ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC video card review: no fault’s
19.03.21
Video card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti was introduced at the end of 2020. 
Then it was the youngest model in the new generation GeForce RTX 3000 based on the Ampere architecture.
Later the RTX 3060 was released and at the time of publication, graphics adapters based on the RTX 3060 Ti occupy an intermediate position between RTX 3070 and RTX 3060.
Analyzing the characteristics, you can see that theRTX 3060 Ti is much superior to the RTX 3060 and is actually a somewhat stripped-down version of the RTX 3070. It even uses the same GPU.
Getting to know ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition
The presented ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition (TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING) belongs to a very advanced, although not the top line of video cards from ASUS – TUF Gaming. For example, ASUS ROG models are positioned higher.
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition (TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING)
The design is already familiar from many other modern ASUS TUF Gaming video cards, both based on NVIDIA GPUs, and AMD.
The video card immediately makes a very pleasant impression. The front part of the case and the back plate are metal.
Frankly, we like the appearance of the ASUS TUF Gaming series graphics cards even more than the ASUS ROG Strix.
Comparison of the design of modern ASUS video cards of the TUF Gaming series (above in the photo) and ROG Strix
The video card turned out to be very large, which is due to the use of a massive radiator.
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC is both long and wide. The system will take 2.7 expansion slots.
The “CO Edition” prefix in the name indicates that its frequency is slightly higher compared to the same model without the “CO Edition” prefix.
The Axial-tech fans used are traditionally designed for ASUS with an external rim. The central fan rotates in the opposite direction, but the air flow is also directed towards the radiator. This is implemented for better organization of air flows.
Once again, we praise ASUS for adding an additional HDMI to the standard (for RTX 3060 Ti) set of connectors, consisting of three DisplayPort and one HDMI.
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC has two BIOS chips. The selection is made by a mechanical switch. One chip is responsible for the Performance mode, and the other for the Quiet mode. This is a nice bonus.
A single 8-pin connector is used for additional power. There is an LED next to it. If you forget to connect the wire, it will turn red.
Compared with ASUS ROG models, the backlight in this ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC can be called relatively modest.
It is controllable, there is a choice of colors and effects, but only two small elements are highlighted (the stripe and the ASUS TUF logo).
Cooling system
When examining the features of the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition (TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING) cooling system, a very pleasant surprise is discovered.
This video card has exactly the same CO as the older model ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070, which means a large margin of cooling efficiency. We will, of course, check this in practice.
The radiator is blown by three fans of the same size. As already mentioned, the central one rotates in the opposite direction compared to the side ones.
The radiator, by the way, is longer than the printed circuit board. This was done on purpose. Part of it is blown “through” through a special window on the back plate.
The GPU is in contact with the heatsink through a heat distribution plate.
Other key elements for cooling, such as memory and power chips, are also pressed against various parts of the radiator.
In both Performance and Quiet modes, the fans stop completely when the load is light and the GPU temperature drops below a set point.
Frequencies, temperatures, noise, power consumption
The reference GPU boost frequency of 1665 MHz for the RTX 3060 Ti is increased in the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition to 1755 MHz.
And the memory frequency was left at the standard level of 14,000 MHz (resulting frequency).
Here is a screenshot of GPU-Z showing the characteristics of the video card in Performance and Quiet modes. As you can see, there are no differences in frequencies.
In many games, the GPU frequencies of this video card reach 1870–1920 MHz.
If the video card is loaded at 100%, thenpower consumption is around 200 Wwhich corresponds to the standard TDP for RTX 3060 Ti graphics adapters.
For this scenario, we usually use the 3DMark Time Spy test.
Video card parameters when running under load
Having a powerful cooling system from the older model, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition video card turned out to be very quiet and “cold” in operation.
On an open bench at a room temperature of 24 °Cthe temperature stabilized at around 55–56 °C with fan speeds of about 1400 rpm
It is noteworthy that by enabling the BIOS, which is responsible for the Quiet mode, we obtained approximately the same operating frequencies, power consumption, and temperatures.
Assume that in more challenging conditions, such as high room temperature, low airflow case, Q (Quiet) mode will allow higher GPU temperatures while keeping fan speeds lower than P (Performance) mode.
The GPU-Z application in the latest versions has learned to show the temperature of the so-called “hot spot”. Judging by the measurements, this temperature is higher than the GPU temperature (as it should be), but also at a very safe level.
