Several models of Nvidia’s soon-to-be-released flagship graphics card, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, will seemingly require an enormous cooling system in order to adequately function. As a result, some of these custom GPUs will be among some of the largest consumer video cards to ever hit the market.
As reported by VideoCardz and Tom’s Hardware, pictures of the monster GPU deriving from Nvidia board partners are starting to emerge as we approach the card’s launch date.
Our first look at several RTX 3090 Ti models from Colorful and EVGA confirms that the board’s cooling system will be either 3.5 to 4 slots wide or feature a hybrid liquid cooling configuration.
Let’s start with the EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FTW Ultra, which will sport a 3.5-slot cooling solution. Not only will this specific model consume a considerable amount of power, but it’ll also be markedly thicker and wider than its predecessor, the RTX 3090 FTW3.
Due to its huge 3.5-slot design, EVGA embedded the entire RTX 3090 Ti name onto the board’s side label, which is accompanied by a new I/O bracket as well.
EVGA also opted to incorporate the upgraded PCIe Gen5 power connector on the back of the card as opposed to the side. VideoCardz highlights how although this should theoretically streamline cable management, the placement will necessitate additional space within the chassis itself.
Elsewhere, GPU manufacturer Colorful is seemingly confirmed to be releasing at least three RTX 3090 Ti models. The first variation is the BattleAx Deluxe, which comes with a rectangular cooler design. As for the RTX 3090 Ti iGame Vulcan OC, it will become Colorful’s flagship model. Like the EVGA FTW Ultra, this particular board also features a 3.5-slot cooling design. Lastly, the iGame Neptune OC will be a liquid-cooled RTX 3090 Ti. Instead of three fans, Colorful integrated a 2-slot AIO kit alongside a 280mm radiator with two fans.
As pointed out by Tom’s Hardware, we’ve already heard that the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti will have a recommended thermal board power (TBP) of 450 watts, with some boards potentially reaching 480W. In any case, it would represent a huge leap from the GeForce RTX 3090’s 350W power rating.
As such, when you factor in the RTX 3090 Ti’s upgraded technical specifications — 24GB of GDDR6X memory, 10,752 CUDA core count, etc. — it makes sense that the RTX 3090 Ti may very well usher in a new era of boards being designed with a quad-slot cooler in order to cope with the increased power consumption levels.
The GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is expected to become available either this week or early April. When it does launch, it’ll immediately become one of the most expensive graphics cards ever.
