NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked

We tested TWO of the new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER cards in NVLink, with some SUPER results!

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SUPER Introduction & Cards Used

I started this series with the release of NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, which was the first NVLink-capable SUPER graphics card and I'm now back again with the new RTX 2080 SUPER and some delicious multi-GPU results.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 805

The original tests were simply for a "because why not" factor and that once again applies. I wouldn't necessarily recommend buying two GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics cards and throwing them in NVLink, but I have the hardware here and I'm genuinely interested in the results so why not, right?

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 816

I'll be comparing the results against some new entries into the charts too, so we'll look at:

  • RTX 2080 Ti NVLink
  • RTX 2080 SUPER NVLink
  • RTX 2070 SUPER NVLink
  • Radeon RX Vega 64 CrossFire

Just like any multi-GPU article there are caveats:

  • Don't expect all games to have great scaling (especially at 1080p)
  • Don't expect all games to work with multiple graphics cards
  • Synthetic tests kick ass to show you the CAPABILITIES, but do not translate into real-world gaming
  • 4K in the right game, makes GREAT use of two RTX 2080 SUPER cards
Buy at Amazon

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* Prices last scanned on 3/18/2024 at 5:56 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Test System Specs

Our New GPU Test Rig

Welcome to the latest revision of our GPU test bed, with our system being upgraded from the Intel Core i7-7700K to the Core i7-8700K. The CPU is cooled by the Corsair H115i PRO cooler, with the 8700K overclocked to 5GHz. We've stayed with GIGABYTE for our motherboard with their awesome Z370 AORUS Gaming 7.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 1060

We approached our friends at HyperX for a kit of their kick ass HyperX Predator DDR4-2933MHz RAM (HX429C15PB3AK4/32), with 2 x 8GB sticks for a total of 16GB DDR4-2933. The RAM stands out through every minute of our testing as it has beautiful RGB lights giving the system a slick look while benchmarking our lives away, while the Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 motherboard joins in with its own array of RGB lighting.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 1061

Detailed Tech Specs

  • CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K @ 5GHz
  • Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H115i PRO
  • MB: Z370 AORUS Gaming 7
  • RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) HyperX Predator DDR4-2933
  • SSD: 1TB OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2
  • SSD: 512GB OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2
  • PSU: InWin 1065W PSU
  • Chassis: In Win X-Frame
  • OS: Windows 10 Pro x64

Additional Images

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Benchmarks - Synthetic

3DMark TimeSpy

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 04

3DMark TimeSpy Extreme

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3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4000

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 03

3DMark Fire Strike - 1440p

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 02

3DMark Fire Strike - 4K

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 01

Heaven - 1440p

Unigine Heaven benchmark

Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 08

Heaven - 4K

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 09

Benchmarks - 1080p

1080p Benchmarks

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4006

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 21
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4002

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 25

Benchmarks - 1440p

1440p Benchmarks

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4006

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 51
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4015

Far Cry New Dawn was developed by Ubisoft, and is powered the Dunia Engine, an engine that has been modified over the years for Far Cry and last used in Far Cry 5. Dunia Engine itself was a modified version of CRYENGINE, scaling incredibly well on all sorts of hardware.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 54
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4002

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 55

Benchmarks - 4K

4K Benchmarks

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4006

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 111
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4015

Far Cry New Dawn was developed by Ubisoft, and is powered the Dunia Engine, an engine that has been modified over the years for Far Cry and last used in Far Cry 5. Dunia Engine itself was a modified version of CRYENGINE, scaling incredibly well on all sorts of hardware.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 114
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 4002

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 115

Performance Thoughts

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 51NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 55

I wouldn't be running out and grabbing RTX 2080 SUPER graphics cards in NVLink for 1440p gaming, but Shadow of the Tomb Raider hits its ceiling of just under 150FPS on all 3 of the SUPER NVLink configurations at 1440p in SOTTR. Shadow of War on the RTX 2080 SUPER NVLink isn't much better than the RTX 2070 NVLink rig.

4K Performance Thoughts

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 111NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 115

Shadow of the Tomb Raider hits that magic 4K 120FPS mark with the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink, beating out the RTX 2070 SUPER NVLink by 9FPS at 4K. Middle-earth: Shadow of War continues to scoop up as much GPU and VRAM goodness it can get, squeezing our RTX 2080 SUPER NVLink system with 110FPS average at 4K... not bad, but the RTX 2080 Ti in NVLink is needed for 4K 120Hz here.

Final Thoughts

Just like I said in my previous article covering the RTX 2070 SUPER cards in NVLink, I don't recommend buying two RTX 2080 SUPER cards in NVLink, either. Sure, some of these results are rather tasty but you're spending $1400 on graphics cards that would be better spent on a single RTX 2080 Ti.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in NVLink Benchmarked 528

The two RTX 2080 SUPER cards in NVLink fall right in between the performance of the RTX 2070 SUPER NVLink and RTX 2080 Ti NVLink results, and completely smash the Radeon RX Vega 64 CrossFire (if you forgot that I tested them, the results are at the BOTTOM of the charts). Radeon VII and Radeon RX 5700/XT do not support CrossFire so I didn't bother.

Where the RTX 2070 SUPER in NVLink could 'only' do 112FPS average in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 4K, the spruced up RTX 2080 SUPER cards in NVLink hit the magical 4K 120FPS mark. Shadow of War also sees some good SLI scaling at 4K and 1440p, too.

I've got some GTX 1080 Ti SLI and TITAN Xp SLI results coming soon, as well as a larger Core i7-8700K versus Ryzen 7 3700X (and then Ryzen 5 3600) coming soon. Also some 3440x1440 and 8K results in SLI, NVLink and CF.

Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood launch in the next few weeks, so I'll be running them through their paces, too.

Buy at Amazon

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition

TodayYesterday7 days ago30 days ago
$449.00$749.00$749.00
* Prices last scanned on 3/18/2024 at 5:56 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Anthony joined the TweakTown team in 2010 and has since reviewed 100s of graphics cards. Anthony is a long time PC enthusiast with a passion of hate for games built around consoles. FPS gaming since the pre-Quake days, where you were insulted if you used a mouse to aim, he has been addicted to gaming and hardware ever since. Working in IT retail for 10 years gave him great experience with custom-built PCs. His addiction to GPU tech is unwavering and has recently taken a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

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