Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 gaming graphics card is a speedy compromise for $499

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 gaming graphics card is a speedy compromise for $499

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3070 may end up suffering from middle-child syndrome, squeezed between the two ends of Nvidia's GPU spectrum: basic 1440p for a little less or basic 4K/high-frame rate 1440p for a little more. The GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition of the $499 (£469, AU$809) graphics card I tested is geared toward high-frame rate/quality 1440p gaming, and delivers similar performance to the RTX 2080 Ti for most uses (but not all), which debuted at $999. The boost over its predecessor, the more expensive RTX 2070 Super, depends upon what you need it to do. 

The release of the 3070 follows the bumpy launch of the $699 RTX 3080 and its $1,500 sibling, the RTX 3090, both experiencing price gouging due to shortages. But rumors have also surfaced about a slightly cheaper RTX 3060 Ti coming soon as well as a new card slotted between the 3070 and 3080. Plus, it's likely we'll get an entry-level 30 series card early next year to feed the mid-$300 buyers. And that doesn't take into account AMD's launch of its ambitious Radeon RX 6000-series "Big Navi" gaming cards that use the same architecture as the upcoming Xbox Series X and S and PS5consoles.

Like the RTX 3080-based graphics cards, the Ampere-generation of the company's GPU architecture achieves playable frame rates in games that use RTX-specific features like ray-tracing and global illumination. Its AI-based upscaling feature, DLSS, lets you finally game at better-than-bare-minimum frame rates without visible degradation in quality. The GPU also lifts performance over predecessors in games that don't take advantage of the whizzy features by about 10% to 20% on average, which is really most games.   

Unlike its higher-end siblings, the 3070 uses older GDDR6 memory and has the same memory bandwidth as the 2070 Super. It still gets some performance boosts thanks to the second-gen ray tracing and third-gen Tensor cores, such as new algorithms and instruction sets that make them a lot more efficient and a switch to an 8nm process size from 12nm. And as is typical, it has increased core counts -- it has a lower ray-tracing core count but the Ampere RT cores are doubled-up over the Turing cores, so technically the 3070 has more. But you won't see the same uplift that the 3080 and 3090 received over earlier models. 

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition specs

	GeForce RTX 3070
Memory	8GB GDDR6
Memory bandwidth	448GB/sec
Memory clock (GHz)	1.75
GPU clock (GHz, base/boost)	1.5/1.73
Memory data rate/Interface	14Gbps/256 bit
Texture fill rate (gigatexels per second)	317.4
RT cores	46
CUDA Cores	5,888
Texture mapping units	184
Streaming multiprocessors	68
Tensor Cores	184
Process	8nm
TGP/min PSU	220w/550w
Max thermal (degrees C)	199F/93C
GPU name	GA104
Bus	PCIe 4.0 x 16
Size	2 slots; 9.5 x 4.4 in (242 x 112 mm)
Price	Around $499

It's also significantly less power-hungry than the higher-end cards, roughly the same as before, plus it's the same size as the 2080 Ti. While the 3070 has a similar 12-pin power connector design to the 3080 -- including an adapter in the box -- it still only connects to a single 8-pin block from the power supply. All of that means it's a much simpler upgrade, especially in tight systems. The Founders Edition, at least, ran cool and quiet during my testing, in a system where I swapped it for the 2070 Super.  

Lori Grunin/CNET

I have no complaints about the RTX 3070's performance, and it's definitely worth its $499 price tag. But it may not be your best choice for the money. The Ti models generally have more memory and slightly wider data paths than the non-Ti models, which is why you'll find the 11GB 2080 Ti occasionally outperforming the 8GB 3070. It makes sense to wait and see if an RTX 3060 Ti or intermediate option between the 3070 and 3080 become reality and what AMD rolls out later this week.

