Home Technology NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 – Graphics Card Review

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 – Graphics Card Review

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RTX 3070

I was most enthused about the RTX 3070 out of the three GeForce 30 series cards that NVIDIA released back in September. The RTX 3070 is only $499, thus that was the primary factor. More gamers end up owning cheaper graphics cards, yet NVIDIA claims the RTX 3070 offers greater performance than a $1200 RTX 2080 Ti! There is cause for excitement about that! As a result, more gamers will be able to take advantage of better resolutions, quicker frame rates, and, of course, real-time ray tracing.

The RTX 3070 has 5888 CUDA cores, 184 Tensor cores, 46 RT cores, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs and is built on NVIDIA’s GA104 silicon. The card’s base frequency is 1500 MHz, while its boost clock may reach 1725 MHz. On a 256-bit memory bus, the 8GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz (effectively). Today, which is a first for me, we are examining NVIDIA’s own Founders Edition model of the card. When compared to an aftermarket card, NVIDIA’s offering should be fascinating.

Specifications

  • NVIDIA CUDA Cores: 5888
  • Boost Clock (GHz): 1.73
  • Base Clock (GHz): 1.50
  • Memory Specs: 8 GB GDDR6
  • Memory Interface Width: 256-bit
  • Maximum Digital Resolution: 7680×4320
  • Standard Display Connectors: HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
  • Multi-Monitor: 4
  • HDCP: 2.3
  • Dimensions: 242 mm x 112 mm (LxW)
  • Slot: 2-slot

NVIDIA RTX 3070 Overview

rtx 3070

When I first picked up the NVIDIA RTX 3070 it felt really solid, which is a good thing. Earlier this year when we first saw the designs of the new Founders Edition cards from NVIDIA I wasn’t sold on them, but seeing the card in person it is beautiful. The card mixes black, grey, and silver in a way that makes it look very elegant and you can tell by handling it that it is a high-quality product.

The RTX 3070 is a much smaller card than the RTX 3080 or RTX 3090. For those wondering the length of the card is 242 mm, which is slightly longer than NVIDIA’s own RTX 2070 Founders Edition.

The RTX 3070 does not have any light-up logos on it like the RTX 3080 or RTX 3090, instead, it just says “GEFORCE RTX” on the side of the card. In the center of the card, you’ll find the new 12-pin power connector. This connector was designed to provide more power in a smaller footprint than the typical PCI-Express power connectors we are used to using. The single 12-pin power adapter is capable of 300W of power (2 8-pin PCIe cables), since the RTX 3070 only requires 225W the adapter that NVIDIA includes only has a single 8-pin connection. That means you are getting 150W from the 12-pin and 75W from the PCI-Express slot. While I like the new 12-pin power connector its placement is a little odd as it sits right in the middle of the card. This means when you plug in the adapter it is always going to be visible and hard to make it look good inside your case.

Packaging

The RTX 30 series CAD package from NVIDIA is not particularly impressive. The package the card arrives in is a little bigger than the card itself. GeForce RTX 3070 is all that is written on the front of the box, along with a little NVIDIA logo. A description of the contents, the specifications, and the guarantee are listed on the back of the box.

Upon opening the box, the card is placed inside as though it were for display. This card seems like a high-quality item after being opened in the package. The RTX 3070 graphics card, a 12-pin to 8-pin power adapter, a quick start guide, and a support guide are all included in the box.

Pros:
– Performance close to or better than the RTX 2080 Ti
– Founders Edition has a sleek and quality design
– Price
– Perfect 1440p card and can handle 4K as well
– Smaller compact card
– Fans stop when idle

Cons:
– Availability
– Placement of the 12-pin power connector