We continue our acquaintance with the family video cards on architecture Ampere… Recently came to our test GeForce RTX 3060 Ti from company ASUS – model GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ROG Strix OC Gaming (ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition | 8GB GDDR6 VRAM), which is capable of boasting massive cooling – like all models ROG Strix in this generation up to RTX 3090… We have studied it and are ready to share with you our impressions of it.
PACKAGING, COMPLETE SET AND APPEARANCE
Traditionally, the video card is packed in two boxes. The exterior is colorful, predominantly made with a background in dark colors. On the front side there is an image of a video card, the logos of ASUS, the Republic of Gamers series, AURA SYNC proprietary backlighting, information about the amount and type of memory, as well as the inscription NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti on a traditionally black and green background. On the reverse side, the manufacturer focused on the product’s features: cooling system, technical capabilities, authentic design and software.
The inner box is already made of two-layer black cardboard with the Strix logo on the lid, which traditionally opens like a box.
Inside is the video card itself, surrounded on all sides by black foam polyethylene and packed in an antistatic bag. In a notch next to it, the manufacturer also placed a pair of Velcro ties with logos and lettering to help organize the wires properly. In addition, a keychain ruler made of a piece of printed circuit board turned out to be a pleasant bonus.
Under the video card is a small cardboard sleeve containing a quick installation guide, a thank you card, a card with information about the advantages of the ROG Strix series of video cards, as well as an incomprehensible piece of triangular plastic with the ROG logo and a smooth hole next to it.
ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ROG Strix OC Gaming is the largest and heaviest graphics card we’ve tested. It weighs 1834 grams, and due to the massive cooling system it occupies 2.9 slots in the computer, and its length is 32.2 cm.This should be taken into account if you have a compact case or something is installed opposite the PCI Express slots, for example, hard drives. To use the device, the manufacturer recommends a power supply with a capacity of at least 750 watts. It is a block of such power from Thermaltake that we used.
In terms of design, the new generation of ROG Strix is more solid than models based on the Turing architecture. The cooling system, clad in a plastic casing, has become more covered on the ribs. On the side of the fans, the manufacturer has inserted sharp metal inserts into the case with the words “Game On” and “ROG STRIX”. They are all attached to the surface with bulging head screws. The three fans are clearly more blades than the previous generation ROG Strix. The back of the PCB is also covered with a 5mm thick metal plate and a wide air vent to exhaust hot air. There is also a reinforcing plate under the GPU, which prevents deformation of the printed circuit board, which could happen due to the huge weight of the cooling system.
Large RGB backlighting is located along the entire length of the side edge of the video card. There are also two additional power connectors, both 8-pin.
On a board without an application, you can switch the card from quiet to productive mode and vice versa. Two HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a are available from video outputs.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND SOFTWARE
The video card is based on the GA104 GPU, or rather its stripped-down version GA104-200-A1, with the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. The chip is built on an 8 nm process technology with a crystal area of 392 mm2, on which 17400 million transistors fit. The full GA104 GPU contains 6 GPC clusters with 8 SM modules each. However, the GA104-200-A1 chip is a stripped-down version of GA104, and one of the 6 GPC clusters is completely disabled, and in another GPC cluster, 2 more SM modules are disabled, which ultimately gives 38 SM and 4864 CUDA cores instead of 48 SM and 6144 CUDA cores.
Also, this chip uses 80 raster units, 38 second-generation RT cores, 152 third-generation tensor cores and 1522 texture units. The base frequency of this chip is 1410 MHz. In gaming mode, the frequency increases to 1860 MHz, which is 195 MHz more than the reference model from NVIDIA itself. In OC mode, the frequency increases by another 30 MHz and reaches 1890 MHz.
The 3060 Ti uses 8GB GDDR6 memory (the 3080 and 3090 have GDDR6X memory) that runs at 14,000 MHz. A 256-bit 448 Gbps bus is used to transfer data between the GPU and memory.
With HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a, the graphics card can deliver a maximum resolution of 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels). Despite having 5 video outputs, the system only supports up to four monitors at the same time.
Setting up and overclocking the video card is possible through any appropriate application, but ASUS has its own proprietary software called ASUS GPU Tweak II. The settings can be done either manually or by selecting one of the profiles (OC, Gaming and Silent modes) created by the manufacturer itself. Gaming Booster automatically optimizes system performance to accelerate gaming performance.
Setting up the backlight on the video card is done through a separate application called ASUS AURA. It allows you to customize colors and lighting effects, and synchronize with other ASUS devices or link with external lighting solutions from the Philips Hue family.
SYNTHETIC TESTS AND GAME BENCHMARKS
We traditionally use several third-party benchmarks to test the performance of video cards. All subsequent tests (synthetic and gaming) were carried out in the factory overclocked mode (OC mode). As a test bench, a PC with a 6-core Intel Core i7 5820K processor with a frequency of 3.3 GHz and 16 gigabytes of DDR4 memory with a frequency of 3000 MHz was used. For fast downloads, games and tests were installed on an NVMe drive from ADATA.
First of all, we used the Superposition 3D benchmark from Unigine, which is famous for its semi-synthetic tests. The test was carried out in three available settings – 1080p Extreme, 4K Optimized, 8K Optimized, and in all cases the GPU was used at 100%, and the maximum recorded temperature did not exceed 67 degrees:
- 1080p Extreme – 7527 points (43 to 71 FPS, average 56)
- 4K Optimized – 9832 points (62 to 90 FPS, average 73)
- 8K Optimized – 4233 points (26 to 36 FPS, average 31)
Next, we launched a Chinese benchmark called Distress Call, which is based on the upcoming tactical online shooter in the space setting Boundary. This test uses ray tracing technology.
The test was carried out in three resolution settings – 1080, 1440p and 4K – with tracing and DLSS in quality and ultra-performance modes. The maximum recorded temperature was recorded at around 65 degrees.
- 1080p, RTX, DLSS Quality – 72.3 FPS (from 3 to 233 FPS)
- 1080p, RTX, DLSS Ultra Performance – 169.2 FPS (9 to 544 FPS)
- 1440p, RTX, DLSS Quality – 48.6, FPS (from 10 to 325 FPS)
- 1440p, RTX, DLSS Ultra Performance – 118.5 FPS (10 to 370 FPS)
- 2160p, RTX, DLSS Quality – 23.6 FPS (from 1 to 93 FPS)
- 2160p, RTX, DLSS Ultra Performance – 66.2 FPS (15 to 395 FPS)
Next, we tested the video card in various gaming benchmarks – Gears 5, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2, which have already become traditional for us.
The first was Forza Horizon 4. We tested the project multiple times through an internal performance check with the highest custom settings available at 1080p, 1440p and 4K resolutions. The temperature was kept in the range from 55 to 62 degrees, and the workload averaged from 82% to 99%, depending on the resolution:
- 1080p, all at maximum – 118 FPS (average frame rate of the video card – 135.6 FPS)
- 1440p, all at the maximum – 102 FPS (average frame rate of the video card – 106.7 FPS)
- 2160p, all at maximum – 69 FPS (average frame rate of the video card – 71 FPS)
The second project with in-game performance test was Gears 5. The test was carried out at maximum settings – with ultra-textures and full beams for global illumination in screen space, which migrated here from the Xbox Series X | S. In tests, the GPU temperature was kept in the range from 56 to 67 degrees, and the CPU load was almost always at around 100%:
- 1080p, all at maximum + ultra textures – 74 FPS (average frame rate of the video card – 75.5 FPS)
- 1440p, all at maximum + ultra textures – 64.2 FPS (average frame rate of the video card – 65.2 FPS)
- 2160p, all at maximum + ultra textures – 36.6 FPS (average frame rate of the video card – 36.9 FPS)
We tested Red Dead Redemption 2 in 1080p, 1440p and 4K resolutions with the maximum preset graphics level (quality and without activating additional graphics settings) and TAA anti-aliasing (high). The temperature was kept between 59 and 65 degrees, and the CPU load was almost always at around 99%:
- 1080p, quality + TAA – 82 FPS (minimum – 31, maximum – 126)
- 1440p, quality + TAA – 67 FPS (minimum – 18, maximum – 103)
- 2160p, quality + TAA – 46 FPS (minimum – 19, maximum – 82)
The final gaming benchmark was the Windows version of Final Fantasy XV. The GPU temperature during the Japanese RPG benchmark from Square Enix ranged from 58 to 63 degrees. The benchmark was run on high graphics settings at 1080p, 1440p and 4K. On a test system with an RTX 3060 Ti on board, the following scores were obtained:
- 4K High – 5434 (Fairly High)
- 1440p, High – 8474 (High)
- 1080p, High – 10431 (Very High)
GAME TESTS IN 4K, DLSS, RTX
Since the 3060 Ti performed reasonably well at 4K resolution, we ran 4K gaming tests at maximum graphics settings, including ray tracing and DLSS.
