The Nvidia TX 3080 Ti is here, at least for those lucky enough to find one. Announced earlier this week alongside the forthcoming RTX 3070 Ti, the 3080 Ti serves as the pricier successor to the GeForce RTX 3080, an excellent graphics card that made 4K gaming that much more affordable and exemplified just how transformative DLSS technology could be.
Like the RTX 3090, Nvidia’s newest flagship touts impressive 1440p and 4K performance, albeit in a smaller, quieter package with half the VRAM. It certainly isn’t cheap at $1,200, but given the ongoing semiconductor shortage and the outlandish street prices of most GPUs right now, the RTX 3080 Ti might be more affordable at MSRP than if you were to succumb to the resale market.
While we expect availability to be limited at launch and throughout the remainder of the year, several retailers currently have the RTX 3080 Ti in stock. Best Buy announced yesterday that it would give customers a chance to purchase a Founder’s Edition of the card at select stores today, however, unlike previous years, Best Buy will only offer the GPU in-store. Customers who are hoping to pick it up at launch will need to line up early and secure a ticket at 7:30AM local time before it officially goes on sale at 9:00AM local time. If you’re reading this now, chances are good that you’re already too late.
Heading to your local Micro Center might be your only other viable option, if you’re hoping to get one in-store. That retailer lists five RTX 3080 Ti models on its site from Gigabyte, Asus, EVGA, and MSI. If you’re looking to purchase the RTX 3080 Ti online, your options are limited. The cards will go on sale at B&H Photo, Newegg, Micro Center, and Amazon, however, we expect stock to sell out fast. You might have luck getting one online through MSI, PNY, Zotac, or EVGA’s site.
Here are some of the specific models available at the online retailers above (we’ll add more individual listings as they go live at other sites):
If these options fail you, try your luck in a Newegg Shuffle lottery on June 4th at 9AM ET:
This week, Apple brought its Apple TV app to many new Android TV devices — not just the Nvidia Shield. And Apple was smart to widen that support — the expiration date for free trials of Apple TV Plus is swiftly approaching, with many customers about to see their subscriptions end July 1st. That gives Apple a month to win over Android TV users by letting them watch flagship shows like the earnest and delightful Ted Lasso on the big screen, a show whose second season will premiere near the end of July.
The rollout of the Apple TV app to Android TV OS devices started Monday at 8AM PT, a Google spokesperson confirmed to The Verge. As a caveat, the Google spokesperson clarified that support does not extend to third-party operator set-top boxes, so, for example, devices like AT&T’s Android TV set-top box probably won’t get Apple TV anytime soon.
That Apple’s finally made its streaming app available across Android TV devices isn’t much of a shocker. The app was previously made available on non-Apple devices like the Chromecast with Google TV and the PlayStation 5, and it’s been on Roku and Fire TV devices since 2019. Some Sony TVs running Android TV and other Vizio models running SmartCast OS additionally received support for the app last year.
But it’s also not entirely shocking for a company banking heavily on its services offerings. Apple seems to have figured out somewhere along the way that it needed to play nice with other device makers if it wanted to grow Apple TV Plus subscriptions in any meaningful way. With some 660 million paid subscriptions across its services as of April, Apple TV Plus’ estimated 40 million U.S. subscribers is a small but certainly not insignificant slice of that pie — but that figure could quickly change come July when those users will have to decide whether Apple’s shows are worth paying for.
Apple launched its service back in 2019 with an astonishingly meager lineup of originals. Sure, they were high-caliber productions with big-name talent and directors at the helm. And sure, some of them were even good! (M. Night Shyamalan’s bizarre psychological thriller Servant is one such example.) But Apple has extended its lengthy free trials of the service that it offered to users who purchased its devices, and that trial period is very nearly about to end for some of the earliest users to hop on the freebie train.
Ted Lasso — which Tim Cook has cited as being a critical success for the platform — will, again, release its second season toward the end of next month. But for some Apple users, their free trials to Apple TV Plus end July 1st.
In other words, Apple’s dangling a content carrot in front of its most loyal users in hopes that they’ll stick around and hand over their money. But with so many other services available at present, it’s unclear whether that’ll be enough to make them stay. In fact, research MoffettNathanson estimated earlier this year that nearly 30 percent of Apple TV Plus subscribers did not plan to resubscribe following their trial periods. While $5 per month isn’t too much for a premium service comparatively speaking, it does start to add up when people are counting all the subscriptions they fork out money for each month.
Because Apple’s entire plan for the service is to be a hub for either its own in-house productions — or exclusively attained feature films like Tom Hanks’ Greyhound — that means the company has some catching up to do to reach anything close to the library scale of most of its peers, particularly considering it’s about to start making people pay for the service. Making it available across Android TV devices hooked up in users’ homes is a good way to prepare for this change. Plus, especially accounting for the pandemic, who on earth wants to watch an entire feature film on a palm-sized iPhone when they can watch it on the biggest screen in their home instead?
It’s almost as if Apple realized that doing things the Apple way wasn’t going to be a successful model for competing in the streaming wars. And while the service is late to the party in terms of accessibility across platforms — it has taken far too long for this app to arrive on more Android TV devices, in my opinion — it was a necessary move for Apple TV Plus’s success in the long run. As long-trialed subscribers discover they’ll suddenly need to pay for Apple’s content, the churn is going to burn.
(Pocket-lint) – Huawei’s latest watch has been announced, and is the first to launch officially running HarmonyOS, the new cross-category operating system designed to make multiple devices seamlessly connect with each other.
The manufacturer has built some great fitness tracking watches of late, including the previous flagship watch: the Watch GT 2 Pro. So, what’s changed between the last watch and the Watch 3? Let’s dive in.
Design
GT 2 Pro: 46.7 x 46.7 x 11.4mm – 52g
Watch 3: 46.2 x 46.2 x 12.15mm – 54g
Watch 3 Pro: 48 mm x 49.6 x 14mm – 63g
GT 2 Pro: Titanium, Sapphire glass and ceramic
Watch 3: Stainless steel, hardened glass and ceramic
Watch 3 Pro: Titanium, Sapphire glass and ceramic
All: Waterproof to 50m
All of Huawei’s watches are fully round and in basic terms they do look similar. They share similarities like having the same ceramic underside, with the same design for the optical sensors for reading your heart rate and blood oxygen saturation.
Where they differ is in the glass, metal and shape of the lens. For instance, both the GT 2 Pro and Watch 3 Pro have completely flat Sapphire crystal glass screens and titanium cases. The standard Watch 3 has curved hardened glass on top of stainless steel.
While all three have two buttons on the side, only the new Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro feature a rotating crown which functions similarly to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown. You can turn it or press it to control various functions and interface elements.
All of them are waterproof to a high level (up to 50m) and all three charge wirelessly using the same magnetic plastic cradle.
The one other thing worth noting is that the Watch 3 is the more compact of the three, but not by a huge amount. With a 46mm case, it’s hardly tiny. At 14mm, the Watch 3 Pro is clearly the thickest as well as being the largest.
