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MSI packages the GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus well and the box clearly communicates the faster memory configuration of this product. Other key features that are highlighted are the customisable RGB lighting, MSI's latest TwinFrozr cooler and the MSI Gaming App, although we imagine most power users will still prefer MSI Afterburner.
However, it is worth noting the MSI Gaming App is required to control the LED functions – see our overview of MSI's Gaming App here.
The bundle with this graphics card is primarily documentation but there's also a driver/utility disc and some stickers for decorating a PC case.
The MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus, like the Gaming X, is a well designed and appealing graphics card. The TwinFrozr Gaming-Series design has proven popular for multiple generations and it isn't hard to understand why. It's a sensible dual slot and dual fan graphics card with a high quality backplate and stylish appearance.
The only possible criticism is that the red highlights means it isn't colour neutral to suit the widest range of system builds, but that is being pedantic. The RGB gives the end user enough customisation options and the red isn't overpowering by any means.
Both fans fitted to the GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus are 100mm fans which use double ball bearings and MSI's Torx 2.0 design. They shift a significant amount of air and result in a very quiet graphics card, with a semi-passive mode when the GPU temperature is below 60 degrees Celsius.
Power is drawn in through a 6 pin and an 8 pin, fitted at the end of the graphics card which measures 28.5cm in length (including the I/O, 27.5cm without). The height is 15.5cm with the rear I/O, 14.5cm without.
The MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus weights in at 1100g, 1.1kg, and has five display outputs. There's three Display Port, one HDMI 2.0 and a dual-link DVI-D.
Under the skin MSI used a wealth of high quality components with heatsinks and thermal pads for all the major components. It's an 8-phase design with 4 MOSFETs per phase, the design is high-quality and is over-engineered for typical usage scenarios so that efficiency remains high.
The heatsink is hefty with five 6mm heat pipes and a single large 8mm heat pipe. These all feed into a nickel-plated copper base plate and a large aluminium heatsink array.
The backplate is electrically-insulated from the PCB with some hard plastic film secured with a strong adhesive. However, it is still possible for heat to be transferred from the PCB to the backplate to aid heat dissipation.
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