Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition Graphics Card Review – What Faster Memory Can Do

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is Nvidia’s traditional 1-year refresh of its current generation cards as the ampere architecture reaches 1 year. However, unlike the previous RTX 20 series GPUs, the new models this time around have a “Ti” moniker instead of the super branding. Both graphics card fills in the gaps in terms of pricing in Nvidia’s current RTX 30 series lineup allowing gamers to have more options to choose from starting with the base RTX 3060 priced at $399 all the way to the RTX 3090 at $1,499. Nvidia’s decision to release Ti models of 3080 and 3070 could also because of AMD’s current RX 6000 series GPUs particularly the RX 6900 XT and RX 6800 XT which sit at the same price range as the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti, respectively. That said, the RTX 3080 Ti looks to be the more intriguing card as it’s priced $400 more than the 3080 but is also $300 lower than the flagship RTX 3090.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is launched alongside the RTX 3080 Ti and is frankly overshadowed due to its tighter pricing between existing RTX 30 series cards compared to the latter. The RTX 3070 Ti is priced at $599 which is $100 more expensive than the RTX 3070 and is also $100 cheaper than the RTX 3080. With such tight pricing, the premium over the RTX3070 or discount over the RTX 3080 can easily be attributed to high-end models of third-party brands. While the RTX 3080 Ti is basically an RTX 3090 with half as much the VRAM, it seems like the RTX 3070 Ti main improvement over the vanilla 3070 is the usage of GDDR6X memory alongside a boost in core count which Nvidia claims to sport twenty percent more performance over the RTX 3070.

Ampere Architecture

The latest Ampere Architecture features 2nd Generation RT Cores and 3rd Generation Tensor cores that double the performance compared to last generation’s Turing architecture as well as bringing in new and improved features such as Ray Tracing, DLSS 2.0, Nvidia Broadcast, Reflex, and many more.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

The existing Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 is the most popular RTX 30 series card according to Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang which is the main reason why the RTX 3070 Ti made its debut on Computex 2021. As mentioned earlier, the RTX 3070 Ti retails for $599 which is $100 more than RTX 3070 and $100 less than RTX 3080. Moreover, the RTX 3070 Ti is also sandwiched by AMD’s offerings namely the Radeon RX 6800 priced at $579 and RX 6800 XT at $649.

Specs-wise, the RTX 3080 Ti has 17% more CUDA, Tensor, and RT cores than the RTX 3080 non-Ti while it has 3% fewer overall cores than the flagship RTX 3090. Based on paper, the RTX 3080 Ti with 3% lesser cores looks to be a good deal over the RTX 3090 since the former is 20% cheaper at $300. That said, having 17% more cores than the RTX 3080 doesn’t seem to justify the 50% price increase. When we take into account AMD Radeon GPUs, the RTX 3080 Ti is priced $200 more than the RX 6900 XT, which in some benchmarks, can keep up with the RX 6900 XT so long as Ray Tracing isn’t involved. That said, the RTX 3080 Ti is in a relatively tough spot as it’s sandwiched by flagship GPUs by both team red and green.

Specs-wise, the RTX 3070 Ti has 4% more CUDA, Tensor, and RT Cores than the vanilla RTX 3070 and has 30% fewer overall cores than the RTX 3080. On paper, the 4% improvement in cores can translate to minimal framerate increase as seen in our RTX 3080 Ti review but the RTX 3070 Ti is now equipped with GDDR6X memory instead of the GDDR6 memory found on the RTX 3070. The faster GDDR6X memory also bumped up the RTX 3070 Ti’s TGP to 290 watts compared to the 220W TGP on the vanilla RTX 30770. Thus, requiring two 8-pin connectors and a recommended power supply of at least 750watts.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FE – A Closer Look

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition graphics card retains the same RTX 30 series Founders Edition packaging with no changes whatsoever. The model name is printed on the upper left side alongside the Nvidia logo. The backside reveals key specs and warranty information printed in different languages. Contents of the packaging are:

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition Graphics Card
• GeForce Support Guide
• GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Quick Start Guide
• 2x 8-pin to 12-pin PCI-E Microfit connector

The new RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition GPU features an updated shroud design that fuses the looks of the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 FE variants. The front of the card features an RTX 3070 FE-like aesthetic while incorporating the fan separation of the RTX 3080 FE.