Display
GT 2 Pro: 1.39-inch AMOLED screen
Watch 3 and 3 Pro: 1.43-inch AMOLED screen
GT 2 Pro: 454 x 454 resolution – 326ppi
Watch 3 and 3 Pro: 466 x 466 resolution – 326ppi
As mentioned, all three watches have completely round screens and they’re all AMOLED and have the same pixel density. There’s a difference in size though, with both the new Watch 3 models featuring a 1.43-inch panel versus 1.39-inches on the older one. That means skinnier bezels, not a bigger watch.
More importantly, however, they have refresh rates up to 60Hz, which means you’ll get smoother and more graphic rich images and animations on it compared to the GT 2 Pro. That – of course – also means it eats more battery (more on that later).
With a peak brightness of 1000nits, that means the watches will be easier to see in daylight too. From a hardware perspective, this is the biggest – or at least most noticeable – upgrade over the Watch GT 2 Pro.
Software and Fitness tracking
GT 2 Pro: LiteOS
Watch 3/3 Pro: HarmonyOS
All: GPS, Heart Rate, spO2, steps, sleep and stress tracking
Watch 3/3 Pro: Temperature sensor
Watch 3 Pro: Precise dual-GPS location
All: Compatible with iOS and Android through Huawei health
The Watch 3 and 3 Pro are the first watches to run HarmonyOS, that means a few things have changed when it comes to the interface and software, but key elements have remained the same.
Controls are similar, although you can now view apps in a grid and even use AppGallery to install them directly from your wrist. The other addition is a fall detection feature which can be set up to call an emergency contact when you fall and don’t respond within a certain time frame.
From a fitness and health perspective, the three watches are largely similar and capable of all-day tracking for things like heart-rate, spO2, stress, sleep and steps. The new sensor on the Watch 3 series also allows skin temperature sensing.
As for the Pro, that one has a dual-GPS mode which allows for much more precise tracking during runs and outdoor sessions to give you a more accurate distance reading and mapped route.
All three are compatible with Android, iOS and HarmonyOS devices using the Huawei Health app.
Performance and battery
GT 2 Pro: 14 days battery life
Watch 3: 3 days in smart mode, 14 days in ‘Ultra-long’
Watch 3 Pro: 5 days in smart mode, 21 days in ‘Ultra-long’
GT 2 Pro: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Watch 3/3 Pro: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and eSIM/4G
What’s interesting about the Watch 3 series’ is that it has – essentially – two modes of running. You can use it as a regular smartwatch and get either three or five days of battery, or kick it into ‘ultra-long’ mode and get either two or three weeks of battery life.
What this does, sort-of, is switch the software and capabilities so that it’s very much like the Lite OS software running on the Watch GT 2 Pro. Due to its lightweight software, Watch GT 2 Pro can get up to two weeks on a full battery.
Watch 3 – as well as having Wi-Fi and Bluetooth like the GT 2 Pro – has eSIM support. This enables 4G connection on networks that support it, allowing you to stream music, answer calls and see notifications. The only downside to this is that it’s only supported by a couple of Chinese networks currently with no news on planned expansion worldwide.
Price
GT 2 Pro: £249
Watch 3: £349
Watch 3 Pro: £499
With its higher-end internal hardware, revamped software, higher refresh screen and eSIM support it’s no surprise that the Watch 3 starts at a higher price than its predecessor.
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In the UK, the standard Watch 3 starts at £100 more than the GT 2 Pro’s original price at £349. Because it’s no longer new, you can now find the GT 2 Pro even cheaper without too much trouble. The Watch 3 Pro is a pound short of £500.
Conclusion
When it comes to fitness and health tracking, there’s little reason to go for the Watch 3 over the Watch GT 2 Pro. It does mostly the same stuff which is then display in the same way on the watch and in your smartphone app.
Where the Watch 3 comes into its own is when it comes to the display and the richer graphics and interactions on that screen. It’s starting to feel much more like a proper smartwatch and less like a rebadged fitness tracker. With a built-in eSIM and potential to stream music and answer calls away from your phone, that’s freedom you don’t get from the Watch GT 2 Pro. Sadly though, that’s not yet available outside China.
Last year’s Nvidia RTX 3080 was the first GPU to make 4K gaming finally feasible. It was a card that delivered impressive performance at 4K, especially for its retail price of $699 — far less than the 2080 Ti cost a generation earlier. That was before the reality of a global chip shortage drove the prices of modern GPUs well above $1,000. Now that the street prices of RTX 3080s have stayed above $2,000 for months, Nvidia is launching its RTX 3080 Ti flagship priced at $1,199.
It’s a card that aims to deliver near identical levels of performance to the $1,499 RTX 3090, but in a smaller package and with just 12GB of VRAM — half what’s found on the RTX 3090. Nvidia is effectively competing with itself here, and now offering three cards at the top end. That’s if you can even manage to buy any of them in the first place.
I’ve spent the past week testing the RTX 3080 Ti at both 4K and 1440p resolutions. 4K gaming might have arrived originally with the RTX 2080 Ti, but the RTX 3080 Ti refines it and offers more headroom in the latest games. Unfortunately, it does so with a $1,199 price tag that I think will be beyond most people’s budgets even before you factor in the inevitable street price markup it will see during the current GPU shortage.
Hardware
If you put the RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 3080 side by side, it would be difficult to tell the difference between them. They look identical, with the same ports and fan setup. I’m actually surprised this card isn’t a three-slot like the RTX 3090, or just bigger generally. The RTX 3080 Ti has one fan on either side of the card, with a push-pull system in place. The bottom fan pulls cool air into the card, which then exhausts on the opposite side that’s closest to your CPU cooler and rear case fan. A traditional blower cooler also exhausts the hot air out of the PCIe slot at the back.
This helped create a quieter card on the original RTX 3080, and I’m happy to report it’s the same with the RTX 3080 Ti. The RTX 3080 Ti runs at or close to its max fan RPM under heavy loads, but the hum of the fans isn’t too distracting. I personally own an RTX 3090, and while the fans rarely kick in at full speed, they’re certainly a lot more noticeable than the RTX 3080 Ti’s.
Nvidia has used the same RTX 3080 design for the 3080 Ti Model.
That quiet performance might have a downside, though. During my week of testing with the RTX 3080 Ti, I noticed that the card seems to run rather hot. I recorded temperatures regularly around 80 degrees Celsius, compared to the 70 degrees Celsius temperatures on the larger RTX 3090. The fans also maxed out a lot during demanding 4K games on the RTX 3080 Ti in order to keep the card cool. I don’t have the necessary equipment to fully measure the heat output here, but when I went to swap the RTX 3080 Ti for another card after hours of testing, it was too hot to touch, and stayed hotter for longer than I’d noticed with either the RTX 3080 or RTX 3090. I’m not sure if this will result in problems in the long term, as we saw with the initial batch of 2080 Ti units having memory overheating issues, but most people will put this in a case and never touch it again. Still, I’m surprised at how long it stayed hot enough for me to not want to touch it.
