MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X 8G
The ideal aftermarket card
NOT TO KEEP DIGGING on the Asus Strix on the left, but MSI’s GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X truly nails it when it comes to what we expect from a premium grade aftermarket card. OK, it does follow MSI’s ridiculously long-winded naming scheme (seriously, who thinks these things up?), but we all remember the old saying: It’s not the size of the name that matters, but how it performs. And that’s exactly what the MSI Geforce GTX 1070 Gaming X 8G does. The GP104 at its core is no whiny slacker, hitting performance comparable to a Maxwell Titan X, yet at less than half the cost. This beauty nails 1440p into the floor, scoring well into the sixties for most AAA titles, taking the legacy of the GTX 970 and dragging it by its ankles all the way into the 1440p era.
That said, the Gaming X is still as well rounded as ever. MSI has improved its Twin Frozr cooling design (now in its sixth generation), enhancing both the thermal performance and noise control. Couple that aforementioned performance with sleek aesthetics and a cool, quiet design, and you’re left with a card that would most definitely be an impressive little addition for any system.
Overclocking was truly joyous. Through MSI’s Gaming X app, you have access to three separate profiles, depending on your preference, each with set fan curves responding to the variances in temperature provided by the additional voltages and higher clock speeds. What is nice is that MSI has gone to the trouble of also overclocking the memory frequency in its highest overclock profile, and has still managed to retain stable performance. All profiles aside, we managed to get a manual final clock speed of 2,100MHz—50MHz higher than our cherry-picked reference sample.
The Gaming X is solid: It performs well, overclocks like a champ, is sleek and quiet, and combined with the GTX 1070, nails what is arguably the sweet spot of PC gaming right now—1440p.
VERDICT9
MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X 8G
PC GAMING Great AIB card; strong overclocker; solid software suite; perfect for 1440p.
MOBILE GAMING RGB lighting on red card. $ 450, www.msi.com