Geekbench 5 (Vulkan)

Origin PC Big O (PS4 Edition)

MSI Aegis RS (MS-7C75)

Corsair One Pro i200

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Geekbench 5 (CUDA)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Shadow of the Tomb Raider gaming test (1080p, highest quality)

Origin PC Big O (PS4 Edition)

MSI Aegis RS (MS-7C75)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance (FPS)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider gaming test (4K, highest quality)

MSI Aegis RS (MS-7C75) with DLSS

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance (FPS)

3DMark Port Royal (RTX)

Origin PC Big O (PS4 Edition)

MSI Aegis RS (MS-7C75)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Configurations

Corsair One Pro	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (1909); 3.3GHz Intel Core i9-10940X; 64GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,667MHz; 11GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti; 2TB SSD
Maingear Turbo	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (2004); 3.8GHz Ryzen 9 3900XT; 32GB DDR4 SDRAM 3,600; 11GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti; 1TB SSD + 4TB HDD
MSI Aegis RS	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (1909); 3.8GHz Intel Core i7-10700K; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 3,000; 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition; 1TB SSD
MSI Trident X	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (1909); (oc) 3.8GHz Intel Core i7-10700K; 32GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,932; 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super; 1TB SSD
Origin PC Big O (PS4 Edition)	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (1909); 3.8GHz AMD Ryzen 9 3900X; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM; 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super; 1.5TB SSD (2TB SSD for console)
Origin PC Chronos	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (2004); Intel Core i9-10900K; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 3,200; 10GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (EVGA); 1TB SSD + 500GB SSD

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Acer brings AMD to its latest Predator gaming PC lineup

Acer brings AMD to its latest Predator gaming PC lineup

Just last week, Acer announced a bunch of new gaming PCs and accessories, but it apparently held back something for Computex 2018, which kicked off in Taipei today. 

The company's new 17.3-inch Predator Helios 500 gaming notebook and Predator Orion 5000 and Nitro 50 desktops will be available with AMD Ryzen 7 processors as well as options for AMD Radeon discrete graphics. These are in addition to Intel and Nvidia configurations previously announced. 

Options for the Helios 500 will include up to a second-gen AMD Ryzen 7 2700 processor and AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics with 8GB of second-generation high-bandwidth memory. The full HD-resolution display will feature a 144Hz refresh rate and support for Radeon FreeSync that eliminates blur and tearing during gameplay. Those are in addition to versions with up to a new hexa-core Intel Core i9+ 8950HK processor with Intel Optane memory support and overclocking along with an overclockable 8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU.

The Orion 5000 desktop will come with second-gen AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processors paired with the latest AMD B450 chipset and up to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU. The more entry-level Nitro 50 will offer the same 2700X processors, but graphics options of AMD Radeon RX 580 GPUs or up to Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPUs.

The Predator Helios 500 will be available in the US in August starting at $2,199 (approximately AU$2,900 and £1,650) while the Predator Orion 5000 and Acer Nitro 50 will follow in September starting at $1,499 and $899, respectively, which coverts to roughly AU$1,980 and £1,125 and AU$1,190 and £675.

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AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU ships Aug. 11, starting at $379

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU ships Aug. 11, starting at $379

I'm starting to think of AMD's Radeon RX 6000 series and Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3000 series GPUs as the lost generation: By the time shortages ease and you're actually able to buy any of the cards announced over the past year, chances are both companies will be ready to release their next generational round of cards. But that hasn't stopped either of them from lobbing new models at us. This time it's AMD's Radeon RX 6600 XT, a desktop graphics card intended for high frame rate play in 1080p. It's expected to ship on Aug. 11 from add-in board makers like Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and others with prices starting at $379 and in prebuilt systems soon after.

$379. HAHAHAHA.

The cryptocurrency mining crackdown in China and regulatory smackdown in Europe may lessen the demand for GPUs, but we're still in the middle of a silicon supply crunch that affects many components of graphics cards, and that's expected to last at least until the end of the year. So it's bound to keep availability low, middlebots busy and prices high. Based on current markups for available cards, I suspect the real price over the next months will start closer to $850. 