As this is a Founders Edition card, Nvidia is using its latest 12-pin single power connector. There’s an ugly and awkward adapter in the box that lets you connect two eight-pin PCIe power connectors to it, but I’d highly recommend getting a single new cable from your PSU supplier to connect directly to this card. It’s less cabling, and a more elegant solution if you have a case window or you’re addicted to tidy cable management (hello, that’s me).
The RTX 3080 Ti inside my case.
I love the look of the RTX 3080 Ti and the pennant-shaped board that Nvidia uses here. Just like the RTX 3080, there are no visible screws, and the regulatory notices are all on the output part of the card so there are no ugly stickers or FCC logos. It’s a really clean card, and I’m sorry to bring this up, but Nvidia has even fixed the way the number 8 is displayed. It was a minor mistake on the RTX 3080, but I’m glad the 8 has the correct proportions on the RTX 3080 Ti.
At the back of the card there’s a single HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4a ports. Just like the RTX 3080, there are also LEDs that glow around the top part of the fan, and the GeForce RTX branding lights up, too. You can even customize the colors of the glowing part around the fan if you’re really into RGB lighting.
Just like the RTX 3080, this new RTX 3080 Ti needs a 750W power supply. The RTX 3080 Ti even draws more power, too, at up to 350 watts under load compared to 320 watts on the RTX 3080. That’s the same amount of power draw as the larger RTX 3090, which is understandable given the performance improvements, but it’s worth being aware of how this might impact your energy bills (and the cost of your PC build to run it).
1440p testing
I’ve been testing the RTX 3080 Ti with Intel’s latest Core i9 processor. For 1440p tests, I’ve also paired the GPU with a 32-inch Samsung Odyssey G7 monitor. This monitor supports refresh rates up to 240Hz, as well as Nvidia’s G-Sync technology.
I compared the RTX 3080 Ti against both the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 to really understand where it fits into Nvidia’s new lineup. I tested a variety of AAA titles, including Fortnite, Control, Death Stranding, Metro Exodus, Call of Duty: Warzone, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and many more. You can also find the same games tested at 4K resolution below.
All games were tested at max or ultra settings on the RTX 3080 Ti, and most exceeded an average of 100fps at 1440p. On paper, the RTX 3080 Ti is very close to an RTX 3090, and my testing showed that plays out in most games at 1440p. Games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, and Watch Dogs: Legion all have near-identical performance across the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3090 at 1440p.
Even Call of Duty: Warzone is the same without Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology enabled, and it’s only really games like Control and Death Stranding where there’s a noteworthy, but small, gap in performance.
However, the jump in performance from the RTX 3080 to the RTX 3080 Ti is noticeable across nearly every game, with the exception of Death Stranding and Fortnite, which both perform really well on the base RTX 3080.
RTX 3080 Ti (1440p)
Benchmark
RTX 3080 Founders Edition
RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition
RTX 3090 Founders Edition
Benchmark
RTX 3080 Founders Edition
RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition
RTX 3090 Founders Edition
Microsoft Flight Simulator
46fps
45fps
45fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
147fps
156fps
160fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DLSS)
154fps
162fps
167fps
CoD: Warzone
124fps
140fps
140fps
CoD: Warzone (DLSS+RT)
133fps
144fps
155fps
Fortnite
160fps
167fps
188fps
Fortnite (DLSS)
181fps
173fps
205fps
Gears 5
87fps
98fps
103fps
Death Stranding
163fps
164fps
172fps
Death Stranding (DLSS quality)
197fps
165fps
179fps
Control
124fps
134fps
142fps
Control (DLSS quality + RT)
126fps
134fps
144fps
Metro Exodus
56fps
64fps
65fps
Metro Exodus (DLSS+RT)
67fps
75fps
77fps
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
73fps
84fps
85fps
Watch Dogs: Legion
79fps
86fps
89fps
Watch Dogs: Legion (DLSS+RT)
67fps
72fps
74fps
Watch Dogs: Legion (RT)
49fps
55fps
56fps
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla performs 15 percent better on the RTX 3080 Ti over the regular RTX 3080, and Metro Exodus also shows a 14 percent improvement. The range of performance increases ranges from around 4 percent all the way up to 15 percent, so the performance gap is very game dependent.
Even when using games with ray tracing, the RTX 3080 Ti still managed high frame rates when paired with DLSS. DLSS uses neural networks and AI supercomputers to analyze games and sharpen or clean up images at lower resolutions. In simple terms, it allows a game to render at a lower resolution and use Nvidia’s image reconstruction technique to upscale the image and make it look as good as native 4K.
Whenever I see the DLSS option in games, I immediately turn it on now to get as much performance as possible. It’s still very much required for ray tracing games, particularly as titles like Watch Dogs: Legion only manage to hit 55fps with ultra ray tracing enabled. If you enable DLSS, this jumps to 72fps and it’s difficult to notice a hit in image quality.
The RTX 3080 Ti stays quiet during heavy loads.
4K testing
For my 4K testing, I paired the RTX 3080 Ti with Acer’s 27-inch Nitro XV273K, a 4K monitor that offers up to 144Hz refresh rates and supports G-Sync. I wasn’t able to get any of the games I tested on both the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3090 to hit the frame rates necessary to really take advantage of this 144Hz panel, but some came close thanks to DLSS.
Metro Exodus manages a 14 percent improvement over the RTX 3080, and Microsoft Flight Simulator also sees a 13 percent jump. Elsewhere, other games see between a 4 and 9 percent improvement. These are solid gains for the RTX 3080 Ti, providing more headroom for 4K gaming over the original RTX 3080.
The RTX 3080 Ti comes close to matching the RTX 3090 performance at 4K in games like Watch Dogs: Legion, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Gears 5, and Death Stranding. Neither the RTX 3080 Ti nor RTX 3090 is strong enough to handle Watch Dogs: Legion with ray tracing, though. Both cards manage around 30fps on average, and even DLSS only bumps this up to below 50fps averages.
RTX 3080 Ti (4K)
Benchmark
RTX 3080 Founders Edition
RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition
RTX 3090 Founders Edition
Benchmark
RTX 3080 Founders Edition
RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition
RTX 3090 Founders Edition
Microsoft Flight Simulator
30fps
34fps
37fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
84fps
88fps
92fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DLSS)
102fps
107fps
111fps
CoD: Warzone
89fps
95fps
102fps
CoD: Warzone (DLSS+RT)
119fps
119fps
129fps
Fortnite
84fps
92fps
94fps
Fortnite (DLSS)
124fps
134fps
141fps
Gears 5
64fps
72fps
73fps
Death Stranding
98fps
106fps
109fps
Death Stranding (DLSS quality)
131fps
132fps
138fps
Control
65fps
70fps
72fps
Control (DLSS quality + RT)
72fps
78fps
80fps
Metro Exodus
34fps
39fps
39fps
Metro Exodus (DLSS+RT)
50fps
53fps
55fps
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
64fps
70fps
70fps
Watch Dogs: Legion
52fps
55fps
57fps
Watch Dogs: Legion (DLSS+RT)
40fps
47fps
49fps
Watch Dogs: Legion (RT)
21fps
29fps
32fps
Most games manage to comfortably rise above 60fps in 4K at ultra settings, with Microsoft Flight Simulator and Metro Exodus as the only exceptions. Not even the RTX 3090 could reliably push beyond 144fps at 4K without assistance from DLSS or a drop in visual settings. I think we’re going to be waiting on whatever Nvidia does next to really push 4K at these types of frame rates.
