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MSI 1080 TI Duke Unboxing & Review

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Today we get to unbox and review and new MSI 1080 Ti Duke. MSI released another version of 1080 TI Graphics Card recently under the brand name Duke. The new graphics card boasts 352-bit memory interface with a core base clock of 1480MHz, boost clock of 1582MHz, and 11GB of GDDR5X memory at 11016MHz. Today we’re going to do an unboxing of the MSI Duke 1080Ti, review the specs, and also do some real world benchmarking with it to see how it ranks amongst other 1080TI graphics card.

First, we want to make it clear that this isn’t MSI’s first 1080Ti graphics card, they have an entire lineup of them. You may be more familiar with the MSI Gaming X which features dual fan, a shorter profile, and has MSI’s signature red on the casing. We did an overview on the MSI Gaming X previously, you can check it out here.

Unboxing the MSi Duke 1080Ti

The MSI Duke ships in a beautiful carbon fiber skinned box with the essential letterings on the front side. The backside is more feature heavy and goes into details with all the offering you’re getting for a $750 graphics card.

One very nice and small touch that MSI added are the tabs to pull out the entire inside. Usually you’d have to do a little bit of wiggling to get everything out without ripping the box apart. Thanks to these little thumb tabs, you can pull the entire inside box easily.

Upon pulling everything out, we’re greeted with MSI’s subtle logo printed on the matted cardboard box. The top is a thin cardboard box containing the essential manual, some marketing materails, a 6 to 8 pin power adepter (if you’re using an older power supply, this is a nice little bonus), and the vestigial installation CD. If you’re building a gaming machine and throwing down $750+ on a graphics card, something tells me you’re not installing a CD drive. Not sure why manufacturers still include these in the higher end graphics card. For lower end cards it makes more sense.

 

The graphics card itself is encased snuggly inside the foam cushion wrapped in anti-static bag. Opening the wrap reveals a the magnificent looking MSI 1080 TI Duke. It’s construction is mostly hard plastic with carbon fiber print tastefully decorated on the face. Make sure you remove the plastic stickers on the fan plates before installing into your machine. The backplate is solid metal and features MSI’s logo and some more carbon fiber streaks for aesthetics.

 

Cooling

The graphics card features MSI’s proprietary Tri-Frozr fans. MSI claims the TORX fans have a combined of 2 different blade designs infused into one fan to give superior cooling capabilities. The unique about this card is that the fans actually stop spinning when temperatures are below 60C and only starts when temperatures are above 60C.  Keeping the graphics card cool is a cornerstone of design and one many third party manufacturers focus on optimizing.

In addition to the fans, MSI also put a massive 8MM heatpipes that also helps dissipate heat during intense operation. The heatpipes also connect to a reinforced metal plate that acts as an additional heatsink and also prevent flexing due to the size of the graphics card.

The MSI Duke is also noticeable larger than the MSI X gaming therefore flexing may be an issue. Take a look at the picture below and you’ll noticed there’s 2 layers of reinforced plating sandwiching the circuitboard to provide both optimal heat dissipation and also anti-flexing. The anti-flexing held true as we did try to bend the graphics card and to no avail.

The Ports

The MSI 1080 TI Duke comes with your standard DVI port for those with older monitors. It has 2 HDMI 2.0 that can support 4K at 60Hz. You also get 2 1.4 Display ports that can support 4K at 120Hz or 8K at 60Hz (currently we don’t have any 8K displays yet, but in the future when we do, you’ll have a graphics card that can take advantage of it). This is the perfect configuration if you’re planning to setup your machine for VR.

For power, this graphics card (like all 1080 TI really) requires two 8-pin PCI Express power connectors that’s rated at 250 Watts. If your power supply doesn’t support 8-pin PCI, MSI graciously included an adapter for your 6-pin.

 

RGB Lighting

MSI promised that this is an RGB model meaning there will be configurable lights. The back plate looks nice and clean featuring MSI logo in all white and carbon fiber streaks, however it doesn’t light up. We don’t mind this, as when installed, the backplate is hardly visible anyway.

