A look back to what the peak of Ampere had to offer in our RTX 3090 review
Updated: Mar 28, 2024 2:39 pm
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Nvidia has had many GPUs over the years with the top-spec cards offering incredible capabilities. Now we look back to see how the Ampere choice fares in our MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3090 review. We find out if it holds up to what’s on offer now and if the RTX 3090 is worth it.
The RTX 40 series brought a lot of improvements as the next generation of the best GPUs on offer. But looking back you can still find a great choice of strong graphics cards and save some money doing it. Although Nvidia GPUs might not be as willing to do so the Ampere GPUs still have plenty on offer.
Having come out back in September 2020, it was one of the top times for PC gaming in demand and needs for it. With the shortage and power of it, even then it would have been hard to find but topping the charts it might just hold up to the cards available now. The MSI custom model provides a well-known design and structure, so let’s see what it has to offer.
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 24G
1,785MHz boost, 1,395MHz base
RTX 3090 pricing
Seemingly every generation increases both price and performance. That was no different with the RTX 30 series GPUs. The RTX 3090 was released at an incredibly high price for a regular GPU. The previous generation maxed with the 2080 Ti at $999 even as the Titan jumped above $2,000. But the RTX 3090 was released at a mighty $1,499 for the mainstream GPU. In comparison, the RTX 3080 has a launch price of $699, and the RX 6900 XT competition was $999.
However, even now that is being pushed even further for the top-end cards. As we saw the RTX 4090 succeeds the 3090 and tops that off with another $100 on top for the MSRP. It doesn’t come in cheap getting the top level. Even to this day, the MSI RTX 3090 is still available for $1,599 even with newer options available, meaning it’s a lot less good value than even before with its higher price.
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MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3090, source: BGFG
MSI Gaming X Trio 3090 design
1,785MHz boost, 1,395MHz base
Pros
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Powerful cooling system keeps temps low -
High clock frequency boosts performance above base level -
Incredible build quality and design makes it a top pick from the crowd
Cons
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On the higher end of the 3090 price spectrum -
A high price to pay for the card with the current generation
Overall, the design is well thought out, and done well. Starting with the box, the card is well packed in there with foam and little play-in movement alongside the standard anti-static bag and connector protectors. It sure provides a safe space for the card to get to you in one piece.
For the graphics card itself, you get a sharp and edgy-looking design in the Gaming X Trio. As it states in the name, you get three fans with a focus on gaming as it should be. Although a big card, it’s nothing as bad compared to even newer options. But it keeps it down to three slots and a reasonable length. But all to try and cool down the GPU there is a lot of card built into it. The fans are Torx 4.0 that link up every two fans and have a ridge to them to improve the airflow into the heatsink and keep its temperatures down greatly.
It also brings with it some color to the design with a few RGB lights in a few areas, with the light strip and logo on the side, and a few strips on the fan side. Whilst also coming in with some edgy designs with sharp-looking peaks and valleys. So although it might just be another dark custom card, it does bring a cooler look to it.
For the extras on top, it does lack a dual BIOS option, meaning no quick change in your card behavior and you have to change things manually. But it does keep to the old style of power connectors, it does require three 8-pins but a bit less hassle than the new 16-pin option. As the older choice, it also does have a full-length PCB, it does impact the airflow through the card, but the rest of the card works around that without a need for flow through.
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MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3090, source: BGFG
RTX 3090 performance
We take a look at how the RTX 3090 performance holds up to a more recent GPU. Comparing it vs the 4080 Super we can see what kind of difference a generation makes, especially considering the lower tier of the 40 series and the $500 lower MSRP.
Our test setup consisted of the following:
MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3090 gaming benchmarks
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MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3090 vs 4080 Super performance, source: BGFG
Here we see why the RTX 3090 was a big deal on its release. A GPU capable of 4K 60 FPS gaming for the most part. As we saw in our tests running the highest settings across the board, and enabling ray tracing, we got to see what it was capable of, and even though it might fall behind the new, it still has plenty to offer.
Overall we see a great ray tracing choice and general performance but of course, it falls behind the 40 series choice. But in general, you have a great performance for it, with the likes of CS2 achieving into the hundreds across the board but behind the 4080 Super by around 30FPS.
Whilst Cyberpunk 2077 sure is a heavy hitter as both GPUs struggle in reaching high FPS, especially at 4K, turning down the graphics can get you a playable framerate. That can be said for ray tracing too where the performance difference is a bit bigger between them as well. The 40 series benefits from being able to use DLSS 3 in the game and improve the performance without a huge drop in quality.
Further on we do see the same kind of trends. As the 3090 still shows its strengths in being able to provide a great 60FPS at 4K as well even with a great ray tracing record. That can be said for the cooling on the graphics card as well, putting the card through Furmark 2 and tracking the temps and fan RPM, we see a great performance. It maxes out at 78.1°C but bobs between 78-76, but the fans are very responsive to the temperature of the die.
Is the 3090 worth it?
Right now it doesn’t really make sense to go for an RTX 3090 as we’ve found in our review. It was an excellent card for its time-breaking performance barriers, but in terms of pricing, it was also an over-the-top choice. Unfortunately, that carries on to this day, with the card still sparse to find, the price has not even fallen and makes the 3090 fall behind the latest 40 series making those a worthy choice instead considering similar pricing but better performance and features. A good alternative is something like the RTX 4080 Super which will cost less but bring much more to the table.
Is 3090 still high end?
At the moment it still holds up as a strong top-end GPU. It is capable of 4K gaming and getting a good performance across the board. Especially with the price it demands it certainly is still a high-choice card option to go for even if it falls behind the latest generation. If found on a deal it can still provide an excellent GPU for gaming in general.
