Introduction
On our test bench, today is the MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO video card. It sits near the top of MSI’s product stack with a big beefy cooler, stout factory overclock and even a bracket to help keep support it within your case. As we found from overclocking the GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition, there was a significant limitation on the power limit that we felt could help further our overclock beyond the 6% or so that we got out of it with a custom AIB solution.
Like all other GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs, this card is impossible to find in the retail environment but has an MSRP of $599. This represents a $100 premium over the GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition card, so we will compare it to the AMD Radeon RX 6800 which weighs in at an MSRP of $579 as well as an ASUS ROG STRIX 2080 Ti to see how well it rivals the previous generation’s king.
The GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition has an MSRP of $499. It is based on the Samsung 8nm manufacturing process and Ampere architecture. It has 46 SMs, 5,888 CUDA Cores, 184 Tensor Cores (3rd gen), 46 RT Cores (2nd gen), 184 Texture Units, and 96 ROPs. It has a GPU Boost Clock of 1725MHz. It has 8GB of GDDR6 memory at 14GHz on a 256-bit bus providing 448GB/s of memory bandwidth.
MSI RTX 3070 Models
MSI has six RTX 3070 models listed on its website and has recently announced its GeForce RTX 3070 SUPRIM X card as its halo product in the RTX 3070 lineup. The card we are reviewing today, the GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO sits just below the SUPRIM in the lineup with the other five cards landing below it.
The five lower cards comprise of the RTX 3070 GAMING TRIO (note: no X) and four Ventus cards that come in a combination of overclocked or stock and with two or three fans.
MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO
The MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO comes in a larger than usual but otherwise unassuming box that doesn’t let on how impressive the card is to hold. Once we cracked open the box, we could understand why it may be able to command a $100 premium, so we’ll keep an eye on how it performs to see if it earns its keep.
Specifications
MSI has given the RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO a factory overclock of 105MHz on the boost clock, bringing it from the stock 1725MHz up to 1830MHz. Keep in mind that the boost clock is a target based upon power, workload, and temperature and that value will typically be exceeded via the card’s boosting algorithm NVIDIA GPU Boost. It also sports 8GB of 14GHz GDDR 6 memory that is equal in speed to the reference specifications. MSI quotes power consumption at 240W TGP, which is 20W higher than the reference 220W TGP level.
From a size perspective, it’s simply a huge card. It’s tall, it’s wide and it may even weigh the same as a duck (therefore, a witch?). Specifically, it is 12.7 inches long, 5.5 inches in width and 2.2 inches tall and weighs in at 3.175 pounds. This is about an inch taller, an inch longer and a pound higher than the Ventus Trio class cards. The two fan Ventus models would simply get lost in the TRIO X’s shadow. For comparison, the GeForce RTX 3070 Founders edition’s length is 9 inches long, so the new MSI video card adds 3.7 inches to the length and much wider.
MSI TRI Frozr 2
MSI is utilizing its TRI FROZR 2 cooling setup that rests on three main features: TORX FAN 4.0, CORE PIPE, and FIN+AIRFLOW CONTROL. The TORX FAN 4.0 binds pairs of fan blades together around an outer ring design link that focuses airflow into heatsink and heatpipe system. CORE PIPE is the term for precision-machining the heatpipes for maximum contact over the GPU and FIN+AIRFLOW CONTROL is part of the design of the heatsink fins to direct airflow in a manner that disrupts unwanted airflow harmonics.
Pictures and Information
The RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO comes in a larger than a regulation-sized box that displays a picture of it on the front along with the usual labeling stating the RTX 3070 GPU can be found inside. On the back, MSI toots its horn about the TRI FROZR 2 cooling solution that includes the TORX FAN 4.0, CORE PIPE, and AIRFLOW CONTROL. Other features adorn the back of the box down with the mice type. Inside the box, it included a bracket to help secure the card in the event that your pants video card sags in your case setup.
The front of the card features three TORX FAN 4.0 fans which bind every other fan blade to each other to better direct airflow into the TRI FROZR 2 cooling solution. It’s a full two PCI-e slots wide and sports three Display Port 1.4a connections and one HDMI 2.0 connection.
The MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO is equipped with a backplate to help further the distribution of heat. MSI says it is made with Graphene to assist with heat conductivity and strength.
As you can see, this MSI RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO video card utilizes four SP-CAP capacitors on the backside of the GPU. There are no arrays of MLCC being used, but don’t let that be a deterrent. The over boosting crash issue was only related to GeForce RTX 3080 video cards at the onset. NVIDIA has since fixed that issue on a driver level. Plus, MSI has customized the PCB design, power delivery, and other components. SP-CAP capacitors are plenty robust for stable overclocking on this video card.
The video card requires two 8-pin standard PCI-Express power connectors. MSI recommends a 650W Power Supply.