Overall and Final Verdict
While the RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition just used the same cooler as the RTX 3080 Founders Edition, the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition is a unique design. The card comes in between the 3080 and 3070 in length and mixes features we saw in the 3080 like having the fans on both sides and the backplate design with the S-shaped shroud design of the original RTX 3070 Founders Edition. The end result is a really good looking card, I might even like it more than the X-shaped design that the 3080 uses and I like that a lot. Being a Founders Edition, it is of course an all-metal design which means solid construction, no worries of the card bowing or flexing in the future, and it feels like you have something valuable when you hold it. I hate that I even have to say it, but Nvidia also keeps the size of the cards down to reality, sticking with the standard 2 slot design and with the height being that of a standard PCIe card not just going crazy with things. So you only have to worry about length when figuring out if it will fit.
As for performance, the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition is a monster. I saw an 11% improvement across all of the games we tested at 4K. The other resolutions were lower, but still not bad as well, and the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition is the new top dog when it comes to 1440p. Especially if you want to run modern titles with a high refresh monitor which is it capable of doing.
The RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition does pull a lot more power considering the performance improvement so there is some efficiency lost with the addition of two SMs, a higher clock speed, and the new/faster memory. Like with all other Founders Edition cards, the cooling performance could always be better as well. It isn’t bad, but the smaller card size does limit things when you compare it against the giant aftermarket cards.
The other downside, and I hate having to mention it again because it isn’t specific to this card. But overall the limited availability of ANY cards which has caused pricing to go just completely crazy is a big downside currently. In fact, the MSRP that Nvidia has put with the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition of $599 which isn’t bad considering where the card fits between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 doesn’t matter right now because we know that they will be selling for a LOT more than that soon. That said, if the prices were back to normal that wouldn’t be a bad price and right now that would be a steal!
Live Pricing: HERE
