INNO3D Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti X3 Graphics Card Review

https://youtu.be/4CWnKeKIJaw When it comes to buying any GPU, you’re faced with many decisions regarding brand and model. However, in today’s climate, you’re more than likely to find that it comes down to what’s available on the day you have the opportunity to buy it. This comes with a caveat: what happens if you don’t know what you’re buying and want to ensure you’re choosing the right model? This brings us to today and the INNO3D RTX 5070 Ti X3. This card has a unique opportunity, as NVIDIA doesn’t offer a Founders Edition for this particular GPU. Has INNO done enough to create a compelling option for those wanting to spend $749 on a GPU right now? That’s what we’re going to find out. INNO3D Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti X3 So, let's start with what this card is all about. It’s an X3, INNO’s way of offering an alternative to the Founders Edition and other MSRP-based cards. However, I know that doesn’t account for much in this day and age, as many 5070 Tis, along with other 50 series cards, are retailing for above MSRP, which, in this case, should be $749. Key Features GPU: GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (Blackwell Architecture) Memory: 16GB GDDR7 Cooling: Triple-fan (X3) Overclocked: Yes (OC Edition) CUDA Cores: 8960 Boost Clock: ~2482MHz Memory Interface: 256-bit Power: 300W TDP, 750W min PSU Connectors: 1x 12V-2x6 or 2x 8-pin PCIe. Outputs: 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, 1x HDMI 2.1b Interface: PCIe 5.0 The big selling point of this card, as with the RTX 5080 X3 we reviewed, is that INNO has managed to create a triple-fan card that only occupies two slots in your case. While larger and more expensive cards are available, if you’re after something suitable for a small form factor build, where space is at a premium, there aren’t many choices on the market. There’s the obvious Founders Edition from NVIDIA, but even then, they don’t make one for this card. Therefore, you’ll be faced with even fewer options. At a time when buying a GPU could literally come down to what’s available on the day you’re ready to buy it, an FE may not be available, and I think that’s where INNO are hedging their bets. No frills, slim, does the job, and is priced as it should be, obviously not taking into account what retailers end up scalping it for. A Closer Look Looking at the card, it’s quite a simple affair, and that’s not a bad thing. It does the job and is a tried and tested method for other cards that INNO has released onto the market. What we get is a modest cooler that typically does the job. There are no extra added features that most gamers would deem unnecessary. This means no RGB, no dual BIOS, and instead, a sheer focus on providing a solution to gamers that will keep their frame rates high and their temperatures low. With that in mind, it’s still a very appealing card that offers a black and metal look. Sadly, there’s no metal on the front of the card, though INNO has managed to trick the eye with a brushed metal plastic shroud, with metal screws that add to its industrious styling. Having an understated design also helps it fit in no matter the system. Whether the rest of your build has flashing lights or if you have a stealthy build, this GPU will fit in nicely. The back of the card is pretty understated too, with a full metal backplate that extends beyond the length of the PCB. This allows INNO to place a large heatsink on the card, with plenty of space for heat to escape out of the back, while wrapping around the end of the card for extra structural rigidity. Some added thermal pads can be found here to assist in cooling, which is impressive considering this is an MSRP card and something we don’t always see, even on cards that command a higher price. There’s also some understated branding with an INNO3D logo and GeForce RTX wording. In terms of size, this is one of its benefits. While it comes in at 300mm long and 116mm tall, it is only 41mm thick, making it a dual-slot card and, as mentioned, perfect for smaller form factor builds where thickness is generally the biggest obstacle. In terms of weight, it comes in at 1225g, but due to its thickness and large heatsink, it feels remarkably solid and sturdy. Due to it not being the heaviest card, it doesn’t come with a GPU support bracket, but I’m fine with that, as I’m sure it was done to keep costs down and ensure that this card hit MSRP pricing. While some gamers will be unhappy that the cooler design is a reused solution, I’m fine with that, as I’m of the mentality of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”. In this card, that works, though of course, we’ll see what that means in terms of temperatures shortly. Connection-wise, we get the standard three DisplayPort connectors and an HDMI. On top of the card is the single 12V 2x6 connector, of which a dual 8-pin to 12V adapter is included in the box to give the card its 300W of total board power. Both NVIDIA and INNO recommend a 700W power supply as a minimum. Overclocking After looking at various X3-based cards, we know what to expect from the looks. While some users may want the flashing lights that some more premium models come with, others, especially given the price premium we’ve seen on the RTX 50 series, simply want a functional card that gives them the gaming performance expected for a reasonable price, while still providing some added extras, in terms of a strong cooler and overclocking headroom. This brings me to see how far this card can be pushed. Here, as we’ve seen before, there’s no extra headroom in the power limit, as other cards from other brands have, though in our experience, it hasn’t affected the end result of overclocking, so isn’t a deal-breaker. That aside, as with other RTX 50 series cards, we were able to push our memory by 375MHz, or 3000MHz Effective, which is the enforced limit set by NVIDIA. This brought our memory speed up from the 1750MHz stock speed to 2125MHz, while our core clock was increased by a very healthy 460MHz, now sitting with a boost clock of 2912MHz. GPU-Z Software Settings Power & Temperatures In terms of what this means for our cooling performance, along with how it compares to the stock performance, we booted up F1 24 for an hour-long loop to see how this MSRP-based card performs. The INNO3D card does a great job of keeping temperatures under control, with a GPU temperature averaging around 68 degrees and a memory junction temperature a smidge higher at 69 degrees. While our overclock does generate a little more heat, we’re only talking about around 2 degrees higher on both temperatures. Our clock speed when overclocked for the most part averaged just below 3000MHz and also saw our fan speed increase from the mid-1800 RPM mark at stock to just below 2000 RPM when overclocked, all while not using any more power than stock at around 300W. