ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC Graphics Card Review

Introduction Aftermarket GTX 1070 models typically start around the £380 mark which is a substantial saving compared to the GTX 1080. Unfortunately, NVIDIA's premium solutions remain extremely expensive and recent price rises in the UK haven't helped matters. As a result, many enthusiasts are unable to afford the GTX 1080 and even if they can, struggle to justify a £600+ investment. This is especially the case when rumours circulate regarding the GTX 1080Ti being prepared and the possible performance gains. Saying that, it's highly unlikely NVIDIA will unveil a faster graphics card within a similar price bracket judging by the Titan X's recent launch. Evidently, the GTX 1070 is a more sensible option unless you're using a 4K display. It's important to remember that the devaluation of Sterling has resulted in wild pricing fluctuations and I'm expecting further price rises in the next quarter as the retail stock is purchased at a lower exchange rate. Therefore, it's probably a good idea to consider upgrading your hardware relatively soon and examine the current offerings. ASUS' STRIX GAMING range has received widespread acclaim from reviewers and rightfully so given the astounding build quality. Not only that, the company's graphics cards feature gorgeous RGB lighting and allow you directly cool the GPU with case fans. This is an ingenious idea and makes sense given the GPU's higher thermal loads. Today, we're taking a look at the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC which utilises a 1658MHz base clock and 1860MHz boost. Please note, this is with the OC mode and the Gaming profile runs at a 1632MHz base and 1835MHz boost. The memory on both profiles operates at a speed of 8008MHz. As you can see, this is a major enhancement compared to the Founders Edition and I'm interested to see how the GPU fares when pitted against the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. The Palit model sports a 1670MHz base and 1873MHz boost with a memory speed of 8500MHz. Whether or not this makes a substantial difference during games remains to be seen, but I'm expecting the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC to have decent overclocking headroom and provide a stellar gaming experience. Specifications Packing and Accessories As expected, the packaging is almost identical to ASUS' GTX 1080 STRIX GAMING OC apart from the GTX 1070 model name. The attractive product snapshot and bold branding combine rather well to create an eye-catching box art. Personally, I think the multicoloured STRIX lettering is wonderful and outlines the GPU's beautiful AURA lighting technology in a subtle manner. On the opposite side, there's a synopsis of the GPU's DirectCU III cooling hardware, automated production line, VR-friendly HDMI port and much more. The level of presentation is fantastic with clear headings and stylish photographs which encourage the end-user to learn more about the product's innovative features. In terms of accessories, the graphics card comes with a World of Warships promotion, user's guide, Republic of Gamers velcro ties and driver/software disk. A Closer Look Aesthetically-speaking, the graphics card is a work of art and the sleek, understated colour scheme looks spectacular. This relatively simplistic design doesn't rely on questionable colour combinations and ensures the graphics card can easily slot into a wide range of system builds. The shroud's angled edges and attractive cut-outs for RGB lighting are another marvellous addition. Honestly, the visual aspect of the card is flawless and there's nothing I'd personally change. This is a testament to the extraordinary design and which creates a sense of luxury. The graphics card's cooling apparatus revolves around three patented Wing-Blade fans capable of extremely impressive airflow and heightened static pressure. According to ASUS, the cooling hardware is three times quieter than NVIDIA's reference design and offers a much better noise to thermal ratio. As you can see, the angled blades and noticeable gap between them allows for more air to be transported over the heatsink. Of course, during idle usage scenarios, the fans cease spinning which results in a completely silent desktop experience. It's impossible to exaggerate how substantial the GPU's cooling solution is and adds a great deal of weight to the product. This staggeringly high-quality cooling hardware includes 5 thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes and multiple aluminium heatsinks with a dense fin array. The heatsinks' surface area is very large and able to dispel heat in an effective manner. Also, there's a strengthened mounting point which makes direct contact with the GPU's core. ASUS' 6+1 Phase Super Alloy Power II circuitry offers greater reliability and reduced power loss while running approximately 50% cooler than previous designs. More specifically, the new concrete alloy chokes are two times quieter and the capacitors have a lifespan over 90,000 hours longer than traditional alternatives. Furthermore, the POSCAP maximises overclocking headroom and the DrMOS contributes to lower thermals. Here we can see the gorgeous backplate which houses the iconic ROG logo and a usual pattern. This is a beautiful concoction and compliments the cooling shroud in a magical way. The backplate is pretty hefty and prevents the graphics card from drooping. If you want to reduce the load temperatures even further, it's possible to connect up to two 4-pin