Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition OC

Review: Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition OC

Conclusion

...instrumental in making this RTX 3070 the quietest high-end card we've ever tested.

Most premium graphics cards tend to be variations on a well-trodden theme. Performance is largely similar due to scaling limitations from the GPU and memory, so the choice of vendor is predicated on aesthetics, cooling performance, and in 2021, availability.

Asus takes a different path with the RTX 3070 Noctua Edition. Rather than offer more glitz via RGB or an extra 20MHz frequency which makes literally no difference to framerates, the decision to adopt over-the-top cooling is pivotal in reducing noise and creating great PR buzz.

A 4.3-slot form factor, monster housing, and an oversized heatsink featuring dual high-quality fans are instrumental in making this RTX 3070 the quietest high-end card we've ever tested. So much so, in fact, that our test PC, cooled by a custom-curve AIO, is practically silent at idle whilst producing the most inoffensive hum at full gaming load.

It's true to say that most rival cards can also be made vastly quieter by spending a bit of time fine-tuning the fan curve, but this Asus/Noctua creation does it right off the bat. Some will baulk at the colour scheme, some will be left agog by its sheer size, and others may wish to see the same treatment on the true upper echelons of GeForce RTX and Radeon RX hardware. All valid points.

What's uncontestable, however, is this card's ability to churn out healthy framerates with the least amount of aural fuss. Recommended to quiet-computing aficionados.

The Good		The Bad
Really, really quiet Excellent build quality Runs passive most of the time Dual BIOSes		Likely to be in stock constraint Does it really have to be this big?

Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition OC

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TBC.

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I really like this card, but the size would put me off…of course using standard size fans would always make it a bit…'girthy'…but as someone who does use more than just one PCIe expansion card, it wouldn't work well in my system. If I were to buy a GPU with this kind of cooling system, it'd probably be at 3080 or 3080ti. I do wonder if there's a market for a manufacturer to offer a cooling solution like this but without any fans, so you could use whichever fans appeal?

MrJim
I really like this card, but the size would put me of…of course using standard size fans would always make it a bit…'girthy'…but as someone who does use more than just one PCIe expansion card, it wouldn't work well in my system. If I were to buy a GPU with this kind of cooling system, it'd probably be at 3080 or 3080ti. I do wonder if there's a market for a manufacturer to offer a cooling solution like this but without any fans, so you could use which fans appeal?

I guess the point of a card like this is to make it silent, so perhaps a higher end card with another 100W to get rid of that stops being possible. GPU fans are usually pretty slim, and the standard heatsink is slimmer than this. I would want to get more out of that extra width than some brown colouring that I can't see once the case is back on.

DanceswithUnix
I guess the point of a card like this is to make it silent, so perhaps a higher end card with another 100W to get rid of that stops being possible. GPU fans are usually pretty slim, and the standard heatsink is slimmer than this. I would want to get more out of that extra width than some brown colouring that I can't see once the case is back on.

Debauer's review is interesting too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpk4UM1VQOY

Given the performance, I don't think an extra 100W of cooling would be problem for such a design. Even at full speed, I doubt you'd hear it over the noise of the rest of one's PC. Like you though, I wouldn't put it in a windowed case!

DanceswithUnix
I guess the point of a card like this is to make it silent, so perhaps a higher end card with another 100W to get rid of that stops being possible. GPU fans are usually pretty slim, and the standard heatsink is slimmer than this. I would want to get more out of that extra width than some brown colouring that I can't see once the case is back on.

Obviously not cheap, what if someone took a 3090 or 6900 and downclocked it to meet 3070 performance. Might it be as quiet as this with the option to clock back to normal in a few years?

Wide and slow vs narrow and fast type thing.

kompukare
Obviously not cheap, what if someone took a 3090 or 6900 and downclocked it to meet 3070 performance.

3070 FE isn't that much louder in the Hexus charts and runs at 70C during games; a small cut to the TDP and raising the temperature threshold to 80C would get pretty close to this in terms of noise/performance. A similarly tweaked 3080 would be well clear.

Kind of a pointless thought experiment when none of them are easily available and the price/performance is a mystery, of course.

Review: Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition OC

Conclusion

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