When you start to add ray tracing and ultra 4K settings, it’s clear that both the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3090 need to have DLSS enabled to play at reasonable frame rates across the most demanding ray-traced titles. Without DLSS, Watch Dogs: Legion manages an average of 29fps (at max settings), with dips below that making the game unplayable.
DLSS really is the key here across both 1440p and 4K. It was merely a promise when the 2080 Ti debuted nearly three years ago, but Nvidia has now managed to get DLSS into more than 50 popular games. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Rainbow Six Siege are getting DLSS support soon, too.
DLSS also sets Nvidia apart from AMD’s cards. While AMD’s RX 6800 XT is fairly competitive at basic rasterization at 1440p, it falls behind the RTX 3080 in the most demanding games at 4K — particularly when ray tracing is enabled. Even the $1,000 Radeon RX 6900 XT doesn’t fare much better at 4K. AMD’s answer to DLSS is coming later this month, but until it arrives we still don’t know exactly how it will compensate for ray tracing performance on AMD’s GPUs. AMD has also struggled to supply retailers with stock of its cards.
That’s left Nvidia in a position to launch the RTX 3080 Ti at a price point that really means it’s competing with itself, positioned between the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090. If the RTX 3090 wasn’t a thing, the RTX 3080 Ti would make a lot more sense.
The RTX 3080 Ti comes close to RTX 3090 performance.
Nvidia is also competing with the reality of the market right now, as demand has been outpacing supply for more than six months. Nvidia has introduced a hash rate limiter for Ethereum cryptocurrency mining on new versions of the RTX 3080, RTX 3070, and now this RTX 3080 Ti. It could help deter some scalpers, but we’ll need months of data on street prices to really understand if it’s driven pricing down to normal levels.
Demand for 30-series cards has skyrocketed as many rush to replace their aging GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 Ti cards. Coupled with Nvidia’s NVENC and professional tooling support, it’s also made the RTX 30-series a great option for creators looking to stream games, edit videos, or build games.
In a normal market, I would only recommend the RTX 3080 Ti if you’re really willing to spend an extra $500 to get some extra gains in 1440p and 4K performance. But it’s a big price premium when the RTX 3090 exists at this niche end of the market and offers more performance and double the VRAM if you’re really willing to pay this much for a graphics card.
At $999 or even $1,099, the RTX 3080 Ti would tempt me a lot more, but $1,199 feels a little too pricey. For most people, an RTX 3080 makes a lot more sense if it were actually available at its standard retail price. Nvidia also has a $599 RTX 3070 Ti on the way next week, which could offer some performance gains to rival the RTX 3080.
Either way, the best GPU is the one you can buy right now, and let’s hope that Nvidia and AMD manage to make that a reality soon.
NVIDIA today refreshed the top-end of the GeForce RTX 30-series “Ampere” family of graphics cards with the new GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, which we’re testing for you today. The RTX 3080 Ti is being considered the next flagship gaming product, picking up the mantle from the RTX 3080. While the RTX 3090 is positioned higher in the stack, NVIDIA has been treating it as a TITAN-like halo product for not just gaming, but also quasi-professional use cases. The RTX 3080 Ti has the same mandate as the RTX 3080—to offer leadership gaming performance with real-time raytracing at 4K UHD resolution.
NVIDIA’s announcement of the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti was likely triggered by AMD’s unexpected success in taking a stab at the high-end market after many years with its Radeon RX 6800 series and RX 6900 XT “Big Navi” GPUs, which are able to compete with the RTX 3080, RTX 3070, and even pose a good alternative to the RTX 3090. NVIDIA possibly found itself staring at a large gap between the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 that needed to be filled. We hence have the RTX 3080 Ti.
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is based on the same 8 nm GA102 silicon as the RTX 3080, but with more CUDA cores, while maxing out the 384-bit wide GDDR6X memory bus. It only has slightly fewer CUDA cores than the RTX 3090, the memory size is 12 GB as opposed to 24 GB, and the memory clock is slightly lower. NVIDIA has given the RTX 3080 Ti a grand 10,240 CUDA cores spread across 80 streaming multiprocessors, 320 3rd Gen Tensor cores that accelerate AI and DLSS, and 80 2nd Gen RT cores. It also has all 112 ROPs enabled, besides 320 TMUs. The 12 GB of memory maxes out the 384-bit memory bus, but the memory clock runs at 19 Gbps (compared to 19.5 Gbps on the RTX 3090). Memory bandwidth hence is 912.4 GB/s.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition looks similar in design to the RTX 3080 Founders Edition. NVIDIA is pricing the card at $1,200, or about $200 higher than the Radeon RX 6900 XT. The AMD flagship is really the main target of this NVIDIA launch, as it has spelled trouble for the RTX 3080. As rumors of the RTX 3080 Ti picked up pace, AMD worked with its board partners to release an enthusiast-class RX 6900 XT refresh based on the new “XTXH” silicon that can sustains 10% higher clock-speeds. In this review, we compare the RTX 3080 Ti with all the SKUs in its vicinity to show you if it’s worth stretching your penny to $1,200, or whether you could save some money by choosing this card over the RTX 3090.
MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Suprim X is the company’s new flagship gaming graphics card, and part of NVIDIA’s refresh of the RTX 30-series “Ampere” family, to bolster its position in the high-end segment. The Suprim X is an MSI exercise at leveling up to the NVIDIA Founders Edition in terms of original design and build quality. The most premium materials and design combine with the company’s most advanced graphics card cooling solution, and overclocking-optimized PCB, to offer the highest tier of factory overclocks.
NVIDIA announced the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti at its Computex 2021 event to answer two very specific challenges to its product stack—the Radeon RX 6900 XT outclassing the RTX 3080, and the RX 6800 performing well against the RTX 3070. The RTX 3080 Ti is designed to fill a performance gap between the RTX 3080 and the halo-segment RTX 3090.
The RTX 3080 Ti is based on the same 8 nm GA102 silicon as the RTX 3080, but features a lot more CUDA cores, but more importantly, maxes out the 384-bit wide GDDR6X memory bus of the GA102. NVIDIA is giving the card 12 GB of memory, and not 24 GB like on the RTX 3090, as it considers it a halo product, even targeting certain professional use-cases. The RTX 3080 Ti is also endowed with 320 TMUs, 320 Tensor cores, 80 RT cores, and 112 ROPs. The memory operates at the same 19 Gbps data-rate as the RTX 3080, but due to its increased bus-width, results in a memory bandwidth of 912 GB/s.
