We’ve told you all about MSI’s available and impending Nvidia GTX 1080 cards, Along with a few from other manufacturers. The GTX 1080 is a single card that offers what Nvidia calls “irresponsible amounts of performance.” Retailing locally for around R14999, I don’t really see these cards selling much after the initial wave of people severe technolust or those with more money than sense.
Why? Because the GTX 1070 offers similar performance at a much more bank-balance friendly price (rumoured to be around R8999 for the Founder’s Edition – and a smidge cheaper for the after marker varieties). With performance that eclipses the 980Ti and the Titan X at a fraction of the cost, this is your next GPU upgrade – especially if you’re keen on a little future proofing.
As with its 1080’s MSI has a whole range of 1070 cards for you to choose from. The MSI GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G is probably the best of the bunch for the enthusiast. The Twin Frozr VI cooling solution means you’ve got two extra-large fans, with metal bearings. It’ll also not spin its fans unless the GPU temp reaches 60 degrees, so it’ll be pretty quiet for day-to-day use. Like its 1080-based sibling, it has an LED illuminated shroud, with markings meant to be claw marks from the company’s dragon mascot. It’s got a custom PCB with an unlocked voltage and an extra 6-pin connector for more juice.
Importantly, it’ll let you overclock right out of the box with 3 speed settings:
- (OC Mode) Maximum Performance through higher clock speeds and increased fan performance: 1797 MHz / 1607 MHz / 8108 MHz
- (Gaming Mode) The best balance between in-game performance and silence: 1771 MHz / 1582 MHz / 8008 MHz
- (Silent Mode) The best environment for minimal fan noise: 1683 MHz / 1506 MHz / 8008 MHz
As with the 1080, there’ll also be the Corsair-branded, water-cooled Sea hawk version, which is essentially the reference card, though the extra cooling allows it to be tweaked to the same higher clocks as the Gaming X.
For those of you who don’t need extremes or gaudy lights, MSI’s Aero cards are pretty close to standard references designs. There is one that’s factory overclocked at 1531/1721 MHz and one that’s essentially just MSI’s reference card; like a slightly cheaper Founder’s Edition.
If you’re itching for a graphics card upgrade and can’t wait for benchmarks, pricing and availability of AMD’s Polaris-based RX480, this is the card you should probably look at. The GTX 1070 launches tomorrow, 10 June.
Last Updated: June 9, 2016
Ottokie
June 9, 2016 at 11:03
That sea hawk version is puuurdy
HairyEwok
June 9, 2016 at 11:12
It better be puurdy for people with a price tag of R16.5k
Ottokie
June 9, 2016 at 11:14
That’s a lot of moola O.o
HairyEwok
June 9, 2016 at 11:18
Yeah, I’ll stick with my MSI GTX780. More than enough power for 1080p gaming.
Pariah
June 9, 2016 at 11:20
That’s for the 1080 one though, not the 1070 one.
HairyEwok
June 9, 2016 at 11:21
Yeah, @ottokie:disqus it is for the 1080 so the 1070 seahawk should be about R10k
Greylingad[He Charges!]
June 9, 2016 at 11:23
And that makes me still feel very poor…
Pariah
June 9, 2016 at 11:24
Yup.
HairyEwok
June 10, 2016 at 09:49
We can be poor buddies together then.
Greylingad[He Charges!]
June 10, 2016 at 10:10
Awesome! I’d have offered you a beer, but…nowadays they cost half the price of a GFX card…
HairyEwok
June 10, 2016 at 11:06
It’s ok, river water will do.
Greylingad[He Charges!]
June 10, 2016 at 11:13
Just take out the chunky bits…
Darren Peach
June 9, 2016 at 11:07
Reading about modern gfx cards and overclocking is like trying to read hieroglyphs ( yes I googled the spelling ) for me. And I am not just talking about the technical stuff. Out of touch in a biiiig way.
Admiral Chief Maximum Effort
June 9, 2016 at 11:07
…
Raptor Rants
June 9, 2016 at 11:33
As green as I am I kind of need to agree. I’ll wait for a 1060 or 1050 release and see those prices. Or even consider the AMD if it’s cheaper. Yeah. I am considering AMD due to these insane prices. That being said. $350 for a card is amazing at that performance. BUT our ZumaConomy just doesn’t equate well with tech anymore 🙁
HairyEwok
June 9, 2016 at 11:09
MSI isn’t helping SA at all. Now people will have to use their credit cards to purchase the gfx cards and making debt now is a big no no for SA XD
Captain JJ or is it I&J?
June 9, 2016 at 11:15
I’ve only had joy from MSI hardware
Raptor Rants
June 9, 2016 at 11:31
And here I thought you guys meant as in a give away. Thanks for being the destroyers of hopes and dreams
DrKiller
June 9, 2016 at 15:47
That top card is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen since I saw myself
Henry Dowd
June 9, 2016 at 22:24
When do the other gtx 1070s launch because i can only find release dates for the founders edition.
Geoffrey Tim
June 10, 2016 at 07:18
The FE is out today; the others are coming in a few weeks, manufacturere dependent.
Polo
June 10, 2016 at 07:57
5 versions here : http://www.smidistri.com/131-cartes-graphiques-nvidia/price-23-1101/chipset_graphique-geforce_gtx_1070#liste-de-produits-top
chimera_85
June 10, 2016 at 08:29
Eish I want one of these haha but still think I’m gonna go for the AMD RX480
DelBoy
June 16, 2016 at 21:29
just received the Gaming X 1070 today love it, would of liked to get the 1080 but the price difference and small, performance increase isn’t worth it I think unless all your TV’s and monitors are 4K all mine are 1440p 144hz so this card is perfect… only cost £419 in the UK and I sold my G1 Gaming Gigabyte GTX970 for £200 last week so buzzing!!