MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G Video Card Review @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G Video Card Review - We have MSI’s new GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G video card to evaluate today. We will push this GPU as high as we can, and see how the overclock compares to the default factory overclock, and a Founders Edition NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. This video card is a fully custom retail video card with the Twin Frozr VI cooling system.
 
The 1070 does give a decent amount of performance for the $. Very Nice review with a good sampling of games/data. Since the drivers have matured some can we see the state of SLI and progress of DX 12 Multi Adaptor? Looking at more recent tests using SLI and Pascal -> it is looking favorable now.
 
Srsly though... When I was ordering, it was between the STRIX and this due to availability. I still think I made the right choice. I wonder how binned the GPUs are between MSI's different gaming flavors....
 
I'm glad you all reviewed this card. I mean, I've owned it for some time now, but it's great to see that my experience falls almost exactly in line with what you all experienced. Overall I am happy with this card and have zero complaints. I ain't sweating the extra few MHz that the STRIX can muster.
 
Nice review. MSI Gaming series has been a favored make/model since the 970. I dig 'em.
 
Reward for what though, everything else performs the same as everyone else withing a few %. Would rather see some CPU scaling done.
 
Great review. I love how you guys take off the heatsink to show the PCB. I know it sounds stupid but I usually look at a card to see there is a seperate heatsink for the VRM's and if there is enough clearing for a AIO cooler. 90% of hardware reviews don't take off the Heatsink. PLEASE keep doing that in all your reviews!
 
I could be wrong but i think there small mistake on the 3 OC profiles, that feature is with there MSI gaming app, and in review you said its MSI AB, which of course can OC to whatever but don't think there any profiles as thats part of there in house app.

This part
"Luckily the MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G does have a higher preset profile called the "OC Mode." However, you have to install MSI Afterburner and manually select this higher "OC Mode" to get the slightly higher clock speeds. In "OC Mode" the base clock is 1607MHz and the boost clock is 1797MHz. Even in "OC Mode" the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1070’s factory default overclock is higher still though!"
 
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I bought the 'Armor OC' variant and get better numbers that the card in this review. But no LED joy.
 
noko said:
The 1070 does give a decent amount of performance for the $. Very Nice review with a good sampling of games/data. Since the drivers have matured some can we see the state of SLI and progress of DX 12 Multi Adaptor? Looking at more recent tests using SLI and Pascal -> it is looking favorable now.
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Not for me. Too expensive and the performance base is already covered.

I am diggin' the 1060 and I'm not a fan of the green team. hmmmm....
 
Brent_Justice said:
Same here, it is a solid video card, worthy of a hardware enthusiast PC gamer.
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Loved mine, still on 1080P but 144hz, all I can say is WOW. Beautiful gaming. EVGA 1060 SSC at the moment, really like this card as well. Even my 970m 1173 on PG248Q G-SYNC is awesome, battlefront is so much damn fun. Get a joystick and headphones for the new death star missions and OMG it is amazing. I can't wait for VR!
 
Yeah I was able to get my 1070 below MSRP thankfully (thank you BHP used section tehehe). But seriously, after years of being on eVGA's rather pedestrian ACX solution, the MSI cooler is just a significant upgrade in performance, but more importantly, in noise levels.

I've already resigned myself to the fact that GPU overclocking (on air anyway) is basically a wash, which is why I emphasized price and noise levels/thermals above all else. I was able to get both and I would suggest other nVidia users do the same. Unless people have such short memories from eVGA's ASIC Classy nonsense, nobody should be paying a cent more than they should when choosing between typical non-reference solutions haha.
 
I have this card as well, and I can't complain because I got it from a distributor for a great price. I'm happy to say that my card performs exactly like yours did. I bought this for my first ITX build and the goal was for it to be nearly silent. Again no complaints it is dead quiet.

Great review!
 
I'm wondering if AIBs are happy with the clocking consistency on the Pascal cards of if they'd have preferred more variation allow them to differentiate themselves.

Most of these cards perform the same, MSI's may well be quietest but how many people will pick extreme quiet over a reduction in price?

Dont get me wrong these cards are awesome since they all hit 2ghz reliably, just wondering how Mr Strix over at asus feels bout this
 
Ieldra said:
I'm wondering if AIBs are happy with the clocking consistency on the Pascal cards of if they'd have preferred more variation allow them to differentiate themselves.

Most of these cards perform the same, MSI's may well be quietest but how many people will pick extreme quiet over a reduction in price?

Dont get me wrong these cards are awesome since they all hit 2ghz reliably, just wondering how Mr Strix over at asus feels bout this
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Maxwell was mostly the same. 1450-1550 actual Boost Clocks. Some really lucky ones get 1600+, but those are super rare.

Pascal has 1950-2100+. Good cooling stabilizes the figures, so if I were to get one now, I'd get the one with the best price-to-temp-to-noise ratio. I suppose a high base/boost from factory is nice, but not worth $100+ more.

I suppose AIBs are fine with it, since they're still putting out Waterforces and other beefy coolers on Pascal - and people are probably buying anyway.
 
It is a shame that you have reviewed a card that has not been manufactured since the end of June and is generally not available in the market any more.

Since July, MSI plus all other 1070 manufacturers have been making the GTX 1070 cards with Micron GDDR5 memory. That change introduced a bug in the memory VRM that causes artifacts and BSOD. The bug has been acknowledged by Nvidia and is currently being worked on with the partners to produce new vbioses for their micron memory 1070 cards.

The bug causes the card to checkerboard artifact and BSOD if you try a high memory overclock (more than +400) when the card is idling below .800v. There are work arounds such as locking the voltage in afterburner, however Micron memory tends to not to overclock much past about +575, unlike the Samsung memory that has been know to clock to +800.

Jacob at EVGA has announced in the EVGA Forum that the EVGA bug fix bioses will be released next week. No news from other vendors as yet.

BTW. The MSI Gaming App allows you to select OC mode and adjust the RGB LEDS, not Afterburner.

Also Like all Pascal cards, overclocking using the curve instead of the slider will give you much higher boost clock rates under a 3d load.
 
MSI is definitely a good buy although I still prefer Gigabyte when it comes to Nvidia cards...but I wish everyone would stop copying EVGA and making 5-6 variations on each card...
 
It bugs me that vendors send their best cherry picked cards (even if no longer available, ie with Samsung vram) to reviewers. Bait and switch, with new buyers all ending up with cards with faulty Micron vram. The weak OC'ing of the Micron vram is not the big issue imo, but that even at stock speeds some users have reported artifacting. Would love to see some investigative reporting on this issue, including reviewing a micron based 1070.
 
amenx said:
It bugs me that vendors send their best cherry picked cards (even if no longer available, ie with Samsung vram) to reviewers. Bait and switch, with new buyers all ending up with cards with faulty Micron vram. The weak OC'ing of the Micron vram is not the big issue imo, but that even at stock speeds some users have reported artifacting. Would love to see some investigative reporting on this issue, including reviewing a micron based 1070.
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the ram itself is not faulty. it is the power supply to the memory that is at fault
 
Guess I should be glad I got my card when I did haha (in the early summer).
 
I bought one of these on release. It really is extremely quiet and well built. I'd say it's probably the best GPU I've ever bought for build quality.
 
ICOM said:
Not for me.......the performance base is already covered......I am diggin' the 1060
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Exactly my thoughts. The 1070 is overlapped by the 1060 and 1080 making it almost pointless.

Great review guys.
 
FYI, i just got my gamer X from newegg this week, and its got samsung memory.
bios rev 86.04.26.00.3E
 
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