Ampere for Mini-ITX: Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini Launched

By Anton Shilov
published

High performance for miniature systems

Asus
(Image credit: Asus)

Compact gaming systems have proven to be pretty popular in recent years. Still, surprisingly, Nvidia opted to equip its GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics board with a cooling system that makes it 242mm long, way longer than a small Mini-ITX case can accommodate. Fortunately, not all of its partners have followed suit, and Asus has released one of the industry's first GeForce RTX 3060 Ti cards for Mini-ITX PCs.

The Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini (opens in new tab) carries Nvidia's GA104 graphics processor with 4864 CUDA cores running up to 1710 MHz. That's coupled with 8GB of GDDR6 memory using a 256-bit interface. The card uses a proprietary PCB that is taller than Nvidia's design and uses a single 8-pin power connector instead of the 12-pin on the RTX 3060 Ti Founder's Edition cards. Display outputs for the Dual-RTX3060TI-O8G-Mini include three DisplayPort 1.4 outputs as well as one HDMI 2.1 port.

(Image credit: Asus)

The Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini's dual-slot cooling system is fairly typical for Mini-ITX cards: it consists of an aluminum heatsink with heat pipes as well as two axial-tech fans that stop spinning when the GPU temperature drops below 55°C. 

Like the rest of Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti-based graphics cards, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini consumes up to 200 Watts of power, so gamers will need to ensure that their PSU can provide enough juice.

(Image credit: Asus)

At present, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini is probably among the highest-performing Mini-ITX graphics boards on the market. Meanwhile, GPU makers have historically have managed to build 250-Watt Mini-ITX GPUs, so over time, we might see something even more powerful.  

Asus

(Image credit: ASUS)

Asus has not announced the pricing of its Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini, but expect it to be in the same ballpark as other custom GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini units.

Anton Shilov
Anton Shilov
Freelance News Writer

Anton Shilov is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

Topics
GPUs
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nofanneeded
    At present, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini is probably among the highest-performing Mini-ITX graphics boards on the market.

    How is that ? RTX 3070 FE is the same length 242mm and better .
    Reply
  • King_V
    That's not what the article says.

    Still, surprisingly, Nvidia opted to equip its GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics board with a cooling system that makes it 242mm long, way longer than a small Mini-ITX case can accommodate. Fortunately, not all of its partners have followed suit, and Asus has released one of the industry's first GeForce RTX 3060 Ti cards for Mini-ITX PCs.
    Nvidia made its 3060Ti that long. Asus has made a shorter one.
    Reply
  • decayed.cell
    Would be great if the article stated how long the card actually was. Strictly speaking it should be 17cm long to conform with Mini-ITX, but it seems a lot longer than that
    Reply
  • HideOut
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pny-geforce-rtx-3070-8gb-dual-fan-graphics-card/6432654.p?skuId=6432654
    This 3070 from PNY is faster....
    Reply
  • King_V
    HideOut said:
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pny-geforce-rtx-3070-8gb-dual-fan-graphics-card/6432654.p?skuId=6432654
    This 3070 from PNY is faster....

    And if you go to the product details page at PNY, you'll see the dimensions of this card are 10.43" x 5.51" x 2.24"

    10.43 inches = 265mm, which is LONGER than the 242mm of Nvidia's cards. Oh, and it's a 3-slot cooler. So, the PNY you referenced WAY too big to fit in Mini-ITX. The Asus in this article is short enough for Mini-ITX, and uses a 2-slot cooler.


    decayed.cell said:
    Would be great if the article stated how long the card actually was. Strictly speaking it should be 17cm long to conform with Mini-ITX, but it seems a lot longer than that
    True. Though, there's a link directly to the Asus product page, where it states "less than 20cm length". Not terribly specific, but not a lot longer than 17cm.
    Reply
  • Haulien
    The Asus 3060 Ti Dual Mini comes in at exactly 200mm - longer than the 2070/2060 Dual Mini (they were 197mm). Taller too, at 123mm. (the 2060/2070 were 121mm).

    I'm more interested in the EVGA 3060 Ti XC - slightly longer at 201.8mm, however not as tall at 110mm. For SFF builds, height is everything too Asus!.

    I do hope we see a Gigabyte 3070/3060Ti mini - their previous mini cards came in at 170mm long (however were tall at 121.3mm)

    I wouldn't mind an EVGA 3070 mini either, if they can keep it around 110mm tall. Easier for PSU selection in USFF cases.

    Also I wouldn't really call this a "launch" when no retailer has yet to carry it, the tech spec page is currently blank, and any other region on Asus's site has no record of it.
    Reply
  • King_V
    200mm exactly? Where'd you find that info? Kinda weird that they'd brag on their site that its "under 20cm"... though I guess, technically speaking, 199.5mm would fit that definition.
    Reply
  • Haulien
    King_V said:
    200mm exactly? Where'd you find that info? Kinda weird that they'd brag on their site that its "under 20cm"... though I guess, technically speaking, 199.5mm would fit that definition.

    Asus Bulgaria has a working tech spec page: https://www.asus.com/bg/Graphics-Cards/DUAL-RTX3060TI-O8G-MINI/specifications/
    7.87 " x 4.84 " x 1.496 " Inch
    20 x 12.3 x 8.8 Centimeter
    I believe the metric conversions are wrong (8.8cm would make it quad slot...)

    7.87" works out to 199.89mm
    4.84" works out to 122.93mm
    1.496" works out to 37.99mm
    Reply
  • King_V
    Sounds about right, and yeah, they botched it on the 8.8cm.

    I did an online conversion, and 7.87" converted to 199.898mm.. so, yeah, I guess TECHNICALLY they weren't lying when they said UNDER 20cm, but man, that's really cutting it close, lol
    Reply
  • eye4bear
    When the main point of this article is the SIZE of the card, why should I have to go scrounge around for the actual dimensions? They should be stated and if unknown, then this article is only discussing smoke-ware.
    Reply