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The RTX 2080 Super is just one place shy of being the flagship model of the entire Turing architecture. The card’s trumped only by the RTX 2080 Ti, which offers about 10 percent more performance. Nevertheless, the RTX 2080 Super is a phenomenal graphics card that should offer excellent performance no matter the title. If you’re interested in other GPU models do visit our graphics cards section. It features heaps of useful buying guides and more.
Since this card includes about 90 different models from third-party manufacturers, we’ve decided to list the best RTX 2080 Super graphics cards that excel in various categories. Sure, we have the best overall RTX 2080 Super card here but we also have the best RTX 2080 with RGB lighting, the best RTX 2080 Super GPU with a pre-build water cooling block, and many more.
If you’re settled on the RTX 2080 Super but don’t know which mobo+CPU combo to get, visit our guide for the best motherboard CPU combos for gaming. Those who want to learn more about GPUs in general should definitely check our our pieces that explain what is VRAM and the difference between the memory and core clock speed.
1. EVGA RTX 2080 Super KO Gaming: Best value RTX 2080 Super card
EVGA’s KO series of cards represent affordable models that offer performance in line with reference cards. And the same case is with the RTX 2080 Super KO Gaming. This is an excellent card for the price and the best value RTX 2080 Super GPU.
It offers the same level of performance as much more expensive RTX 2080 Super models. You can overclock the card and get exactly the same gaming performance as our pick for the best RTX 2080 Super overall.
2. ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super Advanced OC: Best RTX 2080 Super overall
As it was the case with the best RTX 2070 Super, ASUS knocked it out of the park with its ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super OC model. This is hands down the best RTX 2080 Super card with an air cooling setup.
The card comes with an impressive factory OC along with an amazing cooling system. It also looks rather nice and boasts cool RGB lighting effects. It doesn’t have the best OC potential but it’s very close to the fastest models.
If you want the best card on the market, get this one or its white variant. Both offer excellent factory OC values but still allow users to overclock them even more. And that cooling system will keep the cards cooler than the competition, even when overclocked.
3. MSI RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio: Best RTX 2080 Super graphics card for overclocking
While the ASUS ROG Strix model comes with excellent factory OC values, it isn’t the best RTX 2080 Super card for manual overclocking. When it comes to air-cooled cards the throne is reserved for the MSI Super Gaming X Trio. This model is capable of reaching almost 2070MHz for the core and 2300MHz for the memory overclock.
The performance gain you get with OC is about eight percent. A good overclocker should have a decent cooling setup. And the MSI RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio has an excellent cooling system that will allow you to push the card beyond its factory OC limits.
4. ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super Advanced OC: Best air-cooled RTX 2080 Super
When it comes to low thermals while under load, the best RTX 2080 Super card is made by ASUS. The absolute winner is the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Super Advanced Overclocked, which peaks at only 62 degrees Celsius while gaming.
This is much cooler than any other RTX 2080 Super card on the market. Another plus is that the card’s whisper quiet under load. The third advantage is that the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super Advanced OC comes with an impressive factory OC.
5. EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Hybrid Gaming: Best RTX 2080 Super with liquid cooling
If you want the best liquid-cooled RTX 2080 Super card, get the EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Hybrid Gaming. This card’s amazing. It offers excellent performance, in line with the ASUS ROG STRIX 2080 Super, while it reaches only 52 degrees Celsius while gaming.
This is a truly impressive result but bear in mind that this card costs more than most other RTX 2080 Super models. That cooling performance comes at a serious price so think twice before getting it.
6. Gigabyte RTX 2080 Super Gaming OC Waterforce: Best RTX 2080 Super with water block
You have multiple choices if you need an RTX 2080 Super card that comes with a pre-installed water block. We’ve picked the Gigabyte model because it’s the most affordable one while keeping up with other, more expensive choices.
