Conclusion
There we have it, ASUS’s top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 5070 offering, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 OC Edition for $739.99 from ASUS. ASUS has two distinct models this generation in the GeForce RTX 5070 lineup with the TUF Gaming and the PRIME series. In those two series are non-OC Edition and OC Edition video cards with a factory overclock. The model we reviewed today, TUF-RTX5070-O12G-GAMING, is the one with the high factory overclock out-of-the-box and the most robust custom design from ASUS. If you are looking more towards MSRP pricing, the PRIME series will be what you are after.
In this evaluation today we put the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition through its paces. Designed in the TUF theme, this video card comes overclocked out of the box and is fitted with a very robust cooling system. The ASUS GeForce RTX 5070 TUF Gaming OC Edition is fitted with 12GB of GDDR7 and fitted with ASUS’s military-grade components and axial fan design with a myriad of extreme ASUS manufacturing technologies. It’s also a very large video card, at a 3.125-slot design and 14″ long, and 4″ thick, it’s a beast of a card. We compared the performance of this card to the latest competition from AMD with a factory overclocked Radeon RX 9070-GPU based video card.
Overclocking and Performance
For our performance testing shown, it is important to note that we compared it with a factory overclocked Radeon RX 9070 in our comparisons, as the RX 9070 is a partner-release card with no reference AMD cards. We chose these based on the price and position at the time of release, but note that the AMD RX 9070 used is showing a price online that is above MSRP as well, and out-of-stock at $100 less than the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition, but what the actual price will be with these cards when in stock, will fluctuate on both ends.
Overclocking the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition was a very straightforward process with GPU Tweak III. As we stated, this is a very good overclocker allowing a final Boost Clock of 2871MHz and 30Gbps on the memory side. Real time Boost averaged 3090MHz. This was 8% better than the out-of-box performance and translated to between 6% and 8% increases in gaming. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition has a large power target increase, able to reach +20%, taking it from 250W up to 300W, giving more headroom for tweaking.
The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition is a card worth overclocking, to be sure. The benefit from overclocking is also aided by the superior cooling design. Temperatures remained low while the fans were never heard from. One area the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 has an improvement is with the memory temperatures, actually. Our ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070’s memory ran at a cool 58c, while in our RTX 5070 FE review, it reached 78c on the memory, which is a very big difference. ASUS has improved cooling in all aspects.
As we demonstrated in our trials, you can push the clock frequencies higher than we finalized. In ASUS GPU Tweak III, be sure to enable the enhancement options in the menu to extend the range of frequency options, as well as the voltage tuning so that you can tweak undervolting as well if you want to do more advanced tuning yourself. Gaming performance was nicely improved by overclocking as well.
Turning to performance, well, it was a bit underwhelming in comparison to the competition, but mind you, the 1440p gameplay experience was still an enjoyable and playable experience on the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition. In plain raster performance, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition came out on top in one game without the aid of an overclock and then three of seven. The overclocked Radeon RX 9070 showed how very competitive it is in plain raster performance. The margin was 10% overall outperformed, but the range was, in some cases, quite a bit larger.
Switching to ray tracing, none of the cards we used could run any of the games without upscaling. Two games had to be lowered to 1080p. Overall, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition held the top spot by an average of only 6%. In Star Wars Outlaws, the tide was turned in favor of the Radeon RX 9070 by 10%. When overclocked, the ASUS GeForce RTX 5070 TUF Gaming OC Edition managed to pull even in Star Wars Outlaws.
Final Points
The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 OC Edition is a well-designed video card. It has all the qualities we have come to expect from a well-built, recognized branding. The video card overclocks well and gives you 8% more performance while at the same time remaining cool and quiet. It has an MSRP of $739.99 officially on ASUS’s website, but pricing can change over the course of time, so keep an eye on that.
The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition offers the highest tier of performance from ASUS in the GeForce RTX 5070 line-up with a very high factory overclock. We are in fact impressed with how high the overclock is, at 2610MHz out-of-the-box (and a software OC mode to 2640MHz), it actually clocked around 2840MHz while gaming, which is a real advantage. That advantage is multiplied by the incredible cooling, silent operation, just rock-solid build of the card, and overclocking potential.
The real stickler for this generation is going to be the pricing and availability of video cards. At the moment, availability is an issue, but it won’t always be the case. We also expect pricing to potentially change and fluctuate over time. At the time of writing, the $739.99 price-point seems steep when you put the competition into the mix at this price-point, but those video cards are having availability and pricing issues also, and the pricing we see on them now may not be where they end up on both ends. We suggest keeping an eye on pricing and checking our price widget to see updates on the pricing and availability.
Overall, if you are in the market for a workhorse of a card based on the GeForce RTX 5070, with a factory overclock and some enthusiast tweaking options from ASUS, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 OC Edition is well-suited for a great GeForce RTX 5070 experience. If you want to stick with ASUS and stay closer to MSRP, turn your eyeballs toward ASUS’s PRIME line-up as well.