The MSI RTX 3080 Ti Suprim X supercharges the RTX 3080 Ti with its highest clock speeds—1830 MHz vs. 1665 MHz reference. It features the most elaborate version of the company’s TriFrozr 2S cooling solution, with a metal alloy shroud, a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink, three TorX fans, a similar power-delivery to the company’s RTX 3090 Suprim X, and a metal back-plate. In this review, we take the card for a spin across our test-suite to tell you if shelling RTX 3090 kind of money for a top custom RTX 3080 Ti is worth it. MSI hasn’t provided any pricing info yet, we expect the card will end up at around $2100, $100 higher than our estimate for the NVIDIA baseline price.
The ASUS ROG Strix LC GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the company’s flagship custom-design RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, characterized by its factory-fitted, all-in-one liquid cooling solution. The cooler combines an AIO liquid cold-plate to pull heat from the GPU and memory; while a set of heatsinks and lateral blower provide additional cooling. Interestingly, this cooler debuted with the Radeon RX 6800 XT Strix LC, which along with the RX 6900 XT, are believed to have triggered product-stack updates among NVIDIA’s ranks, to begin with.
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti replaces the RTX 3080 as NVIDIA’s new flagship gaming product. The RTX 3090 is still positioned higher, but that SKU is more of a TITAN-like halo product, with its massive 24 GB memory favoring certain professional use-cases when paired with Studio drivers. The RTX 3080 Ti utilizes the same GA102 silicon, maxing out its 384-bit memory interface, with 12 GB of it. There are more CUDA cores on offer—10,240 vs. 8,796 on the RTX 3080, and proportionate increase in Tensor cores, RT cores, and other components. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is based on the new Ampere graphics architecture, which debuts the 2nd generation of NVIDIA’s path-breaking RTX real-time raytracing technology, combining 3rd generation Tensor cores, with 2nd generation RT cores, and faster Ampere CUDA cores.
As mentioned earlier the ASUS ROG Strix LC lugs a bulky all-in-one liquid cooling + air hybrid solution, without coming across as ugly and tacked on. ASUS appears to have taken a keen interest in adding to the industrial design of the card and radiator. The cooler also ends up supporting a major factory-overclock of 1830 MHz, compared to 1665 MHz reference. This puts its performance way above even the RTX 3090, while also costing higher than its starting price. In this review we show you whether it’s worth just picking this card over an RTX 3090 if one is available.
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra is the company’s premium offering based on NVIDIA’s swanky new RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, which the company hopes will restore its leadership in the high-end gaming graphics segment that felt disputed by the Radeon RX 6900 XT. Along with its sibling, the RTX 3070 Ti, the new graphics cards are a response to AMD’s return to competitiveness in the high-end graphics segment. It has the same mission as the RTX 3080—to offer maxed out gaming at 4K Ultra HD resolution, with raytracing, making it NVIDIA’s new flagship gaming product. The RTX 3090 is still positioned higher, but with its 24 GB memory, is branded as a TITAN-like halo product, capable of certain professional-visualization applications, when paired with NVIDIA’s Studio drivers.
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti features a lot more CUDA cores than the RTX 3080—10,240 vs. 8,796, and maxes out the 384-bit wide memory interface of the GA102 silicon, much like the RTX 3090. The memory amount, however, is 12 GB, and runs at 19 Gbps data-rate. The RTX 3080 Ti is based on the Ampere graphics architecture, which debuts the 2nd generation of NVIDIA’s path-breaking RTX real-time raytracing technology. It combines new 3rd generation Tensor cores that leverage the sparsity phenomenon to accelerate AI inference performance by an order of magnitude over the previous gen; new 2nd generation RT cores which support even more hardware-accelerated raytracing effects; and the new faster Ampere CUDA core.
The EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra features the same top-tier iCX3 cooling solution as the top RTX 3090 FTW3, with a smart cooling that relies on several onboard thermal sensors besides what the GPU and memory come with; a meaty heatsink ventilated by a trio of fans, and plenty of RGB LED lighting to add life to your high-end gaming PC build. The PCB has several air guides that let airflow from the fans to pass through, improving ventilation. EVGA is pricing the RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra at $1340, a pretty premium over the $1,200 baseline price of the RTX 3080 Ti.
The Zotac GeForce RTX 3080 Ti AMP HoloBlack is the company’s top graphics card based on the swanky new RTX 3080 Ti “Ampere” GPU by NVIDIA. Hot on the heels of its Computex 2021 announcement, we have with us NVIDIA’s new flagship gaming graphics card, a distinction it takes from the RTX 3080. The RTX 3090 is still around in the NVIDIA’s product stack, but it’s positioned as a TITAN-like halo product, with its 24 GB video memory benefiting certain quasi-professional applications, when paired with NVIDIA’s GeForce Studio drivers. The RTX 3080 Ti has the same mandate from NVIDIA as the RTX 3080—to offer leadership 4K UHD gaming performance with maxed out settings and raytracing.
Based on the same 8 nm “GA102” silicon as the RTX 3080, the new RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of memory, maxing out the 384-bit GDDR6X memory interface of the chip; while also packing more CUDA cores and other components—10,240 vs. 8,796, 320 TMUs, those many Tensor cores, 80 RT cores, and 112 ROPs. The announcement of the RTX 3080 Ti and its sibling, the RTX 3070 Ti—which we’ll review soon—may have been triggered by AMD’s unexpected return to the high-end gaming graphics segment, with its “Big Navi” Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards, particularly the RX 6900 XT, and the RX 6800.
The GeForce Ampere graphics architecture debuts the 2nd generation of NVIDIA RTX, bringing real-time raytracing to gamers. It combines 3rd generation Tensor cores that accelerate AI deep-learning neural nets that DLSS leverages; 2nd generation RT cores that introduce more hardware-accelerated raytracing effects, and the new Ampere CUDA core, that significantly increases performance over the previous generation “Turing.”
The Zotac RTX 3080 Ti AMP HoloBlack features the highest factory-overclocked speeds from the company for the RTX 3080 Ti, with up to 1710 MHz boost, compared to 1665 MHz reference, a bold new cooling solution design that relies on a large triple-fan heatsink that, and aesthetic ARGB lighting elements that bring your gaming rig to life. Zotac hasn’t provided us with any pricing info yet, we’re assuming the card will end up $100 pricier than the base cards, like Founders Edition.
Palit GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GamingPro is the company’s premium custom-design RTX 3080 Ti offering, letting gamers who know what to expect from this GPU to simply install and get gaming. Within Palit’s product stack, the GamingPro is positioned a notch below its coveted GameRock brand for enthusiasts. By itself, the RTX 3080 Ti is NVIDIA’s new flagship gaming graphics product, replacing the RTX 3080 from this distinction. The RTX 3090 is marketed as a halo product, with its large video memory even targeting certain professional use-cases. The RTX 3080 Ti has the same mandate as the RTX 3080—to offer leadership gaming performance at 4K UHD, with maxed out settings and raytracing.
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti story likely begins with AMD’s unexpected return to the high-end graphics segment with its Radeon RX 6800 series and RX 6900 XT “Big Navi” graphics cards. The RX 6900 XT in particular, has managed to outclass the RTX 3080 in several scenarios, and with its “XTXH” bin, even trades blows with the RTX 3090. It is to fill exactly this performance gap between the two top Amperes—the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, that NVIDIA developed the RTX 3080 Ti.
