NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GPUs are now available to purchase from retail, and if you're looking to buy the absolute highest-end of a RTX 4080 graphics card, Gigabyte might have just the card for you.

Hot on the heels of the RTX 4090 launch back in October 2022, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4080 16GB graphics cards have just dropped and are now available to purchase from retail. To get in on the excitement, ALKtech unboxes a top-of-the-range Gigabyte RTX 4080 card - the AORUS GeForce RTX 4080 16GB XTREME WATERFORCE. Sporting the WATERFORCE all-in-one liquid cooling system that comprises a hefty 360mm radiator paired with triple 120mm addressable RGB fans, Gigabyte's offering might well be a card to consider if you're in the market for a liquid-cooled RTX 4080 graphics card.

Specifications (GV-N4080AORUSX W-16GD)

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 "AD103"
• Core Clock: 2565 MHz
• Memory: 16GB GDDR6X VRAM (256-bit, 22.4 Gbps)
• Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16
• Display Output: 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1 ports
• Power Requirements: 1x 16-pin 12VHPWR connector (3x 8-pin to 1x 16-pin adapter included), ≥850W power supply recommended
• Dimensions: 236mm x 146mm x 40mm
• Features: WATERFORCE AIO liquid cooling system (360mm radiator with 3x aRGB 120mm fans, direct contact copper baseplate, 460mm braided FEP tubes), RGB Fusion lighting effects
• Price: ~$2435 Singapore dollars / $1449.99 US dollars (as of November 2022)

Packaging & Accessories

As a product from the range-topping AORUS series of offerings by Gigabyte, the XTREME WATERFORCE comes in a chunky box that sports the usual colourway that has come to be associated with the AORUS line-up.

No surprises here that the card comes securely packaged within the box with liberal amounts of foam padding, especially given how hefty the 360mm AIO radiator is.

The card comes with the following accessories:

• Quick start guide
• Warranty registration card
• AORUS metal case badge
• Power adapter (3x 8-pin to 1x 16-pin 12VHPWR adapter cable)
• Limited edition AORUS CHIBI figurine

Aesthetics

As a graphics card with an integrated liquid cooling system, the card itself is pretty small, with a plastic shroud covering the water block that is in direct contact with the GPU. The AORUS motif on the shroud lights up with RGB lighting effects, which can be controlled via Gigabyte's RGB Fusion app.

A protective metal backplate is included with the card, alongside a dual BIOS switch that allows owners of this card to toggle between an OC BIOS and Silent BIOS to suit one's usage circumstances.

The radiator that comes with the XTREME WATERFORCE looks like any other AIO solution for CPUs on the market, and comes with three 120mm addressable RGB fans. According to Gigabyte, the fans boast double ball bearings for better efficiency and endurance.

Summary

Given its WATERFORCE liquid cooling setup, the Gigabyte AORUS GeForce RTX 4080 16GB XTREME WATERFORCE can probably take the title of the most premium RTX 4080 on the market thus far. 

While I did not get the chance to put this card through its paces with benchmarks, an initial sense of the market reaction to the RTX 4080's pricing and performance in general seem to indicate that NVIDIA might do well to revise the RTX 4080 16GB's prices downwards, as its current pricing places it very close to the RTX 4090 that can offer significantly better performance. This is especially pronounced with the XTREME WATERFORCE, where its price places it uncomfortably close to the cheapest RTX 4090 cards currently available in the market - you do have to pay a premium for an all-in-one liquid cooling setup after all. Perhaps with the launch of AMD's RDNA 3 cards, namely the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT in December 2022, competition from Team Red might encourage NVIDIA to price the RTX 4080 16GB in a more palatable price bracket - only time will tell if this is going to happen.

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The graphics card featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from CDL Trading Pte Ltd, an authorised distributor for Gigabyte in Singapore.