PWM chassis fans. As previously mentioned, GPU temperatures are usually higher than the demands on modern CPUs. Therefore, targeting the GPU with high-performance fans like the Noctua NF-F12 might be a better use of your hardware. The graphics card requires a single 8-pin PCI-E connector to leverage extra overclocking room and should be more than enough given the GTX 1070's modest TDP. Connectivity-wise, the graphics card has two HDMI 2.0b, two DisplayPort 1.4 and a dual-link DVI. The HDMI arrangement is designed with VR in mind and provides the end-user with enough ports to connect an HMD and display. Once powered on, the slots within the cooling shroud allow the integrated RGB illumination to shine outwards. This is a visual treat and you can choose a solid colour or cycle between transitional effects including breathing, strobing and colour cycle. It's even possible to adjust the lighting based on GPU temperatures or sync it to your favourite music. The colours are incredibly rich and look fantastic in a chassis with an inverted layout. Most users who own a PC case with the traditional orientation will see the backplate from a side-panel window. Thankfully, this portion can also be customised and emits the same beautiful finish. Unfortunately, pictures struggle to do the lighting justice but rest assured, it's nothing short of perfection. Testing & Methodology Here is the test system we used for all graphics card reviews and game performance analysis: Hardware Motherboard - Gigabyte X99-Gaming G1 WiFi LGA 2011-3 Motherboard Processor - Intel Core i7 5820K at Stock 3.3GHz RAM - 16GB (4 X 4GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 2400MHz CPU Cooler - Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme Power Supply - BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 11 1200W Main Storage Drive - Crucial M550 512GB Chassis - Lian Li T80 Test Bench Displays - AOC U2868PQU 4K Operating System - Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit Additional Hardware "Killawatt” style electricity usage meter wall plug Precision Gold N05CC Decibel meter Drivers The latest drivers are always used at the time of testing, but please note reviews undergo a scheduling process. This means a new driver could be released on the day of publication. However, this is unavoidable and disclosing the driver versions used is the most transparent way of informing the reader about current performance levels. Games Throughout the testing procedure, we always use demanding presets to stress graphics cards to their absolute limits. However, in the interest of fairness, any technology which favours either AMD or NVIDIA is disabled. More specifically, this refers to PhysX, Hairworks and more. Additionally, we also disable all forms of AA to gauge performance levels which aren't impacted by complex AA. Theoretically, we could have employed FXAA because it only has a minor impact on the frame-rate, but many users strongly dislike the hazy image this causes. Apart from the details mentioned above, all settings remain at the maximum values. On another note, we previously used Grand Theft Auto V in the testing process and it's a popular title. However, there's been some strange anomalies in the minimum frame-rate which mean I'm not confident in the benchmark's accuracy. Since I've taken the helm as graphics card reviewer, I wanted to put fairness at the heart of each article and ensure there's a good balance between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games. This allows us to properly analyse each graphics card as focussing on sponsored titles from a particular vendor will always result in an inaccurate picture. Unfortunately, popular monitoring software like FRAPS cannot display the frame-rate in real time and poses a problem when observing performance numbers. Thankfully, it's still possible to use FRAPS's Min/Avg/Max function which we've found offers the most reliable monitoring compared to other methods. If you have any suggestions to aid the benchmarking process, please let us know so we can constantly improve the procedure. Selecting strenuous presets especially at higher resolutions can cause hitching and other performance problems on graphics cards with lower amounts of video memory. For example, Rise of the Tomb Raider's Very High textures really requires 6GB of RAM to maintain a smooth frame-rate. In theory, we could run the benchmarks at the High setting but this defeats the purpose of high-end graphics cards which are designed to cope with the absolute best graphics on the market. Furthermore, the notion of enthusiast cards sporting less than 6GB memory will become less of an issue in the future. Of course, whenever we're tackling more affordable GPUs, the settings will be altered accordingly. To reiterate, all settings are set to their maximum values apart from AA and vendor exclusive technologies. Sometimes, selecting the maximum preset doesn't combine all the best settings, so we double check these and manually confirm the highest graphical preset has been enabled. The only one important aspect to mention revolves around Exclusive FullScreen in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Judging by the thorough testing, the frame-rate is much better when using this particular mode. Software Ashes of the Singularity (DirectX 12) Doom (Vulkan) Far Cry Primal (DirectX 11) Just Cause 3 (DirectX 11) Hitman (DirectX 12) Rise of the Tomb Raider (DirectX 12) 3DMark Unigine Valley Unigine Heaven CPU-ID HWMonitor TechPowerUp GPU-Z Luxmark Synthetic Benchmarks