Difference between MSI 2080S Ventus XS/Non-XS?

[Valenceins]

Hey guys, thanks for looking into this post.

 

I just happened to come across 2 cards: 2080S Ventus and 2080S Ventus XS. (they both have an OC version, and links below are both OC versions)

 

Ventus: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeForce-RTX-2080-SUPER-VENTUS-OC

Ventus XS:  https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeForce-RTX-2080-SUPER-VENTUS-XS-OC

 

First of all, by comparing pictures that are available I realised that XS models are smaller than non-XS model, not just 2080 Super, but also any other Ventus cards if they have a XS model.

Looking into the specs on the website, it appears that everything on paper are all identical. (power consumption, power connector, and even clocks for VRAM and Core) The only difference being the physical size.

 

I'm interested in the XS model because my case limits the length of GPU (Silverstone SG13)

 

But I've also saw many complaints saying the whole design of "Ventus" being garbage (compared to other models like gamingX, or other brands like ASUS)

This is very true, at least for 1660/1660Ti Ventus (XS) as we see the PCB design of these cards are really... I mean just not good enough.

The cooling solution for them looks poor as well, with only 1 heat pipe and a bulk piece of Aluminum.

 

However, from the looks of 2080S Ventus XS I think it has to be different.

It doesn't look cheap first of all, and the cooler might not be the best but should be adequate, maybe?

 

And here comes the biggest problem of my research: I really want to know how the 2080S XS' PCB looks like.

It appears that the XS model for 2080S is relatively new and I can barely find any disassembled pictures to compare (against the non-XS model).

I found no detailed reviews as well so it's quite a dead end for me.

 

I care about the power design very much and that's all I'm looking for. The 2080 non-XS model looks very promising with a 8+2 design. I think 2080 super non-XS should be the same anyway.

I don't expect XS model to have a superb power design as it is physically smaller, what I would like to see is that if it has an "adequate" power design.

 

I don't want to find out that MSI made a huge compromise on the power design when shortening the card until I paid and get the card, at least it should not be so bad to be like that of 1660/Ti Ventus XS design.

 

Is there anyone who knows better about this card or even have bought the card? Can you help me with my question?

 

p.s. sorry if my words are rude/inappropriate! Eng is not my first language and I hope I expressed my ideas clearly, hope you can understand!

[Jurrunio]

23 minutes ago, Valenceins said:

It doesn't look cheap first of all, and the cooler might not be the best but should be adequate, maybe?

The cheaper Ventus' problem is not just the lacking heatsink, but the high pitch noise from the fans that have to spin fast to compensate for the poor heatsink. I don't know if the 2080S XS has worsened heatsink on top of what the standard Ventus (which I've seen acceptable reviews for), I see those fans and I rule it out.

[Valenceins]

12 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

The cheaper Ventus' problem is not just the lacking heatsink, but the high pitch noise from the fans that have to spin fast to compensate for the poor heatsink. I don't know if the 2080S XS has worsened heatsink on top of what the standard Ventus (which I've seen acceptable reviews for), I see those fans and I rule it out.

Thanks for replying and yes noise is definitely a problem. I'm kind of despair as my case doesn't support many cards at the performance level of 2080/S.

 

Even if the regular ventus fit into SG13 in terms of length, another issue remains that in order to plug the power connector, you have to cut the some part of the case and bend your cable. This is a common problem for SG13 users with a GPU that reaches the maximum length supported. This issue left me with even fewer choices, most 3 fan 2080S won't even meet the length requirement. On the other hand, some good 2 fan cards are 3 slot in height, so that's another slap into my face as the SG13 supports only 2 slots.

 

For now the Ventus XS is the best choice physical size wise. I'll pay attention to any review of this card, because I'm using a Zotac 1080 Mini and I consider it to be quite loud under load. I mean I know how loud is acceptable for me so I'll see if I can get an idea of how loud the XS is, then compare that to my 1080 mini. If the XS is not louder than this 1080Mini, I guess I'll just take it.

 

I'll dig further about this question, and thanks again for your reply

[Jurrunio]

54 minutes ago, Valenceins said:

This is a common problem for SG13 users with a GPU that reaches the maximum length supported. This issue left me with even fewer choices, most 3 fan 2080S won't even meet the length requirement. On the other hand, some good 2 fan cards are 3 slot in height, so that's another slap into my face as the SG13 supports only 2 slots.

