The Bottom Line
Introduction & Pricing
NVIDIA has now launched its trio of new SUPER graphics cards filling out its new holy trinity of Turing cards, saving some of the best for last with the new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER and its super-powered GDDR6 memory.
The new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER offers up the full TU104 GPU and super-boosted GDDR6 clocked at 15.5Gbps, up from the 14Gbps on the regular RTX 2080, making it the fastest GDDR6 on a graphics card ever. I have been playing with the overclocking side and pushed the GDDR6 up to 18Gbps, which is really impressive -- but does the performance scale with the improved GDDR6? Not that much.
If you were in the market for an RTX 2080 then you'll walk right into the new RTX 2080 SUPER which is $100 less, and offers a few FPS more performance than the regular RTX 2080. You also get copies of Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood, with Control packing the entire RTX real-time ray tracing technology package, including the kitchen sink.
With the new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER now here, the SUPER family has been filled out. My review on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Founders Edition, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Founders Edition.
Pricing
NVIDIA has the new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Founders Edition launching at $699, a $100 drop from the launch price of the RTX 2080 of Founders Edition and its $799 price tag. This also includes free copies of Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood, which makes the deal even sweeter. More performance, free games, and $100 cheaper.
Specs: Turing GPU & Fastest GDDR6 Ever
Full TU104 GPU
NVIDIA is using the "full implentation" of the TU104 GPU with its new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, with the full 3072 CUDA cores and 48 RT cores versus the 2944 CUDA cores and 46 RT cores in the RTX 2080.
The TU104 GPU is clocked at up to 1650Mhz base and 1815MHz boost on the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, while the TU104 in full on the RTX 2080 SUPER offers up 11.2TFLOPs of compute performance versus the 10.1TFLOPs on the original RTX 2080. This results in Tensor FLOPs at 89 TFLOPs fersus 81 TFLOPs.
But it's the faster GDDR6 memory on the RTX 2080 SUPER that is exciting.
Fastest GDDR6 Ever
NVIDIA injected some faster GDDR6 memory into the RTX 2080 SUPER with its 8GB of GDDR6 clocked at 15.5Gbps, up from the 14Gbps on the regular RTX 2080. It has the same 256-bit memory bus which results in 496GB/sec of memory bandwidth compared to the 448GB/sec on the RTX 2080.
The new RTX 2080 SUPER Founders Edition has a higher TGP with 250W versus 210W on the regular RTX 2080.
Revised Look, Same Cooler
NVIDIA upgraded both the hardware and the styling of their Founders Edition coolers with the launch of the GeForce RTX series graphics cards last year, which became on of my favorite-looking GeForce RTX cards of the entire library of cards out there now.
With the introduction of the new GeForce RTX SUPER graphics cards NVIDIA has tweaked the styling just a little, but enough for it to be appreciated. I really dig the SUPER branding on the front of the card with its stylish green box, but it's the mirror finish on the front that really stands out. Having my gaming PC reflect off the card really looks cool in a system, especially when you've got RGBs blinging out all over the place -- they're now going to reflect on your new RTX 2060 SUPER, RTX 2070 SUPER or RTX 2080 SUPER graphics card.
Detailed Look
The front of the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Founders Edition is no different to the other SUPER cards, I dig the box.
Same goes for the top.
The front of the RTX 2080 SUPER FE looks identical to the RTX 2060 FE and RTX 2070 FE, and that's alright with me.
The silver backplate with the RTX 2080 SUPER logo (with SUPER in green) looks great.
Yes, you can use NVLink on the RTX 2080 SUPER - something I've done, with results coming soon.
8+6-pin PCIe power connectors required.
3 x DP, 1 x HDMI and 1 x VirtualLink.
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.
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.
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
Benchmarks - Synthetic
3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p
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.
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.
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.
3DMark TimeSpy
3DMark TimeSpy Extreme
Heaven - 1080p
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.
Heaven - 1440p
Heaven - 4K
Benchmarks - 1080p
1080p Benchmarks
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.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Rainbow Six: Siege has been a strong entry into the franchise, popular for its realistic feel and great graphics. Stable as a rock for benchmarking, right up to 3440x1440 and 4K.
