The metal backplate is more for show than performance, as it touches nothing of genuine note on the rear of the PCB. Unlike most competitors, the PCB extends the entire length of the card – others leave a large section bare on the left-hand side for through-the-board cooling – but we see no downside to this as the upper heatsink is, as you will see, capable of dealing with the higher wattage produced by the RTX 3080.
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