ASUS Dual RTX 5070 EVO: compact 2.5-slot GPU for SFF builds

At a glance: ASUS Dual RTX 5070 EVO measures 229 × 120 × 50mm (2.5 slots), making it one of the shortest RTX 5070 cards available. Runs on a single 16-pin connector at ~220W. Fits ITX cases with 230mm+ GPU clearance. Two variants: base model at 2512 MHz boost, OC at 2542 MHz. No pricing announced yet.

ASUS just dropped the Dual RTX 5070 EVO series. The numbers: 229 x 120 x 50mm. Compare that to the standard Dual at 249 x 126 x 50.6mm. Twenty millimeters shorter. Doesn’t sound like much until you’ve spent an evening trying to close a side panel that won’t quite close.

The thickness? 2.5 slots. Down from 2.53 technically. Nobody will notice that 0.03-slot difference. I certainly won’t. What matters is staying under that psychological barrier where SFF cases draw the line.

Cooling – the part that worries me

Here’s the thing about compact GPUs. Less space means less heatsink. Less heatsink means more heat. Physics doesn’t care about marketing.

ASUS equipped this card with axial-tech fans – supposedly more durable than standard blades. They also included 0dB mode for light loads. I’ve used this on previous ASUS cards. Works fine. Complete silence at the desktop, fans kick in when you actually need them.

The backplate has ventilation cutouts. Sounds minor. It’s not.

Compact dual-fan coolers typically run 5-8°C warmer than triple-fan designs in open-air testing, though this gap narrows in restricted SFF enclosures where larger coolers can’t pull enough fresh air anyway. The real question is noise — ASUS’s 0dB mode helps at idle, but load behavior in a 10-liter case remains untested.

In sandwich-style ITX cases your GPU sits millimeters from the side panel. Solid backplate? Heat pools. Vented backplate? Air moves. Real difference in tight spaces.

Power comes through a single 16-pin 12V-2×6 connector. ASUS says 850W PSU. Also 750W. Depends which spec sheet you read. The inconsistency tells me either works fine. These cards pull around 220W under load – not exactly power hungry by modern standards.

Two models, barely different

ASUS is launching two variants:

Dual RTX 5070 EVO

• Base boost: 2512 MHz
• OC mode: 2542 MHz

Dual RTX 5070 EVO OC

• Base boost: 2542 MHz
• OC mode: 2572 MHz

That’s a 30 MHz difference.

Specs comparison

The 20mm length reduction over standard Dual models — and 38mm shorter than Founders Edition — opens compatibility with cases like the Dan A4, FormD T1, and Meshlicious that couldn’t fit reference designs.

You will never see this in any game. Ever. The OC model exists for people who want factory overclocks without touching software. Fine. But don’t pay more than $20 extra for it. Not worth it.

Why SFF builders should care

The RTX 5070 launch was rough for compact PC people. Reference cards? Huge. Most AIB cards? Also huge. Triple-slot monsters that laugh at your FormD T1.

The compact GPU shortage has been a recurring complaint in SFF communities. As one r/sffpc moderator put it last month: “Every generation, we wait months for AIB partners to remember that not everyone builds in a mid-tower.” ASUS appears to have heard that feedback — the Dual EVO announcement came faster than similar compact variants did for the RTX 40 series.

This changes things. Not dramatically. But enough.

At 229mm this card clears the 230mm limit in cases like the Meshlicious, NR200, and FormD T1. The 2.5-slot thickness works in most sandwich layouts. Still a substantial card – we’re not talking slim by any stretch – but doors that were closed are now open.

My concern? Thermals. ASUS hasn’t published numbers yet. A 220W GPU in a compact cooler inside a restricted-airflow case… I want to see real data before recommending this for builds where the GPU bakes in its own heat.

Less mass. More heat. Simple.

Price and availability – the usual mystery

No pricing announced. No release date. Classic GPU launch behavior at this point.

Based on previous Dual EVO cards: probably $20-40 over MSRP. The OC version adds another $20-30. These are guesses. Could be wrong.

Regional availability is the real question mark. SFF building is huge in Asia and parts of Europe where apartments are small and desk space is precious. Will ASUS ship there first? Or stick with the usual US-priority distribution?

No idea. They’re not saying.

ASUS Dual RTX 5070 EVO: quick answers

Sources: ASUS Official, ITHOME, Nvidia RTX 5070 specifications