MSI GTX1070 Gaming X Review

Conclusion

It’s crazy how much your idea of performance can change in the ever evolving world of technological innovation.

A scant few months ago we were all blown away by the nVidia GTX 980 Ti with its updated cooler which negated a lot of the “only a reference card” problems we were used to. That was swiftly followed by the partner offerings which really unleashed the performance of the Maxwell architecture. The Founders Edition cards for the Pascal GPU were equally impressive, leaving us to wonder if the partner cards could gap them in the same way that they had in previous generations. When we saw how good the GTX 1070 Founders Edition was our fears were further strengthened. nVidia managed to consign the concept of a reference card to the history books.

It doesn’t mean that a great cooler and clever design can’t still bring a whole bundle of extra performance to the table though, as is ably demonstrated by the MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X.

When we see any new architecture we always like to compare it to a previous generation. This is a great way to get a handle upon its performance capabilities, by equating them to something many of us are familiar with. If the Founders Edition GTX 1070 was around the same level as a low-end (if such an expression can be used) GTX 980 Ti, then the MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X, with its outstanding Twin Frozr VI cooler, is equal to the very best that the Maxwell GPU had to offer. If that doesn’t leave you impressed then perhaps you need to re-evaluate what would impress you.

It looks fantastic. In fact it takes a particularly eagle-eyed geek to spot the differences between this and the GTX 1080 Gaming X we looked at recently. With the same cooler and a backplate it’s as gorgeous as its big brother was. Of course that does also mean that the lighting on the Twin Frozr VI is as dim and bland on the GTX 1070 as it was on the GTX 1080. How much this matters is down to personal preference but we feel that the MSI Gaming X is so fabulous in every other regard that we’re willing to entirely overlook it.

It’s rare to find a combination of silent but powerful cooling matched up to a card that has build quality only equalled by its performance and power efficiency. No matter what your chosen gaming resolution is or which titles you prefer to play it’s a safe bet that the MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X will leave you delighted with your gameplay smoothness, and it’s easily worthy of our OC3D Performance Award. 

  

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