ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 (OC Edition) Review

1. Introduction
2. Everything You Need to Know About Ampere
3. ASUS marketing
4. Detailed Look
5. Test System Specs
6. Benchmarks - Synthetic
7. Benchmarks - 1080p
8. Benchmarks - 1440p
9. Benchmarks - 4K
10. Benchmarks - RTX + DLSS
11. Overclocking
12. Power Consumption & Temps
13. What's Hot, What's Not
14. Final Thoughts

TweakTown's Rating: 100%

The Bottom Line

If you can find one, and actually buy it -- the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition is the best RTX 3080 yet. It also runs chilly, and doesn't need any manual OC for maximum performance. rnrnKick ass!

Introduction

ASUS have one of the very best custom GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards you can buy (if you can) right now, with the new ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080.

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I have with me here today to review the OC Edition of the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080, which has some of the best boost GPU clocks out of all of the custom RTX 3080 graphics cards. It also has the highest power limit possible (121%), a great triple-fan cooler, and an always-impressive ROG Strix design aesthetic.

With all of the news of the cap issue on GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, ASUS has your back (and the back of your card) as the company is used to the world of high-end power-hungry graphics cards. ASUS doesn't skimp on its ROG Strix family of cards, which is one of the first super high-end custom RTX 3080s through my lab (apart from MSI's custom RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO).

ASUS has its new ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition on Best Buy for $850.

• MSI GeForce RTX 3090 GAMING X TRIO review
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition review
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition review
• MSI GeForce RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO review
• ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity review

Everything You Need to Know About Ampere

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• Ampere GPU architecture: NVIDIA has so much going on under the Ampere GPU hood, with the GA102 GPU packing a huge 28 billion transistors (that's 28,000,000,000) on the Samsung 8nm node. We have a huge 10496 CUDA cores on GA102, over double the 4608 CUDA cores on the TITAN RTX.
• RTX improvements: NVIDIA has effectively doubled everything when it comes to RTX, where it will rips and tears your games and delivers them to your eyeballs faster than ever before with Ampere. If you want to run any RTX-powered games, you'll want a new GeForce RTX 3080.
• GDDR6X memory: The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has 10GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit memory bus, with a huge 760GB/sec of memory bandwidth. You should see the 4K gaming results for the evidence of the Ampere GPU + GDDR6X memory slaying it.

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• PCIe 4.0 connectivity: NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards are now PCIe 4.0 compatible, so if you're building a new AMD Ryzen 3000 series system with an X570 motherboard -- you will be ready to rock and roll with PCIe 4.0 connectivity.
• HDMI 2.1: 4K 120Hz + 8K 60Hz = single cable: If you are buying a new TV in the coming months or years, HDMI 2.1 is going to be something you want. It opens up the bandwidth floodgates to 4K 120Hz and 8K 60Hz over the single HDMI 2.1 cable.
• RTX IO: NVIDIA's introduction of RTX IO with Ampere is very similar to the ultra-fast game load times on the next-gen Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles. You can read all about RTX IO right here, which is something we'll see build more foundation in 2021 and beyond.

ASUS marketing

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ASUS has your covered from top to bottom with its ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card, which from top to bottom has been "radically improved to accommodate the impressive new Ampere chips from NVIDIA and to deliver the next wave of gaming performance innovation to the market".

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We see ASUS using some 'new directions' with the fans on its new ROG Strix RTX 3080 graphics card, with the rational direction of the center fan being reversed. This reduces airflow turbulence inside of the cooling array for another boost in the performance of the ROG Strix RTX 3080.

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ASUS is using a 2.9-slot design for its ROG Strix RTX 3080, with the larger heat sink allowing for the Ampere-based beast underneath to fully stretch its legs when it comes to clock speed (and thus, heat).

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The use of premium components is a bigger thing with the GeForce RTX 30 series than any generation I can remember so far, with ASUS using top-shelf capacitors, chokes, and MOSFETs on its ROG Strix RTX 3080. With all of the fuss online right now with cards and their caps, you can rest assured you've got one of the, if not the best RTX 3080 graphics card on the market here with the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080.

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The all-important shot of the back of the card, and we have the very best 6/6 here versus just 1/6 on other cards, and 2/6 on some others.