The RTX 3080 Ti is based on the same 8 nm GA102 GPU as the other two top cards from NVIDIA’s lineup, but features many more CUDA cores than the RTX 3080, at 10,240 vs. 8,704; and more importantly, maxes out the 384-bit wide memory bus of this silicon. NVIDIA endowed this card with 12 GB of memory. Other key specs include 320 Tensor cores, 80 RT cores, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The memory ticks at the same 19 Gbps data-rate as the RTX 3080, but the wider memory bus means that the bandwidth is now up to 912 GB/s.
Palit adds value to the RTX 3080 Ti, by pairing it with its TurboFan 3.0 triple-slot, triple-fan cooling solution that has plenty of RGB bling to satiate gamers. The cooler is longer than the PCB itself, so airflow from the third fan goes through the card, and out holes punched into the metal backplate. The card runs at reference clock speeds of 1665 MHz, and is officially priced at the NVIDIA $1200 baselines price for the RTX 3080 Ti, more affordable than the other custom designs we’re testing today. In this review, we tell you if this card is all you need if you have your eyes on an RTX 3080 Ti.
Huawei has announced a trio of new MatePad tablets; a new 12.6-inch MatePad Pro, a smaller 10.8-inch MatePad Pro, and a new MatePad 11. Not only are they the company’s first tablets running its own HarmonyOS operating system, but the smaller MatePad Pro and MatePad 11 use Snapdragon chips produced by Qualcomm rather than the Huawei-designed Kirin processors found in its previous devices.
Between these hardware and software changes, the tablets highlight the challenges that the Chinese technology giant is going through. It’s simultaneously trying to break free of Android, which outside of China is dominated by the Google apps and services that Huawei is unable to preinstall on its phones. But they also speak to the problems US sanctions are causing for Huawei’s Kirin processor production, forcing it to source chips from competitor Qualcomm.
The 10.8-inch MatePad Pro is equipped with a Snapdragon 870, while the 10.95-inch MatePad 11 is powered by a Snapdragon 865. The flagship 12.6-inch MatePad Pro, meanwhile, is still running Huawei’s own Kirin 9000E processor, and it’s the device Huawei has shared the most information about.
But more interesting than the chips inside is the software these new tablets are running.
From an end user point of view, the “switch” to HarmonyOS fundamentally doesn’t bring back the missing Google apps and services that have made Huawei’s recent devices so difficult to recommend outside of China. Huawei’s AppGallery store offers an increasing array of native apps, and workarounds for some others, but it’s still a far cry from having Google’s suite of apps and services pre-installed on a device.
There have been big questions surrounding HarmonyOS ever since an Ars Technica investigation alleged that it’s a glorified open-source Android fork. I can’t speak to its underlying code, but I was able to download WhatsApp’s official Android APK and install it on the new MatePad Pro as though I was using an Android device, which suggests Ars is correct. Huawei did not respond to my questions about shared code between HarmonyOS and Android.
The 12.6-inch MatePad Pro’s webcam is in the bezel on the tablet’s long side, the right place for video calls.
With its keyboard cover and M-Pencil stylus, last year’s MatePad Pro invited obvious comparisons to Apple’s iPad Pro, and this year’s HarmonyOS model packs in a few more features that are eerily reminiscent of Apple’s tablets. There’s a new FreeNote feature that lets you use the M-Pencil to write into dialog boxes and see your handwriting automatically turned into typed text (a feature which Apple introduced last year) and the tablet’s homescreen now includes a dock with your most used apps (ahem).
But with the 12.6-inch MatePad Pro, Huawei deserves some credit for not imitating some of Apple’s less popular design decisions. Its webcam, for example, is built into the bezel on the long edge of the screen, so it’s in the right place for conference calls made in landscape mode, unlike the iPad Pro’s. It’s also got a vibrant 1600 x 2560 OLED screen with excellent black levels, while Apple’s lineup is still using variations of LCD panels.
Also announced today is a new M-Pencil stylus.
Huawei’s screen-mirroring technology also returns with the new MatePad Pro. While this previously let you mirror a smartphone’s screen onto the tablet, now you can mirror and interact with the tablet’s screen on compatible Huawei laptops.
The 12.6-inch MatePad Pro has a 10,050mAh battery which Huawei claims can playback video for 14 hours on a single charge. It can be fast-charged at up to 40W with a cable, 27W wirelessly, and also offers reverse wireless charging at 10W. Rounding out the specs, there are three rear cameras on the tablet, four mics, eight speakers, and Wi-Fi 6 compatibility. Huawei is yet to detail any 4G or 5G support for its new tablets.
Alongside the new tablets, Huawei is also announcing a second-generation of its M-Pencil stylus. The company says the new stylus is more precise, has lower 9ms latency, and also has a platinum-coated transparent nib.
Huawei is yet to confirm pricing or release details for its new tablets, but said it would be releasing more information soon.
We recently noticed that Alienware’s just-announced X15 and X17 thin andvaguely light gaming laptops are conspicuously missing a port — and it’s not because they’re thin-and-light, it turns out. Alienware has just confirmed to The Verge that it has discontinued the Alienware Graphics Amplifier external GPU, and so these laptops won’t need that proprietary port anymore. The company isn’t saying whether it’ll offer a future eGPU, but pointed us to off-the-shelf Thunderbolt ones instead.
The Alienware Graphics Amp was first introduced in 2014 for $299 and designed to be a companion to the company’s midrange Alienware 13, giving it the vast majority of the power of a desktop graphics card plus four extra full-size USB ports when docked. I liked the combo well enough. But over the years, Alienware added the port to practically every laptop (and some of its more compact desktops, like the Alienware X51 mini-tower and Alienware Alpha R2 console-sized PC) it released, including the company’s flagship Area-51M which was designed to have built-in upgrades of its own.
With an included 460W power supply devoted entirely to the GPU, and a price that dipped to $199 and occasionally $150, the Amp managed to stay competitive for quite a while in the fairly niche market of eGPUs, which generally use manufacturer-agnostic Thunderbolt 3 ports instead of proprietary cables (and can often charge your laptop as well).
It’s not clear when Alienware discontinued the Amp. The Wayback Machine shows it was still live as of November 2020, and Dell last updated its support page in April 2021 — without adding compatibility for the latest wave of Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.
The new Alienware M15 R5 and M15 R6 also omit the Graphics Amplifier port. It’ll be interesting to see if this is the end for Alienware’s dreams of upgradable laptops; certainly the Amp lasted a lot longer than the idea of offering new chips for the giant Area-51m laptop.
The Rimac C_Two concept has evolved into a production-ready electric hypercar called the Nevera, and it’s still just as absurd as it was three years when it first broke cover at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
Powered by a 120kWh battery pack, the Nevera uses four electric motors — one for each wheel — to put down an almost unbelievable 1.4MW of power, which Rimac says is roughly equivalent to 1,914 horsepower. The quad-motor setup can push the car to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just 1.85 seconds. It has a top speed of 258 miles per hour.
