The card is designed for anyone looking for a powerful but low-noise GPU.
Noctua is bringing its cooling fans to another Nvidia graphics card. The Asus GeForce RTX 3080 Noctua edition, announced(Opens in a new window) today, promises to be “the quietest card” in its class.
The product, built in partnership with Asus, swaps out the standard three 92mm fans found on some RTX 3080 models for two larger NF-A12x25(Opens in a new window) 120mm fan units from Noctua.
Noctua developed the new model, citing its success with last year’s Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition, which also uses two NF-A12x25 fans. “The response on the first Noctua Edition graphics card was simply overwhelming, so we’ve been thrilled to continue our cooperation with Asus,» said Noctua CEO Roland Mossig in the announcement.
To develop the new RTX 3080 model, the company teamed up with Asus to create a much larger heatsink for the GPU tailored to take full advantage of the Noctua fans. “Compared to the Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080, the Noctua Edition runs significantly quieter while, at the same time, achieving lower GPU and memory (VRAM) temperatures,” Noctua said.
The company also supplied benchmarks that show the Noctua Edition RTX 3080 outperforming the Asus TUF model in noise levels and thermals from the lowest to highest fan speeds.
The product is set to arrive early next month. Neither Noctua nor Asus has yet to release pricing information for the card, but it’ll probably cost significantly more than the RTX 3080’s starting price of $699. The company’s other GPU model, the Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition, can currently be found on sale for around $800 or more on Newegg(Opens in a new window).
It’s also important to note the timing of the product is far from ideal. The RTX 3080 originally launched almost two years ago. Now Nvidia is expected to announce next-generation graphics cards in the coming months. So the new Noctua model probably won’t appeal to a wide audience. But if you’re looking for a powerful GPU with low noise levels, Noctua says this product “is the ideal card for quiet cooling enthusiasts.”
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I’ve been with PCMag since October 2017, covering a wide range of topics, including consumer electronics, cybersecurity, social media, networking, and gaming. Prior to working at PCMag, I was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for over five years, covering the tech scene in Asia.
I’ve been working as a journalist for about 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City. Amazingly I’m still here. Lately, I’ve been following SpaceX’s Starlink network, emerging online cyber threats, and the PC graphics card market (which led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000). I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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