KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX Review - High-end Nvidia GPU with a custom cooling solution
Are you a techie who knows how to translate? Then join our Team!
Details here
After Nvidia released the Super-branded graphics cards, which were in fact just slightly improved versions of the RTX 2060, RTX 2070 and the RTX 2080, the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti remains the only Nvidia high-end GPU that has not been refreshed. However, with 11 GB of VRAM, this model offers more video memory than all other models. We have recently reviewed a GeForce RTX 2060 Super from KFA2 and now we have an opportunity to take a closer look at KFA2's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX.
There are no differences in terms of specifications between the KFA2 model and the reference model. However, the KFA2 video card looks different, because it features a more powerful custom cooling solution with three axial fans. The KFA2 graphics card uses the reference board, which is why there should not be any compatibility problems if you decide to water-cool your GPU. Nevertheless, you should still make sure that your particular GPU meets the requirements for water-cooling before committing to buy.
At the time of writing, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX retails for about 1070 Euros ($1097), which is quite a lot for a GPU. However, the Founders Edition model costs significantly more. Here Nvidia asks 1259 Euros ($1381). This puts things into perspective and makes the KFA2 model look more attractive, since it is one of the cheapest models on the market. Those who decide to go for a KFA2 model will get a very powerful graphics card with a good cooler that is extremely quiet in 2D operation. You will not have to forgo RGB lighting either, since there are several RGB elements on the side, which can be configured through the Xtreme Tuner utility. Unfortunately, the KFA2 model does not feature a USB Type-C port, which would come in handy for VR applications. Those who do not use VR and do not plan to use it in the foreseeable future will not be bothered by the absence of a USB Type-C port. Furthermore, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX offers three DP ports and one HDMI port. The GPU requires 250 watts of energy and two 8-pin power connectors.
Because the oversized cooling solution extends over the PCB, you will have to make sure that your case has enough free space. When compared to the reference model, the KFA2 GPU is six centimeters longer (~2.4 in).
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1,000 USD/Euros, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ā¤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
The Turing Specifications in Detail
Specifications | RTX 2060 | RTX 2060S | RTX 2070 | RTX 2070S | RTX 2080 | RTX 2080S | RTX 2080 Ti | KFA2 RTX 2080 Ti | Titan RTX |
GPU Architecture | TU106 | TU106 | TU106 | TU104 | TU104 | TU104 | TU102 | TU102 | TU102 |
Manufacturing Process | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm | 12 nm |
CUDA Cores | 1.920 | 2.176 | 2.304 | 2.560 | 2.944 | 3.072 | 4.352 | 4.352 | 4.608 |
Texture Mapping Units | 120 | 136 | 144 | 160 | 184 | 192 | 272 | 272 | 288 |
Tensor Cores | 240 | 272 | 288 | 320 | 368 | 384 | 544 | 544 | 572 |
RT Cores | 30 | 34 | 36 | 40 | 46 | 48 | 68 | 68 | 72 |
Base Core Clock | 1.365 MHz | 1.470 MHz | 1.410 MHz | 1.605 MHz | 1.515 MHz | 1.650 MHz | 1.350 MHz | 1.350 MHz | 1.350 MHz |
Boost Core Clock | 1.680 MHz | 1.650 MHz | 1.620 MHz | 1.770 MHz | 1.710 MHz | 1.815 MHz | 1.545 MHz | 1.545 MHz | 1.770 MHz |
Memory Interface | 192 Bit | 256 Bit | 256 Bit | 256 Bit | 256 Bit | 256 Bit | 352 Bit | 352 Bit | 384 Bit |
Memory Bandwidth | 336 GB/s | 448 GB/s | 448 GB/s | 448 GB/s | 448 GB/s | 496,1 GB/s | 616 GB/s | 616 GB/s | 672 GB/s |
Memory Capacity | 6 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 11 GB GDDR6 | 11 GB GDDR6 | 24 GB GDDR6 |
TDP | 160 W | 175 W | 175 W | 215 W | 215 W | 250 W | 250 W | 250 W | 280 W |
The Test Bench - Based on the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Our test bench is based on a current AMD platform. The MSI MEG X570 Godlike serves as the motherboard. The CPU, which is known as the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, offers a lot of performance. The system is cooled by an all-in-one water cooler from Be Quiet (Silent Loop 280mm). The 16 GB of 3600 MHz RAM comes from G-Skill. The Acer Predator XB321HK does not represent a bottleneck, thanks to its 4K resolution. We are very grateful to AMD for providing us with the above-mentioned system.
