We finally have it for review: The EVGA RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra is the company's most high-end GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card. It is built on a revamped PCB with 16-phase power for the GPU and three phases for the memory. The thermal solution has been greatly improved, too, now using three slots with three fans. Unlike many other custom RTX 2080 Ti designs, which run the same 260 W default power limit as the Founders Edition, EVGA has bumped the stock limit up to 300 W, and the manual adjustment range goes to 373 W—higher than any other RTX 2080 Ti we've reviewed.

Out of the box, the card runs at a boost clock of 1755 MHz, which turns into 1976 MHz actual average clock during our test suite, which is the highest of all the 2080 Tis we tested so far. Overall, this clock increase yields a 3% performance advantage for the FTW3 over the Founders Edition—not a lot. Compared to the RTX 2080, the performance increase is 31%; it's also 61% faster than the RTX 2070 and almost twice as fast as AMD's RX Vega 64. With those numbers, the RTX 2080 Ti is the best choice for gamers looking for playable frame rates at 4K resolution, or people wanting to drive their high-refresh-rate monitors at lower resolutions.

EVGA's massive cooler does a great job at keeping the card cool, reaching temperatures lower than any other RTX 2080 Ti we've tested. While that is certainly a great achievement, the gaming noise levels are disappointing: slightly higher than the Founders Edition—other custom designs do better here.

The EVGA FTW3 does include a dual BIOS feature, which comes with a "normal" and an "OC" BIOS. Unfortunately, the differences between both BIOSes are pretty much negligible. Both run the same default power limit of 300 W and have the same maximum power limit of 373 W (which is great). Clocks are identical on both BIOSes, too. The only difference is that the "OC" BIOS has a more aggressive fan curve than the "normal" BIOS, but the differences are small. Where the "normal" BIOS gets you 64°C with 38 dBA during gaming, the "OC" BIOS reaches 62°C with 40 dBA; the temperature difference is too small to matter, especially given the noise increase, which is subject to diminishing returns. EVGA did mention that they're working on adding predefined fan profiles to EVGA Precision PX1 for users who like lower fan noise, but I think most people would prefer a software-free solution.

A better implementation of the dual BIOS feature would have been something like ASUS did: one BIOS which is ultra quiet but runs higher temperatures, possibly with a slightly lower power limit, and the OC BIOS with a higher power limit, more noise, but lower temperatures. This would ensure the product appeals to both the low-noise and enthusiast crowd at the same time. I do have to commend EVGA for including the highly popular idle fan-stop feature on both BIOSes (unlike ASUS, which has that capability only on the "quiet" BIOS).

EVGA's card also ticks most of the other aftermarket feature boxes. Besides dual BIOS, the card also includes a fan header to which you can connect one of your case fans (or several through a splitter). These will now match the fan speed of your graphics card—an easy way to reduce noise levels while your rig is idle and with sufficient cooling capability during gaming. Adjustable RGB lighting is included on the FTW3 too, of course. EVGA went even further and placed a 4-pin connector on their card, which lets you connect additional RGB-capable equipment that will have its color synced with that of the graphics card. If you love customization but are scared of breaking something, then EVGA's "trim kit" or "shield kit" for the FTW3 could be of interest to you. They let you change the style of the card quickly and easily without much modding knowledge.

A useful feature for enthusiasts are the nine additional EVGA iCX sensors, which are placed at strategic locations throughout the PCB to provide additional insight into thermals, beyond what you can get with just the GPU temperature sensor on other cards. The FTW3 comes with three memory temperature sensors and five VRM temperature sensors that can be read through EVGA's Precision X1 software.

EVGA is asking $1,350 for their FTW3 Ultra, which is a lot of money. It's a $150 price increase over the Founders Edition: +13%. Since performance is barely a few percent higher, just looking at FPS numbers will make it hard to justify the extra cost. EVGA did increase the number of GPU VRM phases and added several quality-of-life features, which we mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Overclocking potential on our sample wasn't vastly different than on other custom-design RTX 2080 Ti cards or the Founders Edition, but the added power headroom, paired with the powerful cooler, can definitely make a difference. If you are a tweaker who's looking to claim records and squeeze the last bit of performance out of your graphics card, then the EVGA RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra should definitely be on your list.