOS switch button. Frankly, I haven’t pressed that button yet. There’s no clear indication whether which BIOS settings the card is currently using. I decided not to tinker with it for now due to time constraints.

Behind the BIOS switch is an RGB header. I don’t know why Zotac decided to place the header there. It’s somewhat difficult to access. You may need to remove the backplate to connect the cable properly. I also spotted another white header right next to the RGB header. This one is quite hidden, sitting at the rear center of the card’s PCB. I’m not sure what’s the header for, maybe for diagnostic purposes. But Zotac probably doesn’t want you to use that header, considering its location.

I don’t know where Zotac got the inspiration for the new design of its RTX 40 series graphics card. It reminds me of a yacht, but looking at it from the front reminds me of something else.

Size Comparison

Just like the RTX 4090 graphics card, the RTX 4080 is also a huge card. It measures 14″ x 5.9″ x 2.8″ or 356.1mm x 150.1mm x 71.4mm. It occupies three PCI slots, and it’s prone to sagging. Zotac included a graphics card support stand or holder in the box.

The Test Setup for the RTX 4080 Reviews

For this generation’s graphics card reviews, I’m using an X670E motherboard powered with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X. It is paired with DDR5-6000MHz memory with an AMD EXPO profile. Resizable BAR was also enabled from the BIOS settings. Below are the rest of the specifications of the system:

Operating System	Windows 11 Pro 64bit
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard	MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000MHz CL30 AMD EXPO
Graphics Card	Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC
OS Drive	MSI Spatium M480 Play
Game Drive	SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD V2 and Extreme Portable SSD V2
Power Supply	MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5
Chassis	MSI MPG Velox 100P Airflow
Monitor	MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD 4K 144Hz

I used the press driver version 526.72 that NVIDIA provided for this review. The graphics card was tested in three resolutions – 1920×1080 FHD, 2560×1440 WQHD, and 3840×2160 4K UHD.

For synthetic benchmarks, I used 3DMark’s benchmark suite. I also used the following games to test the graphics card: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Read Dead Redemption 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Division 2, and The Witcher 3.

For the ray tracing and DLSS games, I tested the RTX 4080 with Cyberpunk 2077, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, Watch Dogs: Legion, and Forza Horizon 5. All DLSS tests were conducted using the Quality preset only.

Below is the GPU-Z screenshot of the Zotac RTX 4080 Trinity OC. Note that when I tested the card, the current GPU-Z version doesn’t support the RTX 4080 yet.

Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC Benchmarks

Synthetic Benchmark Results

Below are the results that I got with 3D Mark’s benchmark suite. On the left-hand side are graphics scores, while on the right-hand side are the average frames per second (FPS).

As you can see from the results above, the RTX 4080 is almost double the performance of its predecessor, the RTX 3080. Meanwhile, the RTX 3080 Ti sits somewhere in between. But from the RTX 3080 Ti to the RTX 4080, there’s still a substantial performance difference between the two.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an RTX 3090 Ti or RTX 3090 or even the newer RTX 4090 to include on the graphs. I only have the RTX X080s graphics cards on hand.

Ray Tracing and DLSS Benchmark Results

Let’s start with the ray tracing and DLSS because this is what NVIDIA is pushing, especially DLSS 3. Let’s find out if the new RTX 4080 is indeed faster than its predecessors when it comes to ray tracing and DLSS.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is currently one of the most, if not the most, graphics-intensive games out there. It’s very GPU demanding that even without ray tracing, it’s quite difficult to get higher frame rates in 4K without the help of DLSS or by lowering the graphics settings.

The RTX 4080 performed near-double the performance when compared to the RTX 3080. Again, the RTX 3080 Ti sits somewhere in between. But there’s still a substantial performance difference between the two.

Enabling ray tracing with Psycho settings brings these graphics cards to their knees. Even the RTX 4080s was only getting near 30 fps of performance, giving it a cinematic feel while playing. We definitely want to play at a higher frame rate.

After enabling DLSS on the graphics cards, we can see that the RTX 4080 achieved nearly 60 fps at 4K. Meanwhile, the RTX 3080 and RTX 3080 Ti were hovering around 30fps or more, respectively. You can get a higher frame rate if you opt for DLSS performance. But all the DLSS tests were conducted using the quality preset.

