I’ve been testing the RTX 3080 on the same machine I used for the RTX 2080 review two years ago. That’s a 42 percent jump from the 225-watt draw with the RTX 2080, which is understandable for the performance improvement but also disappointing for its impact on the environment and electricity bills. Nvidia is recommending at least a 750W power supply for the RTX 3080, as it can draw up to 320 watts by itself. The only bad part of this new hardware is the power requirement. I’m impressed with this new design, and it looks great sitting in a case if you have a side window. There’s even a subtle white glow around part of the top fan. The RTX 3080 LED also lights up in pure white now, instead of the green found on the 2080. Nvidia has dropped the USB-C VirtualLink port found on the RTX 2080, which never saw any real adoption for VR. Speaking of outputs, there’s a single HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4a ports. There are no visible screws, and even the regular FCC and regulatory notices have been moved to the output end of the card to keep its appearance clean. Combined with the new cooling shroud, this pennant shape makes for a really good-looking graphics card. The third big change that might not be immediately noticeable is Nvidia’s switch to a new pennant-shaped board for the RTX 3080.
![trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings](https://cdn-ext.fanatical.com/production/product/1280x720/9fe5f9bf-79c2-45fa-a855-1b671cdb22d4.jpg)
Third-party cards are sticking with the regular dual 8-pin connectors, too. I’d highly recommend ordering one of these if you (like me) care about cable management. Thankfully, power supply vendors like Corsair are planning single cables that will plug directly into Nvidia’s new 12-pin connector.
![trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6709443827_0978739ef6_b.jpg)
You connect two 8-pin PCIe power connectors to it, and the adapter then dangles out of the side of the card. I like what Nvidia has done here, but the early implementation means you have to use an included adapter that’s ugly and awkward. The second major change to the RTX 3080 is the addition of a 12-pin single power connector, as opposed to the separate 6- and 8-pin or twin 8-pin connectors on prior cards. Nvidia’s RTX 3080 design includes a new pennant-shaped board. It’s possible that, in some rigs, it could affect CPU temperatures, but I think for the vast majority of cases, it will be a non-issue. There had been some concern that this cooling system could negatively affect CPU temperatures, but I didn’t observe any issues during my tests. I didn’t hear any noticeable differences against the RTX 2080 that I’ve been comparing the RTX 3080 to this week, as both are quiet cards. This creates a more optimal airflow, reducing GPU temperatures and delivering a quieter card. A traditional blower cooler also exhausts the hot air out of the PCIe slot and thus out of your case entirely. Nvidia is using a push-pull system here, with the bottom fan pulling (hopefully cool) air into the card, then exhausting the warm air on the opposite side close to your CPU cooler and rear case fan. The first noticeable change is that the dual-fan setup has shifted so there’s one fan on either side of the card. Nvidia could have stuck with the big changes it made to the RTX 2080 cooling, but it’s gone a step further with its hardware on the RTX 3080.
![trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings](https://static.macupdate.com/products/40961/m/trainz-simulator-logo.png)
4K gaming arrived with the RTX 2080 Ti, but $1,199 was far beyond most people’s budgets. I’ve spent the past week putting the RTX 3080 through its paces at both 4K and 1440p, and I’m impressed with what I’ve seen. While the RTX 3070 doesn’t arrive until October 15th, it also promises performance that exceeds both the RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti.
![trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings trainz simulator 12 nvidia settings](https://www.nkgames.cz/gallery/products/middle/22065.jpg)
You can’t preorder any of these latest cards, and the RTX 3080 will arrive in stores on September 17th, with the RTX 3090 following on September 24th.
#TRAINZ SIMULATOR 12 NVIDIA SETTINGS SERIES#
The RTX 3080 is part of Nvidia’s 3000 series of graphics cards, all powered by the company’s new Ampere architecture. But with the RTX 3080, it’s delivering on them. Nvidia had similar promises before for 4K gaming with the RTX 2080. This is all while taking advantage of ray tracing and Nvidia’s special AI-powered DLSS tech that boosts frame rates while maintaining image quality. It’s even supposed to surpass the RTX 2080 Ti, providing solid 4K gaming performance for much less than Nvidia’s last-generation cards cost. The GeForce RTX 3080 is supposed to deliver twice the performance of the RTX 2080 at the same price. Nvidia is promising big things with its new generation of graphics cards.