MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM video card review: «icy cold» for 4K gaming

Year after year, the release of each new series of video adapters from NVIDIA is, without exaggeration, the most anticipated event for computer enthusiasts and ordinary gamers. This time, ITC’s editorial review includes the top-of-the-line MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM graphics card with a monster cooling system and excellent performance in modern games

Specifications of MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM

Technical characteristics
Interface	PCI-E Gen 5 x16
Technical process	5 nm
Graphics processor	GB203
VRAM speed	30 Gbps
GPU frequency	2715 MGц
VRAM capacity	16GB GDDR7
Memory bus	256-bit
Streaming processors	10752
Exits	3 x DisplayPort v2.1b
	1 x HDMI v2.1b
Power connector	16 Pin
Energy consumption	360 W
Recommended power supply	850 W
Additionally
Dimensions	359x150x76 mm
Weight	2614 grams
Takes up space	4 slots

Test bench

To fully demonstrate the potential of the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM pre-top, you will need the right components:

• Motherboard MSI MEG Z890 ACE;
• Processor Intel Core Ultra 9 285K;
• Cooling MSI MAG CORELIQUID I360;
• Drive Samsung SSD 980 1TB; 
• RAM G.Skill Trident Z5 CK 2x24Gb Royal;
• Power supply MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5 1000W;
• Body MSI MPG GUNGNIR 300R AIRFLOW.

Package, appearance and cooling of MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM

The video card comes in a stylish box in NVIDIA’s signature colors with unusual design inserts and a brief description of its specifications. It opens in a case format, without breaking into two separate halves, as is usually the case with simpler versions.

The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM itself is waiting for us in the anti-static package, and next to it we find documentation, a 3 x 8 pin to 16 pin power adapter, and a bar to support the video card. Since the case is equipped with its own proprietary fixing solution, there was no need for this bar

When you first pick up MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM, you can tactilely feel that we are looking at an unusual and ultimatum solution, because the card itself weighs over 2.6 kg. The design of the Prime is familiar to us from the 3,000th line of graphics cards, featuring stylish silver metal and gray polygonal inserts.

The rear panel has a separate air intake grille in the design element finish. The side edges at the corner between the fans are effectively illuminated, as well as the company logo and SUPRIM inscription. Nearby is a special switch between the performance and quiet modes of the video card.

Before upgrading an old PC or building in a new case, keep in mind the card’s considerable size and length, which is as much as 36 centimeters. It takes up almost four slots in width.

MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM puts special emphasis on the HYPER FROZR cooling system. It is implemented using three STORMFORCE fans with double ball bearings, eleven CORE PIPES heat pipes, and a massive evaporation chamber. This cools not only the GB203 GPU itself, but also the memory chips and VRM area. We will talk more about cooling and temperature conditions in the following sections during testing

Performance and architecture

Performance graphics cards are no longer considered only within gaming scenarios, as they are also an additional tool for a whole cohort of specialists: from 3D designers to local neural network enthusiasts. Although MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM is not the top-of-the-line graphics card in the series, it can definitely be used for professional purposes if the price of a top-of-the-line RTX 5090 to you «unaffordable».

Synthetic benchmarks do not show a dramatic difference from the previous series. Before the release, some expected RTX 5080 graphics cards to significantly outperform their RTX 4080 predecessors in «brute force». A benchmark in Blender shows that you shouldn’t expect a big difference in such scenarios, and the result is insignificant. This is not surprising, because the GPU The GB203 has virtually the same crystal area, number of transistors, and process technology as its predecessor — AD103.

When generated in Amuse 2.2 on a high preset, the images flew out like bullets from a minigun. MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM managed to create 10 images in 40 seconds

So future owners of these graphics cards may not have to pay for additional subscriptions to Midjorney and its equivalents. However, optimized for NVIDIA graphics cards — For some reason, Fooocus «quarreled with» in the console when trying to generate an image or upscale a ready-made image. We attribute this to the relative «freshness» video cards and the lack of readiness of the software developers themselves, because everything worked fine on the RTX 4000 series.

Rendering a standard scene in Realistic Interior Lightning at a resolution of 6000 x 3900 px took only 2 minutes and 49 seconds.

Gaming performance of MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM

This time, the review will include a somewhat unusual table for those who like to play with the settings in search of the truth, and not just dry numbers with unknown presets.