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.
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.
Benchmarks - 1440p
1440p Benchmarks
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.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Rainbow Six: Siege has been a strong entry into the franchise, popular for its realistic feel and great graphics. Stable as a rock for benchmarking, right up to 3440x1440 and 4K.
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.
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.
Benchmarks - 4K
4K Benchmarks
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.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Rainbow Six: Siege has been a strong entry into the franchise, popular for its realistic feel and great graphics. Stable as a rock for benchmarking, right up to 3440x1440 and 4K.
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.
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.
Thermals, Power, Noise
Power Consumption
The new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Founders Edition uses around 330W during normal gaming loads, with the overclocked card hitting up to 380W.
Temperature
The chart says it all, really. Expected these results as it uses the same cooler as the rest.
Overclocking
Overclocking = 18Gbps GDDR6!
When it comes to overclocking the TU102 GPU you're not going to go much further with the RTX 2080 SUPER over the RTX 2080, with my sample coming in at around 2000-2040MHz maximum OC. But the GDDR6 is where things get fun.
The new and improved 8GB of GDDR6 being clocked at 15.5Gbps might mean the new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER has the fastest GDDR6 in the world, but that didn't stop me from wanting to push it to its limits.
NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER cards have huge OC headroom for GDDR6 overclocking, with both my samples (RTX 2080 SUPER Founders Edition and MSI RTX 2080 SUPER GAMING X TRIO) both reaching 18Gbps in total.
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER overclocked: 18Gbps
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER stock: 15.5Gbps
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 stock: 14Gbps
In VRAM bandwidth starved games like Shadow of War we see a great increase in performance, up from the RTX 2080 SUPER at stock clocks with 74FPS average at 4K all the way to 83FPS when overclocked. It brings it much closer to the RTX 2080 Ti and its 87FPS, showing that in the right situations that crazy-fast GDDR6 will make a big difference.
Performance Thoughts
The end result here is that the RTX 2080 SUPER is as fast, and a little faster than the RTX 2080 but also packs faster-clocked GDDR6 with more headroom than its predecessor. The only card that beats the RTX 2080 SUPER is the RTX 2080 Ti, which is still much more expensive -- but it's the fastest card in the GeForce stack.
8GB of GDDR6 is perfect for the world of 1080p and 1440p gaming and you will easily handle 4K gaming without tipping over the 8GB framebuffer scales in most games. If you want the best, then the RTX 2080 Ti is for you but if you don't want to spend $1000+ on a new card, the new RTX 2080 SUPER is positioned well at $699.
If you are buying a new card with the RTX side of the card in mind, and want to play games with real-time ray tracing effects like Control or Battlefield V, then the RTX 2080 SUPER is another good fit. Again, if you don't have the money to spend on the enthusiast level RTX 2080 Ti and want to chill just under it and still enjoy RTX games as they drop, the RTX 2080 SUPER is your best bet.
There's added value with its faster 15.5Gbps GDDR6 being clocked at up to 18Gbps, providing more performance in games over stock VRAM clocks. So much so that in VRAM bandwidth heavy games, you'll see closer to RTX 2080 Ti performance out of an overclocked RTX 2080 SUPER.
What's Hot, What's Not
Best GDDR6 EVER
I had my samples pushed from the already overclocked 15.5Gbps to a huge 18Gbps, resulting in hefty performance uplifts in certain games like Shadow of War. The overclocked GDDR6 helps the RTX 2080 SUPER get closer to RTX 2080 Ti performance than any other card, and all without it running too hot.
SUPER Performance:
You have all of the already impressive performance of the RTX 2080 with some additional juice, as well as higher-clocked GDDR6 memory. Mix this in with custom RTX 2080 SUPER cards coming and we're in for some exciting times. My custom MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GAMING X TRIO (review coming soon) runs beautifully cool and has its GDDR6 clocks at up to 19Gbps (!!!).