The RTX 40 series GPUs have a trick under their sleeves. It’s called DLSS 3 with AI frame generation. It creates a frame and inserts the frame in between. It’s like DLSS 2 but on steroids. As you can see from the results above, both the RTX 4080 graphics cards achieved an average of 78 fps. That’s around double the performance of what the RTX 3080 Ti can do.

Unfortunately, DLSS 3 is only available in the RTX 40 series lineup. And the older RTX 30 and RTX 20 series GPUs do not support DLSS 3. Maybe in the future, but maybe not. Time will tell.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

A Plague Tale Requiem is another very demanding game. I don’t know why it’s so heavy, although the graphics look nice. After you can control the character, the frame rate starts tanking for the RTX 3080 and RTX 3080 Ti. The RTX 3080 and 3080 Ti can still manage more than 60 fps at 1080p and 1440p. But both felt sluggish at 4K resolution. Meanwhile, with ultra graphics quality, the RTX 4080 cards can barely reach 60 fps at 4K resolution.

Again, DLSS to the rescue. After enabling DLSS, we can see a much better frame rate. The frame rate would be higher if I didn’t use DLSS quality. However, with the RTX 4080’s DLSS 3, you can see a significant performance increase from DLSS 2. The RTX 4080’s frame generation is working like magic. And with NVIDIA reflex, the game feels more responsive and smooth.

So far, only Cyberpunk 2077 and A Plague Tale are the titles I have tested with DLSS 3. I didn’t notice any weird artifacts or distortions on the image while DLSS 3 was enabled. I’ll look more into DLSS 3 in a separate article in the future.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered

In Spider-Man Remastered, I decided to exclude the 1080p results that I got. All the cards were performing similarly. On top of that, the 1080p and 1440p performances were also somewhat similar. I’m not sure if I encountered a bug or something. But for now, I decided to remove 1080p for this game title. Anyway, 1080p is not the target resolution of the RTX 4080.

The older RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 can handle this game well. It’s only at 4K that both graphics cards were a bit struggling. But by enabling DLSS, I could get above 60 fps frame rate. I was expecting a higher fps with the RTX 4080, though.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II

I used the built-in benchmark tool in Call of Duty Modern Warfare II. Many competitive players tend to tweak the graphics setting and tone down or disable most visual effects to get that smooth and high frame rates. Nevertheless, with the extreme graphics preset and with the help of DLSS, I was able to get more than 200fps in 1080p and 1440p.

Meanwhile, I got around 140 fps at 4K resolution. That’s around a 40% to 55% performance increase from the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080, respectively. Not bad at all.

Watch Dogs: Legion

In Watch Dogs Legion, the same story can be said. We see a significant performance increase from the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 to the RTX 4080. However, this game could use some DLSS 3 to get higher frame rates at 4K resolution.

Forza Horizon 5

Finally, I tested Forza Horizon 5 with ray tracing enabled. This game doesn’t have a heavy ray-tracing penalty. There’s no significant difference in performance between ray tracing enabled or disabled. So I decided to test the game with ray tracing enabled only.

At 4K resolution, the RTX 4080 is around 53% faster than the RTX 3080. And it’s approximately 33% faster than the RTX 3080 Ti. Not a jaw-dropping performance compared to what DLSS 3 can do. Nevertheless, it’s still a substantial increase from its predecessor.

1080p Game Benchmark Results

Now time to see the results I got with traditional rasterization. I won’t discuss them individually, as the results can speak for themselves.

1080p is not the target resolution of any of these graphics cards. I strongly suggest that you do not buy an RTX 4080/3080 (Ti) if you only use a 1920×1080 monitor. There is a CPU bottleneck going on here, and I see during my tests that the GPU is not fully utilized. As a result, there is some performance left on the table. But if you’re curious how these high-end GPUs perform at 1080p, below are the results:

1440p Game Benchmark Results

Moving to 2560×1440 resolution, the GeForce RTX 4080 has more room to stretch its legs, especially if it’s an ultrawide 1440p monitor. Most of the time, I see the GPU load reach around 95%-99%. However, there are times and scenarios where the GPU load only runs around 80%++. However, for graphics-intensive games, like Cyberpunk 2077, the RTX 4080 may not be a bad choice, especially if you want your frame rates consistently high.

