First up we have the bundled accessories which consist of the following:
• Quick Start Guide
• Warranty Reg.
• Anti-sag bracket
• A 16-pin to triple 8-pin power adapter
• Metal case badge
MASTER’s physical design is aesthetically very pleasing and opts for a black/grey theme. This card uses a triple fan configuration which is the next iteration of WINDFORCE. Three 110mm fans sit over a large vapour chamber heatsink which uses 12 composite copper heatpipes. As usual, these fans make use of 3D active fan, meaning the fans will stop spinning when the graphics card is idle and not under load, the middle fan spins clockwise, while the other two spin anti-clockwise. AORUS has given each fan an LED which, when the blades spin, creates an impressive ring effect. The light can of course be modified using GIGABYTE CONTROL CENTER.
While the shroud is plastic, this card does still weigh significantly heavier than other cards we’ve previously reviewed. MASTER’s size should not be underestimated either at a gigantic: 357 x 163 x 75 mm. Case dimensions will almost certainly need to be looked at prior to purchase.
The backside of MASTER features a metal backplate which is likely the aspect which contributes to the hefty weight (as well as the huge heatsink underneath). This has a large cut-out which allows airflow to pass thorugh from the cooling fan on the other side. The backside also features a dual-BIOS switch, allowing users to flick to a silent mode, where the fan curve is less aggressive.
As seen on other 4080s and 4090s, this card features the 12-pin PCI Express and since PSUs lack a 12-pin PCIe 5.0 connector, AORUS has included a 12-pin to triple 8-pin. As such it is necessary to have an 850W power supply and no less. On this edge of the card we have the “LCD Edge View” which can display critical GPU info but also can be customised within the software to feature your own text, pictures or GIF.
On the rear IO panel there are a total of four video outputs – 3x DisplayPort 1.4 and 1x HDMI 2.1. From this angle we can clearly see that 75mm of height – making this card stray into four PCI Express slots; something to consider.
Out of the box, MASTER comes with a factory overclock which sees the GPU clock boost elevate from 2505MHz to 2550MHz. Memory sits at the reference settings of 1400MHz or 22.5GBps. The factory overclock on this card is fairly conservative – other cards on the market reach 2640MHz. For the money, we would have liked to see more from AORUS.
