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The Best 1440p GPU?
Review Summary
The GIGABYTE RTX 3070 VISION OC excels in 1440p gaming with robust ray tracing, making it an attractive choice for all-white PC builds. While its higher price and limited overclocking potential might not suit budget-conscious buyers, it stands out for its top-notch performance and aesthetics in the mid-to-high-end gaming spectrum.
Hours Tested: 18-20
Overall
-
Performance - 9/10
9/10
-
Design - 8.5/10
8.5/10
-
Features - 8/10
8/10
-
Value - 7/10
7/10
Pros
- Exceptional 1440p performance
- Decent ray tracing capabilities
- Striking white design
- Compute performance for content creators
- Effective WINDFORCE 3X cooling
- Low noise levels
Cons
- Higher price point
- Limited overclocking potential
- Flimsy connector design
GIGABYTE introduced their new lineup called the VISION series with the launch of the Z490 series Vision and B550 Vision D motherboards. The VISION series aims at content creators and professionals. Keeping up with the theme of VISION, GIGABYTE has released the GeForce RTX 3080 and 3070 VISION series graphics cards. Today, GIGABYTE was kind enough to sponsor us with the GeForce RTX 3070, which I’ll be thoroughly reviewing.
Key Takeaways
- The GeForce RTX 3070 is perfect for users looking for a graphics card for their mid to high-end build to game at 1440p.
- The GeForce RTX 3070 is not for anyone who wants a value-oriented graphics card.
- The GeForce RTX 3070 features third-generation tensor cores, second-generation RT cores, as well as 8GB of GDDR6 memory.
- Why you can trust Tech4Gamers: Our reviews are based on dedicated hands-on testing by our team of experienced hardware experts. Find out more about how we test.
Detailed specifications of the GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC.
Specifications
Packaging and Unboxing
The graphics card is shipped inside a cardboard box which is placed inside a paperboard packing. The packing box is in the white and black color theme.
The graphics card is inside the anti-static sheet and nicely tucked in the dense Styrofoam padding. There is a quick guide as well.
Following are included:
- 1x Graphics Card
- 1x Quick Guide
Closer Look
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 features the GA104 GPU with 17400M transistors on 8nm technology, a 392mm² die size, and 96 ROPs and 184 TMUs. It boasts 5888 shader units, a Pixel fill rate of 174.2 GP/s, and a Texture fill rate of 334 GT/s. The 8GB GDDR6 VRAM from SAMSUNG runs at 1750MHz with a 256-bit bus width, providing a bandwidth of 448 GB/s. The card supports PCIe 4.0 with backward compatibility, has an ATX form factor, and a maximum digital resolution of 7680×4320.
It is time to take a closer look at the design of the graphics card and then I will discuss the results of the gaming and synthetic benchmarks. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 features a 2.5-slot design, measuring 286x115x51mm (LxWxH). The sleek and stylish shroud has a silver-finished faceplate around the fan mounts, occasionally resembling gold, with a white borderline. Equipped with 3x 80mm fans, each featuring white blades.
The airflow is spilt by the triangular fan edge, and guided smoothly through the 3D stripe curve on the fan surface, effectively enhancing the airflow. The 3D Active Fan provides semi-passive cooling, and the fans will remain off when the GPU is in a low-load or low-power game. It allows gamers to enjoy gameplay in complete silence when the system is running light or idle.
In my testing, I have enjoyed silent gaming with good thermals on the graphics card clearly evidencing the power and effectiveness of the WINDFORCE 3X cooling solution employed on this GeForce RTX 3070 Review. The fans use Graphene Nan lubricant which extends the service life by 2.1 times.
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 showcases a WINDFORCE 3X cooling system with 3x 80mm fans, 5 composite copper heat pipes, and a direct-touch heatsink. The black PCB is nestled between a metal backplate and shroud, ensuring efficient heat dissipation for optimal performance and lower temperatures. The heatsink’s direct contact with the GPU, VRAM chips, and power delivery components reflects a smart design approach.
GIGABYTE’s WINDFORCE 3X cooling system employs 80mm fans, with the middle fan rotating clockwise to eliminate turbulent airflow. Their patented ‘Alternate Spinning’ design ensures efficient heat dissipation by having all fans spin in the same direction, reducing turbulence. Pure copper heat pipes maximize GPU contact for enhanced heat transfer, covering VRAM through a large metal plate. Composite heat-pipes efficiently manage heat transfer, boosting cooling capacity.