During our testing, we use a range of readily available synthetic benchmarking tools which are free to download from the respective websites. We do this so the readers can download and compared to our results. Download links are contained within the "Software" subheading. Noise Everyone has their own reasonable noise level when it comes to comes to components in a computer. Some can handle all fans at 100% load to keep temperatures down, some want a completely silent computer. To properly gauge the noise output of a graphics card, we position a Precision Gold N05CC Decibel meter from two metres away and take an average reading. Power Consumption With electricity becoming increasingly expensive across most parts of the world the need for computer components to become power efficient has never been more relevant. Graphics cards are often the most power-hungry components of a desktop system so having an efficient graphics card is very important to keeping power bills under control. Power is often correlated to heat and so lower power consumption means a graphics card is likely to run slightly cooler and put out less heat into your system meaning your other components will run cooler with improved longevity. AMD and NVIDIA have both made power consumption an integral part of the way graphics cards dynamically overclock so the need for graphics card vendors to use efficient VRM and PCB designs is becoming important to maximise performance. We take power readings after 5 minutes of two different load scenarios: desktop idle and Unigine Heaven load. Temperatures The cooling solution which graphics card vendors choose to implement is one of the main differences that consumers have to contend with when choosing a graphics cards. Apart from their acoustic properties, the thermal properties of graphics card coolers are extremely important. Lower temperatures are always better and with AMD and NVIDIA opting to use dynamic overclocking algorithms that take temperature into account it is important that graphics card vendors use high-performance cooling solutions in order to maximise performance. The era of graphics cards reaching dangerous temperatures are now in the past but the importance of lower temperatures still remains. Lower temperatures mean better stability, longer component longevity and lower fan speeds .We take temperature readings after 5 minutes of two different load scenarios: desktop idle and Unigine Heaven load. We always record actual temperatures and make any adjustments for changes in the thermal testing environment. 3D Mark During the 3DMark Fire Strike benchmark, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC managed impressive figures and achieved a better Graphics score than a highly-rated GTX 980Ti. Unfortunately, it didn't threaten the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. Once the resolution was increased to 2560x1440, the GPU maintained its strong showing and outperformed the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti. As you can see, the performance is still a little bit behind the Palit model. When tackling the Fire Strike Ultra benchmark, the graphics card attained commendable scores and remained within close proximity of its nearest rival. Compute Performance In terms of OpenCL performance, the graphics card posts a good score and just edges the GTX Titan X. This is an impressive feat when you consider the Titan X's launch price. Ashes of the Singularity The graphics card has enough horsepower to maintain a solid frame-rate while running Ashes of the Singularity on the Crazy preset. Even though it's behind the Fury X, Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti and Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070, the gap is minimal and within a margin of error. Once the resolution is set to 1440p, the graphics card offers similar performance to its nearest competitor and there's hardly anything to choose between them. Throughout 4K testing, the GPU maintained a solid frame-rate and is tantalisingly close to surpassing the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070 for the first time. Doom Here we can see the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC upholds a fluid frame-rate and provides similar performance to the Palit GameRock GTX 1070. Once again, the graphics card's average frame-rate is only a single frame behind its closest rival and never drops below 60 frames-per-second. When running the benchmark on a 4K panel, the GPU fares pretty well although the deficit to the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070 is increased. This is a little surprising given the extremely close performance in 1080p and 1440p testing. Far Cry Primal As expected, the graphics card didn't encounter any problems with the Far Cry Primal benchmark and attained excellent numbers. While it's behind the Palit GameRock Premium, it's by the narrowest of margins. After increasing the resolution to 2560x1440, the graphics card just defeated the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti and the average frame-rate remained above 60. Unfortunately, selecting the Ultra preset alongside a 4K monitor isn't a good strategy on any of the tested cards and leads to significant frame drops. Hitman The ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC isn't quite able to match its nearest rival but the performance is still worthy of praise. Once the resolution is increased to 1440p, the GPU retains its advantage over the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti and isn't