Can it hold anything longer than 266mm?

[Valenceins]

8 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Can it hold anything longer than 266mm?

The official advertised limit is 266mm as far as I could remember. But in fact you can fit a slightly longer card:

 

here is a picture who fit a 270mm XFX 480 into the case.

I found this on Reddit, https://imgur.com/a/rEXKO

 

Basically the GPU can exceed the length covered by the case's main frame, because there is a tiny space in the front panel.

 

And here is another picture who managed to stick a 279mm MSI 1080 inside, it is just what I said about 'cutting the case and bending the cable'

Also from reddit, https://i.imgur.com/OaNnsaF.jpg

However this 1080 model from MSI is both long and tall* (hope I didn't use the wrong word to describe dimensions, if I did please correct me),

so I guess even if a card is long but, as long as it's not too tall*, the power cable should not be a problem.

 

Do you have any recommendation for other models? looking into those two pictures I think I'll be able to give the standard Ventus a try in SG13 since it's not as tall as the MSI 1080 mentioned above. But if there's any other option I would definitely like to take a look.

[Jurrunio]

I mean, the EVGA XC/Black, Zotac Twin Fan and Inno3D Twin x2 are all between 266-270mm long and barely taller than the PCIe I/O bracket, if the 270mm long XFX card fit then they all will

[Valenceins]

3 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

I mean, the EVGA XC/Black, Zotac Twin Fan and Inno3D Twin x2 are all between 266-270mm long and barely taller than the PCIe I/O bracket, if the 270mm long XFX card fit then they all will

Fantastic. Just checked those models and they all look pretty fine. I actually prefer EVGA but unfortunately the availability of the brand in China is a problem. Zotac and Inno3D are both well known here so I'll add both of them on the list.

 

On the other hand, I thought the SG13 is really an old case. There are more better-designed SFF cases in recent years e.g. all those A4, ghost S1 and so on. I think I may swap the case entirely, it should be not too painful just buying a new case, a new cooler and some small stuff like pcie extension cable etc. 

 

Thanks for the help!

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, Valenceins said:

here are more better-designed SFF cases

they arent necessarily better, they basically reduce headroom for the CPU cooler to get themselves smaller.

[Valenceins]

27 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

they arent necessarily better, they basically reduce headroom for the CPU cooler to get themselves smaller.

That's ture. When I said better I refer to cases like Lianli TU150 where they place the power supply in the space next to the ITX board & above GPU. This is in fact much more space-efficient compared to SG13, where silverstone simply stack the PSU above the board rather than next to it. There are also many cheap, customised cases in China like this SGPC K77. It doesn't look much bigger than SG13 but you'll see it supports a much better cooling solution.

 

 

As for the A4 layout, may I correct my words that they are "better for my purposes"... So I study in abroad and I really hope that I don't have to mail my PC internationally every time I travel between my home and the school, it's expensive and time consuming. I've got a gaming laptop but it can never match the performance that of a desktop pc, also I have 2 screen both in the UK and my home anyway... Giving that an A4 could fit into a backpack therefore easier for me to carry between places, thus an A4 case would be better for my use.

 

Might have to under-volt the CPU though if I were to use an A4 case and swap to an air-cooler, nevertheless even if I under-volt and down-clock it to around 3.9~4.0G I assume it will still perform better than my i7-7700 laptop since I also stream my games, not to mention all the video editing with the Premiere.

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, Valenceins said:

When I said better I refer to cases like Lianli TU150 where they place the power supply in the space next to the ITX board & above GPU.

no more direct airflow path for the CPU air cooler though, now that the PSU's in the way AIO is the best option tho now the PSU is too close to the front panel for the radiator.  I'd rather have the PSU hiding behind the motherboard, along with the storage drives (because I just hog a ton of data around)

 

13 minutes ago, Valenceins said:

As for the A4 layout, may I correct my words that they are "better for my purposes"... So I study in abroad and I really hope that I don't have to mail my PC internationally every time I travel between my home and the school

small cases do have their market, just not for max performance at that point.