Noctua is trusted by many PC builders for its high-end case and CPU cooling solutions. ASUS wanted to see how these impressive blowers would perform when strapped to the side of one of its GPUs, which is precisely what was announced today. The two companies teamed up to produce the ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition.
Noctua fans (pun intended once again) have been crying out for branded GPU coolers, allowing them to connect Noctua fans to their favorite cards without having to venture into the wonderful world of modding. If you’ve never used one before, they may look like the visual representation of marmite in PC fan form, but the NF-A12 is actually incredible for thermals.
They may not be the absolute best around, but Noctua scores high across the board for noise, airflow, reliability, and build quality. Fans on even the best graphics card are typically low-profile solutions, which makes this venture even more interesting for those who game regularly. Larger fans don’t have to spin as fast and thus emit less noise.
The two NF-A12 (25mm thick) fans are attached to a 2.3-slot heatsink co-developed by teams at both ASUS and Noctua. According to internal testing, the end result is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU that performs extremely well compared to other aftermarket cards in the segment. Against the company’s own TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition, the Noctua Edition produces a 10 dB-lower sound pressure level when controlling for the same power limit, ambient temperature, and thermal junction temperature.
We’re looking forward to getting a unit in for testing and breakdown. Other features of this GPU include a dual-mode BIOS switch preset to Quiet mode, while a 0 dB idle mode keeps noise levels to a minimum under light graphics loads. The vented backplate design gives heated air a shortcut into a case’s natural airflow path and aids with cooling other components when water-cooling is utilized.
There’s no word on pricing just yet, though we imagine it’ll be in the same region as other ASUS RTX 3070 GPUs. Availability is set to commence sometime mid-October. This is going to be one thick GPU, so be sure to measure up free space inside your PC case before looking to buy.