For the following benchmarks we used the following system:
- Corsair Carbide Air 540 ATX Cube
- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX 1-Click-OC (GeForce 436.30 driver)
- MSI MEG X570 Godlike (BIOS 1.20, default settings, XMP 1 for DDR4-3600 CL16)
- Antec 1200-watt power supply
- G-Skill Trident Z Royal gold DDR4-3600 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) kit, running at 3600 MHz; timings: CL16-16-16-36
- Corsair MP600 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Crucial MX500 2TB (for games)
The Core Clocks of the KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX
The KFA2 model has the same core clocks as the reference model. According to the specifications sheet, the base clock amounts to 1350 MHz and the boost clock is 1545 MHz. However, when gaming the GPU operates at 1800 to 1900 MHz. The RTX 2080 Ti has 11 GB of VRAM, which is clocked at 1750 MHz (effective memory speed: 14 GHz). Thanks to the 352-bit-wide bus, the memory bandwidth amounts to 616 GB/s.
The TDP of the KFA2 GPU is 250 watts, which is 10 watts lower than that of the reference model. The KFA2 model almost always reaches the power limit, which means that the GPU is running at full speed. The power limit can be raised with the tuning utility. This leads to a higher and more stable boost clock. The KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX comes with the 1 Click OC feature, which increases the base clock by 45 MHz and sets the power target to 108%.
Synthetic Benchmarks
The synthetic benchmarks confirm that the KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX offers a great deal of performance. However, the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti in the Corsair One i160 manages to beat our review model. This goes to show that an Intel-based system is still the best system for gaming. That being said, with a 4% difference, our Ryzen 9-based system does almost as well as the Intel-based PC. The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is 23% faster than the GeForce RTX 2080 Super.
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
Corsair One i160 | |
KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX | |
Nvidia Titan RTX | |
MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super | |
AMD Radeon VII | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 | |
MSI RTX 2070 Gaming Z 8G | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 | |
MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z 6G |
Unigine Valley 1.0 | |
1920x1080 Extreme HD DirectX AA:x8 | |
Corsair One i160 | |
KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX | |
Nvidia Titan RTX | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super | |
MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
MSI RTX 2070 Gaming Z 8G | |
AMD Radeon VII | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 | |
MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z 6G | |
1920x1080 Extreme HD Preset OpenGL AA:x8 | |
KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX | |
Corsair One i160 | |
Nvidia Titan RTX | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super | |
MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
MSI RTX 2070 Gaming Z 8G | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | |
MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z 6G | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 | |
AMD Radeon VII |
3DMark 05 Standard | 52639 points | |
3DMark 06 Standard Score | 44825 points | |
3DMark Vantage P Result | 82093 points | |
3DMark 11 Performance | 33205 points | |
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 209400 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 57827 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 25890 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 15211 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 13424 points | |
Help |
Gaming Benchmarks
The gaming benchmarks leave no doubt that the KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is a very fast graphics card. It does not matter whether you use an Intel-based system or a Ryzen-powered PC. Of course, there are games that perform better with one CPU or the other. When we benchmark games at very high resolutions the CPU stops being the main bottleneck, which it is at lower resolutions. The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti can run all current titles in 4K without any problems. Moreover, the additional RTX features make the games look much more impressive.
We did not encounter any abnormal behavior when it comes to frametimes and frame rates. There are occasional spikes and drops in the frame rates, but these are very short and are not noticeable during actual gameplay. We collect the frametime and frame rate data with the video game known as The Witcher 3
(preset: Ultra). The performance of the KFA2 model fell slightly over the course of our benchmark run, it sank from 135 FPS to 130 FPS. These are still very high frame rates, which means the game will remain more than playable even during very long gaming sessions.
The Witcher 3 frame rate on ultra
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 | |
1920x1080 Very High / On | |
KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX | |
Corsair One i160 | |
Nvidia Titan RTX | |
MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
MSI RTX 2070 Gaming Z 8G | |
AMD Radeon VII | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | |
MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z 6G | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 | |
3840x2160 Very High / On | |
Corsair One i160 | |
Nvidia Titan RTX | |
KFA2 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti EX | |
MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 | |
AMD Radeon VII | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
AMD Radeon RX 5700 | |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
MSI RTX 2070 Gaming Z 8G | |
MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z 6G |