ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC Review: Test | Specs

ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC Video Card Review: Test | Specs | Hashrate | CPU performance and other relevant information.

Contents hide

1 Specifications: Hashrate

2 ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC design

3 ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC Lighting

4 Testing ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC

5 Conclusion

5.1 Related posts:

Events in the IT market are increasingly reminiscent of an action-packed series. The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards were announced a few weeks ago, but these cards are still not easy to find on sale. If you try very hard, and fortune will be favorable to you, then you can have time to snatch RTX 3070 or even RTX 3080. However, the other day there was great news that DNS will soon receive a fresh batch of GeForce RTX 3070, so I decided to release ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC. The review will probably help you make the right choice.

Specifications: Hashrate

Graphics card name: ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC
Architecture: Ampere, 8 nm
GPU: NVIDIA GA104, 17.4 billion transistors, 392.5 mm ^ 2
CUDA cores: 5888
TMUs: 184
ROPs: 96
Ray Tracing Cores: 46
Tensor Cores: 184
Maximum Frequencies (indicated on the website): 1 905 MHz (Gaming mode); 1 935 MHz (Boost, OC mode)
Max. Frequency (measured in games): 1,965 MHz
Video Memory: GDDR6, 8 GB, 14 Gb / s, 256 Bit
Connection: PCIe 4.0 X16
Power connector: 2x 8-pin
Video outputs: 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 2x HDMI 2.1
Dimensions: 31.85 x 14.01 x 5.78cm
Estimated price: from 56,000 rubles (strongly depends on the store)

The new architecture of Ampere has already been researched with all possible care many times. Therefore, I will not repeat how Ampere surpassed Turing. And if someone wants to update their knowledge, I will leave a link to the RTX 3080 review , which tells about what the new architecture has brought. Let’s compare the RTX 3070 with its predecessor, the RTX 2070 and the older card, the RTX 3080.

	ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 Super	ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC	TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 OC
GPU	Turing, TU104, 12 nm	Ampere, GA104, 8 nm	Ampere, GA102, 8 nm
Crystal	545 mm ^ 2	392.5 mm ^ 2	628.4 mm ^ 2
Number of transistors	13.6 billion	17.4 billion	28.3 billion
CUDA kernels	2560	5888	8704
Texture Units (TMU)	160	184	272
ROP units	64	96	96
Tensor kernels	320	184	272
RT cores	40	46	68
Max. GPU frequencies	Gaming Mode – 1,815 MHz (Boost) OC Mode – 1,845 MHz (Boost)	Gaming Mode – 1905 MHz (Boost Clock) OC Mode – 1935 MHz (Boost Clock)	Gaming Mode – 1785 MHz (Boost Clock) OC Mode – 1815 MHz (Boost Clock)
Video memory	GDDR6 8GB 14Gbps 256bit	GDDR6 8GB 14Gbps 256bit	GDDR6X, 10 GB, 19 Gbps, 320 bit
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Food	2x 8-pin	2x 8-pin	2x 8-pin
Video outputs	2x DisplayPort 1.4 2x HDMI 2.0b1x USB-C	3x DisplayPort 1.4a 2x HDMI 2.1	3x DisplayPort 1.4a 2x HDMI 2.1
Dimensions (edit)	30.5 x 13.06 x 4.89 cm	31.85 x 14.01 x 5.78 cm	29.99 x 12.69 x 5.17 cm

The difference between the RTX 3070 and the RTX 3080 is palpable. At the heart of the senior video card is the flagship GPU NVIDIA GA102, which has almost two thousand more CUDA cores. It is quite natural that the RTX 3080 also had more texture units, RT cores and tensor cores. The number of rasterization units for two video cards is the same, 96 pieces. The second major difference between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 lies in the video memory. The RTX 3070 received 8 GB of GDDR6 video memory, while the RTX 3080 has a new standard, GDDR6X, with a volume of 10 GB, with an increased bandwidth of 5 Gb / s and a memory bus of 320 bits versus 256 bits for the RTX 3070.

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Now let’s take a look at a couple of RTX 2070 and RTX 3070. Here, the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC graphics card looks obviously in the best light. The number of CUDA cores it has more than doubled, to 5,888. Naturally, the RTX 3070 has increased the number of texture units, ROP units and tensor cores. In terms of the number of RT cores, the RTX 2070 already wins, however, this does not mean at all that in terms of ray tracing, the RTX 3070 will lose to the previous generation. In the new Ampere architecture, NVIDIA has seriously increased the performance of RT cores, so the RTX 3070 has fewer of them than the RTX 2070 – the quality compensates for the quantity.

ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC design

For a long time, the appearance of video cards has been determined by the cooling system, because it completely covers the printed circuit board, and no matter how unique the latter is, you will not be able to see this without removing the cooling system. Therefore, cooling systems began to determine the design of video adapters. Republic of Gamers decided to play on this, and judging by the appearance of the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC, they did not lose. The radiator casing is made of metal and complemented by silver inserts. By the way, the exact same CO is used in the ROG Strix RTX 3080.

