Conclusion
...at worst, it matches the in-game performance of a £1,099 RTX 2080 Ti from the previous generation.Nvidia's Ampere architecture has proven itself to be a worthy successor to the first generation of RTX graphics cards. Performance is up, pricing is more attractive than most anticipated, and the promise of ray-tracing tech feels closer to realisation than ever before.
For a lot of gamers, that potential is best realised by the third consumer Ampere graphics card, GeForce RTX 3070. Priced from £469, the x70 is sure to be a popular destination and arrives with one indisputable promise: at worst, it matches the in-game performance of a £1,099 RTX 2080 Ti from the previous generation.
It's a card we predict will sell in large numbers, but stumbling blocks are availability and pricing of partner cards. MSI's Gaming X Trio is a fine example of a factory-overclocked board that's satisfyingly cool and quiet... yet it's almost impossible to buy right now.
Bottom line: MSI's Gaming X Trio is one of the best custom-cooled RTX 3070s available, but stock levels are anything but decent.
The Good The Bad Effectively a half-price RTX 2080 Ti
Excellent at QHD, decent at 4K UHD
Solid build quality and factory overclock
Low temps and quiet at all times Needs support bracket to stand straight
Rival Radeon RX 6000 Series incoming
Abysmal stock levels
MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
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TBC.
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