Detailed Look

ASUS has some great retail packaging here with the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card.

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From the front we have that triple-fan cooler and slick ROG Strix aesthetic, which looks even better when it's installed into your gaming PC.

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I like, but don't love the back of the card -- I feel that there could be some better use of RGB lighting on the back with this particular design.

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We have a 2.9-slot design here, but it's not overly ridiculous in size.

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You will need 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors for the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080.

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We have the usual 3 x DP 1.4 ports on the I/O side of things, but we also have an additional -- so 2 x HDMI 2.1 ports for ultra-fast 4K 120Hz and ultra-high-res 8K 60Hz TVs.

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Installed into your gaming rig and the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 really stands out.

Test System Specs

Latest upgrade:

Sabrent sent over their huge Rocket Q 8TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD, which will be my new Games install SSD inside of my main test bed.

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I've got a new upgrade inside of my GPU test bed before my change to a next-gen test bed, where I will be preparing for NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere graphics cards and AMD's next-gen RDNA 2 graphics cards.

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Sabrent helped out with some new storage for my GPU test beds, sending over a slew of crazy-fast Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSDs. I've got this installed into my GPU test bed as the new Games Storage drive, since games are so damn big now. Thanks to Sabrent, I've got 2TB of super-fast M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD storage now.

Anthony's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 (buy from Amazon)
• CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K @ 5GHz (buy from Amazon)
• Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H115i PRO (buy from Amazon)
• Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) HyperX Predator DDR4-2933 (buy from Amazon)
• SSD: Sabrent Rocket Q 2TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 (buy from Amazon)
• SSD: 1TB Toshiba OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2 (buy from Amazon)
• SSD: 512GB Toshiba OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2 (buy from Amazon)
• Power Supply: InWin 1065W
• Case: InWin X-Frame
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (buy from Amazon)

Additional Images

Benchmarks - Synthetic

3DMark Fire Strike

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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.

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3DMark TimeSpy

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.

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Benchmarks - 1080p

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DOOM Eternal is one of the best-looking, but superbly-optimized games of 2020 with the folks at id Software truly putting their all into the id Tech 7 engine for DOOM Eternal. We're using the Vulkan API on DOOM Eternal here.

You can buy DOOM Eternal at Amazon.

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Another new entry into our regular graphics card benchmarks is Red Dead Redemption 2, which is powered by the RAGE engine by Rockstar Games. The RAGE engine has been tuned from its normal use in the Grand Theft Auto series. We're also running this on the Vulkan API.

You can buy Red Dead Redemption 2 at Amazon.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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1080p Benchmark Performance Thoughts

Please, please do not buy the GeForce RTX 3090 for 1080p gaming... it is so, so beyond overkill for 1080p gaming. Even 1440p gaming isn't really where the RTX 3090 is aiming for, it's more for 4K gaming -- and even 8K gaming finally.

Still, you are getting unrivaled performance even at 1080p.

Benchmarks - 1440p

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DOOM Eternal is one of the best-looking, but superbly-optimized games of 2020 with the folks at id Software truly putting their all into the id Tech 7 engine for DOOM Eternal. We're using the Vulkan API on DOOM Eternal here.

You can buy DOOM Eternal at Amazon.

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Another new entry into our regular graphics card benchmarks is Red Dead Redemption 2, which is powered by the RAGE engine by Rockstar Games. The RAGE engine has been tuned from its normal use in the Grand Theft Auto series. We're also running this on the Vulkan API.

You can buy Red Dead Redemption 2 at Amazon.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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1440p Benchmark Performance Thoughts

Please, please do not buy the GeForce RTX 3090 for 1080p gaming... it is so, so beyond overkill for 1080p gaming. Even 1440p gaming isn't really where the RTX 3090 is aiming for, it's more for 4K gaming -- and even 8K gaming finally.

Still, you are getting unrivaled performance even at 1080p.

Benchmarks - 4K

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DOOM Eternal is one of the best-looking, but superbly-optimized games of 2020 with the folks at id Software truly putting their all into the id Tech 7 engine for DOOM Eternal. We're using the Vulkan API on DOOM Eternal here.

You can buy DOOM Eternal at Amazon.

