Gigabyte has officially unveiled its own custom AIB models of the RTX 3000 graphics cards, specifically for the RTX 3080 and RTX 309 (RTX 3070 models have yet to be revealed). Gigabyte is bringing back its Gaming lineup from the last generation but with an updated the cooler for the RTX 3000 series. The company also introduced a new Eagle lineup with it's own unique design.
We aren't sure where exactly the Eagle lineup ranks in Gigabyte's product stack, but it appears to be a slightly down-tiered variant of the Gaming SKUs, due to the lack of a dual BIOS option.
The Eagle cards feature a very unique shroud design, where the first fifth of the shroud is very short and the same height as the rear PCIe slots. But as you continue on from that part of the shroud, there's a very aggressive line running up to the peak of the card. At the end of that journey, you'll find the PCIe power plugs recessed below the shroud. That's presumably to ensure the card is compatible with more compact PC cases, (and I personally think it looks better).
For lighting, the Eagle cards have a very humble dash of RGB on the front of the shroud.
Gigabyte is using the same Windforce cooler across its Eagle and Gaming RTX 3000 cards. The cooler has three fans, with the center and right fans being 90mm in diameter and the left fan 80mm. Similar to previous generations of Windforce coolers, the center fan spins in the opposite direction of the other two fans. Gigabyte says this improves the airflow of the design.
Another cool feature of this updated Windforce cooler is the cutout at the end of the card that allows the heatsink to breath on the bottom and the top. This should noticeably help airflow, since the fan on the right side doesn't need to push air against the PCB. Instead, air is free of resistance and can pass through he card without any 90-degree turns.
Finally, the cooler has a large copper plate that connects the GPU and VRAM to the heatpipes themselves. Copper is more conductive than standard metal, so this should improve cooling efficiency.
The Gaming lineup is the prettier of the two in my opinion. The shroud is similar to that of the Eagle cards in that the left side of the shroud is about the same height as the rear PCIe slots. But as you move to the right of the Gaming cards, the shroud slowly gains height.
The shroud here has a black and silver finish, with the center of the card all blacked out and angled silver lines on the top and bottom.
RGB is also very simple, featuring a full Gigabyte RGB logo and a small line of lighting underneath it.
Gigabyte's Gaming cards also include dual BIOS support.
Overall, both lineups show design considerations for Ampere's much higher TDP ratings. So far all of Gigabyte's designs have big beefy coolers with three fans, so it'll be interesting to see if Gigabyte releases smaller, dual-fan designs.
Interestingly, all of Gigabyte's RTX 3080 and 3090s so far come with 2x8-pin external power plugs, not the new 12-pin you find on Nvidia's Founders Edition cards. Only time will tell if board partners will adopt the 12-pin.
Availability and pricing is currently unknown.
