Credit: Brad Chacos/IDG
Should you buy the PNY GeForce RTX 2080 XLR8?
No. At least not at its current cost.
You’ll find an adage repeated somewhat often in technology coverage: “There are no bad products, only bad prices.” That phrase nails the PNY GeForce RTX 2080 XLR8 Gaming Overclocked Edition’s problem. You won’t be disappointed if you wind up with it. It’s an okay graphics card that costs way too much.
The PNY XLR8 ($850 on Amazon and Newegg) is neck-and-neck with the Nvidia Founders Edition ($800 on Best Buy and GeForce.com) in noise levels and raw gaming performance. It runs slightly cooler, but feels kind of cheap, while Nvidia’s card oozes luxury. If PNY’s card cost $750 it’d be a stellar option for gamers who wouldn’t mind giving up metal shrouds and fancy RGB lighting to save a few bucks. But it’s impossible to recommend the PNY RTX 2080 XLR8 at $50 more than the Founders Edition. Nvidia’s really putting the screws to its board partners with the Founders Edition’s impressive redesign and factory overclock.
Brad Chacos/IDG
Okay card, outrageous price
If you’re willing to consider $850 or so for an RTX 2080 with better cooling performance, we’d recommend saving a few pennies and opting for the Asus ROG Strix RTX 2080 ($870 on Newegg) instead. It runs damned cold in Performance mode or virtually silent in Quiet mode, and it’s absolutely loaded with extra features, including those dual BIOSes.
Should you invest in an RTX graphics card at all, though? That’s a valid question in itself. Any GeForce RTX 2080 delivers great 4K/60Hz or 1440p/144Hz gameplay. But so does the GTX 1080 Ti, which lacks future-facing ray-tracing and AI hardware but delivers virtually identical performance in traditional games for $100 to $250 less. Check out our GeForce RTX 2080 vs. GTX 1080 Ti breakdown for all the info you need to know.
