Asus launches the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini OC Edition - one of the smallest Nvidia Ampere-based cards around designed for mini-ITX builds
For the new RTX 3000 GPU generation, Nvidia decided to do something special and introduced a custom design even on its Founders’ Edition cards. While the card PCB itself is remarkably cut-down thanks to the 8 nm tech, the overall length of the card is considerably increased by the custom cooler that is supposed to maximize efficiency. It is true that the cooling solution is very important for the new Ampere-based cards, but AIB partners demonstrated that smaller coolers can still be efficient, at the same time maintaining a smaller overall footprint that allows such GPUs to fit in the increasingly popular small form-factor builds. Asus is among the first AIBs to deliver one such card specifically designed for mini-ITX builds with the new Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini OC Edition 8 GB model.
Interestingly enough, the PCB on the Asus card is shorter than the RTX 3060 Ti FE one, but it is also a bit taller. Additionally, It uses an 8-pin connector instead of the 12-pin that is featured on the FE card. Now, Asus does not specify the overall length of the card including the cooler with two Axial-tech fans, but from what we can see in the product images, the PCB appears to be within the 180 mm length limit. Asus states that the card including the cooler is supposed to fit into small chassis like the Intel NUC 9 kits. Even if the cooler itself might prove a tad longer, DYI builders can easily replace it with a smaller and more efficient waterblock.
The new Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini also comes with the standard triple DisplayPort 1.4 + HDMI 2.1 video outputs and, despite having a smaller power connector, the core can still be overclocked to at least 1710 MHz. Actual availability and pricing for this card are still unknown. Historical price data suggests that the mini-ITX cards usually get priced slightly above the regular cards, so we could expect MSRPs of around $450. However, the current shortages could push the actual prices above $500.
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