 

On the side, the MSI DUKE logo does light up and can be configured. The Geforce GTX doesn’t light up, probably not a bad thing for us because our poor wiring covers it anyway. Overall, the lighting aspect of the MSI 1080 TI Duke is disappointing as only the DUKE logo lights up.

Benchmark

Now it’s time to put the card to test. We decided to test single-player games instead of going online to really test the graphics card capabilities. Online games have the added layer of internet connection that could mislead our results.

For testing, we installed the MSI 1080 TI Duke into our rig. Below are the specs for our rig.

 

Owner’s Magazine’s Custom Rig

Case Dark Base 900 Pro (Premium case, bit expensive but definitely worth every penny. Check out our first look HERE)

Power SupplyDark Power Pro 11 850W 

CPU – Intel 7700K Kaby Lake

CPU Cooler – Dark Rock 3 

Motherboard – MSI Z270 Carbon Gaming Pro

RAM – 32GB DDR4 G.Skill Ripjaws 32

Graphics Card – MSI 1080 TI Duke

Monitor of Choice

We chose Pixio’s new 347c Prime monitor to review most of the higher end graphics card. Pixio’s 347c Prime is a $600 34″ monitor with aspect ratio of 21:9 giving us ultra-wide 1440p viewing with up to 5MM pixels. This is considerably more challenging output than traditional 1080P monitors, however not quite as demanding as 4K monitors. We enjoy the sweet spot in the middle and also enjoy the extra wide dimension of the Pixio 347c Prime. Review for the Pixio 347c Prime is coming soon.

Pixio 347c Prime

 

Keyboard

For this review, we decided to use Das Keyboard 4 Professional keyboard. It’s a professional grade german-made keyboard that’s used by many pros in E-Sport. Review for Das Keyboard 4 Professional coming soon.

 

Disclaimer: Owner’s Magazine wasn’t paid by either MSI, Be Quiet! or Pixio to promote products. All of the parts in our PC were chosen due to their respected quality and value determined by our engineers. We used quite a bit of Be Quiet!’s products due to their products generally being whispers even during heavy operation. And we chose Pixio’s monitor due to it’s value and desirable pixel density for testing high end graphics card. 

Witcher 3

Max FPS: 100

Low FPS: 92

Avg Temperature: 66C

The witcher 3

Battlefield 1

Max FPS: 100

Low FPS: 77

Avg Temperature: 71C

Battlefield 1 high end graphics card 1080 ti test

Doom

Max FPS: 100

Low FPS: 74

Avg Temperature: 68C

Doom PC gaming test

Dishonored 2

Surprisingly dropped below 60FPS during intense fight scenes.

Max FPS: 100

Low FPS: 55

Avg Temperature: 64C

Dishonored 2 1080 ti test

 

Call of Duty Infinity Warfare

Max FPS: 80

Low FPS: 52

Average Temperature: 79C

Call of Duty infinity warfare 1080ti test

Tital Fall 2

Max FPS: 100

Low FPS: 66

Avg Temperature: 72C

Tltan fall 2 1080 ti test

 

MSI 1080 Ti Duke Verdict

After testing the MSI 1080 TI Duke for several hours the card never got over 77C, and fan speed was silent for the most part. The unit handle most games on the list without a hitch. However that’s not surprisingly since 1080 TI typically are made to handle higher end games. Cooling was not an issue with the triple Frozr fans silently doing their job. Frame-rate was capped at 100 for our testing, and most games remained at 100 FPS even during intense fight sequences. The only game that gave us any issue was Call of Duty: Infinity Warfare. The graphics card could only output 80FPS maxed and even dipped below 60FPS during a few sequences. All of this was on a 34″ 1440P ultra-side Pixio 347c Prime monitor, not a 4K monitor.

When you’re shopping for 1080 TI, whether you’re looking at Asus, PNY, EVGA, or MSI they’re all relatively great performing cards. What separates them are the options, features, and bonuses that they come with. At the time of writing, the MSI 1080 TI DUKE is priced at $750 shipped on Amazon and that’s quite a steal given everything you get with it. It’s a solid performing card that comes with all essential ports for VR, has phenomenal cooling, rigid construction with additional heat plates (why the cooling was so good), slim profile (much thinner than the Asus Strix 1080 ti) making it easy to have SLI configuration, and it runs at no louder than a quiet whisper. The only drawback is the lackluster RGB lighting which they may as well not have done at all. Other than that, we put the MSI 1080 TI Duke right up there with all the other big boys.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. John

    July 3, 2018 at 4:36 am

    You really should be exhausting your tower cooler to the rear. It might cover your 1st ram slot but you wouldn’t be choking your cpu on hot air…

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Business

What’s the Best Graphic Design Service for Tech Companies?

