Introduction
Today we have a unique, custom video card from ASUS. This video card packs the power of a full GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with a factory overclock, into a package that is less than eight inches. This is the smallest, fastest video card in this size with this much performance for small form factor builds, including Intel NUC 9 and other small builds. This is a review of the ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 2070 MINI OC edition 8GB GDDR6 (DUAL-RTX2070-O8G-MINI) video card.
We like customization like this. Sometimes you just take a GPU and build a large heatsink and fan design around it, and live it large by literally oversizing the heatsink and PCB. This is great and all, but what if you went the other way. What if a manufacturer took a powerful GPU and shrunk the PCB, and shrunk the cooling to make it fit in tight spaces, yet still retain excellent cooling and even a factory overclock?
Well, ASUS has done just this with the small, yet efficient, ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 2070 MINI video card. We actually made a news post about this video card back in January, and now we have the video card to review here in April. It sports no less than a full spec NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with a full 8GB of GDDR6 in less than eight inches, and in a 2-slot design. This is an RTX 2070 graphics card. Yes, ASUS has done this, this is truly what we call a customized video card for a custom purpose. This is a purpose-built video card through and through.
ASUS DUAL RTX 2070 MINI Versions
Firstly, there are two different models of this video card from ASUS. There is one with a factory overclock and one without. The regular 8G model operates with a stock reference NVIDIA specification GPU Boost of 1620MHz. This is the base stock reference specification of a regular (non-Founders Edition) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 video card.
Then there is the O8G version, also called OC Edition. This is the model we are reviewing today. It has a factory overclock GPU Boost of 1650MHz. Now, technically this is more than the regular standard version of the GeForce RTX 2070, however, it is less than the 1710MHz GPU Boost clock of a Founders Edition GeForce RTX 2070. Remember, the Founders Edition runs faster than a standard version because it has a higher GPU Boost clock. Therefore, the ASUS RTX 2070 O8G DUAL MINI runs faster than a standard GeForce RTX 2070, but won’t clock as high as a Founders Edition out-of-the-box.
With both video cards, ASUS allows software overclocking through GPU Tweak II. There are easy “OC” modes supported on each video card that can be enabled with one button push in ASUS GPU Tweak II. The 8G version has its GPU Boost raised to 1650MHz in OC Mode in the software and the O8G version bumps its OC Mode up to 1680MHz. Even at 1680MHz Boost though, this is still just shy of a Founders Edition’s 1710MHz, but very close and well above the standard version.
These GPU clock speed differences are the only differences between the 8G and O8G version. Otherwise, they are built exactly the same. We just wanted to note these differences upfront and as we mentioned we are reviewing the O8G (OC Edition) model with the 1650MHz GPU Boost at default. We’ll go over what makes the ASUS DUAL RTX 2070 MINI very unique on the next page as we explore it in more detail.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
Before we dive into more detail on the ASUS DUAL RTX 2070 MINI let’s do a quick refresher on what the GeForce RTX 2070 GPU is, which is what powers this video card. The GeForce RTX 2070 launched in October of 2018. The regular version launched with an MSRP of $499 and the Founders Edition launched with an MSRP of $599. Since the launch, there have been some manufacturer price drops and sales online for GeForce RTX 2070.
The GeForce RTX 2070, also known as TU106, is based on the NVIDIA Turing architecture. It is manufactured at 12nm FinFET. It has 2304 CUDA Cores, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. As it is an RTX card it has 288 Tensor Cores and 36 RT Cores. It has a base clock of 1410MHz and a boost clock of 1620MHz (Founders Edition is clocked at 1710MHz) GPU frequency. It has 8GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus at 14GHz providing 448GB/sec of bandwidth.
It has one 8-pin power connector and a board power of 175W with a recommended PSU of 500W. The length of a reference card is 9 inches in length and 4.4 inches in width in a 2-slot axial fan design. The display outputs contain 1x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x DVI, and x USB Type-C.