MSI has introduced two versions of the GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti as part of its new Shadow 3X series. The latter is characterized by a dark design and a complete lack of any RGB lighting.
Image source: VideoCardz / MSI
Initially, the MSI Shadow series of graphics cards was exclusive to China. However, the manufacturer decided to bring it to all global markets. By now, MSI has already introduced 47 different models of the GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. This is quite a lot for one brand. However, many of them are SOC, OC and Launch Edition versions of the same models and their key features are either additional factory overclocking or special packaging – Launch Edition cards come with a small toy in the form of a dragon Lucky, the company’s mascot.
In total, the manufacturer is releasing cards in eight branded designs within the new generation of GeForce RTX 50 cards: Suprim, Suprim Liquid, Gaming Trio, Gaming Trio White, Inspire, Ventus, Ventus White and the completely new Vanguard. The company also showed the Special Edition design, presumably related to the iconic Lightning series of accelerators, but MSI has not yet confirmed its readiness to release cards in this design on the market.
In terms of design, the Shadow 3X series of graphics cards is as simple as it gets: no vapor chambers, no RGB, no integrated screen, and no liquid cooling. The cards in this series feature a simple black casing and backplate, a large heatsink, and three fans.
The thickness of all the presented new products is about three expansion slots (49 mm). All received one 12+4-pin 12V-6×2 connector for additional power. The length of the video cards is 30.3 mm, and the weight is about 1 kg. MSI declares a GPU frequency of up to 2625 MHz for the new products, which can be set through the proprietary MSI Center application. However, out of the box, the maximum frequency is 2640 MHz.
Since the GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti are based on different modifications of the same GPU, GB203, the main differences between the cards are the number of graphics cores (10,752 for the GeForce RTX 5080 and 8960 for the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti), as well as the video memory speed (30 and 28 Gbps) and power consumption (360 or 300 W). At the same time, all cards received 16 GB of GDDR7 memory with support for a 256-bit bus.
MSI did not announce the price of the new products. However, it is known that the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti will go on sale on February 20.