$90 Worth of Bundled Games: Control + Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Not only is the new RTX 2080 SUPER FE a whole $100 cheaper than the RTX 2080 FE, and to make the deal even sweeter NVIDIA is hooking gamers up with copies of both Control from Remedy Entertainment, as well as Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Control in particular is going to be the best showcase of RTX features yet, so getting it bundled for free makes it an even more awesome deal.
Ray Tracing:
I'm only warming up to ray tracing and will have a larger article that dives into ray tracing performance of Metro Exodus, Battlefield V, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I still think having the ability to play ray tracing-capable games is a good one, and with the additional muscle that the RTX 20 SUPER cards brings, ray tracing now matters. Expect more on this in the next week or two.
What's Not
Is This The Last Turing GPU?
NVIDIA has filled out its entire stack of GeForce RTX 20 series cards with multiple cards in the RTX 20 series now old enough to be retired (RTX 2060, 2070, and 2080) with the new RTX SUPER cards. We still have the higher-end GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and non-GeForce-but-still-Turing GPU in the TITAN RTX... so is this the end of Turing on 12nm?
Well, it could be. NVIDIA has enough room in between the new RTX 2080 SUPER and RTX 2080 Ti for another card, but what would it be called? RTX 2080 SUPER But Not Quite SUPER Enough Ti? I mean that'd be cool and all, but we know it won't happen.
RTX 2080 SUPER Is The Least Super 'SUPER' Card: Sure, there's good performance here with the RTX 2080 SUPER but it doesn't have that same 'WOW' factor that the refreshed RTX 2060 SUPER had. There's 8GB of faster GDDR6 at 15.5Gbps with the OC headroom for 18Gbps, but there's not enough of a performance leap to justify it for most gamers.
Final Thoughts
If you were looking at buying the RTX 2080 in the last few months but didn't pull the trigger, saw the new Navi-based AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and see it wasn't enough for you, and still need a graphics card then the RTX 2080 SUPER is perfect. It offers better-than-RTX 2080 performance for $100 less, $90 worth of (actually good) games, and the fastest GDDR6 on the planet.
The new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER definitely offers something that the RTX 2070 SUPER didn't: excitement in the form of its higher-clocked (and even higher with overclocking) GDDR6 memory. I mean, my cards were pushed up to freaking 18Gbps (up from 15.5Gbps stock on RTX 2080 SUPER and up from 14Gbps on the RTX 2080 and even RTX 2080 Ti).
NVIDIA already has bragging rights with its GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER having the fastest GDDR6 on a graphics card yet and that is at its stock 15.5Gbps frequency, let alone the overclock up to 18Gbps. I pulled out my RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition and overclocked its 11GB of GDDR6 as far as I could, up from 14Gbps to 16Gbps... nowhere close to the GDDR6 overclock possible on RTX 2080 SUPER.
Ray tracing is another part of the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER puzzle and once again if you're not jumping up to the RTX 2080 Ti, then the new RTX 2080 SUPER becomes one of the best cards you can buy for real-time ray tracing. Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood are both included with the RTX 2080 SUPER, so it's kinda perfect.
Wrapping up, NVIDIA completes its release of kickers in the new SUPER cards with the RTX 2080 SUPER offering up better-than-RTX 2080 performance with some overclocking headroom that will impress. From a technological standpoint the new RTX 2080 SUPER is the most nerdy of them all just because of the 18Gbps clocks on GDDR6. Monstrous.
Performance (overclocking, power) |
95% |
Quality (build, design, cooling) |
90% |
General Features (display outputs, etc) |
90% |
Bundle, Packaging & Software |
90% |
Overall |
91% |
NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER has the fastest GDDR6 on earth, with up to 18Gbps when overclocked. Incredible results. Oh, and you get Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood both with RTX, for FREE.
What's in Anthony's PC?
- CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K
- MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE Z690 AERO-G
- RAM: Corsair 32GB DDR4-3200
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB
- SSD: Sabrent 4TB Rocket 4 Plus
- OS: Windows 11 Pro
- CASE: Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL
- PSU: ASUS ROG Strix 850W
- KEYBOARD: Logitech G915 Wireless
- MOUSE: Logitech G502X Wireless
- MONITOR: LG C3 48-inch OLED TV 4K 120Hz
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