2160p Game Benchmark Results

The GeForce RTX 4080 GPU is designed for 4K UHD gaming. Even with the power of the RTX 4080, there are still some game titles that can bring it to its knees. And that’s where DLSS or DLSS 3 comes in, as seen from the results above. But even in traditional rasterization, the RTX 4080 is still a good choice for 4K gaming.

We no longer see double the performance from RTX 3080 to RTX 4080 in traditional rasterization. However, the RTX 4080 is still impressive, giving a 30% to 50% performance increase from the RTX 3080. The increase is still substantial and can improve your 4K gaming experience. The only thing left to consider is the price.

Pricing and Availability

NVIDIA’s official pricing for the GeForce RTX 4080 starts at $1,199. However, expect that graphics cards from partners like Zotac can be higher than the base price. If I am not mistaken, the Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity will have an MSRP of $1,199. Meanwhile, the Trinity OC, the model that we have here, will be $100 higher. As for Zotac’s RTX 4080 AMP Extreme AIRO, it could retail at $1,399.99.

These are the prices I got when I inspected Newegg’s product page for each graphics card. Hopefully, these RTX 4080 graphics cards will be priced near NVIDIA’s MSRP. It would be much better if NVIDIA discounts them soon. Though, I highly doubt that.

Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 Series graphics cards latest pricing and availability: (#ad)
Trinity RTX 4080 is available on Amazon.com here.
Trinity OC RTX 4080 is available on Amazon.com here.
AMP Extreme AIRO is available on Amazon.com here.

Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 Graphics Card Review Conclusion

You have seen the results, and based on the results that I got, the GeForce RTX 4080 offers a significant performance improvement from its predecessor, the RTX 3080. The performance difference gets even wider when DLSS 3 is enabled. However, keep in mind that only a handful of games support DLSS 3 as of to date. But that will change soon.

I don’t have any issues with the performance. It’s impressive, but it could use a lower starting price. Retail prices of these graphics cards tend to be higher, especially if a retailer wants to take advantage of the high demand. Also, its direct predecessor is the RTX 3080, and that GPU has a starting price of $699.

While the RTX 4080 is faster than the RTX 3080 Ti for the same starting price, it wouldn’t be a good comparison. If an “RTX 4080 Ti” was also launched at $1,199, similar to the RTX 3080 Ti, at least we could see a better price for the performance improvement. Instead, we see a non-Ti class GPU, priced similarly with an 80-Ti GPU.

AMD’s upcoming Radeon RX 7900 XT(X) will start at a much lower price, sub-$1,000 range. However, I’m still skeptical whether they can compete when it comes to ray tracing and upscaling technology. Not to mention the added features NVIDIA brings to the table, like NVEC encoder, NVIDIA Broadcast, and more.

As for the Zotac’s RTX 4080 Trinity OC graphics card, it is a nice-looking graphics card with its curvy design. However, I prefer the look of the AMP Extreme AIRO since it has more pronounced lighting effects. But when it comes to price to performance, these RTX 4080 cards will perform similarly, whether it’s an OC variant or not. The difference is just a few fps, and it’s negligible. If the performance is all you care about, get the cheaper one. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay more for the looks.

I haven’t included the thermals yet. But when I tested the RTX 4080, I had never seen it reach 70°C. It was running almost inaudible, even at full load. It tells me that a smaller graphics card cooler design would be enough to tame the RTX 4080’s GPU’s temperature. I think the large heatsink may be overkill and unnecessary. Not unless it’s a statement. Nevertheless, I hope to see a smaller RTX 4080 variant in the future. Hopefully, the RTX 4070 (Ti) won’t be as chunky as the RTX 4080.

At the end of the day, the Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 Trinity OC is an impressive RTX 4080 graphics card. It’s already remarkable just with its raw performance and DLSS 2 alone. But with DLSS 3, it’s simply on another level. NVIDIA’s DLSS paired with Frame Generation, and Reflex technologies offer a smooth gaming experience at higher resolution. I hope more games will adopt the technology soon. Still, I hope to see the RTX 4080, in general, priced lower.