Without waiting for any communication from NVIDIA, MSI presented its new Gaming Slim graphics cards, with a guaranteed slimming effect!
On October 12, NVIDIA launched its latest range of graphics cards, the famous Ada Lovelace, whose high level of performance we've been able to verify. This is particularly true of the GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080, the two largest models in the new range. Mind you, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and GeForce RTX 4070 duo aren't bad either, and even the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti still has some good points to make. So, alongside the raw performance of GPUs that are even more complex than those of the previous generation, Ada Lovelace cards benefit from new display techniques such as DLSS3, which allows much more systematic use of ray tracing and path tracing.
The problem is that such an increase in power does not come without a downside. There is, of course, the question of the price of these cards, and while we're still a long way from the insane prices seen during the "great shortage" at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic, a GeForce RTX 4000 remains a heavy investment for many gamers. Another problem is that, although the cards are more energy-efficient, this is not enough, and overheating is greater than on the previous generation. To avoid any risk of failure, NVIDIA and its partners have been forced to produce very bulky cards... at least initially.
At the IFA 2023 trade show in Berlin, Germany, MSI promoted its new GeForce RTX 4000 range, but while NVIDIA didn't announce any new graphics processors, the eleven graphics cards in the MSI Gaming Slim range are designed to optimize thermal performance. A name that leaves little room for doubt: MSI has essentially worked on the thickness of its cards so that they no longer necessarily occupy 3 or even 4 PCI Express slots in the PC that will house them. MSI specifies that its range " offers thinner, lighter models that guarantee greater flexibility for the user in terms of assembly, while promising high performance ".
MSI uses a more compact cooling system on its new boards, optimized to dissipate the heat induced by the GPU. This is the TRI FROZR 3.0 system, comprising three TORX 5.0 fans, for which the company specifies that the " blades are grouped in threes and connected at the top ". The structure of the heat sink on these GeForce Gaming Slims is characterized by a " nickel-plated copper base plate and eight heat pipes (depending on model) located at the heart of the heat sink ". All in all, even on the most powerful models, the Gaming Slim cards occupy a maximum of 2.5 PCI Express slots, which leaves a little more leeway for configuration, but also, and above all, for mounting the PC. Unfortunately, MSI has not yet given a launch date for these cards, and we don't even know their price.