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 features a white shroud extending over half of the front, with ‘GEFORCE RTX 3070 Review’ in gray font. The backlit GIGABYTE branding, controlled by RGB FUSION 2.0, adds a multi-shade purple lining. The metallic backplate extends over the top, and two power connectors—a 6-pin PCIe and an 8-pin—are located towards the front.
Looking at the base of the graphics card, there is a whole lot of vented area available there and we can spot the fin stack. The shroud is in a white color over here. The thermal pads seem to be in white color and from the looks of it, GIGABYTE has used thin thermal pads. There are two black color headers in parallel to each other. They are probably to power the fans and the RGB LEDs.
The above picture shows the PCIe connector of the graphics card. As mentioned above, the card is based on a PCIe 4.0 interface with backward compatibility. GIGABYTE’s GeForce RTX 3070 boasts a solid metallic silver backplate for enhanced strength and aesthetics, complementing the VISION series theme. ‘VISION’ is stylishly printed at the center, ‘GEFORCE RTX’ towards the top, with a vented portion on the top for improved airflow.
GIGABYTE’s GeForce RTX 3070 features ‘Screen Cooling’ embossed on the heatsink’s vented area, extending over the PCB for effective heat dissipation. The white-finished front end, with a dotted pattern, lacks ventilation but contributes to an aesthetically pleasing and symmetrical design.
This graphics card is using 8-pin and 6-pin power connectors. There is a large gap between both connectors. I noticed that the connectors housed in a plastic frame are flimsy so take care of connecting/disconnecting the cables. GIGABYTE has opted for a concealed design over the connectors. While this makes sense given the overall layout, they should have strengthened the housing.
Following connectivity options are available at the user’s disposal:
- 2x HDMI port 2.1
- 2x DP ports 1.4a
I did not open the card so I am not sure about the power phases. According to GIGABYTE, the design allows the MOSFET to operate at a lower temperature, and over-temperature protection design and load balancing for each MOSFET, plus the Ultra Durable certified chokes and capacitors, to provide excellent performance and longer system life. GIGABYTE has employed their Ultra-Durable technology in the power delivery design.
The fully automated production process has resulted in a friendly PCB design where the protrusions don’t have sharp ends over the solder connectors which reduces the risk of injury.
Gigabyte RTX 3070 Testing
Following is the test system and drivers I used to test this graphics card:
- Intel i9 9900k [Stock, Auto]
- Asus Strix Z390-E Gaming Motherboard
- Ballistix Elite 16GB kit @ 3000MHz
- ARCTIC Liquid Freezer – II 240
- Lexar 610 NVMe 250GB SSD
- bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
Drivers:
- Nvidia driver 411.70 For ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 OC
- Nvidia driver 417.71/461.72 for GeForce GTX 1080 [Required for Battlefield V]
- Nvidia driver 430.86 for ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 OC and ZOTAC GeForce RTX 2070 Amp Extreme
- Nvidia driver 431.60 for GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 8G
- AMD driver Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 for MSI Radeon RX 5700XT MECH OC
- Nvidia driver 461.72 for GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC
Monitoring Software:
MSI Afterburner 4.63 was used to monitor and record the FPS for the games without in-built benchmarks.
Our testing includes the Ray Tracing and DLSS as well. I will be covering the RT and DLSS in a separate section.
Synthetic Benchmarks
Overall, the GIGABYTE RTX 3070 VISION OC is going neck-on-neck against the ZOTAC GeForce RTX 2080Ti.
Gaming Benchmarks
Seeing the results, the RTX 2080Ti has an upper hand over the RTX 3070 depending upon the title. But the competition is stiff between both Nvidia GPUs and the main point here is the pricing. The price point of RTX 3070 is way low as compared to the launched price of RTX 2080Ti with 2080Ti being the enthusiast-grade GPU gaming solution from the Nvidia.
Ray Tracing and DLSS Benchmarks
Let’s start with the synthetic benchmarks.
Boost Clocks and Overclocking
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC has its power limit set to 100% and we can’t cross it beyond that. We are limited in terms of power to the board for the overclocking. The MSI Afterburner is used the overclocking starting with overclocking the VRAM.
The voltage slide was set at 100%. I was able to push the memory clock by another +1000MHz (1.0GHz). Next, I started with the core clock overclocking. I met with no such good luck on the silicon as I was only able to push the core clock to +125MHz. The chip did reach 2100MHz but the sustained boost was 2045MHz.