What’s more, Rimac says one of the things it worked on over the last three years was improving the battery pack’s liquid cooling system, meaning drivers can use that peak power for longer before the batteries start to complain.
To make sure drivers have a fighting chance at controlling that amount of power, Rimac developed a new all-wheel torque vectoring system that basically acts as both an electronic stability and traction control system. The software can make “over 100 calculations per second to tailor the level of torque to achieve the desired driving style,” Rimac says in the press release for the Nevera. Braking in a car like this is also important, and Rimac has designed the Nevera to be able to dynamically adjust the balance of the braking force between the friction brakes in the wheels and the regenerative braking made possible by the electric motors.
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If that’s not enough, Rimac has developed an “AI driving coach” feature that leverages the Nevera’s 12 ultrasonic and six radar sensors, as well as 13 cameras to help “optimize and enhance the driver’s on-track performance.” It does this by providing track-specific audio and visual cues for when to brake for, where to turn into, and when to accelerate out of a corner.
Of course, very few people will have to worry about whether they can properly pilot a Nevera. Rimac is only making 150 of them, and they’ll each start around $2.4 million.
A big part of that price tag is Nevera’s lavish tech. The monocoque is the largest single carbon fiber piece in the automotive industry, according to the company, dramatically cutting weight and improving safety. The H-shaped battery pack is structurally integrated into that monocoque, too, keeping the center of gravity low and adding to the overall structural stiffness. To keep the ride smooth, the Nevera has a double wishbone suspension that uses electronically controlled dampers, which also makes for easy ride height adjustments.
Inside the cockpit, there are three screens: a driver display, a horizontal touchscreen in the center console, and a passenger display. There’s also an accompanying mobile app, which offers live track data, and the ability to download telemetry so drivers can analyze their performance.
The other part of the price tag is that Rimac will customize basically every other aspect of the Nevera hypercar for buyers:
No two Neveras will leave the Rimac factory looking the same or bearing the same specification, thanks to customers’ ability to choose from a comprehensive range of bespoke trims and material options. In addition to the company’s premium individual personalization program, Rimac will offer its flagship in various editions: GT, Signature, Timeless or the customers can choose to go Bespoke.
Each buyer will even be “invited to Croatia to design his or her car to their exacting requirements,” Rimac says.
As if that isn’t enough to convince someone to pony up $2 million and change, the company says founder Mate Rimac will personally test each Nevera that gets built.
The funny thing about a car like the Nevera is that it’s not alone. There is a growing stable of absurdly priced electric hypercars that can make nearly 2,000 horsepower. Lotus has the Evija, while Pininfarina has the Battista. (There are a few hybrid options in this class, too.) What’s made Rimac unique is that it really was a sort of go-it-alone effort, one that Mate Rimac built from the ground up.
That said, Mate Rimac says in the press release for the Nevera that it “is the car I had in mind when I embarked on the ‘impossible’ journey ten years ago.” His company now has backing from Porsche, which is reportedly working with Rimac to make electric hypercars for the German automaker’s sibling brand, Bugatti. Hyundai has also tossed Rimac some coin. While the Nevera looks like a truly thrilling electric hypercar, the most exciting thing about what Rimac’s been doing for the last decade might be whatever comes next.
Asrock announced a new motherboard lineup called the Riptide series, and with it comes two brand new boards for AMD Ryzen CPUs, the X570S PG Riptide and the B550 PG Riptide. These motherboards are an off-shoot of the Phantom Gaming series, designed for gamers who use their systems for everyday use.
The most striking feature of both Riptide motherboards is the addition of a GPU anti-sag bracket built right into the motherboard itself. The bracket is installed right next to the chipset and SATA ports, and will prevent your graphics card from sagging in the front, where there’s the least amount of support.
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The bracket is a nice feature to have, with how large graphics cards are getting these days. Many of the latest triple-slot graphics cards weigh around 1.5kg or more, including some of ASRock’s own models. Due to the bracket being situated behind the graphics card, this should give PC builders a very clean look, with the bracket tucked behind the graphics card and out of sight.
Speaking of aesthetics, both boards are very stealthy with a silver and black appearance. The only sight of color is the bright orange and purple Asrock logo on the chipset, which can easily be hidden with a large enough graphics card.
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Other features include a 10 phase power delivery system, up to 4933MHz DDR4 memory support, and a special feature ASRock is calling ‘Lightning Gaming Ports.’ These ports are designed to give gamers the lowest latency possible for their keyboard and mouse.
We don’t know what kind of magic ASRock is doing to improve latency on these specific USB ports, but we believe it ensures you are plugging your mouse and keyboard directly into the USB ports wired to the CPU. This will allow for the lowest latency possible, as most of your USB ports are usually connected through the chipset.
Another interesting note is this is Asrock’s first-ever X570S motherboard, and it’s coming to the Riptide series. But we expect ASRock’s other lineups will get the X570S treatment soon. The biggest feature coming to X570S is the ability to run the chipset without a fan. This is great for reliability and acoustics, and something we’re excited to see coming back to AMD’s flagship chipset.
With Nvidia announcing the all-new RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti at Computex this year, AIB partners have wasted no time in announcing custom variants of the two GPUs. There are seven AIB partners so far that have listed custom variants of the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti, with more to come.
The RTX 3080 Ti is Nvidia’s new gaming flagship for the Ampere generation, featuring 10,240 CUDA cores, 12GB of GDDR6X, a 1,395MHz base clock, and 1,695 Boost Clock. It’s just a hair slower than the RTX 3090, with the biggest tradeoff (between the two SKUs) being the VRAM capacity, which is shaved down from 24GB to 12GB.
The RTX 3070 Ti, is Nvidia’s new mid-range SKU that will slot in-between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080. The 3070 Ti features 6,144 CUDA cores, 8GB of GDDR6X at 19Gbps, a base clock of 1,440 MHz, and a Boost frequency of 1,710MHz. Expect performance to lean more towards an RTX 3070 rather than the more powerful 3080, as the 3070 Ti uses the GA104 core, though the 35% boost in memory bandwidth should help.
Asus
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Asus is bringing out three custom models for the RTX 3080 Ti as well as two custom SKUs for the lower end RTX 3070 Ti. At the top end will be the ROG Strix LC RTX 3080 Ti, featuring a 240mm AIO cooler to keep temperatures as cool as possible, the card is also decked out in a brushed metal finish, with the Strix language design, as well as a fully lit RGB shroud and fans.
For air cooling, Asus is dishing out the ROG Strix treatment to the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti. For the RTX 3080 Ti ROG Strix, the cooler looks identical to the RTX 3090 variant, with a large triple-slot design, and triple 8-pin power connectors. Styling hasn’t changed either, with a fully lit RGB light bar on the side, and brushed aluminum finish all around the card.
Asus’ lowest-end offering, for now, will be the TUF series, which you will see on both the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti. Similar to the ROG models, the RTX 3080 Ti TUF is identical in looks to the RTX 3090 TUF. So we wouldn’t be surprised if Asus simply installed the RTX 3090 cooler onto the RTX 3080 Ti cards since both the 3090 and 3080 Ti share the exact same GPU core.
