This time around, we will be taking a look at he ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G. As part of the TUF Gaming series, it has been designed to deliver better performance compared to reference cards while still preserving a low enough price to be attractive for both mainstream and enthusiast rig builders.
ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G
| Model | ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O10G | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition |
| GPU | GA104 | GA104 |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ampere |
| Transistor Count | 17.4 Billion | 17.4 Billion |
| Manufacturing Process | Samsung 8nm | Samsung 8nm |
| Boost Clock | 1845MHz (OC), 1815 (Gaming) | 1725MHz |
| CUDA Cores | 5888 | 5888 |
| Tensor Cores | 184 | 184 |
| RT Cores | 46 | 46 |
| Memory | 8GB GDDR6,14Gbps | 8GB GDDR6,14Gbps |
| TDP | 220W | 220W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin PCIe | 1x 12-pin connector |
| Display Connections | 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 2x HDMI 2.1 | 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 2x HDMI 2.1 |
Up close with the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G
The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G shares the same design as its RTX 3080 variant. It measures at a relatively massive 299.9 x 126.9 x 51.7, which is even the same dimensions as its bigger brother. Its bulk was a necessary sacrifice to fit in a massive heatsink that draws heat away from its memory chips and GA104 GPU.
Its aluminum shroud houses three Axial Tech fans, which ASUS claims to deliver increased airflow compared to their earlier designs. The central fan spins counterclockwise to reduce turbulence and further improve the cooling capacity of the card. Those who prefer quiet operations on lower workloads will be happy to know that the card’s fans support 0dB technology until the card hits 60°c.
The shroud isn’t the only thing made out of aluminum on the card. The backplate is also made from aluminum to add rigidity to the card. Cut outs near the edge of the card has been deemed necessary in order to avoid air becoming trapped. This also unveils the fact that the PCB of the card is significantly smaller than its full length.
The performance BIOS switch has been preserved on the card which allows enthusiasts to switch from Performance and Quiet profiles. Though some users may find switching modes easier through the GPU Tweak II app, ASUS is giving the option for enthusiasts who don’t want to install any additional software on their rigs.
RGB implementation on the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G is surprisingly tame compared to other ASUS card in the market. The lighting is kept at a minimum only residing on the new TUF Gaming logo at the right-hand side of the card. Fortunately for RGB aficionados, its lighting is compatible can be synchronized with other ASUS components through the Armoury Crate app.
The RTX 3070 comes with a more modest 220W TDP compared to the 320W TDP of the RTX 3080. Power is supplied through two standard 8-pin PCIe connectors at the side. Power is then taken care of by a total of 12 power phases, 10 of which are for the GPU and the remaining 2 are dedicated for memory.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition has a rated boost clock of only 1743MHz The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G significantly improves on the numbers by pushing its boost clock to 1845MHz in OC Mode and 1815MHz in Gaming Mode.
At the rear of the card are its standard array of display connections, which include 2 HDMI 2.1 ports, and three DisplayPort 1.4a connections. While there are 5 ports to choose from, the card will only support up to 4 displays at a time.
System and Benchmarks
The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G will be run against our battery of tests which includes synthetic GPU benchmarks as well as games running on Vulkan, DX11, and DX12 APIs to see what kind of performance it can pump out. All of our testing was run on a 24°c room using our test bed composed of the following devices:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- GPU: ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G
- RAM: Team Group T-Force Vulcan Z 2x 8GB DDR4-3200
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming
- PSU: EVGA 650 GQ Gold 650W
- Cooler: Cryorig R1 Universal
- OS: Windows 10 Build 20H2
- Driver Version: GeForce Game Ready Driver WHQL 461.72
Synthetic Benchmarks
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Time Spy
Port Royal
Synthetic benchmarks on Fire Strike (DX11) and Time Spy (DX12) puts the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G near the top of the charts just below more premium offerings like the RTX 3080 and RX 6900 XT. However, it is a significant increase in performance when compared to last generation’s RTX 2080 Super.
Ray Tracing also receives a large increase on the RTX 3070 when put against the RTX 2080 Super. It does lose out, however, to the RX 6900 XT which is then eclipsed by the RTX 3080. This means that Ray Traced games could get better framerates than both what AMD is offering and from the Turing architecture.
Gaming Benchmarks
Far Cry New Dawn
Rainbow Six Siege
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Division 2
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Metro Exodus
Watch Dogs: Legion
The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 can easily pump out more than 100fps on most games if extremely taxing effects like Ray Tracing has been turned off. Running solely Ray Tracing without DLSS will remarkably decrease framerates, dipping below the 60fps mark on demanding titles like Watch Dogs: Legion at even 1080p.
Based on the numbers, the RTX 3070 is in an extremely sweet spot for 1080p and 1440p if you want a high-refresh rate experience both AAA titles and competitive games. Performance at 2160p can be a bit lacking at times but a few tweaks on the graphical settings will surely raise the framerate.
Power Consumption and Temperature
Rated at only 220W, the RTX 3070 has a significantly lower TDP than the RTX 3080 at 320W. This means that power consumption is also lower across the board. At idle, the card only consumes at around 15.29W but at load, power consumption can peak at nearly 240W.
The TUF Gaming RTX 3070 can be a cool customer thanks to the beefy heatsink that ASUS has provided. Our readings put the card at idle at just 39°c, which is a temperature where the fans would not spin thus allowing for a silent operation.
Peak temperatures are still relatively mild at just 62°c with an average with a full load of only 61°c. Thankfully, the fans do not produce much noise while under full load. We can only hear a slight whirring noise coming from the fans from our open test bench. This sound can be minimized further once the card is in a proper case.
Conclusion
The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G is definitely an upgrade compared to previous generation GPUs like the RTX 2080 Super and can deliver a great gaming experience at all resolutions. There are, however, two main issues with this card at the time of this review: pricing and availability.
Initially announced with a price tag of around PhP 37,000, its cost has now been increased to around PhP 58,000 depending on the store due to the GPU shortage worldwide. While we believe that it packs quite the graphical punch, it is still quite an investment just for a GPU.
With its ability to stay cool and deliver consistently high frame rates on most occasions, we are comfortable in handing the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G our seal of approval. If you have any extra cash laying around and you actually manage to find it in stock, then the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 O8G is definitely a solid pick for a graphical overhaul for your PC.
For comparison, check out our review of the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3060 Ti here. You can also check out the Colorful iGame RTX 3070 Ti Vulcan review here.
If you fancy other graphics cards, just click on our reviews:
- ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3050 OC Review: Cooling Overkill
- Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle Review: A Cool 1080p Card
- ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3080 10G Review: Solid Performance, Superb Pricing
- MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio Review: A Fast, Silent but Massive Card
- Colorful iGame RTX 3070 Ti Vulcan OC Review: Lots of Extras for the Money
- ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3060 Ti OC Review: The New 1080p and 1440p Standard
- Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 OC Review: Keeping It Cool
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Review: A Proper Flagship GPU
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 Review: The Big Navi Value King
- ASUS ROG Strix RX 6700 XT O12G Review: The Premium Midrange AMD Card
- ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6600 XT OC Review: Built for Mainstream
