AERO/ARMOR: budget-oriented high-end models

Today MSI unveiled its new AERO and ARMOR series based on Pascal GP102 graphics processor.

You are probably wondering, is it even possible to call these cards budget-oriented? Well, they will be one of the cheapest 1080 Ti around, but they are not cheap..

MSI GTX 1080 TI AERO

AERO is MSI’s new “virtual” GTX 1080 Ti. This card has reference-based PCB with the same display configuration as Founders Edition. The new AERO is slightly different from GTX 1080/1070 series. The black & white design was replaced with black & green. It may be harder to match most builds with this color, but it shouldn’t really be a deal breaker. As always, there are two models, but only one is factory-overclocked to 1506/1620 MHz.

MSI GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AERO Specs provided by VideoCardz.NET Database GPU : GP102-350 Base Clock : 1480 MHz Cores : 3584 Boost Clock : 1582 MHz TMUs : 224 Memory Clock : 11 Gbps ROPs : 88 Memory : 11 GB GDDR5X 352b

MSI GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AERO OC Specs provided by VideoCardz.NET Database GPU : GP102-350 Base Clock : 1506 MHz (+1.8%) Cores : 3584 Boost Clock : 1620 MHz (+2.4%) TMUs : 224 Memory Clock : 11 Gbps ROPs : 88 Memory : 11 GB GDDR5X 352b

MSI GTX 1080 TI ARMOR

Now let’s move on to ARMOR series. We have two models as well. The non-OC is clocked at reference speed, whereas the ARMOR OC has 1531/1645 MHz clocks, so just slightly under GAMING X. Speaking of GAMING X, ARMOR ships with the exact same PCB. The difference is basically the cooler which lacks all those fancy LEDs, but still features Zero Frozr technology. It’s also worth noting that model has custom display configuration: 2x DP, 2x HDMI, 1x DVID, and also be aware that ARMOR series lack backplates.

MSI GTX 1080 Ti 11GB ARMOR Specs provided by VideoCardz.NET Database GPU : GP102-350 Base Clock : 1480 MHz Cores : 3584 Boost Clock : 1582 MHz TMUs : 224 Memory Clock : 11 Gbps ROPs : 88 Memory : 11 GB GDDR5X 352b

MSI GTX 1080 Ti 11GB ARMOR OC Specs provided by VideoCardz.NET Database GPU : GP102-350 Base Clock : 1531 MHz (+3.4%) Cores : 3584 Boost Clock : 1645 MHz (+4.0%) TMUs : 224 Memory Clock : 11 Gbps ROPs : 88 Memory : 11 GB GDDR5X 352b

MSI GTX 1080 TI GAMING

Since we mentioned GAMING X, MSI also unveiled its non-X model. In OC-Mode this card is ~20 MHz faster than the reference card. The GAMING series are currently top of the line in MSI’s lineup. Later on we will be seeing Sea Hawk, Sea Hawk EK, GAMING Z and in a couple of months.. the Lightning.

MSI GTX 1080 Ti 11GB GAMING Specs provided by VideoCardz.NET Database GPU : GP102-350 Base Clock : 1506 MHz (+1.8%) Cores : 3584 Boost Clock : 1620 MHz (+2.4%) TMUs : 224 Memory Clock : 11 Gbps (+0.1%) ROPs : 88 Memory : 11 GB GDDR5X 352b

MSI GTX 1080 Ti 11GB GAMING X Specs provided by VideoCardz.NET Database GPU : GP102-350 Base Clock : 1569 MHz (+6.0%) Cores : 3584 Boost Clock : 1683 MHz (+6.4%) TMUs : 224 Memory Clock : 11.1 Gbps (+1.0%) ROPs : 88 Memory : 11 GB GDDR5X 352b