Unfortunately, we don’t have pictures of the custom Asus RTX 3070 TI SKUs at this moment, however, we guess that the cards will be using a beefed-up cooler from the RTX 3070 class of cards, given the RTX 3070 Ti uses the GA104 core instead of GA102. We also don’t know what frequencies these cards will have but be sure these custom RTX 3080 Tis and RTX 3070 Tis will have higher frequencies than the reference specification.
Gigabyte
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Gigabyte’s offerings are very minimal for now, with the company currently offering the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti in the Gaming OC SKU. The Gaming series in Gigabyte’s lineup represents the more budget-friendly level of SKUs rather than its top-end Aorus branded cards.
The RTX 3080 Ti Gaming OC design is identical to that of the RTX 3090 Gaming OC, with no changes to the shroud or cooler (what we can see of the cooler) at all. The card features a matte black finish with silver accents to add some extra styling to the shroud. The 3080 Ti Gaming OC features a factory overclock of 1710MHz.
Surprisingly the RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC appears to have either a brand new cooler or an altered variant of the RTX 3070 Gaming OC. The heatsink has a different design with two heatsinks joined together by copper heat pipes, rather than three separate heatsinks found on the vanilla RTX 3070 variant, connected by two sets of copper heat pipes.
The RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC also features a large copper base plate that covers the GPU and all the GDDR6X memory modules. This is a big upgrade compared to the RTX 3070 Gaming OC which only has four copper heat pipes making direct contact with the GPU, paired with a metal base plate covering the memory modules.
Aesthetically, the card has also been noticeably altered. The Gigabyte logo that was at the rear of all Gaming OC cards is now near the front, and the “GEFORCE RTX” logo has its own silver badge on the top of the card. The silver accents on the shroud have also been switched, with silver accents to the top front and bottom rear of the card. With other Gaming OC cards, this was reversed. The RTX 3070 Ti also features a factory overclock of 1830MHz.
EVGA
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So far, EVGA has the most custom SKUs announced for the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti, with 8 custom models confirmed.
The RTX 3080 Ti alone will come in six flavors, the FTW3, FTW3 Hybrid and FTW3 Hydro Copper. The FTW models represent EVGA’s flagships, so expect robust power delivery and excellent performance from these models.
The remaining three consist of the XC3, XC3 Hybrid and XC3 Hydro Copper. These are EVGA’s budget and mid-range offerings, which should offer the best overall price to performance.
The RTX 3070 Ti will only come in two flavors for now, the FTW3 and XC3. Unfortunately, we don’t have specs or detailed pictures of any of EVGA’s SKUs at this time.
MSI
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Similar to EVGA, MSI is announcing a ton of SKUs for both RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti. The models will consist of the Suprim, Gaming Trio, and Ventus variants. Each variant also gets a vanilla and factory overclocked model.
Overall the RTX 3080 Ti Suprim, Gaming Trio, and Ventus are identical to the RTX 3090 models with very very minor changes to the aesthetics of the card. The Suprim will be the top tier model, the Gaming Trio represents the mid-tier, and the Ventus is your ‘budget’ friendly RTX 3080 Ti.
The RTX 3070 Ti will also receive Suprim, Gaming Trio, and Ventus variants, but unfortunately, product pages for those cards are not available at this time.
The same goes for clock speed specifications on all of MSI’s RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti SKU, so we’ll have to wait until those become available.
Zotac
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Zotac will feature five different SKUs for the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti combined, consisting of the Trinity and Holo series. The RTX 3080 Tis are mostly identical in every way to the RTX 3090s, especially when it comes to the Trinity, where Zotac appears to have put the RTX 3090 cooler directly onto the RTX 3080 Ti.
For the RTX 3080 Ti Holo, there are a few things to note. The RTX 3080 Ti only has a single Holo SKU, while the RTX 3090 had two, the Core Holo and Extreme Holo. The RTX 3080 Ti holo seems to be its own SKU, with a slightly different aesthetic than any of the RTX 3090 Holos. The RTX 3080 Ti Holo features an elegant-looking RGB lightbar on the card’s side that goes from the top to almost the bottom of the card, with a grey color theme for the whole shroud.
The RTX 3080 Ti Trinity will receive a 1665MHz Boost clock (reference spec), the Trinity OC variant features a 1695MHz boost clock, and the Holo features the highest clock at 1710MHz.
The RTX 3070 Ti will also come in the Trinity and Holo flavors but will come with the same triple-fan cooling configuration as the RTX 3080 Zotac Trinity and Holo. This is very different from the vanilla RTX 3070 which maxes out at a twin-fan design.
We are not sure if the RTX 3070 Ti uses the RTX 3080 coolers from the Trinty and Holo series, but aesthetically they look nearly identical, making us believe this is probably true.
The RTX 3070 Ti Holo will come with a 1830MHz boost clock. and the Trinity will have an 1870MHz boost.
Colorful
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Colorful has the fewest amount of cards out of all the AIB partners so far, with only three SKUs announced, and only one of those being for the RTX 3080 Ti.
The only RTX 3080 Ti SKU Colorful has announced is the Vulkan OC-V, featuring a triple fan heatsink and a black and metal finish. Giving the card a very stealthy or ‘batman’ like appearance. The card will feature a base clock of 1365MHz along with a 1710MHz Boost Clock.
The first RTX 3070 Ti SKU announced is the 3070 Ti Advanced OC-V, a big chunky card measuring beyond two slots in thickness, and coming in with a rather unique color design consisting of a silver shroud, accented by purple and black, along with a red ringlit RGB fan in the middle. The card will come with a 1575MHz base clock and a 1830MHz boost clock.
Finally, the last SKU announced is the RTX 3070 Ti NB 8G-V, which appears to be the company’s budget-friendly 3070 Ti. The card features a dual-slot cooler, with a very boxy appearance. The shroud is covered in a matte black finish, accented by both glossy black and matte red finishes. The card will come with a 1575MHz base clock and a 1770Mhz boost clock.
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Last but not least is PNY with four new SKUs planned for the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti for now. The RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti will both come in Revel and Uprising editions. What we have pictured are the RTX 3080 Ti Revel Epic X, 3080 Ti Uprising Epic X and the RTX 3070 Ti Revel Epic X.
The RTX 3080 Ti Revel Epic X carries a two-toned design to the shroud, with a matte black covering the actual shroud, as well as a uniquely designed metal fan protector with a silver finish. Between the fans lies rings of RGB lighting. The same apparently goes for the RTX 3070 Ti as well, but the 3070 Ti is slightly smaller.
The RTX 3080 Ti Uprising Epic X features a grey finish with RGB accents near the middle of the fan. From what we can tell from the pictures, the card is absolutely gigantic, with a very wide heatsink, along with a length that is hard to describe. For perspective, the heatsink stretches out from the main PCB a good 4 inches, and the PCB isn’t compact at all. So this card is going to be a challenge for some PC cases.
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