Power Consumption
To measure the power draw, I am taking a different route as HWInfo64 shows the GPU Power and this is exactly what I have been showing on my graphs instead of the overall system power draw. To monitor the maximum power draw, I am using The Witcher 3 4k run of 60 minutes and then record the reported maximum power draw from the HWInfo64. The PC was set to idle for like 15 minutes before the gaming session. This way any user can check their graphics card for power consumption easily.
The RTX 3070 was drawing more power than the RTX 2080. This card like the other RTX graphics cards that I have tested was constantly hitting the power target.
Thermal Performance
I am not using Furmark or any other stress app for thermal performance checking. Instead, the reported temperatures are actually from the gaming session using The Witcher 3 at 4k resolution for a minimum of 60 minutes. MSI Afterburner is used to record the temperatures during the gaming session.
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC was idling at 30°C. On stock clocks, it maxed to 68.2°C, and with overclocking it maxed to 69°C. This is a very good performance from the graphics card showing the true cooling potential of the WINDFORCE 3X. This performance is coming at default fan settings.
Noise (Sound Level)
The maximum noise output recorded during the gaming session was 42 dBA which is too good to have. This performance is coming at default fan settings.
Compute Performance
Since the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC is more aimed at content creators and professionals, we also ran a few rendering tests using the graphics card. Here are the results:
Should You Buy It?
After hours of testing, would I recommend the GIGABYTE RTX 3070 VISION OC?
Buy It If:
✅You want to game at 1440p: The GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC is a phenomenal graphics card for 1440p gaming at 60fps.
✅You want to benefit from Ray Tracing: Ray tracing performance is solid on the GeForce RTX 3070, especially when combined with DLSS 2.
✅You are building an all-white PC: The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Vision OC will make for a fantastic addition to an all-white build.
Don’t Buy It If:
❌You are working with a limited budget: Despite being a 70-class graphics card, the GeForce RTX 3070 is by no means cheap.
❌You want to game at 4K: While 4K gaming on the GeForce RTX 3070 is possible, you will require a higher-end card for a stable experience.
Conclusion
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC has performed well. This card definitely has the upper hand over the RTX 2080, RTX 2070 Super, and RTX 2070 for that matter. In our testing, we have seen RTX 2080Ti performing better depending on the title, and sometimes this gain was marginal. We are seeing a locked power limit of 100%. This would reduce the overclocking headroom of this card and our overclocking attempt yields roughly 3.5% performance gain. This was with +1000 MHZ on the Memory and +125MHZ on the Core clock.
For Pascal users, the RTX 3070 is a nice upgrade option from their GTX 1080 and GTX 1080Ti. Similarly, we can spot the upgrade path of the RTX 2070/2070S/2080 users, particularly at 1440P gaming. In the end, this would come down to the personal preferences and budget of the individual concerned. The 4K gaming is also possible with the RTX 3070 though one would need to lower the graphics settings a bit.
On the appearance side of things, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Vision looks amazing. The distinctive feature is the VISION-themed shroud and white color of the graphics card giving one heck of a spectacular look. This is further augmented by the silver color metallic backplate with Screen Cooling. We are also doing a white build for which we bought a GIGABYTE Z490 VISION G motherboard, and this card is a perfect addition to that.
We are thankful to GIGABYTE for giving us the opportunity to review their GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC graphics card.
Awards Received By Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC
The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Vision OC has received the following Tech4Gamers Awards:
Recent Updates
- December 18, 2023: Few text changes to improve readability. Also added image galleries.
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[Hardware Reviewer & Editor]
Meet Nauman Siddique, a highly experienced computer science graduate with more than 15 years of knowledge in technology. Nauman is an expert in the field known for his deep understanding of computer hardware.
As a tech tester, insightful reviewer, and skilled hardware editor, Nauman carefully breaks down important parts like motherboards, graphics cards, processors, PC cases, CPU coolers, and more.
- 15+ years of PC Building Experience
- 10+ years of first-hand knowledge of technology
- 7+ years of doing in-depth testing of PC Hardware
- A motivated individual with a keen interest in tech testing from multiple angles.
- I majored in Computer Science with a Masters in Marketing
- Previously worked at eXputer, EnosTech, and Appuals.
- Completed Course in Computer Systems Specialization From Illinois Tech
Get In Touch: nauman@tech4gamers.com
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