The backside of the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition follows the RTX 3080’s backplate design with the secondary flow through fan exposed.

Its side is the same as that of RTX 3070 FE with thin heatsink fins wrapped near the 12-pin PCI-E microfit connector. Like the RTX 3070 FE, the RTX 3070 Ti’s cooler occupies two slots but is longer than the former.

The standard video port layout is present on the RTX 3070 Ti with three Display Port 1.4 ports and one HDMI 2.1 port.

As mentioned earlier, the 12-pin microfit PCI-E connector requires two 8-pin PCI-E cables to power the RTX 3070 Ti. The minimum required PSU for the RTX 3070 Ti is at least 750-watts as the GPU has a rated TGP of 290W – 30watts less than the RTX 3080. Expect third-party overclock edition models to consume more than 290 watts of power.

The Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti FE uses the same flow through cooler design with the RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti, and RTX 3090 FE variants. It also has the thinnest cooler out of the four as it cools a smaller GA104 GPU and only 8GB GDDR6X compared to the rest of the cards which has the beefier GA102 chip and at least 10GBs of GDDR6X memory.

The RTX 3070 Ti FE is slightly longer than the RTX 3070 FE but it’s shorter than the RTX 3080 Ti FE. The extra length can be attributed to the cooling required for the hotter GDDR6X memory. There’s no need for the bigger middle heatsink fins found on the RTX 3080, 3080 Ti, and RTX 3090 since the RTX 3070 Ti houses the smaller GA104 chip instead of the GA102 silicon found on the RTX 3080.

Benchmark Setup and Methodology

Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the component or device being tested.

We use CapFrameX 1.6.2 as our FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 10 and WHQL certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draw are recorded using HWMonitor and HWInfo64 as well as other relevant software are used for cross-checking.

Our benchmark list and methodology may change in the future depending on the industry trend.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FE – Synthetic Benchmarks

3DMARK

3DMark is the go-to benchmark for gamers because of the ability to share and compare results online. We tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FE  both in Fire Strike and Time Spy to get a good gauge of DX 11 and DX 12 API performance. We also tested the GPUs in Port Royal, 3DMark’s DX12 Ray Tracing benchmark.

GeekBench 5

Geekbench is a multi-platform benchmark that’s used to gauge CPU performance and compare them across Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Geekbench 5 is the latest version and doesn’t rely on memory as much compared to the previous Geekbench 4, making it a great tool to measure both single-core and multi-core CPU performance. For our GPU reviews, we both measure OpenCL and Vulkan performance

VRAY

V-Ray Benchmark is a stand-alone version of V-Ray developed by Chaos Group. It is designed to test the CPU and GPU by rendering sample scenes at a fixed amount of time. V-Ray is a plug-in mostly utilized by 3D computer graphics software applications mainly for industrial design, product design, architecture, film, and video game production. V-Ray is not limited to 64-threads as it supports multi and mega-threading.

BLENDER

Blender is a widely used, free, opensource 3D creation suite. It supports the whole 3D pipeline process from modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, and even motion tracking. Blender has become a standard for CPU benchmarks with the BMW27 and Classroom scene most used. This prompted the company to release Blender Open Data Benchmark in 2018, a benchmark-specific version which allows users to run a preset benchmark and share the results online similar to 3D Mark.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FE – Gaming Benchmarks

DOTA 2

Most gamers play at least one of the following free-to-play titles: League of Legends, CS: GO, Dota 2, and/or Fortnite. Dota 2 is a good representation of the F2P titles as it is the most demanding game in the spectrum. The benchmark will give you an idea of the graphic card’s relative performance on other lesser demanding titles. Our benchmark sequence is based on a replay of OG vs. Liquid in the TI9 grand finals from the team fight that happened from 28:30 to 29:30.

Far Cry 5

FarCry 5 is an FPS game published by Ubisoft and uses the Dunia engine. It heavily relies on and takes advantage of DirectX 11 to render a realistic environment that makes it taxing to both the CPU and GPU.

