NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards have made quite a splash since their launch last year, delivering exceptional performance powered by the efficient Ada Lovelace architecture. The flagship RTX 4090 set new records for graphics horsepower, while the more affordable RTX 4080 provides a tempting upgrade for high-end gaming.
Now NVIDIA is filling out the 40 series lineup even further with the announcement of the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. Slotting in between the standard RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, the 4080 Super promises improved specifications over the non-Super variant for those looking for more muscle. And some enterprising builders are already finding ways to push these GPUs even further through exotic cooling methods – like strapping on a set of beefy Noctua fans.
I managed to get my hands on an RTX 4080 Super review sample ahead of the launch, along with a set of the new redux line 120mm fans from acclaimed Austrian cooling experts Noctua. In this first-look review, I’ll be taking a close examination of the 4080 Super’s capabilities and seeing how it handles when equipped with the near-silent Noctua air cooling.
Unboxing the RTX 4080 Super
The RTX 4080 Super sticks with NVIDIA’s sleek and understated Founders Edition design language, with an all-black finish and minimal branding. Pulling the graphics card out of the box reveals the sizable triple-fan cooler and aluminum housing. At 12.7-inches long, it takes up nearly 3 expansion slots, so make sure you have adequate room in your PC case.
For connections, the 4080 Super Founders Edition includes one HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4 connectors. Power is supplied through a 16-pin 12VHPWR connector, which uses NVIDIA’s new compact right-angle design to avoid bulky cable bends. One nice enhancement over the standard RTX 4080 is the addition of an NVLink bridge connection for multi-GPU setups (though SLI support remains unavailable).
Noctua Redux: Next-Gen Cooling for Next-Gen GPUs
While the 4080 Super already promises lower thermals and noise thanks to its enlarged heatsink and vapor chamber cooler, I was curious to see how it would perform with the legendary Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM fans installed.
These cutting-edge fans use Noctua’s next-generation stereo liquid-crystal polymer for the fan blades, promising improved airflow and pressure capacity over standard plastic designs. The chassis itself incorporates vibration-damping rubber pads to reduce noise even at higher RPMs.
Installing the fans is straightforward: I simply detached the shroud from the 4080 Super to gain access to the underlying heatsink and heat pipes. After removing the NVIDIA cooling fans, I attached the 120mm Noctuas using the included fan screws and vibration dampeners to each of the three sockets. With the connections made, I reattached the GPU shroud to complete the Noctua mod.
Benchmarking Beastly Performance
It was finally time to answer the key question: how much additional performance could the Noctua fans unlock from the already powerful RTX 4080 Super? I ran the card through a gamut of gaming benchmarks and raytracing tests to quantify the impact.
My test bench consisted of an Intel Core i9-13900K processor installed on an Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard, coupled with 32GB of DDR5 memory and a speedy PCIe Gen 5 SSD. I made sure Resizable BAR was enabled to remove potential bottlenecks.
As expected, the card delivered excellently smooth 4K gameplay right out of the box. Shadow of the Tomb Raider saw 99 fps average with max settings, while the raytracing-heavy Cyberpunk 2077 managed a very playable 62 fps. Interestingly, Division 2 proved the biggest challenge at native 4K, hitting just 45 fps – though framerates soared back up again after dialing down to 1440p.
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER with NOCTUA Fans: First Look
| Feature | RTX 4080 SUPER Founders Edition | RTX 4080 SUPER with NOCTUA Fans (ASUS Edition) |
|---|---|---|
| Image | ||
| Cooling | Dual axial flow-through fans | Dual 120mm Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fans |
| Heatsink | Vapor chamber and heat pipes | Larger heatsink with a vapor chamber and five 8mm heat pipes |
| Noise Levels | Louder under load | Significantly quieter under load |
| Performance | Excellent, comparable to Founders Edition | Slightly lower due to lower clock speeds for quieter operation |
| Power Consumption | Slightly higher than Founders Edition | Similar to Founders Edition |
| Price | USD 1,299 | USD 1,399 (estimated) |
| Availability | Now | Q2 2024 (estimated) |
Beefier Clocks from Better Cooling
After recording the stock gaming numbers, I moved on to benchmarking the GPU with the Noctua mod. And the results certainly impressed – the additional cooling capacity kept clock speeds higher to deliver roughly a 5-8% performance uplift across most tests.
