GeForce RTX 30 series: custom-cooled AiB graphics cards announced

Yesterday, Nvidia officially revealed the RTX 30 series of graphics cards, including the RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070. All three GPUs are coming over the next two months and as you would expect, board partners have already prepared their own custom-cooled solutions to try and improve on Nvidia's reference design. In this post, we'll be breaking down a slew of announced custom-cooled RTX 30 GPUs from a range of AiBs. 

ASUS ROG, ASUS DUAL and ASUS TUF Gaming

As you would expect, ASUS has a lineup of custom RTX 30 series GPUs waiting for a worldwide launch later this month. This includes an ROG STRIX edition, TUF Gaming and the classic ASUS DUAL as an entry-level point.

The ROG Strix graphics cards get a complete overhaul on the cooler, with the new shroud containing three axial-tech fans. The middle fan has 13 blades for high static pressure, while the two fans at either side of it have 11 blades for extra airflow. The heat spreader is “polished with MaxContact technology”, you can also expect high-grqade capacitors, chokes, power phases, a vented backplate and dual BIOS all in a 2.9-slot design.

The TUF Gaming series uses another three-fan design, optimised for “reduced turbulence” and features a 0db mode to stop the fans when idling. The GPU and memory have their own heatsinks and as usual for TUF-branded gear, ‘military-grade' components are also touted. Last on the list is the Asus Dual, which aims to deliver the “ampere architecture experience in its purest form” with a clean dual-fan cooling shroud and an aluminium backplate.

MSI Gaming Trio and MSI Ventus

MSI will undoubtedly have a few more models popping up over the course of this generation but for now at launch, you can expect to see an MSI Gaming Trio and MSI Ventus edition for the RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070.

The MSI GAMING Trio gets an upgrade to the TRI FROZR 2 cooling system, complete with three TORX 4.0 fans and an all-black finish – including a matte black backplate. RGB LEDs can be found on the front of the cooler and along the side to add a dash of colour. Unfortunately, we do not have clock speeds to share at this time, but these should end up coming with a factory overclock.

The MSI VENTUS 3x is a slightly stripped down triple-fan cooler using enhanced TORX 3.0 fans instead. There will also be a dual-fan variant for the RTX 3070.

EVGA Kingpin and ICX3

Headlining EVGA's lineup is of course the RTX 3090 Kingpin edition, using an all-in-one liquid cooler to tame the GPU and pave the way for massive overclocks. Alternatively, there will be the Hydro Copper edition with a custom water cooling block for DIY liquid cooling loops, and a cheaper ‘Hybrid' version with an AIO, which will come with less of the overclocking goodies found on the Kingpin edition.

For air-cooling, you can look towards the FTW3 and XC3 editions, which will be available on the RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070. The FTW3 triple-fan cooler has had a redesign, with upgraded fan bearings, asymmetric fan arrangement, a unified copper block for GPU and memory cooling and of course, there is an ARGB light bar across the EVGA logo.

The XC3 cooler hasn't been fully detailed, but it looks to be a simpler version of the new ICX3  cooler on the FTW3 edition. There is no RGB here, but you still get a triple-fan cooling solution to keep that new Ampere GPU running cool.

Palit GamingPro and GameRock

Whenever there is a new Nvidia graphics card launch, Palit is closely following with its own custom-cooled versions. For the RTX 30 series, Palit is starting us off with a GamingPro and GameRock version of the RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070.

The Palit GameRock series is designed for enthusiast gamers with maximum RGB and a triple-fan design. Meanwhile, the GamingPro takes on a less bedazzling design, with simpler RGB LED strips stretching across the middle fan of the triple-fan cooler.

Gigabyte and AORUS 

Gigabyte and its high-end gaming line-up, AORUS, are focusing on the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 for now. At the top of the line-up, you will find an AORUS RTX 3090 XTREME 24G and an AORUS RTX 3080 XTREME 10G. The XTREME design implements ‘max-covered cooling' with unique blade-stack fans with alternate spinning, allowing air pressure to completely cover the heatsink. The extended heatsink also allows air to pass straight through from the front to the back of the card, which should provide better heat dissipation.

Next in line is the AORUS RTX 3090 MASTER 24G and AORUS RTX 3080 MASTER 10G, which comes with the same cooler, but will likely differ in factory overclock. Unfortunately exact clock speeds have not been unveiled yet.

Finally to round out the Gigabyte lineup, we get a GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 GAMING OC and an ‘EAGLE OC' version too. All four graphics cards come with the triple-fan WINDFORCE 3X cooler, a metal backplate and RGB Fusion 2.0.

ZOTAC AMP, Trinity and Twin Edge

ZOTAC has three cooler designs lined up for the RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070. At the top of the list, you will find the AMP Extreme, which introduces a HoloBlack “aurora-like holographic finish”, which allows colour to shift depending on the angle. The shroud is slightly transparent, allowing RGB LEDs to glow underneath. For performance enthusiasts, POWERBOOST is a new feature being implemented, which is described as “a high temperature resistant chip that enables continued longevity and stronger performance”.

Next up is the ZOTAC GAMING Trinity and Twin Edge cooler designs. As the names imply, the Trinity is a triple-fan cooling solution, while the Twin Edge uses a dual-fan design. Both use “a more refined IceStorm 2.0 cooling system” and an 11-blade fan design to increase airflow by up to 10 percent compared to the previous generation.

PNY XLR8

PNY is keeping things simple for now, with an XLR8 Triple Fan Edition for all three new Nvidia RTX 30 series GPUs. There are two slightly different designs for the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080, one with bolder lighting encircling the middle fan, and another with a more classic look with ARGB LED strips at the top and bottom of the cooler. Meanwhile, the RTX 3070 is only available in the one design.

Going by the product pages, all of the XLR8 PNY RTX 30 series GPUs will be shipping with reference clock speeds.

Conclusion:

For those that need a reminder, here is the spec sheet for the Founder's Edition RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 GPUs:

	GeForce RTX 3090	GeForce RTX 3080	GeForce RTX 3070
CUDA Cores	10,496	8,704	5,888
VRAM	24 GB GDDR6X	10 GB GDDR6X	8 GB GDDR6
Prices Starting At	$1499	$699	$499
Release Date	September 24	September 17	Available October

Many of the AiB cards announced and listed in the paragraphs above do not have clock speed listings at this time, however, specifics on factory overclocks should become clear in the weeks to come, with almost all of these GPUs expected to be on the market by the end of September. We should also get a more clear indication of pricing in the weeks ahead too when pre-orders start to go live.

Beyond that, we'll also be getting independent reviews in the weeks to come, which will give us an idea of the DIY overclocking potential for Ampere. We'll have plenty more RTX 30 series coverage throughout the rest of the year as we evaluate as many different partner cards as possible, in addition to the Founders Editions.

KitGuru Says: What do you all think of the RTX 30 series so far? Are you planning on upgrading to a Founders or an AiB-supported custom-cooled graphics card? 

Become a Patron!