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TLDR: For most tech companies, Penji is the best graphic design subscription service. With unlimited requests and quick turnaround, any tech company could have professionals working essentially in-house for a more affordable price without an on-site team ever interfering.

A tech firm needs a redesign of their website – and quick! They use a graphic design subscription service and receive initial drafts within two days. The fully new site within two weeks impresses their investors. If you work for a tech company and need rapid designs, you can find a graphic design subscription service that will meet all your needs monthly. We’ve found the best options for you.

#1 Penji

Penji: Best Graphic Design Service for Tech Companies

Penji is an unlimited graphic design subscription that acts as your design department on demand. For flat monthly fees, you’ll receive a wide variety of design projects.

Pros:

  • Unlimited requests and revisions: No need to pay more or slow down after a certain amount of requests – website designs, app UI, social media graphics, there are no limits.
  • 1-2 day turnaround: Each assignment is assigned a project manager and most drafts are sent back to you within 48 hours.
  • Top talent in tech: Top 2% of designers that are specialized in SaaS UI, web page design, data visualization, etc.
  • Vast array of designs. Logos, landing pages, infographics, email creatives, ad banners, etc.

Cons:

  • As it’s a monthly subscription, it’s not good for one-off projects.
  • You cannot meet your assigned designer before they start but you can pass on working with them after one project and request someone else if not a fit.

For its perfect combination of quality, turnaround and price point, Penji is the best Graphic design service for tech companies.

#2 Designity

Designity is another strong subscription service. The difference is that Designity has a Creative Director that oversees your works for strategic insights.

Pros:

  • Creative Director oversight: A real human oversees all sent back work for quality review and strategic brand level insights for brand consistency.
  • Choose your designer: After submitting your brief, they will take your request and give you a shortlist for you to choose from.
  • Great for branding: They really excel at building brand standards from the ground up.

Cons:

  • Turnaround time may be slower than with Penji due to the additional layer of oversight.
  • Higher pricing usually.

#3 Superside

Superside: Best Graphic Design Service for Tech Companies

Superside is amazing because it’s made for enterprise companies. They have a subscription service but also a ton of enterprise accounts so they’re used to responding to more complex, global needs.

Pros:

  • Dedicated team approach: Over time, you will work with the same team who understands your brand very well.
  • Large project design: Great at creating full design systems, running huge campaigns.
  • Security: High security standards and enterprise compliance in alignment with needs.

Cons:

  • Most expensive option; ticket starting price is high.
  • Not as agile for smaller asks; better for large-scale planned projects.

#4 ManyPixels

Manypixels: Best Graphic Design Service for Tech Companies

ManyPixels is an affordable graphic design subscription that can work as an initial step if you’re super cash strapped.

Pros:

  • Price: One of the cheapest graphic design subscriptions out there.
  • Simple to use: Easy to submit basic requests.
  • Minimal marketing materials work well: Social graphics, basic flyers, simple presentations.

Cons:

  • Quality and expertise provided are inconsistent; not ideal for complicated tech UI/UX offerings.
  • ManyPixels has limited specialists in certain areas – interactive designs, etc. – but not specialized feedback.

Credit for cover image: Tranmautritam on pexels

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What’s the Best Graphic Design Service for Healthcare Brands?

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nurse typing on a computer

TL;DR: Penji is the best graphic design service for healthcare brands because it understands medical compliance requirements, delivers designs in 24 to 48 hours, and offers unlimited revisions. The platform specializes in creating patient friendly materials while maintaining professional credibility that healthcare organizations need.

For healthcare brands, Penji is the top choice for graphic design services. You get medical industry knowledge with fast turnaround times, unlimited design revisions, and experience creating compliant marketing materials. Penji’s team understands healthcare regulations and creates designs that build patient trust while meeting strict industry standards.