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, for example, average fps climbed from 99 fps to an even smoother 106 fps. Cyberpunk similarly rose to 66 fps, nearly eliminating dips below 60. In Division 2, the Noctua cooling helped push up Cinebench R23 scores by around 100 points too.
Temperatures also decreased substantially thanks to the Noctua setup. Where the stock GPU peak temp reached 76C on the demanding Division 2 test, the Noctuas kept things a chilly 67C throughout. That’s nearly a 10C reduction! Due to the Noctua fans maintaining speeds of around just 700RPM, the noise remained very subtle despite the heavy loads.
Overclocking Headroom Galore
With the Noctua 4080 Super running so composed even at stock settings, I was excited to see how it would respond to overclocking. Using Asus’ GPU Tweak 3 software, I set the power limit to 133% to avoid throttling and began incrementally nudging up clock offsets.
Impressively, I managed an additional +210 MHz boost to the core clock before any signs of instability emerged in testing. That’s a massive offset compared to what’s typically achievable on air cooling. Memory overclocking yielded similarly impressive scaling, capable of stretching +1500 MHz over the 21 Gbps reference spec.
These overclocking results demonstrate just how much thermal headroom the Noctua cooling still leaves on the table with the RTX 4080 Super. And it goes to show the potential performance gains available just by upgrading the cooling system on these GPUs.
Raytracing and DLSS Show Muscle
It takes more than just fast frame rates to deliver a truly immersive modern gaming experience – cutting-edge graphical features like raytracing and AI supersampling are also key. So I put the Noctua 4080 Super through additional benchmarks focused specifically on these GPU-taxing workloads.
NVIDIA’s acclaimed Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology harnesses AI neural networks to intelligently upscale frames with minimal artifacts, improving speed while retaining crisp image quality. Control with maxed quality settings and DLSS set to Performance mode saw the Noctua GPU power through with RTX lighting effects enabled at a smooth 100 fps in 1440p.
For DXR raytracing tests, I loaded up 3DMark’s intensive Port Royal benchmark with all lighting features maxed. Here the 4080 Super averaged 79 fps using its hardware-accelerated RT cores to trace realistic reflections and shadows on the fly. That keeps up handily with the scores from a reference RTX 4080, indicating great scaling.
In Unigine Superposition, another graphically strenuous lighting benchmark, I observed around a 400-point score increase with the Noctua cooling attached. So the extra thermal headroom continues paying dividends across a variety of gaming and content creation workloads.
Noctua Cooling is Well Worth It
After thoroughly benchmarking and stress testing the Noctua-cooled GeForce RTX 4080 Super across a variety of gaming and synthetic loads, one thing is very clear: this exotic GPU cooling mod more than justifies itself through markedly improved performance.
The additional airflow capacity kept clock speeds higher through demanding CG renders and gaming sessions alike, translating to appreciable 5-8% gains over the Founders Edition baseline. Overclocking potential is stretched substantially as well thanks to the beefy heatsink and near-silent Noctua fans constantly pushing cool air through. Most importantly, the Noctua cooling helps unlock the RTX 4080 Super’s potential for buttery smooth 4K and raytracing without any thermal throttling getting in the way.
There are certainly cheaper ways available to upgrade graphics card cooling with options like AIO liquid coolers or bracket kits. But for enthusiasts chasing every last bit of performance, the premium Noctua mod proves its value. Some may even consider this level of cooling a necessity to tap into the true power lurking within NVIDIA’s flagship Ada Lovelace GPUs.
While the GeForce RTX 4080 Super commands a premium price on its own, I’m happy to report that pairing it with Noctua’s latest cooling technology makes it feel worthwhile. The sheer frame rates and visual fidelity achieved here set a new high water mark for high refresh rate 4K gaming with all the bells and whistles maxed out.
So for those building an uncompromising dream gaming rig, the RTX 4080 Super with Noctua fans tempts as one indulgence that I can easily justify. This first look certainly shows the promise of what’s achievable by combining the best-in-class graphics silicon with the Porsche of CPU coolers!