too adrift of the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. As expected, the GPU starts to struggle while driving so many pixels on a demanding preset and drops below 43 frames-per-second. Saying that, it's a competitive result and within touching distance of the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. Just Cause 3 In Just Cause 3, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC achieves a wonderful average frame-rate. However, the slower factory overclock proves a hindrance compared to the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. On the other hand, the gap is very small and doesn't alter the user-experience. This time, the graphics card falls behind the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti. Here we can see the graphics card posts a very respectable frame-rate and offers similar performance to the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. Rise of the Tomb Raider Despite having to contend with Rise of the Tomb Raider's stunning visual fidelity, the graphics card managed to uphold a smooth frame-rate. However, it's not able to outclass another custom GTX 1070 model. Increasing the resolution to 2560x1440 drops the minimum frame-rate below 60 and it's interesting to see both GTX 1070s perform worse than the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti. During 4K testing, the GPU almost beat its closest rival and offered a relatively stable frame-rate. Of course, lower settings are required to enjoy a smooth experience. Overclocking and Overclocked Performance The dynamic nature of GPU Boost 3.0 causes the boost clock to fluctuate depending on voltages, the power limit and thermal restrictions. This means it's quite common for a product's boost to easily exceed the quoted specification. Subsequently, I endeavour to monitor the boost clock when running the graphics at its stock configuration before doing a direct comparison after manual overclocking. While utilising the OC profile, the graphics card managed an average boost clock of 1978MHz and the memory reached 2002.9MHz. This is a pretty solid effort when you consider the modest 1.0450v reading. Despite applying the maximum allowed voltage increase, I couldn't get the boost clock to surpass 1878MHz. As you can see, the 1878MHz boost constitutes to a small 18MHz enhancement. To be honest, the factory overclock is already near the core's full potential which limits the overclocking headroom by a large degree. On a more positive note, the memory coped rather well with a mammoth 480MHz increase. Now the graphics card has been overclocked, the boost clock dramatically increased to 2021.7MHz. Not only that, the memory operated at an impressive 2124MHz using a voltage of 1.0817v. This was made possible without a major rise in the noise output or load temperatures. Here a screenshot comparing the stock OC profile and manual overclock: Doom Once overclocked, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC performed much better and there was a huge boost in the minimum frame-rate. Additionally, the overclock makes enough of a difference for the product to surpass its closest rival. Far Cry Primal Here we can see the graphics card enjoys a 2 frames-per-second average boost and posts almost identical figures as the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. Hitman During the Hitman benchmark, the overclocked graphics card exhibited marvellous performance gains and fell just shy of 100 frames-per-second. Noise, Power Consumption and Temperatures Noise As previously mentioned, the graphics card's 0dB idle mode comes into effect whenever the end-user is engaging in a task which doesn't make the GPU suddenly go above a certain thermal threshold which according to my testing is 58C. This means you can enjoy a silent desktop experience providing other components emit little noise during casual games, browsing the web or streaming video. Also, the fans start in a gradual manner and work independently. This creates a more gentle fan curve and the increased noise when the fans begin to reach higher RPMs values is less dramatic. Under load, the noise output is ridiculously quiet for a 3-fan solution and by far, one of the best I've ever tested. Power Consumption The graphics card when paired with an X99 test system is extremely efficient and consumes fewer watts under load than both the Gainward Phantom GTX 970 and Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070. Temperatures Here we can see the graphics card's exemplary cooling solution maintains astounding temperatures and sets a tough benchmark for other custom GTX 1070 creations to try and emulate. Final Thoughts Price At the time of writing, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC can be acquired for £459.98 from Novatech in the UK. Evidently, this is one of the most expensive GTX 1070 models which makes you question the product's value proposition. For example, the Inno3D GTX 1070 HerculeZ Twin X2 costs a mere £379.99 although this isn't really a fair comparison due to significantly lower factory overclock. The real competition stems from the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070 which consistently outperforms the ASUS card while costing much less. In fact, the current retail price for this version is £406.98. As a result, I'm perplexed by the strange pricing and cannot understand why the Palit card doesn't have a major premium attached to it. I mention this because it features a better boost clock than the MSI Gaming X GTX 1070, Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 