Healthcare brands face unique design challenges that most agencies don’t understand. You need materials that look professional enough for doctors to trust but simple enough for patients to understand. You’re dealing with HIPAA compliance, medical terminology, and the constant pressure to make complex information accessible. Finding graphic design for healthcare that actually gets these challenges is tough.

Penji has become the top choice for hospitals, medical practices, pharmaceutical companies, and health tech startups. The designers understand what works in healthcare and what doesn’t. They know that stock photos of people in lab coats aren’t enough anymore. Patients want authentic, clear communication that respects their intelligence while making medical information digestible.

Why Healthcare Brands Choose Penji

medical professional using a computer

They Understand Medical Compliance

Most design agencies freeze when you mention HIPAA or FDA regulations. Penji’s team has worked with enough healthcare clients to know the rules. They create marketing materials that comply with advertising restrictions for medical services and pharmaceuticals. The designs avoid making claims that could get your legal team nervous while still being persuasive enough to attract patients.

Fast Enough for Healthcare’s Pace

When you’re launching a new telehealth service or responding to a public health situation, you can’t wait three weeks for a designer. Penji delivers in 24 to 48 hours. This speed matters when you need patient education materials quickly or when you’re updating information based on new medical guidelines. Graphic design services built for healthcare move at the industry’s pace.

Unlimited Revisions for Perfect Patient Communication

Getting medical information right takes multiple rounds of feedback. Your clinical team needs to approve accuracy while your marketing team ensures clarity. Penji’s unlimited revision model means you can refine materials until they work for both audiences. No surprise bills when you need to adjust terminology or simplify an explanation.

Creating Trust Through Design

Patients choose healthcare providers based on trust. Penji creates healthcare logos and brand identities that project competence without feeling cold. The designs balance professionalism with approachability. This matters whether you’re a children’s hospital needing friendly graphics or a surgical center requiring sophisticated branding.

Complete Design Support

Healthcare organizations need everything from appointment cards to website graphics to educational brochures. Penji handles it all under one subscription. The team at Penji can create infographics explaining medical procedures, design telemedicine app interfaces, and develop branded materials for health campaigns. Check out their portfolio to see examples of healthcare design work.

Budget Predictability for Healthcare Organizations

Hospital administrators and practice managers appreciate predictable costs. Penji’s flat monthly rate covers unlimited design requests. Whether you need two designs or twenty, the price stays the same. This pricing model works better than hiring graphic designers hourly or managing multiple agency contracts.

Design as a Service for Ongoing Needs

Healthcare marketing isn’t a one time project. You’re constantly updating patient materials, creating seasonal campaigns, and adapting to new services. Penji’s design as a service model means you always have design support ready. Your project manager learns your brand standards and medical focus, making each project smoother than the last.

Conclusion

For healthcare organizations serious about professional design, Penji solves the biggest pain points. Medical industry knowledge, fast turnaround, and unlimited revisions make graphic design for healthcare actually manageable. Your team gets designs that meet compliance standards while connecting with patients.

Get Healthcare Design That Works

Stop settling for generic design agencies that don’t understand medical marketing. Start with Penji and get your first healthcare design within 24 hours. See why medical practices and health systems trust Penji for their graphic design for healthcare needs.

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Technology

10 Best Photo Editing Apps for Personal and Business Use in 2026

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photo editing apps

Are you looking to improve your photos? Whether you’re a business owner or simply a photography enthusiast, this list of the best photo editing apps will help you create stunning images with its exciting features and capabilities.

These apps have advanced capabilities that let you adjust specific elements of your photos and add effects beyond simple filters. They also have other nifty features, such as face recognition and auto-image correcting. With these photo-editing apps, you can take your picture game to the next level – no matter what kind of photo you have. You can edit professional images or the selfies you snap on your phone daily. Look no further for some of the best photo editing apps to give your photos that special touch.

1. Collage Maker

Collage Maker screenshot

First on our list of photo editing apps is Collage Maker. This is one of those free photo editing apps built to allow the user to create a collage. It features hundreds of layouts, so you’ll have a wide array of choices for your project. In addition, you can also choose from a selection of exciting backgrounds and add text if you want.

