These are the most 'extra' Nvidia RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070 designs so far

(Image credit: Colorful)

Thanks to the official reveal we now know a lot more about the Nvidia Ampere graphics cards, not least the fact the RTX 3080 will be released on September 17, the RTX 3090 on September 24, and the RTX 3070 later in October. 

A new family of GPUs means a whole new slew of weird and wacky graphics cards from AIBs (that's add-in board partners acronym fans), and we've dug around in the mire to find the most intriguing-looking designs announced so far.

The fact that Nvidia's own Founders Editions cards have a novel new design capable of keeping the Ampere RTX GPUs much cooler has put pressure on those AIBs too. So, while there are some tried and tested designs being trotted out yet again, if you look closer there are a few more interesting options coming out as well, including this rather sassy 400W number from Asus

I have to say that while I wasn't originally sold on the new Nvidia cooler, it has slowly grown on me, and in the slightly more diminutive form as found on the RTX 3070, I'd even say I actually like it. The rest of the PCG team isn't exactly of the same mind on this one, but what your graphics card looks like probably isn't something worth fighting about. 

Well, I didn't think it was at any rate. On with the show...

(Image credit: Palit)

Palit RTX 3080 GameRock

I have to include this sparkling RTX 3070 from Palit, mostly because Jacob threatened violence towards me if I didn't rate this card, but then he also loves the look of the G.Skill Trident Z Royal RAM too. Personally I think it looks absolutely horrible. You just know it's going to be that cheap plastic faux-glass look the world doesn't really need. 

It's colourful, I'll give you that. But then it's also hideous. Given the option, I'll take the violent option rather than have this anywhere near a case that has a window, or a vanity mirror.

The one thing about this design that is worth pointing out is that all three Ampere cards are available using the same cooler, which makes for an efficient design if not necessarily an optimal one. A triple fan cooler on an RTX  3070 may be overkill, or it may give you enough room to clock it to stupidly high levels, we'll have to wait and see.

(Image credit: Galax)

Galax 1-clip Booster

You may want to place your hands either side of your head for this one, because it may just blow your mind. What's better than having fans on the front of a graphics card? How about slapping one on the back? There. Amazing. 

It's an interesting approach that should improve cooling, in a similar way to the under and over fan design of the Nvidia reference blower. Me? I'm not entirely sure I like it. And having just got back from rebuilding my test rig, the idea of slapping a cooler where your memory usually sits has me a little confused. But it's novel. And Galax is clearly thinking outside the box. 

In fact I don't think it even knows what a box is at this stage. 

(Image credit: Colorful)

Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 30 Series Vulcan 

This may seem a little unnecessary at first, but having an LCD on the graphics card itself may not be such a crazy thing to do. Okay it probably is, but bear with me. While a logo or image (it supports JPGs and GIFs) could soon lose its charm, how about a live readout of your GPUs temperature and/or your memory load? That's got your interest, right? 

The 48 x 120mm LCD display can be flipped back for a normal installation so you can still see the image/info, or flipped up if you've treated yourself to a vertical mounting kit. Apart from the screen, the Vulcan packs a pretty standard 3-slot triple-fan cooler.

(Image credit: Colorful)

Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 3080 Neptune

Water cooling appears to be a bit of a thing with Ampere, which makes sense given the increased thermal needs of the RTX 3090. It's absolutely not the first time AIBs have launched such offerings, but the fact that there are already a couple of designs out there could mean this is a watershed moment for easy watercooling of our GPUs. Probably not to be honest, as these will undoubtedly be overclocked and ship with the sort of pricing that would make you cry the very finest distilled water. But we can dream.

The Colorful Neptune looks pretty tasty, with that glowing ring sure to throw a little colour round your case, or you could grab a mirror and show it to the world. The center of the cooler boasts a mirrored surface, and that ring is fully customisable too. The press release for this says that it is a 3-slot cooler, although that definitely looks like a dual-slot to us. You're going to need to plan for that radiator though, and while it's only a twin 120mm fan design, it could be a squeeze in your case if you've already got an all-in-one keeping your CPU in check.

(Image credit: EVGA)

EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Kingpin

The EVGA Kingpin meanwhile has a bit of a retro look to it, with an air of Tim Burton's Batmobile. No? Just me? Okay. Having a fan on the card itself as well as a radiator could seem a little overkill, although it should help keep things ultra cool at the same time. And with that Kingpin branding you are going to get some sweet, sweet overclocking performance too. 

It's another dual-slot design, this time connected to a 360mm radiator. It also features a full color RGB OLED display to "keep you informed while you make history." 

TOPICS
Alan Dexter

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession but limits this to MTG Arena these days.

Latest in Graphics Cards
A side by side comparison of two Asus Q-Release systems, with the original design on the top and the bottom showing the apparently new design.
Asus appears to have quietly changed the design of its Q-Release PCIe slot after claims of potential GPU pin damage
A Colorful RTX 5080 and its box
Three lucky folks in India can win the dubious honour of buying an RTX 5080 GPU at Nvidia MSRP
Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks while holding the company's new GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards and a Thor Blackwell robotics processor during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. Huang announced a raft of new chips, software and services, aiming to stay at the forefront of artificial intelligence computing. Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Group allegedly trying to smuggle Nvidia Blackwell chips stare down bail set at over $1 million
Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card on different backgrounds
AI will be crammed in more of the graphics pipeline as Nvidia and Microsoft are bringing AI shading to a DirectX preview next month
Nvidia RTX 50-series graphics cards alongside an RTX 4090
Nvidia says it's sold twice as many RTX 50-series cards as RTX 40-series in the first 5 weeks. I'd bloody well hope so given there was essentially just the RTX 4090 for competition
AMD Radeon RX 9070/9070 XT graphics cards with artistic renders of reference design cards circled
Looks like a reference design AMD RX 9070 XT card has shown up in China, but let's not get carried away with thoughts of MBA cards just yet
Latest in News
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close