MSI GTX1080 Gaming X SLI Review

Introduction

We've already looked at the MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X here, so if you want to catch up on the looks of the card, features, and of course the all-important technical specifications then there is the place to go. It's okay, we'll wait whilst you get up to speed.

All caught up?

We've seen how fantastic the latest nVidia GPU can be in a raft of titles. With a single card capable of matching a pair of GTX 980s, we had to see how the MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X did as a pair. Would that performance scale until it was matching a Quad GTX 980 setup? Are the new games in our test suite fully up to speed with such extraordinary levels of hardware?

We're using our standard GPU test rig, although it's worth noting that because of our desire to get this to you as swiftly as possible whilst we still had the two MSI cards on hand, we're having to use the initial set of Forceware drivers which, in some titles, don't stretch this SLI setup to its fullest.

2x MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X
Intel i7 6850K
ASUS X99 Strix
Corsair ROG Dominator Platinum 3200
Corsair RM1000i
Corsair LX 512GB OS
Corsair LS 480GB x2 Raid0 Games
Corsair H100i V2
Windows 10 

There is only one way to find out. Before that though, who doesn't love the opportunity to have a drool over a colour-coded SLI setup? Exactly. We all do.

Taking advantage of our brief time with the pair of MSI GTX 1080s and utilising their SLI Bridge to maximum effect, it's absolutely gorgeous. Even if black, white and red isn't your preferred colour scheme, there is no denying the visual impact that two GTX 1080s can make.

Settle down, grab your favourite morning beverage, and let's get down to some results.