1070 and the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC. Perhaps the hefty 2.5 slot construction isn't as alluring as other cards sporting a more manageable profile. Honestly, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC is a premium product but it's struggling to justify the extra cost over other variants of the GTX 1070. Overview Even though the GTX 1070 is comprehensively beaten by its bigger brother, the performance remains impressive and consistently challenges the GTX 980Ti. Of course, NVIDIA originally launched the Pascal architecture and set an attractive price point for GTX 1070 which never came to fruition. It appears AIB partners didn't follow the recommended pricing strategy and that's to be expected given the higher factory overclocks and more effective cooling solutions. I'm still baffled by the notion that the Founders Editions are meant to cost more than custom models. Sadly, this confusion along with the lack of stock has made the buying process really frustrating for the end-user. Unlike the GTX 1080's spellbinding price point, the GTX 1070 is reasonably affordable although many consumers will strongly dislike the price hike compared to the GTX 970. Putting my own qualms about the current pricing strategy aside, the GTX 1070 is a wonderful product and ASUS' version exudes such a premium feel. More specifically, the PCB's brilliant layout consists of a 6+1 phase power design and concrete alloy chokes. Not only that, the capacitors have 2.5 times longer lifespan than traditional capacitors and the POSCAP positioned at the back of the GPU enhances overclocking headroom. On another note, the DrMOS decreases temperatures by 20%. ASUS' cooling solution is a thing is beauty and revolves around 5 ridiculously thick heat-pipes, a dense aluminium fin array and three patented Wing-Blade fans. These fans offer a magnificent noise to performance ratio without impacting on thermal efficiency. Throughout the testing procedure, the graphics card remained extremely quiet under load and it was difficult to detect any volume increases. This is due to the fans working independently and employing a gentle curve. Of course, the fans switch off in idle usage scenarios which contribute to a silent desktop experience. Overall, the graphics card's noise levels are surprisingly low for a triple fan configuration. On another note, the GPU doesn't get very warm when stressed and easily defeated a wide range of competing products in this department. From a visuals standpoint, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC is a masterpiece and I adore the sophisticated matte black shroud and distinctive cut-outs for the Aura lighting system. Furthermore, the backplate is stunning and comes into its own once the ROG logo cycles through a wide range of rich, vibrant colours. The product's aesthetic is based on a neutral theme but the lighting effects allow the end-user to enjoy a more ostentatious appearance. The graphics card outputs laudable frame-rates in a wide range of demanding titles and should be suitable for resolutions up to 3440x1440. While it's possible to pair the graphics card with a 4K display, it requires some concessions in the options menu. When using a 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 panel, the average frame-rate is usually above 60. The only exception to this rule is Ashes of the Singularity which poses a huge problem even for high-end GPUs. Unfortunately, the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC cannot outperform the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070 and falls behind in every single test. The difference isn't substantial enough to create a different user-experience but it's something to take into consideration. If you can overlook the slight performance difference and prefer the ASUS' two-slot design, then it might be the better option. In terms of overclocking, the graphics card struggles to go beyond the OC mode's 1860MHz boost and I could only increase this number to 1878MHz with the maximum voltage. Thankfully, the memory overclocked really well and peaked at 8488MHz. To be perfectly clear, Pascal doesn't have much overclocking headroom so it can be an irritating process if you have high expectations. Prior to the overclock, the boost clock didn't reach 2000MHz. However, the manual overclock brought the average boost clock reading to 2021.7MHz. Once the overclock was applied, the performance was superb and made the ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 defeat its closest rival for the very first time. Also, when you consider the Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070 has almost no overclocking ability, both of the cards are evenly matched. However, you will need to overclock the ASUS model to narrow the gap. Pros Astounding build quality Beautiful aesthetic Bundled with 1-year XSplit License Dual HDMI is great for VR Excellent memory overclocking Gorgeous RGB illumination Highly efficient Premium 6+1 power delivery Superb overclocked performance Three-year warranty Unbelievably quiet Wonderful temperatures Cons Palit GameRock Premium GTX 1070 performs better and costs less "The ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 is engineered to a phenomenal standard and performs admirably due to the impressive factory overclock. Additionally, it's ridiculously quiet, really efficient and looks absolutely stunning." ASUS STRIX GAMING GTX 1070 OC Graphics Card Review Thank you ASUS for providing us with this review sample.