MSI GEFORCE RTX 3090 GAMING X TRIO

amazon MSI GEFORCE RTX 3090 GAMING X TRIO reviews

As one of the most powerful graphics cards on the market, MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio can “load” every game at 4K resolution at the highest graphics setting. With Nvidia’s DLSS 2.0 technology, we can even begin to look towards the future of 8K Gaming.

At the beginning of the month, Nvidia made the gaming community “desire” when it officially launched its new generation of RTX 3000 series graphics cards, including RTX 3090, 3080, and 3070. Compared to the previous generation, RTX 2000 series, the RTX 3000 has more powerful performance but is cheaper, a jump that Nvidia calls “the biggest in the company’s history.”

As usual, as soon as Nvidia announces a new product line, gaming brands also immediately introduce their custom graphics cards. BiaReview was fortunate to have a quick hand on the MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio graphics card despite the scarcity of supplies. Gaming X is MSI’s high-end product line, so it can be said that the GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio is one of the most powerful graphics cards at the moment.

Some of the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio highlights can be mentioned as 24GB GDDR6X “huge” Memory, support for PCIe Gen 4 protocol, boost clock up to 1,785 MHz. To “carry” this card, MSI recommends that users use a power supply with a capacity of 750W or more.

Unboxing and design overview

First impressions, the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio box is large, the largest among the graphics cards that BiaReview has ever experienced. On the front, besides the product name and image. Some other notable information, such as Nvidia’s new Ampere architecture and the two most notable technologies, real-time Ray Tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), was introduced on the RTX 2000 series generation upgraded for better performance.

On the back, we have a different view of the card inside, along with MSI’s exclusive technologies equipped on the product, such as the Tri Frozr 2 cooling fan system, Torx Fan 4.0, or custom fan blades. Dragon Center software allows users to monitor, adjust and optimize MSI’s gaming products.

Inside the box, there is a set of installation and use manuals and a holder for the card, and there is no driver CD to limit electronic waste. I want to compliment MSI’s manual, which is made like a comic book with the main character being the company’s mascot, red dragon. Of course, having invested in a high-end graphics card like this, users will know what to do, but this storybook is highly intuitive, easy to see, and easy to understand. However, unfortunately, the cardholder on the RTX 3090 version seems to have been “downgraded” with a simpler design, no longer as colorful as previous generations.

Coming to the main character, inheriting the “tradition” left by the seniors, the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio has a very aggressive design, with square corners to create a sturdy gaming look. Dimensions 323 x 140 x 56mm respectively, occupying three PCI-e slots and weighing 1.5 kg, you need to make sure that your case size has enough room for this monster. In addition, even with a cardholder, we still recommend that you choose a high-end motherboard with certain reinforcements in the PCIe slot to prevent damage or use a riser cable to mount the card.

The overall design of the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio is no longer red, just a harmony between black and gunmetal gray. The most prominent, of course, is the Tri Frozr 2 cooling system. Besides the three Torx Fan 4.0 fans, the propeller design works in pairs to increase the air pressure, core, and heatsink of the RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio. There are also many improvements to control the heat emitted from the card.

Instead of using a 12-pin power supply port like Nvidia’s Founder Edition version, the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio still uses an 8-pin port, with a total of 3 ports that users need to meet. The use of three 8-pin ports will be a plus point for users who like to overclock thanks to a more stable power supply.

Behind the card is a backplate made from MSI’s exclusive graphene, which provides better heat dissipation while protecting the internal circuitry from external forces. Verifying the heat dissipation of this graphene backplate isn’t easy, especially if we haven’t taken them off yet.

The LED system on the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio is made “softer,” divided into three areas: a strip of lights running along the body of the card, the MSI logo, and the symmetrical stripes on the mask. The LEDs are all very bright, customizable, and synchronized through the Mystic Light available in the Dragon Center software.

The MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio features three DisplayPort v1.4a ports and one HDMI 2.1 port. Notably, HDMI 2.1 has enough bandwidth to output 4K 120Hz or 8K 60Hz images with a single cable, so if you intend to buy a high-end TV shortly, this will be what you need.