7. MSI RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio: Best RGB RTX 2080 Super
There are lots of RTX 2080 Super cards that come with RGB lighting but the MSI model is our pick for the best RGB RTX 2080 Super GPU. It looks rather nice, with multiple RGB LED arrays placed alongside the fan shroud. On top of that, this card also achieves excellent performance and great OC potential, making it the best RGB choice.
Now, a beautiful card such as this demands an equally slick motherboard and case. Don’t worry because we have two buying guides you might be interested in. The first one is for the best RGB motherboard. The second one features the best RGB cases.
8. ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super OC: Best white RTX 2080 Super
For fans of white cards who want to finish their all-white build, there’s the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super OC White Edition. Unlike the white Gigabyte card we had in our best RTX 2070 Super guide, we have white fans here.
The whole fan shroud is completely white, with only the RGB LED arrays looking like small specks of gray until you turn the card on. And when the RGB lighting is turned on, this card simply shines when combined with a nice white PC case. And yes, we do have the parts to finish that white build. Here’s the best white PC case guide and you can also visit the best white motherboard guide.
This card’s also a beast when it comes to performance. Based on the regular ROG STRIX RTX 2080 Super card, which is already the best 2080 Super model on the market, the white edition arrives with the highest GPU factory OC of 1890MHz. Memory is overclocked at 1937MHz so together with a serious GPU OC, this card should provide the same level of gaming performance as the best RTX 2080 Super variants.
9. EVGA RTX 2080 Super KO Gaming: Best RTX 2080 Super for SFF builds
Since there aren’t any RTX 2080 Super models with a shorter PCB, like the excellent Zotac RTX 2070 Super Mini, you cannot get a 2080 Super card made exclusively to fit inside every Mini-ITX case.
This is why we’ve picked the EVGA RTX 2080 Super KO Gaming as our best RTX 2080 Super card for SFF builds. The card measures 269mm in length, which is short enough to fit inside most Mini-ITX cases.
While it can fit inside most Mini-ITX cases, this card should offer the same performance as any other RTX 2080 Super card. You also get a solid cooling system that should keep this card under safe thermals even if fitted inside a case with less-than-great airflow. If you need an ITX case to compliment this excellent card, go and visit our guide for the best Mini-ITX cases.
Is the RTX 2080 Super good for gaming?
The RTX 2080 Super is great for gaming. The resolution of choice could be either 1440p or 4K. At 1440p this is the best GPU for high refresh rate gaming. It allows you to achieve 100fps or higher in literally any game.
Just don’t go overboard with the visual settings in some titles. At 4K, this card can run most games at 60fps with almost every visual option turned on. You won’t be able to crank them all to the max though.
And the card’s great for multimonitor setups since the regular rear panel layout includes three DisplayPort and one HDMI video outs. The gaming performance should be pretty good, even on triple monitor setups. But if you play at resolutions higher than 4K, get the RTX 2080 Ti or Titan RTX.
So yeah, this is one of the best graphic cards for gaming at the moment. But now isn’t the best time to buy one. Honestly, as with the RTX 2070 Super, we recommend waiting until September, when Nvidia and AMD should launch their new GPU lineups.
Those will bring noticeable improvements in gaming performance with miles better RTX performance. If you need a new GPU wait a couple of months or buy something cheap to last you until September.
And what about work-related usage?
What we’ve said about the RTX 2070 Super stands here. The RTX 2080 Super is a great choice for CUDA-accelerated apps. But since those ask as many CUDA cores as possible, there are better choices out there.
Something like the Titan V or the RTX 2080 Ti is better for this type of load if you have the cash. If you don’t, the RTX 2080 Super is an excellent choice.
When it comes to video editing, something like the RTX 2060 is a better choice. Unless you’re dealing with resolutions of 6K and higher.
In that case, either get this card or the RTX 2070 Super. Finally, for machine learning, neural networks, and AI-related workloads, RTX Quadro cards are a much better choice than this one.
In the end, the RTX 2080 Super is a great card for apps that can use its CUDA cores to the max. But for stuff like video editing or machine learning, there are better cards out there. And now, check out the best RTX 2080 Super cards on the market.