The cooling system has changed not only externally. Axial-tech fans have been optimized to cope better with the airflow around the new radiator. The side fans now have eleven blades, while the central one has thirteen. Previously, each Axial-tech fan had 9 nine blades. Also, the side turntables have decreased the thickness of the outer limiter ring, while the central fan, on the contrary, the limiter ring has become thicker. Various upgrades of “Carlsons” were needed for the reason that the central fan now rotates in the opposite direction relative to the side turntables. This is necessary to reduce air turbulence and reduce noise. However, looking ahead, it should be said that the cooling system turned out to be quiet, and until the video core warms up above 55 degrees, the fans will not rotate.

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The design of the cooling system has changed, and its dimensions remain almost the same as the previous generation ROG Strix. The thickness of the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC is 5.78 centimeters, which corresponds to 2.9 slots. The length of the video card is 31.85 centimeters, so if you already have a video card of the ROG Strix RTX 2070 or 2060 level, then you will not have to think about changing the case. Also on the back panel of the video card, you can see a cutout in the casing of the cooling system. It is needed not only for blowing out hot air – there are two connectors for case fans on the PCB, which will be controlled by the video card.

The back of the ROG Strix 3070 is covered with a metal plate that has a hole for hot air to escape. Here, as usual, is the BIOS switch. You can choose one of two modes of operation: quiet or productive.

For powering the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC, two 8-pin connectors are available. Classic. There are three DisplayPort 1.4a and two HDMI 2.1 ports for connecting monitors. The mounting plate on which the video outputs are located is made of stainless steel.

ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC Lighting

The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC has one lighting zone that syncs with the motherboard and other ROG components using ASUS Aura Sync technology. The LEDs occupy the entire top of the housing. Together with the upper edge of the video card, the fan blades will be highlighted. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how the ROG Strix RTX 3070 is installed in the case: parallel or perpendicular to the motherboard. The backlight will not go unnoticed.

Testing ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC

Now let’s move on to the most important part of the review, testing. To assess the performance of the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC, tested in 3DMark (including the new benchmark dedicated to Raytracing) and in modern games. All tests were carried out at a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, and at the maximum graphics settings, set manually. Results compared to ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3080 OC.

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For testing, we used a test bench with an Intel Core i5-10600K processor, an ASUS ROG Maximus XII Formula motherboard, an AeroCool Cylon 3 ARGB processor cooler, two 8 GB RAM sticks, a 1 TB WD Blue SN550 NVMe drive. The stand was powered by an ASUS ROG Thor 850W power supply, the operating system was Windows 10 Pro 64 bit. The image was displayed on the ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q gaming monitor.

It is quite logical that in 3DMark the ROG Strix RTX 3070 OC will be slower than the flagship TUF Gaming RTX 3080 OC. The backlog is from 27% to 33%, depending on the test. Now let’s see how things are in games.

In games, the results are more descriptive. The RTX 3070 lagged behind the RTX 3080 by about 20% in most cases. Is this good or bad? If we talk only about the percentage of productivity, then undoubtedly yes. But you shouldn’t judge results by percentages alone. The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC can deliver the performance you need to get 60 FPS in most situations. The only exceptions are “heavy” games like Metro Exodus, a remaster of Crysis and RDR 2. But the RTX 3080’s performance in these games was not very high either. In addition, do not forget that the tests were carried out at a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. If you take a monitor with a Full HD matrix, then the FPS will be higher. But 4K is still not for the RTX 3070, whatever one may say. It will be possible to play, of course, but in modern games the settings will not be maximum.

The cooling system did not allow the video core to heat up over 59 degrees – this result was recorded in Metro Exodus. At the same time, the fans rotated at a minimum speed and did not show their presence in any way. The noise level did not rise above 45 dBA.

Conclusion

ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC is good for everyone. High performance, beautiful and quiet cooling system inherited from the older RTX 3080. What else do you need to be happy? The developers of the video card even thought about the distribution of air flows inside the radiator, so the central fan rotates in the opposite direction relative to the side turntables.

If you are looking for a graphics card for gaming at 1920×1080, then the ROG Strix RTX 3070 OC is sure to be a great buy. The coveted 60 FPS at maximum settings can be obtained in the vast majority of games. The exceptions are likely to be Metro Exodus, RDR 2 and the new Crysis. But these games are famous for their high system requirements, so there is nothing surprising here. For a resolution of 2560 x 1440, the video card is also suitable, but if you like to twist everything to the maximum, including anti-aliasing, then the RTX 3070 does not carry a special margin of safety, but for today it will be sufficient. This is one of the more expensive graphics cards out there, but it’s definitely worth taking a closer look at.