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

Memory	8GB DDR6/32MB Infinity Cache
Memory bandwidth (GB/sec)	256
GPU clock (GHz, typical/boost)	2.359/2.589
Memory interface	128-bit
Compute Units and Ray Accelerators	32
Stream cores	2,048
TGP/min PSU (watts)	160/500
Bus	PCIe 4.0 x 8
Size	2 slots, length varies
Price	Starts at $379
Ship date	Aug. 11

But let's take a break from reality and discuss it as if you will be able to get it and prices will start at $379. Add-in board manufacturers will have dual- and triple-fan models, with dual-fan versions fitting comfortably into entry-level gaming systems: Its 160-watt rated power draw means you can put it into a system with a 500-watt power supply and they should be able to work in 8-bit PCI slots. Both of those sync with AMD's target market of lagging upgraders still poking along on an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060.

Like Nvidia, AMD stresses how well the card performs -- competitively with the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti its price is sandwiched between -- as long as you turn on all the algorithmic magic available to the GPU. In AMD's case, that means Radeon Boost (which selectively renders scene elements at a lower resolution, based on visibility, for higher frame rates), Radeon Anti-Lag (reduces latency by lightening the load on the CPU), FidelityFX Super Resolution (upscaling from lower-resolution textures to achieve faster frame rates, a la Nvidia DLSS) and Smart Access Memory (AMD's Resizable BAR implementation, in which the CPU can store game-related data in GPU RAM rather than system RAM so the GPU doesn't have to traverse the system bus to retrieve it).

 AMD is less reliant on developer support than Nvidia for much of its acceleration, but it's not entirely driver-based. SAM only works on systems equipped with a modern AMD Ryzen CPU, for example. Because I'm a glass-half-empty kinda gal who's seen way too many BSODs in the past week, I tend to approach these claims as "Will games still be playable if I have to disable everything?" rather than "Wow, it gets great frame rates with everything enabled!"

And now back to your regularly scheduled shortage.

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Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition (GL503VM) review: Less a hero than dependable sidekick

Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition (GL503VM) review: Less a hero than dependable sidekick

Asus calls this particular configuration of its 15.6-inch ROG Strix GL503 series "the Hero Edition," because it's ostensibly optimized for your big arena battles, cleverest strategizing and hardest roles to play. It isn't really. It's just a middle-of-the-Strix-road configuration, with an i7700HQ CPU and GTX 1060 graphics, and a different set of highlighted keycaps. But it's also a fine general-purpose gaming laptop with a couple of design aspects that stand out.

Asus defines its "Hero" differently in different regions, as well; it's a great example about how these "optimized" systems are optimized more for marketing than actual gamers. In the US, this "ideal" system for MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), RTS and RPG costs $1,600, and comes with 16GB RAM, a Core i7-7700HQ and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. 

In the UK, I guess you don't need as much power for MOBA, because there the Hero has a Core i5-7300HQ, 8GB and half the SSD -- you can't find it in Asus' online store, but its RRP per Amazon is £1,300. The same laptop without the Hero moniker, is £1,365 direct from Asus. There doesn't seem to be an analogous configuration to our Hero: A version with 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD + 1TB hybrid HDD option goes for a little over £1,320 or a GTX 1070 model for £1,970.

Australian MOBA fans don't seem to need GPU strength; the AU$2,000 Hero model has an i7-7700HQ and 16GB RAM, but only a GTX 1050 and 128GB+1TB storage. On the other hand, the equivalent of our Hero configuration is the AU$2,600 Strix SCAR, Asus' "optimised for FPS" model.

To bring it all full circle, in the US, the "only for top shooters" Strix SCAR (GL503VS) has a 144Hz display and a GTX 1070, which really is a nice FPS configuration.  

Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition (GL503VM)

Price as reviewed	$1,599
Display size/resolution	15.6-inch 1,920x1,080 display
PC CPU	2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ
PC Memory	16GB DDR SDRAM 2,400MHz
Graphics	6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
Storage	256GB SSD+1TB hybrid (Firecuda), SD card slot
Ports	4 x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1 x USB-C, 1 x Mini DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI 2.0
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Operating system	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Weight	5.8 pounds/2.6kg

Pricewise, the ROG Strix GL503 series sits in the middle of the pack. The Dell Gaming laptop in the same configuration costs only $1,350 (£1,350, AU$1,850), but there are some more upscale competitors, like the Alienware 15 or Acer Predator 15, which offer the configuration for around $1,700 (£1,400, AU$2,500). You can save about $500 if you drop to the GTX 1050-equipped model, which is OK if you don't (yet) care about VR and if the types of games you play don't benefit from the frame-rate increase.

However, if you have some leeway in your budget and expect the system to last you a few years,  I'd recommend upping to the GTX 1070; with it, you'll get better-than-OK VR as well as notably better performance, and it'll give you better VR performance once VR starts to get higher res. That means the Strix Scar Edition (GL503VS) for about $400 more.

High points

I like the keyboard a lot, both for playing and typing. The keys are the right size and where you expect them to be when you're on the move. At first the keystrokes felt a little dead-ended -- Asus uses a technology to actuate the membrane keys earlier in the stroke than usual, which means you're pressing a little too hard during the non-resistant portion of the stroke. But once I got used to it, found it very comfortable and responsive, with no rollover issues. 

There's a slide-off panel on the bottom for quick memory upgrades as well.

The QWER keys are double-backlit (they have translucent sides so the backlight glows through) instead of WASD, which is the only noticeable way in which the Hero is optimized for non-FPS over the other systems in the line. I don't find highlighted keys much help for gaming, but YMMV.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The touchpad also has a more premium feel and sensitivity than usual for a gaming notebook, which makes a big difference for out-of-game navigating. But it doesn't have a backlight to go with the four keyboard lighting zones, nor could I find a NumLock indicator anywhere, which is just silly.

The display is pretty good for the price. It seems to be the same (or at least similar to) that of the Alienware 15 we tested, a TN-WVA (wide viewing angle)  panel, which manufacturers have taken to labeling as "IPS-level." It measures at about 94 percent sRGB; if the white point were lower, it probably would meet the 100 percent gamut-coverage spec -- it's the right size -- but it's so cool (color temperatures between 8,300K and 12,000K) the entire gamut is shifted. 

Through the gaming center utility you have a choice of, sRGB, Cinema, Racing, Scenery, RTS/RPG and FPS screen modes, each of which change the white point, gamma and contrast. Frankly, I found sRGB suitable for everything -- it has the highest gamma (2.2, so you can see the most amount of detail) and contrast (1,184:1) along with the most reasonable white point (8,300K). At its brightest it hits 285 nits, but running at about 75 percent brightness it typically runs about 220 nits. 

Asus' ROG Strix Hero has a nice selection of ports, and as you'd expect it supports G-Sync through the Mini DisplayPort connection. Given the frame rates you'll typically get with the GTX 1060, the maximum 120Hz refresh rate of the built-in panel is fine without G-sync. 

Sarah Tew/CNET

The speakers get moderately loud, but don't convey enough directionality if you're surrounded by enemies. There's a utility to tweak that, if you want to. I recommend headphones, though. There's no separate headphone and mic jacks for headsets, just a single multipurpose port.

In action

Asus has a Android ROG Gaming Center app for monitoring your system "remotely" -- I put that in quotations because you have to be directly connected to the system, but you can use it to monitor while in-game without having to jump out.

