GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Roundup: Go Big or Go Liquid

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Nvidia announced the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti back at CES 2022; however, the chipmaker didn't confirm when the new Ampere flagship would arrive to compete with the best graphics cards on the market. So finally, after much ado, Nvidia's latest and greatest Ampere gaming graphics card launches today at $1,999, but expect premium models to hit $3,000.

With full-fledged GA102 silicon at its core, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti has 84 streaming multiprocessors (SMs), totaling 10,752 CUDA cores, 336 third-generation Tensor cores for AI, and 84 second-generation RT cores for ray tracing. The Founders Edition sports a 1,560 MHz base clock and a 1,860 MHz boost clock. In addition, the behemoth packs 24GB of GDDR6X memory at 21 Gbps on the memory side. With a 384-bit memory interface at the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti's disposal, the graphics card delivers a memory bandwidth of up to 1 TBps.

The GeForce RTX 3090 was already a power-hungry graphics card at 350W. With the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, Nvidia had to bump the TDP to 450W to accommodate the additional CUDA cores, the higher clock speeds, and faster GDDR6X memory. Some custom GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics cards hit 480W. Therefore, vendors have adopted the new PCIe 5.0 power connector (12VHPWR), which can deliver 600W. Due to the high thermal limit, it's more common to find GeForce RTX 3090 Ti with beefy designs that span from 3.5 to 4 slots to control the heat unless you go with the liquid-cooled models.

Asus

Asus has revealed the ROG Strix LC GeForce RTX 3090 Ti and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. Surprisingly, the brand didn't announce a regular ROG Strix GeForce model; however, it could come later.

The ROG Strix LC GeForce RTX 3090 Ti features a blower-type cooling design that's complemented liquid cooling where the latter does the heavy lifting. The cooling system centers around a 240mm radiator. The TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, on the other hand, sticks to a traditional triple-fan cooler.

Both graphics cards depend on a single PCIe 5.0 power connector and offer three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and an HDMI 2.1 port.

Colorful

The iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Ti comes with a 3.5-slot design and measures 323mm long. It operates with the same clock speeds as Nvidia's Founders Edition, but it had a one-key OC feature to bump the boost clock up to 1,920 MHz. In addition, the small LCD displays the graphics card's metrics or your favorite GIF.

In contrast, the iGame GeForce RTX 3090Ti Neptune is only two-slots thick and 276mm long. As the name conveys, it utilizes a 240mm liquid cooler. The maximum boost clock speed for this model is 1,905 MHz.

The GeForce RTX 3090 Ti NB EX also conforms to a 3.5-slot design and is the longest of the lot at 327mm. The graphics card has the same base and boost clock speeds as the Founders Edition.

All three graphics cards have a 480W TDP, but the iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Ti and iGame GeForce™ RTX 3090Ti Neptune can hit 510W in OC mode.

EVGA

The GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Gaming rocks EVGA's iCX3 cooling solution with a thick radiator and triple iCX3 fans. The graphics card comes with a backplate with small cut-outs to improve airflow and cooling. The clock speeds and dimensions for the GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Gaming are unknown, but it appears to adhere to a 3.5-slot design, if not bigger.

Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4a ports and a single HDMI 2.1 port. The graphics card pulls external power from the 16-pin PCIe 5.0 power connector.

Gigabyte

Gigabyte also gave the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti the liquid-cooling treatment. The Aorus GeForce RTX 3090 Xtreme WaterForce 24G debuts with a redesigned cooler that probably only requires two PCI slots. Unlike other brands that went with a 240mm radiator, Gigabyte opted for a 360mm one instead.

Gigabyte has unveiled the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Gaming 24G, arriving with a thick shroud and three cooling fans for consumers that prefer air cooling. Both models deliver three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and one HDMI 2.1 port and require one PCIe 5.0 connector for power.

MSI

MSI rolled out the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Gaming X Trio, GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Gaming X, and GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Suprim X. The designs look similar to what MSI uses for its other Ampere-powered models, except for what appears to be a bigger cooler. As usual, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Suprim X will be the highest-clocked model coming out of the MSI camp.

Galax, Gainward, KFA2 and Palit

Meanwhile, Palit, Galax, Gainward, or KFA2 have several GeForce RTX 3090 Ti offerings, but what's available to you will depend on where you live. The GameRock series is back with the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock, where we have the typical diamond-Esque design and a beefy cooler.

If you're more of a Galax fan, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti SG may be your cup of tea. It's a long and thick graphics card with three 80mm cooling fans and an equally long backplate. The fans feature a translucent design to add some bling to the exterior.

PNY

While PNY seems only to have one GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, the company wins the award for the longest name. The PNY GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB XLR8 Gaming Epic-X RGB relies on a triple-fan cooling recipe. Like other custom models, the graphics card also has a gigantic cooler. The display output and power connector arrangement are the same as other rivals.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

With contributions from