Discussion (9 replies)
Join Discussion →Man I have a ruff time wondering why people would by this over a 9070 or even a 9070xt.
I agree. Now that the 9070XT is out, the choice is obvious, especially if you dont care about ray tracing. But....thats the deal and it is the pinnacle of graphics in the right games. What we dont talk much about though is turning on DLSS4 and jacking up FrameGen to 4x. That is the game changer for the 5070. Yeah....but....its.....fake....frames....I dont care. It takes a game the card cant handle and lets you play it. Ive done it in a bunch of ray traced games and the technology is pretty amazing. Isnt that what we are all about? Improving technology? I mean, overclocking is just brute force DLSS and we all think that is fine and dandy. Circling back...in plain raster, 9070XT at 1440 is the schizzle, hands down.
I have nothing against MFG in games. My problem is while it might be an non issue in a lot of games... and look/work just fine. The latency it introduces to controls for people that don't realize that will hurt them. Sure they will learn... but then enters buyers remorse.
Alternatively... I've seen some interesting tech in use where people are using their ADM card for raster then an NVidia card for MFG on top of it... it's kind of bonkers.... very hit or miss... but would be cool if that could work. high frame rate base game with MFG tacked on could be a great experience all around.
The problem is, it too is expensive, and not at MSRP, with rumors that pricing on the 9070/XT will actually not be MSRP, but higher, in the next couple of months it's all a wash. The prices fluctuating on both ends, is a problem for everyone. It's very uncertain times. So in a perfect world, at MSRP, I might agree with you, but if the 9070/XT is also very inflated on pricing, then, well, /shrug
I dont think thats a fair assumption.
You cant base your purchase on rumors.
I dont care if the two cards cost the same. The new AMD cards are very good and the nvidia cards at the low end arent. About all nvidia has is the improvement in DLSS and everybody has big hate for that, instead of congratulations for pretty amazing technology.
Unfortuntely, all the cards are out of stock right now, so we don't know what the available price actually is for the 9070/XT either. If you look at PC Part Picker, any 9070s showing in stock are above $700, up to $850, and that's just for the 9070 model, ouch.
It is not really an assumption, it's a given right now that AMD's GPUs are not going to be MSRP pricing. They are in fact, marked to go up in pricing; that is pretty much confirmed.
It truly is uncertain on both sides, not great for the consumer sadly. I've said it before, GPU MSRP is a construct, and that is truly the sad state of affairs.
As for features, I would argue NVIDIA has the upper-hand in the DLSS Upscaling department, DLSS 4's Transformer model is amazing for Upscaling quality and beats AMD's FSR 4 implementation in quality, plus DLSS is simply integrated in more games than FSR 4 currently. Frame Generation's usefulness aside, NVIDIA does hold a win in DLSS Upscaling and FG image quality currently.
While AMD has improved in RT performance, our testing does show NVIDIA holds the win in RT performance still as well.
A big advantage red team, though, is the 16GB VRAM buffer on the 9070. The 5070's 12GB is not acceptable.
I agree with everything and if you're doing online video calls off of your gaming box... the broadcast suite offered by Nvidia is also very nice. Though animated backgrounds and AI eye attention being turned on kills 6 gig of vram (work laptop) it does work.
I grabbed the TUF 5070 OV to replace my EVGA 3070FTW and do not regret it.. I probably will 10 months from now but maybe not.
Price was solid around $600 and as much as I should of sprung for the TI model im still happy.
Overall it smashes my old 3070 I used for 3 years and that 3070 gave me countless hours of 1440p gaming. But it would struggle with RT On with higher settings. The 3070 was sliding by with some Vaseline for 4K on my cheap tv.. mostly slow clickers and lighter titles. But it still played Hogwarts and sorts well with low or no RT.
This 5070 is the first time I've ever had a current card and it proved true. As much as I thought about finding a 4070TI or even the 5070TI I thin I will be okay for a bit, much better then I was with the 3070.
I havent even thought about using the Tweak app to OC yet. I am pretty happy with all my favorite and newer games. I'll be playing mostly 1440p unless I find a fun action game or something like GoW Ragnorak with a controller.
Like I said I could regret it a few months down the road but I am tired of seeing items go out of stock and rising prices. Figured grab it now and make the best of it and so far so good.
I like the basic design and this GPU runs a lot cooler and quieter then the 3070. My 3070 would only get loud when pressed but it did get warm around 80c. Those same games and scenarios the 5070 laughs staying fairly cool around 60c, I did see it climb to about 70c after an hour or two of Ragnorak or something.
I am also not used to being able to use native settings as my 3070 was always relying on the DLSS.
Idk about the AMD competition I do know the one model offered more speed and power for possibly cheaper but I've used nvidia for 20+ years and always been happy.
Also my first non EVGA GPU since BFGTech was around. ASUS is my go to for motherboards w the ROGs and this card just looked and felt right.
Need to pour one out for both of those names.