Review: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra Gaming

Introduction

The concluding GeForce RTX 3080 to grace the lab is from Nvidia stalwart EVGA. Part of a five-strong line-up, the XC3 Ultra Gaming slots neatly into the middle of the stack, above the regular XC3 and below the more enthusiast-oriented FTW3 .

tentatively priced at $ 770 ( £730 ? ), XC3 Ultra Gaming follows EVGA ‘s established recipe of offering incrementally more at each step. It shares the lapp forcible 285mm ten 111mm adam 42mm ( LxWxH ) footprint as the XC3 Black Gaming and XC3 Gaming. Moving up from the base model introduces a metallic backplate, while this Ultra variant ships with a higher core boost clock of 1,755MHz, compared with 1,710MHz for the lower-specced couple. FTW3, meanwhile, introduces a larger form factor, higher speeds, and double BIOSes. Choices, choices. As expected, all employ 10GB of GDDR6X running at the default option 19Gbps .
back on point, the Ultra ‘s meek dimensions are ( nicely ) at odds with most other partner cards. We like that EVGA restrains the form factor to what it describes as a 2.2-slot matter. Weighing in at 1,188g and consequently doing without the support bracket many are bundling, it ‘s wonderfully built and carries on the estimable work from the 20-series using what appears to be the lapp cool.

The metal backplate is more for show than operation, as it touches nothing of genuine note on the rear of the PCB. Unlike most competitors, the PCB extends the integral length of the calling card – others leave a large section unsheathed on the left-hand side for through-the-board cooling – but we see no downside to this as the upper berth heatsink is, as you will see, adequate to of dealing with the higher electrical power produced by the RTX 3080 .
To that point, EVGA leaves TDP at 320W for the XC3 and FTW3 families, going against the grain of hiking it for extra performance. One can debate such a move in both ways. Further overclocking offers relatively minor performance gains whilst simultaneously raising the apparition of imbalance. Yet having, say, a 350W target enables the card to achieve a higher peak boost speed for longer, helping it stand out in a clog market, particularly if the cool is able. EVGA opts for conservatism .

The clean expression and feel continues as we view the side. Twin 8-pin connectors make sense on the XC line ; FTW has three. The individual, card-wide heatsink ‘s heatpipes converge at a copper freeze in reach with the core. Thermal pads cover all hot-running components.

EVGA continues to have a hybrid-fan manner where the trio of spinners switch off at first gear lode. They transition back to operational smoothly, eradicating the stop-start whir make noise we sometimes hear from badly-tuned firmware .

RGB is present via two-zone lighting on the side and top. It ‘s bright and even but can be turned off via Precision X software. We ‘re not convinced by the ‘go flying ‘ crimson addition to the front man as it detracts from the otherwise minimalist look .
There ‘s no possibility of SLI so the relatively modest dimensions mean it looks small ensconced inside our Fractal Design Define 7 chassis.

The three 80mm fans sit just gallant of the I/O carapace which carries the common display musical arrangement of three DisplayPort and a unmarried HDMI .
Backed by a three-year guarantee and separate of the RTX 30-series Watch Dogs : legion promotion, EVGA does most things right from a physique and presentation item of view. Let ‘s nowadays roll the numbers to see if can continue the good exercise .