Asus RTX 3070 Noctua Edition graphics are declassified, will go on sale this month
The legitimate announcement of the Asus RTX 3070 graphics card, in which Noctua had a significant role, was hanging in the balance. This is evidenced by the premature leak of its photos last week. But we have all the details on this graphics card only now, after the press release was published. The GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition promises sovereignly the quietest operation in its performance class.
After two months since the first mention, the Asus and Noctua collaboration and work on the RTX 3070 graphics card, or rather two graphics cards, has finally been confirmed. In addition to the overclocked variant (OC), which appeared in the EEC registry a long time ago, there’s also a slower card.
The video card announcement was sent out to the media by Noctua, which is probably more effective from a marketing perspective than if it had been done by Asus. It is, of course, in charge of distribution.
The graphics core is as expected GA104-302-A1 – LHR, Low Hash-Rate, i.e. with limited “mining” performance to 25 MH/s. GPU boost frequencies are quoted up to 1845 MHz (RTX 3070 O8G Noctua) and up to 1755 MHz (RTX 3070 8G Noctua), the same as for TUF Gaming (OC) cards. Noctua has bounced off the features of their coolers to develop their own solution. Compared to the TUF Gaming cooler, Noctua reports in internal measurements a drop in noise level during normal operation of up to 5.7 dBA. That’s almost four times less (and that’s while maintaining a 4°C lower GPU temperature).
The performance of graphics cards with Noctua coolers should be borderline inaudible, which is likely to undercut the extremely quiet MSI TwinFroz 2 cooler on the MSI RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio. The Noctua cooler is quieter (by 8.9 dBA) compared to the TUF Gaming, even when comparing the maximum rpm of the two coolers. At medium rpm, Noctua recorded the same GPU heating intensity (53°C), with the Noctua cooler having up to 15.7 dBA less in the charts, which is almost hard to believe.
The Noctua NF-A12x25 fans will not be in the LS (Low Speed) variant, as we expected, but high-speed with a maximum of 2000 rpm. If necessary, the heatsink can be blown through properly. The cards have two BIOSes and the higher speeds can be used in “performance” mode. With the “quiet” BIOS they will, we reckon, operate in the lower speed spectrum. Despite the use of high-speed fans, passive mode is also supported. Fan inactivity occurs at temperatures below 50 °C.
The heatsink has also been under Noctua’s baton, and Noctua says that it’s all tailored to the NF-A12x25 based on simulations. From the layout and heatpipe finning passage to the sheer density of the aluminium fins. Every aspect of the heatsink has to be optimized so that the result sets a new bar in terms of both acoustics and low heating. And what a heatsink it is. Together with the 25 mm thick fans, the height of the graphics card is up to 87.5 mm, with which it overhangs the fourth PCI Express slot.
The Asus RTX 3070 Noctua Edition are also quite wide, from slot to sidewall they are 147mm. And finally to the length of 310 mm. The PCB itself, while traditionally significantly shorter, is overhung by the heatsink. There is a larger window at these points (overlap) to better dissipate the heated air.
The Noctua RTX 3070 O8G and Noctua RTX 3070 8G are expected to be available in stores from mid-October. For how long, in what quantities and at what price is hard to guess.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš