A Closer Look
So speaking of the cooler, that’s essentially what MSI have focused on with the Ventus 3X OC. It’s not the most premium cooler on the market, but it sets out to do a job for, and this will be the last time I say it, an “affordable price”.
That means we get three Torx 5.0 fans which are said to increase airflow by 23% compared to axial based fans, along with double ball bearings to help increase the longevity of the fans, even after years of intense gaming. The fans also stop when temperatures are low, which reduces noise in your system and will again increase the lifespan.
The card features a nickel-plated copper base plate which makes direct contact with the GPUs core and GDDR7 VRAM modules to effectively transfer the heat into the square shaped heatpipes to help expel heat away from the core components and with the three fans effectively pushing air towards the rear of the card, the large cutout allows that hot air to pass through.
The card is for the most-part plastic, though the backplate is made from metal, which aims to increase the structural rigidity of the card, though there will be some benefits in terms of thermal dissipation, though it’s clear that’s not the end goal, though does add a slight premium feeling to the card.
There’s also a reinforced metal brace that again looks to enhance the rigidity of the card and increase its durability, so there’s definitely a big focus on quality, and making sure that every element of the card should last, at least in theory.
In terms of the size, it’s not the biggest card on the planet, being a 5070 Ti, you also wouldn’t expect it to be. It measures in at 303mm long, 121mm tall, and 49mm thick, making it slightly thicker, due to the cooler shroud, than 2 slots. It also comes packed with a small but novel anti-sag bracket, which isn’t the best we’ve seen, but also isn’t the worst, and while it’s not made from metal and feels like something that could be 3D printed, it does the job, and is something you’ll realistically only have to install once and then leave it in place.
Now I will say that if you’re after the glitz and the lights, then this card won’t be for you. It’s not an ugly card by any means with its mixed materials and different colours, but there’s no RGB to be seen, and this obviously helps to keep costs down over other models. If you do want that, then MSI have other models in their 5070 Ti stack, but again, you’ll be paying for those features, though that typically means that you’ll get a higher overclock among other key features too.
Beyond that, we still have a single 12V 2×6 connector to provide the 300W of power to the card, and it’s recommended to have at least a 750W power supply for your system if running a 5070 Ti, though as always, depending on the rest of your systems specs, you may want to go a little higher to give you that extra headroom in the future.
So to look at, and at least on paper, the Ventus seems to tick all of the right boxes, especially being a 5070 Ti calibre of card and as there is no founders model, you’re instead going to be relying on getting the best bang for your buck, especially if you’re looking at MSRP levels of pricing, whatever that even means. Sure, you can get something bigger, and potentially better, but you’ll be paying for it too and that typically means, RGB, dual BIOS switches, and bigger overclocks.
