MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Ventus MSRP card review – Interesting chip for gamers and the end of the GPU shortage?

1 - Introduction and details of the Blackwell GB203-300-A1 GPU 2 - Test system and equipment 3 - Teardown: PCB, components and cooler 4 - Material analysis and heat conducting materials 5 - Gaming: Full-HD 1920x1080 Pixels (Rasterization Only) 6 - Gaming: WQHD 2560x1440 Pixels (Rasterization Only) 7 - Gaming: Ultra-HD 3840x2160 Pixels (Rasterization Only) 8 - Gaming: WQHD 2560x1440 Pixels, Supersampling, RT & FG 9 - Gaming: Ultra-HD 3840x2160 Pixels, Supersampling, RT & FG 10 - DLSS4 and MFG: Cyberpunk 2077 in detail 11 - DLSS4 and MFG: Alan Wake 2 in detail 12 - PCIe 5 problems, power consumption in practice 13 - Load peaks native vs. DLSS4, PSU recommendation 14 - Cooler, temperatures, thermography, noise 15 - Summary and conclusion

I will now also be reviewing the thermal management materials of the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and it is pleasing to see that good materials are used even on the MSRP card, which is also shown by the use of a phase transition pad instead of cheaper thermal paste. It’s nice to see when manufacturers take your complaints and tips seriously and implement them in production. Thank you for that.

Phase Transition Pad Honeywell PTM 7950

The Honeywell PTM 7950 is a durable thermal pad based on phase transition materials. It remains solid at room temperature and becomes liquid once at operating temperatures, optimally filling the gaps between the GPU and the cooling device.

This enables improved heat transfer by minimizing thermal resistance. The material is often used in high-end graphics cards to ensure constant cooling performance and efficient dissipation of the heat generated by the GPU. The fact that this is also the case with the MSRP card should be praised.

 With over 6.3 W/mK, this durable and silicon-free pad is a better solution than almost all available pastes.

Since I only found remnants on the GPU, I’m using my own measurement of an unused, identical pad from my archive, as I’ll be putting it back on during assembly.

The thermal pads on the memory modules and VRM

The thermal pads used, with a thermal conductivity of up to 7.5 W/mK, stand out due to their good performance and practical consistency. On average, however, they are slightly worse than the memory pads used on the higher-end MSI cards, but significantly better than the VRM pads from Suprim! They differ from conventional foamed pads in their dry, almost rolled texture, which is reminiscent of a compacted thermal putty. This material offers some decisive advantages that not only influence the thermal efficiency, but also the mechanical load on the card.

The dry and at the same time flexible consistency of such a pad enables optimal adaptation to the uneven surfaces of the components and the cooler. This adaptability achieves a maximum contact surface, which significantly improves heat transfer. At the same time, the material structure reduces the pressure exerted on sensitive components such as VRAM modules or voltage converters. This significantly reduces the risk of mechanical damage or stress cracks.

The fact that the pad is good and well-fitting can also be seen from the almost linear curve, where the thermal resistance also behaves perfectly with increasing pressure and lower layer thickness. Another advantage of the material is its stability. In contrast to conventional, softer pads, which often tend to “bleed” or “oil out” – i.e. the release of liquid components under pressure or heat – this pad remains dimensionally stable and retains its thermal properties even under long-term stress. This not only increases the service life of the pad itself, but also the stability of the entire thermal solution. The material analysis shows that zinc oxide and aluminum oxide, as well as a silicone-based matrix, are used in the same way as thermal conductive pastes.

Analysis of vapor chambers, heat pipes and coolers

The vapor chamber of the GPU is made of pure electrolytic copper and is a central element of the cooling concept and has a nickel coating. This design offers several technical advantages that improve both the efficiency of heat dissipation and the longevity of the components. The nickel coating of the vapor chamber offers additional advantages. Nickel is not only corrosion resistant, but also protects the chamber’s sensitive copper surfaces from oxidation. I use the same graphics today because it saves redundant data.

The memory modules and voltage converters are connected to a frame construction in the cooler as a heatsink, which in turn is also thermally coupled to the vapor chamber in the memory. Here we find a special alumnium-silicon alloy

The heat pipes are made of nickel-plated copper and offer no other secrets.

That concludes this part and we’ll play another round. Please turn the page once!