How Many Slots Is the 3080 Aorus Master?

If you’re a tech enthusiast or a gamer looking to upgrade your graphics card, you might be considering the 3080 Aorus Master. One of the most common questions that people have about this graphics card is how many slots it occupies. In this article, we’ll explore the answer to this question in detail.

First, let’s start with some background information. The 3080 Aorus Master is a high-end graphics card that was released by Gigabyte in September 2020. It’s based on the Nvidia Ampere architecture and features 10GB of GDDR6X memory, a boost clock speed of up to 1905MHz, and support for real-time ray tracing.

Now, let’s dive into the main question – how many slots does the 3080 Aorus Master occupy? The answer is two and a half slots.

To understand what this means, it’s important to know what a slot is. In computer hardware terms, a slot refers to the physical space on your motherboard where you can install an expansion card such as a graphics card or sound card. Most modern motherboards have PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) slots, which are used for connecting high-speed components like graphics cards.

The width of each PCIe slot determines how many expansion cards can be installed side-by-side. A standard PCIe slot has a width of about 17mm, while two-slot graphics cards typically measure around 40mm in width.

The 3080 Aorus Master is slightly wider than most two-slot graphics cards at around 49mm. This means that it occupies two and a half PCIe slots instead of just two.

So why does this matter? Well, if you’re planning to install the 3080 Aorus Master in your PC build, you need to make sure that you have enough space in your case and on your motherboard to accommodate it. Two and a half slot graphics cards require more vertical clearance than two-slot cards, so you need to choose a case that has enough room for it.

Additionally, if you’re planning to install other expansion cards such as sound cards or network interface cards, you need to ensure that you have enough PCIe slots available. The 3080 Aorus Master will occupy two and a half slots, so you should plan accordingly when choosing your other components.

In conclusion, the 3080 Aorus Master is a high-end graphics card that occupies two and a half PCIe slots. This means that it requires more vertical clearance than standard two-slot graphics cards, so you need to choose a case and motherboard that can accommodate it. However, if you have enough space in your build and are looking for top-of-the-line performance, the 3080 Aorus Master is definitely worth considering.