It also offers basic photo editing tools, making it a photo editor and collage maker in one.

2. Visage Lab

Visage Lab screenshot

If you need an editor that will make you look like you got eight hours of sleep after an all-nighter, download Visage Lab. This photo editor allows the user to retouch photos, including reducing oiliness, whitening teeth, smoothening skin, and many more. It’s an excellent app if you want to spruce up your selfies.

3. Picsart

Picsart screenshot

Picsart offers reliable tools that allow users to create collages, change backgrounds, and many more. It also features hundreds of stylized filters, so you can find something to fit the look and mood you’re going for. Perhaps one of the best features of this app is it allows you to remove objects from the background, ridding your photo of any unwanted distractions.

4. Canva

Canva screenshot

Canva is surely one of the best photo editing apps today. You can use this app to edit your photos using basic editing features. In addition, you can also use filters and vignettes to easily manipulate your image before you upload it on social media.

The best thing about this app is that it’s not just for photos. Because you can also use it for creating posters and other images, it’s an all-in-one app for your graphic design needs.

5. Bazaart

Bazaart screenshot

Bazaart offers unique effects and excellent design elements, allowing you to create artsy photos. You can use the app’s features to create images ranging from montages to surreal works of art. You can also use it to put text and other graphics on your photo.

6. Foodie

Foodie screenshot

Do you like taking photos of your meals? If so, download Foodie. This is one of those photo editing apps free of charge, specially designed to create mouth-watering food photos. Now, a photo editing app designed specifically for food may sound weird. But try out their 30 filters on that coffee snap you have, and you’ll understand. 

7. Focos

Focos screenshot

If you want your photos to look like they’ve been shot using a professional camera, try using Focos. This app mimics the look of fast lenses in DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, making pictures look sophisticated. For instance, you can edit a photo by selecting various aperture diaphragms, thus giving it a layer of directional lighting or bokeh effects. Users can also simulate lenses, ranging from reflex to swirly.

8. VSCO

VSCO screenshot

VSCO is one photo editing app that offers camera and editing tools, plus an online community. One thing that keeps users on this app is the awesome classic filters that make pictures appear as if they’ve been taken using a film camera. These filters are great to use if you want to make your photos look interesting without utilizing overused Instagram filters.

Aside from the filters, this app has basic editing tools, including cropping, vignettes, and contrast adjustment.

9. Snapseed App

Snapseed screenshot

Also included in our list of photo editor app download options is Snapseed. This option has awesome features, making it powerful enough to compete with desktop photo editors. For instance, this app can create your own filters from scratch. It also offers classic tools, such as frames, straightening, cropping, and many more.

But if there’s one thing that makes this app stand out, it’s the precision masking, allowing users to modify the depth of field by blurring the background to focus on the foreground. It’s undoubtedly one way to make your photos look more professional.

10. Prisma Photo Editor

Prisma Photo Editor screenshot

If you’re looking for an app that can turn your photos into artwork, check out Prisma Photo Editor. Available on Android and iOS, this app can transform images into drawings and paintings not far from the masterpieces of Dali, Picasso, and Munch. This app has over 500 creative filters, giving users a vast selection of options. 

Tips for Choosing a Photo Editing App

Just like collaboration tools, it’s crucial to select a photo editing app that works for your needs. Now that you know what to look for in a photo editing app, you can start searching for the right one. Here are some tips for choosing the right one for you: 

Compatibility

First, you’ll want to confirm that the app you’re interested in is compatible with your device. You’ll want to ensure that it’s compatible with Android and iOS devices. Remember, not all apps are available in both operating systems.

Ease of Use

You’ll also want to find an app that’s easy to use. You want to spend less time figuring out how to use the app. Choose an option with a user-friendly interface and good editing tools without being too complicated.

Features

Of course, you’ll want to find an app with the features you need. The first step is to determine what you’ll use it for. Would you mainly use the app for your Instagram food account, or would you need it to glamorize your selfies? Would you use the app to edit product photos for your business? Knowing what you need from the get-go will allow you to choose the right app that will cater to your needs. 

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