MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Vanguard SOC Launch Edition Overview
As I mentioned Vanguard is a new line from MSI and it is meant to be more aggressive. Taking a first look at the card we can see just that as the styling is definitely different from what we’ve seen on their SUPRIM line, which is more sleek and sophisticated. The main shroud of the card is a sort of metallic grey and it has carbon fiber elements added. When it comes to size this is a pretty large card, especially if we are comparing it to NVIDIA’s Founder’s Edition. The official dimensions of the card are 357 x 151 x 66 mm.
Built into the shroud we have our three cooling fans, which make up part of MSI’s HYPER FROZR thermal design. These fans are MSI’s STORMFORCE fans which feature seven claw textured blades designed to enhance air pressure while circular arc optimizes airflow. At the center of each fan is of course the MSI dragon logo.
Under the fans we find a very large heatsink, which does have multiple heatpipes. These heatpipes are MSI’s core pipes, which have a square-shaped contact area for maximum heat capture in conjunction with the vapor chamber. If we look at the main side of the card that will show once you have the card installed there is a GeForce RTX logo and a MSI dragon logo. The MSI dragon logo is acrylic and will light up with RGB lighting when you have the card powered on. Right at the center of the card (where the PCB ends) we have our 12VHPWR power connection.
Flipping the card over we have a full-coverage metal backplate which has a nice brushed aluminum look and features the MSI dragon logo in black as well as some carbon fiber bits. There are large cut-outs towards the end of card to allow for air to flow through. You’ll also notice a small cut-out that gives you access to the silent / gaming mode switch. This switch is for the fan profile only and the card will ship in silent mode.
On the end of the card you’ll find a smaller MSI dragon logo. This will light up with RGB lighting and is specifically made to be seen through front panel windows.
When it comes to connections on the card we have the standard three DisplayPort 2.1b and one HDMI 2.1b. You can also see that the card is slotted for 2-slot, but is essentially a 3-slot card, so keep that in mind.