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test benches to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and are kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Processor Test Systems Test System (GPU) Motherboard Gigabyte B650E AORUS MASTER Buy Now Processor Ryzen 7 9800X3D Review Buy Now GPU Changes Per Review RAM 32 Corsair VENGEANCE RGB 6000MHz CL30 Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H9 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Software We use a variety of software from different developers to assist in our testing and to give us the most consistent results possible. Some applications are specifically used for testing, while others are simply used for monitoring and to aid us in making sure that our results are as accurate as possible. Software Used 3DMark FireStrike & TimeSpy (download) Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. Given how powerful most modern cards are getting, we've began using more demanding profiles for most games, but will otherwise state on a per game basis if we use other profiles beyond High, Ultra, Maximum or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, and all FPS caps that can be removed are. We also enable XMP and Resizable bar technology across all platforms to keep things as fair as possible. Games While we test a lot of games, it's not possible to display all of the data on the website or in our videos. Instead, we include access to all of our testing data for our Patreon members (link), where members get a ton of other benefits as well. What we do, however, is display charts for averages across all game titles to give a better picture of performance across all titles tested. A Plague Tale: Requiem Alan Wake II Baldur's Gate 3 Black Myth Wukong CS2 Cyberpunk 2077 F1 24 Fortnite Hogwarts Legacy Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Starfield War Thunder Resolutions 1080 (Full HD) 1440 4K Some tests will also include features such as NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. Power Consumption Not being content with simply reading total system power draw, we now run F1 24 for an hour loop and measure power draw at the end of the loop for the most accurate measurement that represents real-world gameplay experience. Temperatures We take temperature readings after the same hour-long F1 24 loop with no other background programs running, again to simulate a real-world gaming experience. A Plague Tale: Requiem A Plague Tale: Requiem is a stealth-survival horror adventure that serves as a direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence. Players continue the harrowing journey of Amicia and Hugo de Rune, two young siblings navigating a plague-ridden France in the 14th century. The game features stunning visuals, intense action sequences, and a gripping narrative that explores themes of family, resilience, and the darkness within. Starting with A Plague Tale at 4K, set to Ultra, the INNO card comes in slightly lower in terms of performance than MSI’s offering, by just over 1%, which falls within the margin of error and, in this case, only equates to one frame per second. The overclock helps uplift our frame rate by 9%, though, and as we’ve seen with 50 series cards before, this has a negative effect on the 1% lows, which drop down by a single FPS, so definitely some room for tweaking here, but this is no fault of INNO and is a fine-tuning bug with NVIDIA. Black Myth Mukong Black Myth Wukong is an action role-playing game inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West." Developed by Game Science, it features stunning graphics, challenging combat encounters, and a captivating story based on the legendary Monkey King. Players can expect a unique blend of Chinese mythology and action-packed gameplay. In Black Myth: Wukong, we now see the INNO card above the MSI Ventus card by just over 2%, making this a margin of error difference, which accounts for only a single FPS, with the 1% lows also only seeing a single FPS difference. The overclock managed to give us another 10% performance and helped to push the card above both the RTX 4080 SUPER and 7900 XTX from AMD. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world action role-playing game set in the dystopian metropolis of Night City. Developed by CD Projekt Red, it offers a vast and immersive world filled with diverse characters, complex storylines, and a wide range of customization options. Players can create their own unique cyberpunk character and explore the city's underbelly, completing missions, engaging in cybernetic enhancements, and making choices that shape their destiny. In Cyberpunk, again, the INNO card is the better of the two when compared to MSI, as the INNO card comes in with 6% higher performance, though overclocking in this case, while it did still increase performance, it was by a smaller 2% margin, which translates to just one FPS. The 1% lows aren’t particularly amazing, but they’re not so bad that it’s anything to worry too much about, and this has been a trend we’ve seen with other RTX 50 series cards, and driver updates could help to rectify this. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is an upcoming action-adventure game based on the iconic film franchise. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios, it promises to deliver an epic and cinematic experience with a globe-trotting adventure, thrilling action sequences, and a captivating story. Players will step into the shoes of Indiana Jones and embark on a quest to uncover the secrets of a mysterious artefact. In Indiana Jones, the MSI card outperforms the INNO card by 4%, while the overclock helps push performance above stock by 12%, now pushing the INNO card above the MSI card by 6%. Of course, we could see this switch back the otherway if we were to overclock the MSI card as well. Starfield Starfield is a highly anticipated space exploration role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. It offers a vast and immersive galaxy to explore, with countless planets, star systems, and alien civilizations to discover. Players can create their own custom character and embark on a journey to uncover the secrets of the universe, completing missions, engaging in space combat, and making choices that shape their destiny. In Starfield, there’s not much to say about stock performance, as it perfectly matches the MSI Ventus 3X OC card, even in the lows, which is somewhat impressive considering this is a stock card from the factory and not a pre-overclocked card like the MSI. When overclocked, we do see a typical 9% boost in frames, with the lows being fairly impressive despite the issues the 50 series is becoming known for. Ray Tracing - Black Myth Wukong Black Myth Wukong is an action role-playing game inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West." Developed by Game Science, it features stunning graphics, challenging combat encounters, and a captivating story based on the legendary Monkey King. Players can expect a unique blend of Chinese mythology and action-packed gameplay. Booting back into Black Myth: Wukong, but this time with ray tracing set to medium, the INNO3D card comes in with 4% more performance than the MSI card, but with such low frame rates to begin with, this only accounts for a single FPS. Overclocking the card sees a couple of frame increases, with us seeing an 8% increase in performance over stock, but again, these are very low frame rates to begin with, and this only makes up two FPS in total. Ray Tracing - Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world action role-playing game set in the dystopian metropolis of Night City. Developed by CD Projekt Red, it offers a vast and immersive world filled with diverse characters, complex storylines, and a wide range of customization options. Players can create their own unique cyberpunk character and explore the city's underbelly, completing missions, engaging in cybernetic enhancements, and making choices that shape their destiny. Then lastly, in Cyberpunk with ray tracing enabled, the INNO and MSI cards both match in the averages and are separated by just a single frame in the lows, which is neither here nor there. When overclocked, we do see a small boost in performance, and I say small because though it is a 9% uplift, in reality, it’s only a two FPS difference. How Much Does it Cost? The Inno3D GeForce RTX 5070 Ti X3 OC 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card is currently listed at OCUK for £899.99 and, of course, out of stock. Unfortunately, this is the market right now, MSRP is one thing, the actual retail price is another, and stock is non-existent... it'll get better, probably, but unfortunately, it is out of our hands. Conclusion So, the results here are certainly interesting, and this is one of those moments where I have to be brutally honest. I’d like to think INNO3D will appreciate that, as we’ve had a great working relationship over the years. But when a product has clear shortcomings, it’s our job to highlight them. We pride ourselves on being unbiased and providing the most accurate information possible, whether it’s on the website or on YouTube, and that means calling things as we see them. In this case, there’s a real issue with what seems to be the power limit. Performance Whilst the performance is pretty good, even matching or beating the MSI Ventus in many cases, we find that this card hasn’t done enough to make buying a 5070 Ti worth it, and that’s through no fault of their own. That all comes down to NVIDIA. If the 5070 Ti was available for a good price, then I’d be saying a completely different thing right now, but that simply isn’t the case. That’s what we saw here today with underwhelming performance, at least for the money, which is currently much higher than it should be thanks to people and even businesses scalping and adjusting prices to their own agenda. Again, this isn’t INNO3D’s fault because if you are after a 5070 Ti and are dead set on it, then this one does fit the bill quite nicely. It has performance on par with what you would expect, whilst having enough headroom to overclock it fairly easily and ticks all of the right boxes in every area. Cooling The cooler is more than sufficient at keeping things running well and isn’t over-designed. It’s simple. It’s exactly what it needs to be, and I like that. Also, since it is one of the smaller cards we’ve reviewed, you could easily fit this into most systems, unlike some of the larger cards we’ve had come through here, as this one actually has a decent chance of fitting in an ITX build, which along with its lower power consumption and lower heat, could make this quite an appealing card for many people. Scalping Again, though, I can’t help but think about the price. If you were able to get this card for the retail price, then it’s a decent deal, especially if you’re upgrading from something like a 3070 or 3070 Ti, but with the way prices are right now, we are seeing major problems with stock and availability, and of course, as I mentioned, scalpers, which are causing prices to sit much higher than they’re meant to. Should I Buy One? If we ignore the ongoing problems with pricing to try to be as fair as possible, then yes, this is a good card, a great card even, as if you get it for the right price, you won’t be disappointed, especially if you’re playing at 1440p, which I think is the sweet spot for this type of card, though that’s not to say that 4K is completely out of the question, especially in more intense games that can utilise DLSS, especially with MFG, though the number of titles in that department is still pretty low, but will get better over time. So, it’s a difficult one, because whilst I do like the card and would like to recommend it, it does have a caveat, and yes, you guessed it, its price. If you can buy this card for MSRP, then I would recommend it, but anything more? Well then it’s probably best you wait a little while and see what happens to the market, if you can wait of course. For now though, that’s going to wrap this one up. Not the nicest way to finish things off, but again, we present the facts that are in front of us, and that’s how this one is looking. Again, I want to make it clear, the only thing letting this card down right now is the price, and sadly that’s the case for all RTX 5070 Ti models from all brands, and some are even worse than others.