“Damn it!”
It’s 9:11am and I missed the online launch of the RTX 3060Ti graphics cards. In the midst of my dismay, I clicked on a few listings and saw that some cards were available for in-store pickup starting at 10am. Presumably first come, first serve.
Guess who stood in line for about 40 minutes in the freezing cold? And guess who got an Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti OC Edition graphics card? This guy.
Let’s crack this thing open!
Admittedly, I was ready to settle for any of the 3060Ti cards if it meant I could take one home right away. Thankfully, I got the exact unit I wanted. As a proud owner of an Asus X570 motherboard, 1060 graphics card, and gaming monitor, I have an affinity for the brand. Furthermore, the 3080 version of the TUF Gaming card was hailed for its superior cooling and reviews suggest similar results for the 3060Ti variant.
The store had five on hand and I was third in line. The two people in front of me opted for the Asus Dual, which left the TUF Gaming cards all for me. After cashing out, I grabbed breakfast at Tim Horton’s for my wife and I before heading home with this beauty.
Here’s a look at the back of the box that explains many of the card’s key selling points. I didn’t read any of this until I wrote this paragraph. Got too caught up in the hype to read it!
Inside the box, the card is held in place with foam inserts and a fancy plastic wrap. A single piece of tape holds the wrap shut, which is quick to remove.
Now we get our first real look at the card. Part its supposed cooling superiority comes from its three-fan design. Accommodating for the third fan makes for a bigger card. This thing is about a foot in length.
Here’s a closer look. Its casing is made entirely of aluminum, which is a welcome upgrade from the plastic case of my Asus Dual 1060.
The back features three DisplayPorts and two HDMI ports. This is one more HDMI port than the NVIDIA Founder’s Edition. Great upgrade, especially for VR gaming!
Also differing from the Founder’s Edition is the use if a standard 8-pin connector. The awkward 12-pin connector on the NVIDIA card requires a special adapter, but I can use my existing plugs without issue. You can also see the massive heatsink that helps to keep the card cool in tandem with the fans. The trapezoid on the right is RGB, which we’ll get to shortly.
This is the back of the card. An aluminum plate holds everything in place. Could do without the tire track design, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Similar to the NVIDIA 30-series cards, holes are cut in the plate for improved cooling.
For comparison’s sake, here’s the Asus Tuf Gaming 3060Ti beside my Asus Dual 1060. The Tuf Gaming card certainly has it beat in terms of length and girth. Yeah, I went there.
Time to drop it into the PC! It’s a hefty beast and I’m not entirely certain that it’s perfectly aligned. Might need to go back in with the screwderiver to adjust how the brackets are screwed in.
After powering it on and updating the drivers, it’s alive! I have dabbled in a few PC games and so far it’s crushed everything on high settings in 1080p. Streaming and recording a console stream worked awesome as well! Lots more to explore with this device, which I’ll get to in due time!
With that, my PC is finally complete! It’s quite the thrill to have a modern PC capable of streaming and high-end gaming. Can’t wait to push this card and my PC to its full potential!
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In Third Person 
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