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Another new entry into our regular graphics card benchmarks is Red Dead Redemption 2, which is powered by the RAGE engine by Rockstar Games. The RAGE engine has been tuned from its normal use in the Grand Theft Auto series. We're also running this on the Vulkan API.

You can buy Red Dead Redemption 2 at Amazon.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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4K Benchmark Performance Thoughts

Please, please do not buy the GeForce RTX 3090 for 1080p gaming... it is so, so beyond overkill for 1080p gaming. Even 1440p gaming isn't really where the RTX 3090 is aiming for, it's more for 4K gaming -- and even 8K gaming finally.

Still, you are getting unrivaled performance even at 1080p.

Benchmarks - RTX + DLSS

I've now got an entire section dedicated to ray tracing and DLSS benchmarks, where I'll slowly benchmark more and more titles and add them into future reviews. First up, we have 4A Games' Metro Exodus which is a constant pressure on our GPUs.

Metro Exodus

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• Metro Exodus RT + DLSS performance: The ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition edges out the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition in every test with RT + DLSS enabled in Metro Exodus. We're looking at close to 4K 60FPS with all of the graphical bells and whistles enabled..

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

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• Shadow of the Tomb Raider RT + DLSS performance: We pass 100FPS average with RT + DLSS enabled in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which is some magical performance at this resolution.

Overclocking

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ASUS already has the clocks on the ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition as high as they'll go, with my sample handling another 15MHz on top of the already highest boost GPU clocks.

Here we have a GPU boost clock of 2025MHz max, running at 65C with the fans and everything cranked up to max. You don't need this much power running through the card -- but what we're seeing here is all dials to 100%. You can reduce voltage and clocks by a touch and still have the best-performing GeForce RTX 3080.

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The only card that comes close to this is the RTX 3080 FE, and then MSI's own custom RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO. ASUS comes out on top, and if you had some mods and better cooling on the ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition then you could see some 2100MHz+ action.

Power Consumption & Temps

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ASUS has the coolest graphics card on my charts with the ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition, where it runs at a super-cool 65C -- under the already impressive (and faster) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition which runs at 67C. Compare this to the 79C that the RTX 3080 FE runs at, and the ASUS is chill AF.

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The ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition inside of my Intel Core i7-8700K test bed consumes 470W in total under load, or up to 510W when overclocked and the power limits are unleashed. It uses 40W more power over the RTX 3080 FE and 30W more power over the RTX 3090 FE.

What's Hot, What's Not

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• Best RTX 3080 performance so far: ASUS has the best out-of-the-box performance out of the now 4 separate GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards that I've tested. It edges out the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition and MSI RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO with the best boost clocks and performance.
• Super nice ROG Strix aesthetic: I really dig the style of the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition, where it's triple-fan cooler looks great but the overall design and even the not-over-the-top RGB lighting will look great in your gaming PC.

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• Has potential for huge OC: I'd love to see this card under LN2 cooling, to see how far it can be pushed with its 118% power slider.

What's Not

• Max out already: You're already getting the best out-of-the-box performance with the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition, with a 15MHz overclock being all that I could squeeze out of it. Eeven with the power sliders and fan speeds cranked -- the card is already tapped out.
• Power hungry: It definitely chews more power down, and if you crank it up to maximum then the card really chows down on your power. If you were to liquid cool or have LN2 cooling, the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition would scream, with its 118% power limit and 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

Final Thoughts

ASUS has hit a home run with its ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition graphics card, with the fastest out-of-the-box performance from the RTX 3080s that I've tested so far.

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You're getting the best possible performance out of a custom GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card, the second best performance in 1440p and 4K gaming -- only losing out to the higher-end RTX 3090. I wouldn't buy the RTX 3090 right now unless you want the very best, but I would highly recommend the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC Edition.

It looks great, it kicks ass in performance -- and doesn't get hot or make much noise when it's pushing those frames to your monitor.

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The RGB lighting at the top of the card looks great.

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ASUS injects its ROG Strix aesthetic perfectly with the new ROG Strix RTX 3080, a mean-looking, powerhouse graphics card ready for the next few years of hardcore gaming ahead of us.