There's also the latest version of the company's network management software, GameFirst IV. It didn't come installed on our test system, though there was an empty directory for it, and it took some hunting to find it online (zip file). (Normally I wouldn't bother, but Asus highlights it as one of the benefits of the GL series.)
GameFirst is very much like the Killer Control Center, and for prioritization it seems to work fine. But it also claims to be able to multigate -- direct specific traffic over different network routes, such as some over Ethernet and some over wireless for up to four different gateways. That's a little trickier. 

I find it doesn't always use the designated connection, and whether it even sees it can depend on the order in which you load the applications as to whether it multigates or just prioritizes. Also, while it might occasionally increase total bandwidth without affecting latency, it does sometimes result in dropped frames even with the high bandwidth and latency. Also, unlike Killer's, you can only set the parameters when an application is open; you can't just scan the hard disk to find the ones you want to specify. There's an auto mode as well as a manual one.

Asus ships the laptop with Intel graphics disabled, an uncommon but not unheard-of practice. That's great for performance and means you don't have to futz with the settings in the Nvidia control center to optimize GPU usage, but it also tanks the battery life; hence, the just-under-3-hour result on our tests. Unsurprisingly, it generally scored within five percent of the similarly equipped Lenovo Legion Y720 on our tests, except for battery life. That's also the only test on which it didn't outperform the also-similar HP Omen 15, which uses the GTX 1060 with the slimmer Max-Q design. (Its Geekbench Multi-Core is unusually low because it underperformed on the cryptography test, while the multicore Cinebench test is limited to rendering algorithms.)

It also means you really can't leave your power adapter at home even when you're not gaming, which adds another 1.4 pounds/626g to the already substantial 5.8-pound2.6kg carry weight. At that weight, I'd expect the Strix to feel pretty solid, but while attractive it feels somewhat like smooth premium plastic (possibly aluminum in places). The screen flexes a little too much, and at one point I thought the panel was going to pop out. It didn't. 

One reason it feels like plastic is because it doesn't heat up. That's good; after only about an hour of the relatively slow-moving but processing-intensive Talos Principle, the CPU temperature reported as 145 degrees F/63 degrees C with the fans blowing hard and noisily, but the surfaces remained cool.

The ROG Strix Hero GL503VM is a great general-purpose, midpriced gaming laptop but you might want to spend a little less or a little more if you're buying in the Strix line, and pass altogether if you plan to run off the battery for more than 2.5 hours at a stretch. 

Streaming video playback battery drain test

Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Gaming (late 2017) 362 Lenovo Legion Y720 358 Acer Predator Helios 300 320 HP Omen 15 180 Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition GL503V 177

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance (in minutes)

Geekbench 4 (Multi-core)

HP Omen 15 14,830 Lenovo Legion Y720 14,208 Acer Predator Helios 300 13,460 Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition GL503V 12,406 Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Gaming (late 2017) 10,611

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

3DMark Fire Strike Ultra

Acer Predator Helios 300 2,804 Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition GL503V 2,657 Lenovo Legion Y720 2,523 HP Omen 15 2,323 Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Gaming (late 2017) 2,266

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

Cinebench R15 OpenGL

Lenovo Legion Y720 96.8 Acer Predator Helios 300 94.9 Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition GL503V 91.9 Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Gaming (late 2017) 87.9

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance (FPS)

Cinebench R15 CPU (multi-core)

Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition GL503V 744 Acer Predator Helios 300 736 Lenovo Legion Y720 607 Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Gaming (late 2017) 510

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

System configurations

Acer Predator Helios 300	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,400MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060; 512GB SSD
Asus ROG Strix Hero Edition GL503V	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,400MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060; 256GB SSD+1TB HDD
HP Omen (15-inch, 2017)	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (64-bit); 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,400MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design; 256GB SSD + 2TB HDD
Lenovo Legion Y720	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,400MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060; 128GB SSD+1TB HDD
Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Gaming (Late 2017)	Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-7300HQ; 8GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,400MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design; 256GB SSD

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