In terms of software, you can monitor and control the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio through the “original” Dragon Center software. Here, you can enable Gaming Mode, change the User Scenario to optimize performance based on your needs, and customize the LEDs via Mystic Light.

where can you get a MSI GEFORCE RTX 3090 GAMING X TRIO online

MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card: Buy it now

MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 24GB GDRR6X 384-Bit HDMI/DP Nvlink Tri-Frozr 2 Ampere Architecture OC Graphics Card (RTX 3090 GAMING X TRIO 24G): Buy it now

Performance: Claims to “Load all games” at 4K Max setting

To quickly measure the performance of the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio, BiaReview uses a system including:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

GPU: MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio

Motherboard: MSI MEG X570 Ace

RAM: G Skill 16GB

Source: Corsair Vengeance 750W

Case: MSI MPG Sekira 500G

OS: Windows 10 Pro version 1903

Driver: 456.38

Performance benchmarks:

3DMark

– FireStrike Ultra: 4K DirectX 11″ gaming emulator benchmark

– TimeSpy Extreme: Benchmark card that emulates 4K DirectX 12″ gaming

– Port Royal: Ray Tracing benchmark, default at 2K resolution

– DLSS: Port Royal benchmark but with DLSS enabled to improve performance. BiaReview chooses 8K output resolution, DLSS Mode is Ultra Performance for best performance

Unigine

– Unigine Superposition: The benchmarking tool requires the processing capacity of the entire system. BiaReview chooses two resolutions, 4K Optimized and 8K Optimized, DirectX graphics library.

Gaming benchmark: Games with built-in benchmarks in settings, 4K resolution, highest graphics settings

– Metro: Exodus

– Horizon Zero Dawn

– Far Cry New Dawn

– Final Fantasy XV

Gaming, real experience

– Bright Memory: Ultra setting 4K

– Control: Ray Tracing and DLSS 2.0

Other tests

– Overclocking OC Scanner

– Temperature

Above are the scores of the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio in performance benchmarks. Due to Nvidia’s security requirements, at the time of writing, we don’t have conditions to compare with other RTX 3090s, but the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio scores are all very impressive. The most notable is probably the DLSS test, at 8K resolution, the graphics card “sluggish” at 7-8 fps, but with DLSS 2.0, the average fps has reached 34 fps, turning the dream of playing 8K games are completely within reach.

In the integrated benchmarks of the games, the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio “weighs” every game at 4K resolution, the highest graphics setting, with Ray Tracing and DLSS (Metro: Exodus and Final Fantasy XV) at an average of over 60 fps, which the RTX 2080Ti generation failed to do.

Real gaming experience, BiaReview has selected two games, Bright Memory and Control. Bright Memory is a first-person shooter with realistic graphics, while Control has recently been updated with Ray Tracing and DLSS 2.0. Both games are recorded by BiaReview with the Windows Capture tool (because Nvidia Shadowplay at the time of writing does not support RTX 3090), with an increase of 10-20fps if no video is recorded. In addition, readers can also see that the card consumes a maximum of nearly 380W of power when playing games, higher than 350W of the Founder Edition from Nvidia.

BiaReview would love to go deeper into overclocking the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio, but due to time issues and the system’s power supply is just barely enough as recommended by MSI and Nvidia, we haven’t had many opportunities.

MSI has a great automatic overclocking tool, OC Scanner, in the MSI Afterburner software. This tool will automatically adjust the clock and voltage to select the appropriate overclock. Still, due to the above problem, with only a 70 MHz core clock increase and a 200 MHz memory clock, OC Scanner reported results might not be stable. Fast test with Unigine Superposition 8K Optimized, this overclock gives about 5% extra performance (6786 points compared to 6427 points); if you have a better power supply, it promises to bring higher results.

Regarding the temperature, with the Zero Frozr feature, the cooling fan of the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio will not run until it reaches a certain temperature threshold (here are 60 degrees Celsius) to limit noise. In an air-conditioned room of 28 degrees Celsius. With the case closed, the MSI RTX 3090 gaming X Trio has a resting temperature (idle) of 40 degrees Celsius; while playing games or stress testing with Furmark, the highest temperature recorded is 76 -77 degrees Celsius Tri Frozr 2 cooling system works well. Still, it is also partly because BiaReview has not exploited the full power of this card.

Conclude

Not only “realizing” the dream of playing every game in 4K resolution, but the MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio also shows us the first glimpses of the next milestone, which is 8K resolution. This card is not a product for the masses, the price of $2200 is enough for you to invest in a good gaming system, but once you have “purchase,” you can rest assured that you will get what you want the best. From design to performance, MSI’s flagship graphics card has almost nothing to blame.

Besides Gaming X Trio, MSI will soon launch an RTX 3090 Ventus 3X 24G OC version with a more “friendly” suggested price: $ 2,090. Although it is a lower line than Gaming X, the RTX 3090 Ventus 3X 24G OC is still equipped with many “wonderful” features such as a Torx 3.0 triple-fan cooling system, metal backplate, and the parameters of the RTX 3090 series such as 24GB of memory GDDR6X, HDMI 2.1,… Boost clock specs of the Ventus version have not been announced but will most likely be slightly lower than the Gaming X Trio.