Game + preset	C/U
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF)	54
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – OFF)	82
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – DLAA, Framegenerator – OFF)	57
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON)	115
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF)	95
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON)	185
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (1080p, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON)	195
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (1080p, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, Framegenerator – OFF)	102
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – OFF)	140-150
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – OFF)	132
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, TAA – ON,  Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – OFF)	97
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, TAA – ON,  Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – Medium)	51
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, TAA – ON,  Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – High)	30
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – Balanced, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – High)	80
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS – Balanced, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – High)	135
Cyberpunk 2077 (4K, Ultra, DLSS OLD + Framegenerator + Path Tracing)	63
Cyberpunk 2077 (4K, Ultra,  DLSS4, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – High)	120
Cyberpunk 2077 (QuadHD, Ultra,  DLSS4, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – High)	187
Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF)	55
Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF, Ray Tracing)	50
Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS – ON, Ray Tracing)	70
Silent Hill 2 Remake (QuadHD, Epic, DLSS – ON, Ray Tracing)	105
Remnant 2  (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF)	57
Remnant 2  (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON)	115
Remnant 2  (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON)	190
Crysis 3 Remastered  (4K, Very High, DLSS – OFF, Ray Tracing – ON)	82
Crysis 3 Remastered  (4K, Very High, DLSS – ON, Ray Tracing – ON)	115
Counter-Strike 2 (1080p, Low)	400+
Counter-Strike 2  (4K, Very High)	175-225
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY)	110
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF)	75
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY)	167

In the Blackwell generation, NVIDIA continued to focus on the development of neural technologies. Therefore, I would like to warn future owners of the 5000 series that in most games you will not see a dramatic gaming increase in the new RTX 5080 compared to the RTX 4080 (and even more so Super), which is not surprising, given the factors I mentioned in the description of the architecture.To understand if MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM is enough for you, it’s not enough to just watch a video on Youtube with prepared settings presets. Similarly, FPS tables give only a rough understanding, because there are more and more combinations of graphics technologies and their subjective impact on visuals and gameplay differs depending on your previous gaming experienceGames were tested in 4K, Quad HD, and 1080p resolutions in some cases, although the main target audience is unlikely to buy MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM for FullHD gaming.

We’ll start with the iconic and long-awaited S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, which some of our readers have already completed several times. Despite not the best optimization, gamers with a limited budget can still play this game even on eight-year-old GTX series cards in FullHD. Future owners of the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM will certainly expect 4K to enjoy the atmospheric landscapes of the Exclusion Zone

In parallel with the grouping «Monolith» a separate circle connoisseurs «fair» performance, which fundamentally do not want to enable DLSS and Frame generator so that no neural network can affect «fair» rendering and real frames. For you, friends, I have not very good news, because the frame rate in this mode will fluctuate in the range of 55-63 fps with drops of up to 49 fps

By enabling DLSS in Quality mode, we will increase the smoothness of the gameplay by about 25-30%, which is not surprising, because in this case the scene is rendered at 66% of the original resolution. This trend is typical for most games

DLAA brings us back to the result observed without using DLSS and Frame generator. As a bonus, we get neural smoothing, but without preliminary upscaling.

If you don’t mind taking full advantage of modern graphics technologies, the frame generator and DLSS will increase the number of frames by about half, up to 115-120 FPS in ultra quality on 4K. In this mode, we get smooth and enjoyable gameplay, which significantly reduces the number of caught «olives», and the impression of the excellent visual realization of the Exclusion Zone is also enhanced.

In 1080p with DLSS and Frame generator enabled, we can see up to 195 frames per second, but if you turn off the neural assistants, the picture in this mode becomes much worse in visual terms. Artifacts with pixel flickering appear on tree branches, which are well known to all fans of the old S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

At 1080p, we see the visual benefits of DLSS, because in addition to reducing the GPU load, it also smoothes the picture.

In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in 4K on the «Ultra» preset with DLSS (Quality) and the generator enabled, you can play with a chipper frame rate, which will reach 140-150 frames per second. Turning off the «neuroenhancers» we will get a result around 97 fps.

With Path Tracing (Medium) enabled, the picture gains depth and expressiveness, but the price for this is a loss of smoothness and 50 fps. True adventurers will certainly try to change this setting to High, but then it will be extremely difficult to survive at 30 FPS. So, don’t hesitate to turn on DLSS and Frame generator and enjoy the excellent picture and path tracing without compromise at 80 fps.

Cyberpunk 2077, despite its venerable age, is not going to remain in the past. The developers are constantly improving the game and integrating new graphical «features», including DLSS 4. Driving a car at high settings in densely populated areas of the Night City center with the DLSS and Frame generator, you will see» 62-64 k/s on your «speedometer. In less crowded locations, this figure will be much higher

That’s why I recommend that owners of 4K gaming monitors with 144Hz and above turn on all NVIDIA technologies at once. With DLLS 4 mode and a frame generator, you can play at high settings graphs with Path tracing enabled at 120 fps.