The first one is traditionally DOOM Eternal – one of the not the most demanding projects of 2023. The RTX 3060 Ti ROG Strix OC Gaming is showing some pretty impressive numbers here. The average FPS value at maximum graphics settings during battles in both open and closed locations of the “Hell on Earth” level was kept at around 58 FPS (1% Low – 44.8). The maximum temperature during the test reached 60 degrees.
Next, we tested Death Standing, released in summer 2023 on a PC that uses DLSS 2.0, which allows you to increase the resolution using a neural network with minimal performance loss.
At maximum settings in 4K with DLSS in quality mode, the project of the Japanese genius was able to produce an average of 93 frames (1% Low – 58.2), which is more than enough for a comfortable game. At the same time, the GPU was loaded by an average of 87%, and the maximum temperature did not exceed 63 degrees. When switching DLSS to performance mode, the frame rate increased by ~ 10 frames on average (104, 1% low – 70.2) at the same load and temperature. At the same time, the picture has not changed much.
After that, we launched Remedy’s Control. The game supports not only ray tracing technology for creating realistic lighting and reflections, but also DLSS 2.0. With maximum ray tracing settings at 4K, rendering resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels and DLSS enabled, the project produces an average of 55 frames (1% low 35.3).
The last project we decided to check out was of course Cyberpunk 2077, which uses DLSS 2.0 and ray tracing. At the highest graphics settings with maximum RTX and DLSS parameters in the “Ultra Performance” mode in the city, the system produces an average of 50 FPS (1% low – 23.2). With the “Balanced” DLSS setting, the average frame rate is around 19 FPS (1% low – 8.9). It looks sharper, but it’s just impossible to play. The temperature during the test reached 65 degrees.
It is worth noting that in 4K in the factory overclocked mode (OC Mode), the average noise in the room from the case with noise isolation during the tests was recorded at around 40-45 dB, which is quiet enough for such a powerful cooling system. The noise from the computer is unlikely to disturb you much, even at night. The maximum power consumption during the tests is 238 W.
RESULTS
NVIDIA 3060 Ti could have become a real bestseller among gamers, but due to the rise in the cost of cryptocurrency, it has become one among miners and resellers. Against the background of the resulting deficit, retail speculates, which has decided to cash in on PC users.
In March, the average cost of the model we are considering today reached 125 thousand rubles according to the site E-Katalog.ru, and now it has jumped to 140 thousand, which, to put it mildly, is inadequate.
ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ROG Strix OC Gaming really wants to praise for the cooling system, which in overclocking mode did not allow the GPU to heat up even to 70 degrees, while making relatively little noise.
This card is great for running the latest games at resolutions up to 4K, but you have to tinker with ray tracing in the settings so as not to sacrifice much performance.
Author: Sergey Dyakonenko (Madnfs)
Photo: Alexey Olkin
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