NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition 16GB vs. MSI GeForce RTX 4080 Super Expert 16 GB Review – Super-homeopathic differences on all fronts, but cheaper

Summary

How do you make a product cheaper and more attractive without directly lowering the price and entering into a price war that you can’t (and don’t want to) win? You create a super-adequate product, even add some performance on top, sacrifice some efficiency, but can use significantly more chips in order to significantly reduce the price. The result is a new, “improved” recipe that is even cheaper than the new products from the relevant food companies. And with more content. Well, a few calories will be added to the price, but that’s peanuts compared to the purchase price.

What sounds like the reverse of the daily criticism of cheat packs in the shops is certainly also calculated. In over a year, NVIDIA has certainly collected enough chips for the GeForce RTX 4080 Super and at the same time increased the yield to proudly position this product as a replacement for the GeForce RTX 4080 Non-Super. An average of 1 to 2.5 percent more performance compared to the non-Super card with a good 5% more shaders doesn’t sound so exhilarating, but at least the range outside any measurement tolerances can be proven.

Of course, things that were previously unplayable are not suddenly playable, but it is at least a certain benefit that customers are happy to accept, especially as the price of the so-called RRP cards has fallen significantly. However, the board partners come into play again at this party and if you want something nicer and brighter, the price can quickly rise by 100 to 300 euros. Then the advantage is gone again and you will have to think about where to set your priorities. The first impression of the GeForce RTX 4080 Super is therefore quite positive. For the first time in a long time, NVIDIA is once again offering a card that is cheaper than the older comparison model and still remains at the top of the field in terms of efficiency. The approximately 80 percentage points compared to an even slightly slower GeForce RTX 3090 Ti are still shockingly high and they also show what the Ada generation is capable of, even if you open the tap a little further.

And it’s also worth looking at the overall package and the price in relation to the bars. In addition to the minimal increase in performance and the high efficiency (in the context of the gaming performance provided), this Ada card also offers far more than just increased raster performance in the usual pixel orgies! The entire feature set of extremely increased ray tracing performance, DLSS 3.x and Reflex is accompanied by other hardware solutions such as the dual video encoder (NvEnc), which can even perform tasks in parallel.

Simultaneous streaming and recording are just one facet of this, as the overall increased computing power of the GeForce RTX 4080 Super, including the increase in tensor cores, will also be greatly appreciated in productive use. Blender is just one example of many, as many of the standard software’s CUDA-based plugins also benefit from the new performance. There are also many interesting topics here and those who also like AI-based gimmicks will find plenty of applications. The AV1 encoder is also no bad thing for creators. Yes, the differences to the GeForce RTX 4080 Non-Super are almost homeopathic in some areas, but that was to be expected in the end.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition 16GB

The pitch-black, very handsome card does exactly what was expected of it and, as an RRP card, it is also a kind of collector’s item. You will also be able to get over the fact that the memory gets one less voltage converter phase and the fans are a little buzzy, so that lower-frequency noises are also transmitted when installed in a housing, which you can then definitely hear. However, the card is anything but loud, but I have already criticized the fans several times. Too bad.

However, at almost 2.2 kilograms, the Founders Edition is a heavy lump that absolutely requires a graphics card holder if you don’t want to damage your mainboard with the standard horizontal installation variant or break the card’s circuit board at the PCIe connection to the slot. Why there is no supplied solution here is somewhat beyond my understanding. Such a bracket can also be produced for less than one USD, you just have to want to.

 

What is pleasing is the component assembly of the circuit board with a very high-quality PWM controller and very good Smart Power Stages instead of simple DrMOS. However, the coils used are only average, which you can unfortunately hear. The rest is flawless and far from critical. The design may be polarizing, but it is timeless and yet striking. That alone could be a good reason to buy for many. And for water sports enthusiasts: there are no seals and if you’re not too stupid, have good tools and a plan, you shouldn’t be left out in the cold even when converting. In any case, the price is much more moderate and fairer compared to the board partner models with fairy lights.

MSI GeForce RTX 4080 Super Expert 16 GB

MSI’s card, which is priced at 1249 euros RRP and therefore 140 euros more expensive, performs almost identically within the measurement tolerances, meaning that performance alone is not a reason to buy. Incidentally, MSI is also using the same cooling principle as NVIDIA for the first time and still manages to produce the card 300 grams lighter despite a large monoblock body, while virtually adopting the dimensions of the Founders Edition. The fans are significantly more neutral and therefore also have a more pleasant sound in the case. The power limit of 370 watts is also 15 watts higher than that of the FE, although you will hardly be able to make full use of it because the voltage limits it anyway.

Visually, however, MSI takes a completely different approach and can also score points with the material. Yes, the card is not as eye-catching as the FE, but even that can develop its charm. The fact that the VRM and memory heatsinks are made of copper and better heat conduction pads instead of aluminum as in the FE is just one facet of this. The finish of the body with titanium on an aluminum-silicon alloy can be left as it is and will certainly find its fans.

However, the component placement is a little more favorable here. Instead of a single high-end multi-rail controller, cheaper individual solutions and only 8 instead of 10 phases are used, whereby in the end there are 13 voltage converters (5 in parallel) for the GPU voltage (FE with only 10 control loops), because the DrMOS used can tolerate somewhat lower peak currents. However, the bottom line is that both cards are equally efficient, so I prefer the 13 control loops because this also reduces the coil whine somewhat and further equalizes the hotspots on the board.

Whether the slightly lighter card, which incidentally comes with an extra bracket in the accessories, is worth the extra 140 euros is something everyone has to decide for themselves if they want a GeForce RTX 4080 Super.

Conclusion

The launch was characterized by a hectic pace and logistical confusion, so that in the end perhaps a little depth was lost. Instead of two articles, I have therefore packed everything into one – on purpose, by the way. Because all the super cards differ only marginally and it can be assumed that in many tests the order was determined more by luck in the GPU lottery, i.e. by the skills of the respective R&D employees. This also applies to the difference to the GeForce RTX 4080 Non-Super, which is now likely to drop dramatically in price. Customers will of course be pleased if this is actually the case. If not, nobody will notice in a few weeks.

The GeForce RTX 4080 Super is the classic side-grade, where you will only notice a real benefit if you buy a new one. As the owner of an “old” RTX 4080 Non-Super, you won’t even have to be annoyed that the product has (not) become obsolete so quickly. However, I’m not really euphoric about today’s Super story, because the differences between everyone and everything are simply far too small for that.

The graphics cards were provided by NVIDIA and MSI for this test without obligation. The only condition was compliance with the embargo period; there was no influence or compensation.