Conclusion
In this review, we took the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING for a ride on our test bench to see how this high-end RTX 3070 GPU would compare to a decked-out Radeon RX 6700 XT card. It commands a $190 premium over the RTX 3070 Founders Edition card but also brings a more traditional three fan cooler and an impressive factory overclock to the game. Of course, it’s about as rare as hens’ teeth in the market, but we’ll complain about that elsewhere.
Gaming Performance
1440p
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING performed well against the MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT GAMING XT. It provided a solid 1440p gaming experience with all of the image quality knobs turned up to 11 (except for Ray Tracing). If you’re rocking a 1440p monitor, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING will do just fine for your gaming needs at this time.
4K
Moving up to 4K gave us a bit more indigestion than 1440p did. Horizon Zero Dawn and Shadow of the Tomb Raider turned in playable results while Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs: Legion, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Metro Exodus circled the drain rather slowly. While the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING generally lead the MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT GAMING X, none of the cards provided a good 4k gaming experience.
Ray Tracing and DLSS
From our testing, it is very clear that NVIDIA dominates Ray Tracing performance in games. When Ray Tracing was added to the testing equation, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING picked up the pace slapped its Radeon RX 6700 XT based competition with a trout. As our testing was at 1080p this time around we found that the RTX 3070 GPU provided a decent gaming experience with RTX enabled at 1080p.
Adding DLSS to the mix brought the frame rate by a significant margin to make the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING a great performer at 1080p with Ray Tracing and DLSS turned on.
Power and Temperature
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING maintained its cool at 59.1 degrees Celsius with its default configuration and dropped to 52.5 degrees Celsius when overclocked and its fans set to full blast.
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING used a bit more power than the MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT GAMING X that we compared it to, clocking in at 182W (10W higher than its competition). Overclocking increased power draw by 14W.
Overclocking
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING entered the match with a factory overclock that gave it a running start compared to the GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition. We were able to take it to the next level and stabilized at an average 2145MHz and 16.0GHz memory. That makes the observed core clock 210MHz and the memory 2000MHz faster than the maximum overclock on the Founders Edition.
While this is the highest sustained clock speed that we’ve seen on a GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, and the real-world performance was consistently better than other RTX 3070 cards that we’ve looked at. Something in the mix here between the iCX3 cooling and the power provided to the GPU keeps its performance higher than the rest.
Final Points
To wrap things up, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING is a solid contender from EVGA. We saw the highest observed gaming clock of any RTX 3070 that we’ve reviewed to date and the overclock was reflected in the performance of each game, unlike the XC3 variant that we’ve previously tested. The RGB high-profile black three fan design makes it a classy-looking addition to your rig.
When comparing the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING to the MSI Radeon RX 6700 GAMING X, it generally will outperform it in most titles but accept the occasional defeat. When Ray Tracing is enabled, the competition goes from close to completely different planes of existence. You could also argue it’s not fair to compare the RX 6700 XT based platform with its $479 MSRP to the RTX 3070 which has a base MSRP with the Founders Edition at $499, but given that it’s a $20 difference, it’s the closest AMD competition to the price point.
Yes, we know that most of the comments on this article will snipe at the lack of availability and pricing of any modern GPU. Go ahead, join the forums and add to your post count by airing your grievances. Yes, I said this in my last review. That being said, we’re assuming that if there’s reasonable stock of all of these cards in the marketplace that the RX 6700 XT and the factory overclocked AIB RTX 3070s will land at a comparable price point, whatever it happens to be.
With all things considered, if you have a split second to buy a 30 Series GPU, then the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING is absolutely worth making the purchase and enjoying your upgraded gaming experience as its performance has edged out all of the other RTX 3070 based cards that we’ve seen to date.
Discussion
