MSI Unveils Most Powerful Graphics Card for Mini-ITX: The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero ITX

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MSI launches GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero ITX graphics card for SFF PCs.

MSI
(Image credit: MSI)

Since Nvidia's Ampere architecture turns out to be rather power hungry, it takes  graphics card vendors a lot of time and effort to build smaller GeForce RTX 30-series boards for Mini-ITX systems. MSI this week became the world's first manufacturer to build a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti-based card for small form-factor systems. 

MSI's GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero graphics board is powered by Nvidia's GA104-200 graphics processing unit with 4864 CUDA cores that is paired with 8GB of GDDR6 memory connected to the GPU using a 256-bit interface. The card has one eight-pin auxiliary PCIe power connector and uses a dual-slot single-fan cooling system with four heat pipes that directly touch the GPU for extra efficiency.

(Image credit: MSI)

Since the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero is small, has a relatively constrained 200W power budget, and limited cooling capabilities, MSI decided not to overclock the GA104 processor, so it cannot boost beyond 1665MHz. Meanwhile, the GPU's FP32 compute throughput at such frequency is around 16 TFLOPS, which makes the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero the world's highest-performing Mini-ITX graphics card. 

(Image credit: MSI)

Just like full-size GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards, the RTX 3060 Ti Aero board has four display outputs: an HDMI 2.1 as well as three DisplayPort 1.4a connectors.  

In addition to the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero, MSI also introduced its GA106-powered GeForce RTX 3060 Aero ITX 12G OC and GeForce RTX 3060 Aero ITX 12G with 3584 CUDA cores.

(Image credit: MSI)

MSI did not reveal MSRPs, partly because Mini-ITX cards based on Nvidia's Ampere architecture are rare, but to a large degree because retail prices of graphics boards today has nothing to do with MSRPs. 

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Anton Shilov
Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. 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.

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tennis2
    Don't buy unless you have noise cancelling headphones, of if you MUST have an mITX form factor GPU because your mITX case is too small to house a "typical" dual fan GPU.

    PS - Seems like the plastic shroud adds unnecessary height in situations like this where a case is too small to house a standard LENGTH GPU.
    Reply
  • GoldenBunip
    These ITX cards are perfect for mining. ETH on a 3600TI hashes at 60MH with a total board power of 107W. MSI also provides a 5-year warranty on them (or did last time I got an ITX from them with the same fan/cooler)
    So absolutely no chance of buying one, much like all current-gen graphics cards.
    Reply
  • Seabass83
    “MSI decided not to overclock the GA104 processor, so it cannot boost beyond 1665MHz.”

    Of course it can. On stock settings it will easily boost high in the 1900’s.
    Reply
  • hasten
    tennis2 said:
    Don't buy unless you have noise cancelling headphones, of if you MUST have an mITX form factor GPU because your mITX case is too small to house a "typical" dual fan GPU.

    PS - Seems like the plastic shroud adds unnecessary height in situations like this where a case is too small to house a standard LENGTH GPU.
    That's crazy you already have one and tested the manufacturer fan curve and a custom curve for temps and db! Must be lucky cause its not even released let alone chasing stock drops.

    The shroud is not making it double slot its the heatsink and fan. If it were an entry level 25w gpu then a fanless naked heatsink is fine but on a 3060 w/200w tdp its not possible even if it is power throttled.
    Reply
  • tennis2
    hasten said:
    The shroud is not making it double slot its the heatsink and fan. If it were an entry level 25w gpu then a fanless naked heatsink is fine but on a 3060 w/200w tdp its not possible even if it is power throttled.
    Height....perpendicular to the mobo. Not thickness (# of slots)
    Reply