In general, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition (TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING) is doing just fine with cooling.
If overclocking is accompanied by an increase in the power consumption limit, then the reserve is small – at most it increases to 108%.
The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC has throttle noise in some games, but not a single powerful video card can do without this drawback. In this case, such noise is expressed very slightly.
Performance
Test system configuration:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9600KF overclocked to 4.8 GHz on all cores
- Motherboard: ASUS TUF Z390-PRO GAMING
- RAM: 2×8 GB DDR4 3200 MHz (Kingston HyperX FURY DDR4 RGB HX432C16FB3AK2/16)
- Power supply: Deepcool DN650
- Operating system: Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
- Driver used with ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070, ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER OC video card: NVIDIA GeForce 457.30
- Driver used with ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 OC video cards: NVIDIA GeForce 461.72
All games were set to maximum or close to maximum graphics settings.
RT on the charts is a test with tracing enabled, DLSS is the use of DLSS technology in the game. The 3DMark: Port Royal test also uses tracing.
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition was compared in terms of performance with representatives based on GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 3070 and RTX 2080 SUPER. The role of these rivals was played by ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 OC, ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 and ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER OC.
In tests, the difference between the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti represented by the tested ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC and the younger RTX 3060 turned out to be very decent (about 25–30%).
The gap between the RTX 3060 Ti and the RTX 3070 is not so large, but still noticeable.
When compared with previous generation video cards, theRTX 3060 Ti demonstrates performance at or slightly higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER.
For its class, the speed of the RTX 3060 Ti turned out to be simply excellent.
Conclusions
Video cards based on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, although they belong to the middle class, demonstrate very impressive performance.
In the previous generation, only high-end models showed such results.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has speeds that are about the same as or slightly higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER, which is very, very respectable. At the same time, of course, the RTX 3060 Ti has better energy efficiency.
When compared with its modern counterparts, theNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is ahead of the GeForce RTX 3060 more than it is behind the GeForce RTX 3070.
Based on recommended prices, then, oddly enough, the RTX 3060 Ti is a more attractive solution in terms of price/performance ratio compared to the RTX 3060.
Now a few words about the tested ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition (TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING).
This video card is an example of a very high-quality implementation based on the RTX 3060 Ti.
We couldn’t find any serious shortcomings; we can only find fault with the little things. For example, the card is very large, the power consumption limit can be increased by only 8% (used for overclocking).
Overall, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC leaves only pleasant impressions.
High-quality materials are used in the external design; the model has a simply chic cooling system with a decent reserve.
As a result, low temperatures of key elements and quiet operation are ensured.
There are also nice additions in the form of adjustable backlighting and dual BIOS.
And a little about the sad…
There are still no video cards on sale at reasonable prices.
While the profitability from mining remains high (and it is currently very high), video cards are in high demand from “crypto diggers” and prices will be far below the recommended ones.
Even if manufacturers are able to provide increased production volumes, which is currently a problem, the situation will hardly change.
Characteristics of ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition (TUF-RTX3060TI-O8G-GAMING) |
|
| Model: | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti |
| Interface: | PCI Express 4.0 ×16 |
| GPU: | GA104 (Ampere) |
| Technical process: | 8 nm |
| Video memory: | 8 GB, GDDR6 |
| Memory bus: | 192 bit |
| GPU frequency: | 1410 (1755 boost) MHz |
| Resulting memory frequency: | 15,000 MHz |
| Outputs: | 2×HDMI (2.1), 3× DisplayPort (1.4a) |
| Additional power connector: | 8 Pin |
| Energy consumption: | 200 W |
| Supplier: | ASUS Representative Office |
| Recommended price in the USA: | $399 |
| Conditional price in Ukraine (at the time of publication): | $1250 |
Rating:
+ Excellent performance
+ efficient, quiet cooling system
+ fans switch off at low load
+ dual BIOS
+ high-quality external design
– large dimensions
– far from the recommended price (situation as of March 2021)
Read also:
- Review of the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 video card. Is it far behind the RTX 3060 Ti?
- Video card review ASUS TUF GAMING Radeon RX 6800. AMD did it
- Review of the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X 10G video card. Bentley in the world of video cards
- Review of the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO 10G video card. Comparison with RTX 2080 Super
- Video card review ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070. With a large margin
- Review of the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 video card and RGB PC build in ASUS style
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