Gigabyte RTX 3080 Eagle Review: Better Thermals Than Founders Edition, Limited OC

This review of the Gigabyte RTX 3080 Eagle is our first of many partner model reviews. We look at GDDR6X thermals, GPU thermals vs. Founders Edition, overclocking, tear-down quality, & more.
Sponsor: EVGA XR1 Capture Card on Amazon (https://geni.us/3IMrqPi)

In this review, we're diving into noise normalized thermals, GDDR6X thermals, VRM MOSFET temperatures, coldplate quality, and overclocking capabilities (or lack thereof) on an aftermarket Gigabyte RTX 3080 versus the Founders Edition 3080. We'll be giving a similar treatment to others. As a reminder, although availability of cards right now does not meet demand, the data contained in these reviews will remain accurate as more stock becomes available. You can always check back once you have options to consider. As for the capacitor issue, it sounds like that is mostly resolved via drivers at this point, although we still need to investigate further if time permits.

The Gigabyte RTX 3080 Eagle will eventually be on Amazon, in theory at this link: https://geni.us/xcMC

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RELATED PRODUCTS (Test Bench Parts)

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero Z490 on Amazon - https://geni.us/0682
Intel i7-10700K CPU on Amazon - https://geni.us/Io2g98
EVGA Supernova 1600W T2 Titanium PSU on Amazon - https://geni.us/9ioW
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 on Amazon - https://geni.us/RJBy
GPU - This is what we're testing!

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII on Amazon - https://geni.us/Z6Ju
AMD R9 3900XT on Amazon - https://geni.us/ivvR

Here's our airflow photography of how the Founders Edition cooler behaves:    • Airflow Imaging: NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders ...  
Watch the RTX 3080 review here:    • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition R...  
RTX 3080 FE Tear-Down:    • Tear-Down: NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders Editio...  
Previous 3080 review article: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews...

Watch our NVIDIA Ampere GPU Architecture Deep-Dive:    • NVIDIA Ampere (RTX 30) Architecture Deep-D...  
$13K of our New GPU Testing Methodology Equipment:    • $13K of GPU Test Methodology: Airflow Phot...  

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Gigabyte 3080 Eagle & OC Limitations
03:08 - Thermals vs. Founders Edition Noise Normalized
04:23 - Power Consumption & Equivalence
05:01 - 40dBA GDDR6X & VRM Temperatures
06:24 - Auto VBIOS Thermals vs. Founders Edition
06:45 - Fan RPM Response
06:56 - Noise Levels (Auto)
07:47 - Noise vs. RPM Scale
08:36 - RTX 3080 Frequency Scaling
09:06 - 3080 Eagle Coldplate Flatness
09:58 - Surface Contact of Eagle vs. NVIDIA FE
11:34 - Horizon Zero Dawn (RTX 3080 Gaming Benchmarks)
11:53 - Total War: Three Kingdoms on RTX 3080 Eagle vs. NVIDIA FE
12:12 - Red Dead Redemption 2 Gigabyte Eagle vs. Founders
12:26 - Gigabyte RTX 3080 Eagle Tear-Down
17:26 - Conclusion

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Editorial, Testing: Steve Burke
Additional Testing: Mike Gaglione
Video: Keegan Gallick, Andrew Coleman