ASUS ROG has been leading the gaming market for quite a while now. In fact, it’s latest ROG gaming phones were so popular that it had to apologize to fans waiting for new stocks. But one of its key markets are customized PCs through its brand STRIX. And this year, it has released a refresh on one of its most popular GPUs – the Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Super ROG STRIX.
But with a twist – it’s now white.
Earlier in February, ASUS has quietly added the GeForce RTX 2080 Super ROG STRIX Snow White edition onto its list of product offerings. While it had retained most of its original 2018 functionalities, it has added some incremental improvements that make it more of a beautiful white beast among the pack of GPUs.
Style meets function
Off the box, you’ll find the three-fan system emblematic of the STRIX brand, two HDMI ports, two display ports, and a USB type-C port which has now become the standard. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t have the third display port. But if you’re not going for a three-monitor setup, this won’t be a problem.
The backplate is still made of metal with the original being black and with the iconic white Strix and ROG logos engraved on it. Underneath it, you’ll also get to see the custom PCB plate, also in black. The Snow White edition, however, is all white, as you’d expect, except the blue logos and – to fans’ disappointment – the black PCB underneath. Considering that when it comes to the multitude of circuit board parts available on the market, custom and proprietary components should give them some flexibility with their PCB design. This has led many to think that Asus is just being lazy with this build. ASUS did, however, added the much needed RGB-enabled cooler between the PCB and the backplate to prevent overheating.
Still the standard to surpass
Packing an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super, it’s 25% faster than the original RTX 20 Series and six times faster than the previous-generation 10 Series GPUs. In fact, by all accounts, it’s one of the best graphics cards out there.
Detailed Specs include:
Cores: 3072
TMUS: 192
ROPS: 64
Video Memory: GDDR6 8GB
Memory Speed: 15.5Gbps
With this much power, combined with a digital max resolution of 7680×4320, the ASUS GeForce RTX 2080 can play any game with a high refresh rate. The new edition also comes with ASUS GPU Tweak II and NVIDIA’s GSync support which can undeniably give you maximum output.
A nifty addition is a BIOS toggle dead center which has two modes. Toggling it to P, which stands for Power will put it into overdrive and choosing Q or quiet mode will prioritize stealth at the expense of clocks.
Conclusion
While there are lots of GPUs out there, the ASUS GeForce RTX 2080 Super ROG STRIX stands out with its sheer raw power and elegant design. Some argue that it’s overclocked overclocked beast with a hefty price tag similar to brands like the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X. But considering the NVIDIA is the only processor out there with advanced ray tracing capabilities, it’s worth its price if you can afford it.