Rainbow Six Siege

Rainbow Six Seige is one of the few popular AAA games that’s still popular in 2021 due to its competitive gameplay mechanics. R6S uses the AnvilNext game engine, which is developed by the game’s publisher, Ubisoft. As of writing, Rainbow Six Siege is currently the most popular Tom Clancy title beating out Wildlands, Breakpoint and even, Division 2. Rainbow Six Seige is one of the few popular AAA games that’s still popular in 2019 due to its competitive gameplay mechanics. R6S uses the AnvilNext game engine, which is developed by the game’s publisher, Ubisoft. As of writing, Rainbow Six Siege is currently the most popular Tom Clancy title beating out Wildlands, Breakpoint and even, Division 2.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably the most hyped game of 2020. Developed by CD Projekt Red, the dystopian open-world, action-adventure RPG sports is one of the most demanding titles to date. Cyberpunk 2077 also supports three Ray Tracing settings as well as DLSS which makes the game a great tool to measure Ray tracing performance for both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards.

Shadow of The Tomb Raider

Shadow of The Tomb Raider or SOTR is the latest installment of the Lara Croft Tomb Raider franchise. Developed by Square Enix, SOTR uses the Foundation engine and is further enhanced by Eidos Montreal. STOR is also one of the first games to come out with Ray Tracing and DLSS support.

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus is the third Metro game trilogy based on Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novels. The game is a first-person shooter with survival horror and stealth elements. The post-apocalyptic game is using 4A Engine by 4A games. Released last 2019, Metro Exodus remains to be one of the most graphically pleasing and demanding games that’s popular to date.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the latest franchise installment from Ubisoft. It’s by far the most popular and stable Assassin’s Creed title since AC IV: Black Flag. It uses the AnvilNext 2.0 game engine, an updated version of Rainbow Six Siege’s game engine, and uses the DirectX 12 API.

F1 2020

F1 2020 is the official video game of the 2020 Formula 1 and Formula 2 championships developed by Codemasters. F1 2020 is the twelfth installment in the franchise and uses the Ego Engine 3.0. F1 2020 is a good representation of racing games thanks to its realistic graphics and fairly demanding spec requirements.

GODFALL

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FE – Ray Tracing Benchmarks

We tested the RTX 3070 Ti’s Ray Tracing capabilities against the Nvidia RTX 3070 FE, Palit RTX 3080 Gaming Pro, and RTX 3080 Ti FE as well as the card’s performance with DLSS enabled.

Cyberpunk 2077

Shadow of The Tomb Raider

Metro Exodus

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FE – Temps and Power Draw

Despite the extreme heat generated by the GDDR6X memory, the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition manages to peak at 71.6°C compared to the 75°C peak temp by the RTX 3070 Founders Edition. The slightly longer design shroud and the flowthrough cooler implementation definitely helped with the overall cooling as shown in the graph.

Our maximum recorded power draw via HWInfox64 peaked at 288.601 watts for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti. The increase in performance in terms of FPS with the extra 70W power consumption over the RTX 3070 is definitely worth the trade-off as temps are also at the better side of things with the RTX 3070 Ti.

Conclusion

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti faster memory bandwidth over the RTX 3070 definitely shows its superiority we benchmarked the games in higher resolutions with higher FPS as much as 10-percent. Against the RTX 3080 however, the RTX 3070 Ti definitely lags behind as it only manages to output 85% of the RTX 3080’s framerate. With that in mind, the RTX 3080 should still be the GPU of choice for gamers looking to play at 4K resolution with settings cranked up as well as Ray Tracing. The $100 middle-ground pricing of the RTX 3070 Ti puts the card at a tough spot as the $100 price tag is usually the price premium of AIB board partners. In short, getting a flagship model of the RTX 3070 such as an ROG Strix or an MSI Suprim variant easily steps into the price of a reference RTX 3070 Ti which has better performance. The same argument holds true against the RTX 3080 albeit the roles are reversed. With that in mind, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is a relatively situational GPU for gamers looking to max out whatever they have with the $100 or use the $100 to get better PC components instead of an RTX 3080 for a more balanced overall build.

Overall, We think that the RTX 3070 Ti is not a value alternative to the RTX 3080 unlike what the RTX 3080 Ti is to the RTX 3090 because of its tight pricing with only a $100 difference. The RTX 3070 Ti, however, is indeed an upgrade to the RTX 3070 making it a decent graphics card for high-refresh-rate gaming at QHD resolution. If you happen to have an ultrawide monitor, the extra $100 premium over the vanilla RTX 3070 makes the RTX 3070 Ti a perfect GPU to meet the needs of UW displays thanks to it having more performance because of the higher core count and more importantly, higher bandwidth GDDR6X memory.

Grant Soriano

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Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.