Silent Hill 2 Remake doesn’t require any extraordinary response, but at the same time it’s quite demanding on the video card. On epic settings in 4k and with ray tracing, you’ll get about 70 fps with DLSS. Without it, the foggy city will greet you with a modest framerate of — 45-50 fps. But if you think back, the original on Play Station was locked at 30 fps back in 2001.

Real eSports players will never set 4K and high quality in Counter-Strike 2, because every millisecond counts. Nevertheless, you can expect 175-225 fps in this mode, depending on the map and the number of players. And on FullHD eSports settings, you can run around Dust2 at 400-500+ fps frags frames per second.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has only recently been released, but it has already managed to set a new benchmark for quality and realism in gaming. Medieval adventures on MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM will look like a dream come true, because even 4K and ultra graphics settings with DLSS (Quality) are not able to lower the frame counter below 110 frames per second. There is no ray tracing, so «DLSS opponents» by disabling the scaling technology, will play at a still acceptable frequency of 70-80 fps.

If pain and suffering in Elder Ring or Dark Souls is not enough for you and you want to shoot unusual bosses with a gun, then welcome to Remnant 2. It has become much prettier visually compared to its predecessor, Remnant: From the Ashes, but it’s also poorly optimized and requires high-performance graphics cards. In this game, every millisecond counts and the cost of a mistake is very expensive, so without DLSS + Framegenerator «roots» enabled, you will be treated like a beginner. But at 115 fps, you can react quite quickly to all the threats that will come your way in Remnant 2.

And the most important question that has been of interest to many gamers for a decade: «Will Crysis pull it off?» Let’s try to figure it out. My favorite game in this series «Crysis 3 Remastered» still looks incredible, both visually and in terms of gameplay. It is a mistake to think that it is not demanding enough nowadays, because even The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM has used all its resources to synchronize with the nanosuit veteran of the past

In 4K resolution on Ultra settings plus ray tracing, the frame counter recorded 75-87 fps. With DLSS scaling enabled in Quality mode, shoot your bow at the next enemy with vigor. In this case, you will see the flight of the arrow at 105-125 frames per second. So I can confidently confirm that MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM «will pull Crysis».

Power consumption, noise and heat MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM

At maximum load, the coolers reached 1400 rpm and did not stand out against the background of the overall noise of the test system with an indicator of only 32 decibels. At the same time, the video card heated up to a maximum of 62 degrees Celsius on the chip and 59 on the memory. On the backplane, the pyrometer recorded only 34-43 degrees, as well as on the 16-pin power connector.

The cooling system is not just efficient, but redundant for this level of heat dissipation. Personally, I liked this implementation. It’s nice to see when your video card «cold as ice» and this adds confidence in the durability and reliability of an expensive device.

In idle mode, MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM consumes about 17 watts, while watching videos – 19 watts, and in games this figure reaches 320 watts. At maximum load, we can record up to 360 watts, as stated by the manufacturer. During gameplay, the power consumption of the entire PC was about 600 watts.

Experience of use

I first appreciated the benefits of 4K gaming back in 2021. Then I switched back to budget FullHD and QuadHD options. With the advent of Meta Quest 3, PCVR games appeared to me in a new light and once again made me need a high-performance video adapter. For comfortable PCVR gaming, you need not only a high resolution but also a high frame rate, otherwise your vestibular system can rebel. Therefore MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM can be a real godsend in this kind of operation. I’ve always liked The Talos Principle not only for its riddles and philosophy, but also for its wonderful meditative atmosphere. It is built on the engine that is familiar to longtime fans of Serious Sam – Serious Engine 4. In the VR format, rendering resolution is of great importance, including excessive resolution. At 5000 x 5000 pixels and epic settings, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM delivers an unrivaled virtual adventure at 72-74 fps, which is the initial standard for Meta Quest 3, and loads the graphics card as well as any demanding modern game.I’m very picky about the temperature in the system, so I always try to choose graphics cards with a redundant cooling system. It’s nice when the overlay doesn’t exceed 62 degrees, and the fans don’t resemble a Boeing taking off. That’s why I liked the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM despite its higher price compared to the reference variants.

Prices and competitors

MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM can be purchased for 88888 UAH. Compared to competitors, you can find both cheaper and more expensive models. Given the hype and popularity of the new line of graphics cards, we shouldn’t expect prices to drop soon.Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock can be purchased for 12 thousand hryvnias cheaper, but the price will be lower frequencies, lower cooling system efficiency, and a lower quality component base.MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G GAMING TRIO OC will take up less space in your system unit and cost 8 thousand less.Asus GeForce RTX 5080 TUF Gaming OC 16GB GDDR7 is only two thousand cheaper than the hero of our review. The video card is a little smaller, but it has an additional HDMI port, which may come in handy for those who lack additional ports