GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super cards from Asus: Overview of models
Covering the graphics cards coming out now as the GeForce RTX 4000 “Super” refresh, we’ve looked at a card directly by Nvidia, an MSI card, and we’ll look at Gigabyte one soon. We’ll miss on Asus as the third major manufacturer, so instead we’ll take a look at the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super versions that this brand will be offering. There’s quite a lot of them, including some using the BTF backside board power supply instead of a 16pin.
Asus has three main lines of RTX 4070 Ti Super cards (see this article for the specs of this Nvidia SKU, which is based on the AD103 chip with 256-bit memory and 8448 shaders). There’s the more affordable TUF Gaming model that’s available in several versions and above that the more expensive Strix version. Parallel to these two groups, however, is a third line, the ProArt cards. As the naming already suggests, Asus ProArt hardware focuses on “creative users”, content creation, design, graphics and the like beyond gaming itself.
RTX 4070 Ti Super models in the TUF Gaming design
TUF Gaming cards are the most numerous with five versions. It is a design using a 3.25-slot cooler, which is pretty massive (but then again, it gives a lot of room for a heatsink with heatpipes). The card is 30.5 cm long and 13.8 cm wide. The three Axial-tech fans with 11 blades (and airflow-directing edge ring that augments static pressure besides stabilizing the fan) have double ball bearings. The cooler’s cover and body use all-metal construction and the case window facing edge is back-lit with adjustable ARGB LEDs. The card has a Dual BIOS feature with a toggle to easily switch between the two settings.
The power supply is handled by a 12+4pin 12V2x6 connector at the end of the card (with an adapter included), which is the norm for these Nvidia cards. Less usual is that the cards have five outputs – a trio of DisplayPort 1.4a ports and two HDMI 2.1a ports– one port beyond the usual four is added on the second level of the PCIe slot bracket. Overall, though, the Nvidia GPU used still supports four monitors simultaneously at most, so this mainly improves flexibility with the ability to use two HDMI devices at the same time. By the way, there is a card holder (for supporting the card against flex and sagging) in the package, quite useful with these cards given the thickness and weight.
The base version of the card (ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X) has a boost clock of 2610 MHz in default mode, which is the reference value for the RTX 4070 Ti Super model, and 2640 MHz in OC mode (+1.1% overclock). But besides that, there’s also the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X OC Edition, which already has the boost clock increased to 2640 MHz (+1.1%) in the base setting, and in OC mode the boost is set to 2670 MHz (+2.3%).
The TUF Gaming cards are also available in a white colour scheme, with the card design otherwise functionally matching the base dark-colored edition. The OC edition with 2640/2670 MHz boost clock speeds is available in the white design as the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER White OC Edition 16GB GDDR6X card. The basic slower version wit reference clocks is not listed as having the white version.
BTF power supply instead of a 12+4pin
Additionally, the TUF Gaming is also available in the so-called BTF versions, which means that they do not have a 12+4 pin power supply or any other usual standard power connector. Instead, these cards bring out a special auxiliary edge connector at the bottom that plugs into the motherboard and feeds current to the GPU through the PCB of the motherboard. This way, you don’t need to route additional cables in the main case space (avoiding the visual clutter). As a downside you have to use select Asus BTF series boards that are prepared for this graphics card installation (there’s a special power slot behind the standard PCIe ×16 slot).
This BTF version of the TUF Gaming cards is only offered in white, but this time both as the OC version with 2640/2670 MHz clock speeds (ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER BTF White OC Edition 16GB GDDR6X), as well as the cheaper 2610/2640 MHz base edition (ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER BTF White Edition 16GB GDDR6X).
RTX 4070 Ti Super models in the ROG Strix design
The more expensive Strix cards also use a cooler with three Axial-tech fans, but this design has lower thickness (takes 3.15 slots) and a slightly greater length (33.6 cm). The housing and body of the cooler are again all-metal, and here too the card has five video outputs (with the extra HDMI 2.1a) and a Dual BIOS function with a physical toggle. There is also an included card holder for support and an adapter for 12+4pin power supply.
The Strix models differ from the TUF card with providing a richer ARGB illumination, and also explicitly advertise support for 0dB mode, which is not listed as a feature for the TUF Gaming cards. Another special feature are the two FanConnect II headers, which allow you to connect two case fans (or more if you use splitters) directly to the graphics card. This means that the GPU takes control of their speed and can automatically regulate them on its own according to its temperature and GPU load, which is usually quite convenient.
You can buy this card in two versions (this time it’s only available in neutral dark grey/black colour scheme). The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X model has the same default reference clock speeds as the cheaper non-OC version of TUF Gaming – a boost of 2610 MHz in default mode and 2640 MHz when toggled to the OC mode.
However, the more expensive ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X OC Edition already has its boost clock raised to 2670 MHz (+2.3%) in the default mode, and when the OC mode is activated, the boost is raised to 2700 MHz (+3.4%). The memory is not overclocked, but that is something that’s quite rare even in the most premium OC cards these days.
ProArt for gamer-creators
In parallel to the ROG Strix gaming models, Asus also offers ProArt cards, which are partially crossing over from gaming PCs to the workstation market, although software-wise they are not dedicated professional visualization cards (the Nvidia RTX line with their exclusive driver ecosystem), they are still the usual GeForce gaming cards, so they are a solution mainly for cheaper workstation and the “prosumers” and people who do development, graphics, content creation and similar activities on the side in addition to gaming. The ProArt cards have a sleeker, cleaner and more elegant style compared to the “gamer aesthetic” or “aggressive gaming design” (as we once heard this style called) of the TUF and Strix models.
Here too, the cooler is based on three Axial-tech fans with double ball bearings, but the card is significantly more compact than the previous two versions. The thickness is only 2.5 slots, so the card can realistically be used with an additional expansion card (sound card, capture card, network card) in the fourth slot below the graphics card. The length is slightly reduced compared to the TUF Gaming at 30.0 cm, but it’s even more noticeable compared to the Strix. The width is reduced as well, to 12 cm. This should improve the card’s compatibility with less spacious non-gaming cases.
The power supply is also handled by a 12+4pin, but this time the card does not have five outputs, but only the usual three DisplayPorts 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1a ports (the maximum resolution is 7680 × 4320 at 60 Hz, same as with other GeForce RTX 4000 cards). The card has a “vented” backplate, letting through the air from the rear fan. It also provides the 0dB functionality, i.e. turning off the fans when idle or below a certain GPU temperature level.
Asus offers two ProArt models which have the same clock speeds as the TUF Gaming cards. The base model ProArt GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X has a boost clock speed of 2610 MHz in default mode (the reference clock) and 2640 MHz in OC mode. The ProArt GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X OC Edition increases the boost clock speeds to 2640 MHz (+1.1%) in the regular setting and to 2670 MHz (+2.3%) when toggled to the OC mode.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
Source: Asus
⠀
