MSI Gaming X RTX 2070 Super Graphics Card Review

The Nvidia RTX 2070 has already proven to be a versatile gaming card. However, now things have been pushed to the next level with the launch of the RTX 2070 Super from MSI! Admittedly, we've already reviewed a couple of Super graphics cards. They proved to be a nice performance bump over the stock RTX 2070, so I'm expecting to see the same from MSI today. From high-resolution gaming to ray-tracing, the RTX 2070 has a lot of appeal for gamers; so let's find out how this one performs! MSI Gaming X RTX 2070 Super Aside from the boosted performance, you'll also find their award-winning Twin Frozr 7 cooler design. It features two massive fans over a massive heatsink to shift heat quickly and efficiently to maximise GPU performance. Of course, throw in a few added features like RGB, zero RPM fan mode, and 1-click optimisation (via Dragon Center app), and you're good to go. The only thing you have to keep in mind with this card is that's it's pretty massive, rather heavy, and you will need to ensure it'll fit in your case. If you're happy with the specifications and dimensions though, it's party time. Features Boost Clock / Memory Speed1710 MHz / 14Gbps8GB GDDR6DisplayPort x 3 / HDMI x 1 / USB Type-C x1TORX Fan 3.0 with Double Ball BearingsDispersion fan blade: Steep curved blade accelerating the airflow.Traditional fan blade: Provides steady airflow to massive heat sink below.Mastery of Aerodynamics: The heatsink is optimized for efficient heat dissipation, keeping your temperatures low and performance high.Zero Frozr technology: Stopping the fan in low-load situations, keeping a noise-free environment.Customize colours and LED effects with exclusive MSI software and synchronize the look & feel with other components.1 click to optimize all you need for smooth gaming. What MSI Had to Say "The much-anticipated return of MSI’s iconic dual fan GAMING series. Combining a mix of black and gunmetal grey with a classy brushed metal backplate, this masterpiece provides you premium design with magnificent and smooth RGB light effects on the outside. The new MSI GAMING card is designed to amaze you!" - MSI Product Trailer Specifications For in-depth specifications, please visit the official MSI product page here. Photo Gallery How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test bench to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Graphics Card Test System Motherboard – Aorus Z390 Gaming MasterProcessor – Intel Core i9-9900K (Stock)RAM – Crucial Ballistix Gaming 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3000 MHzCPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D15SPower Supply – Be Quiet Power Zone 1000WMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Thermaltake Core P5 TGOperating System – Windows 10 64-bitMonitor – AOC 28-Inch 4K Gaming Monitor Additional Hardware Killawatt style electricity usage meter wall plugPrecision Gold N05CC Decibel meter Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. We now use the “High” profiles for all games or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, as are FreeSync and G-Sync technologies or similar. Graphics card power usage is set to optimised or balance, and the system power mode set to High Performance within Windows and the available GPU driver software. Identical settings are used for all resolutions unless otherwise stated. Games and Settings Used Shadow of the Tomb Raider DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pDeus Ex: Mankind Divided DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pGhost Recon: Wildlands High Preset1080p1440p2160pBattlefield V DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pBattlefield V DX12 High Preset (DXR Enabled) NVIDIA RTX Cards ONLY1080p1440p2160pMetro Exodus DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pMetro Exodus DX12 High Preset (RT, then RT and DLSS Enabled) NVIDIA RTX Cards ONLY1080p1440p2160pFar Cry New Dawn High Preset1080p1440p2160p The Division 2 High Preset1080p1440p2160p Software Used 3DMark Fire Strike (download)FireStrike Ultra BenchmarkUnigine Superposition (download)4K Optimised BenchmarkHWMonitor (download)GPU-Z (download)MSI Afterburner (download) Noise Everyone has a reasonable noise level preference when it comes to components on a computer. Some can handle all fans at 100% load to keep temperatures down; some want an entirely silent computer. To accurately gauge the noise output of a graphics card, we position a Precision Gold N05CC one meter above our open-air test bench and take an average reading at idle and load. Power Consumption We take power readings during the idle state with no background applications running. Then again at 50% completion of the Unigine Superposition benchmark, using the average as the final published result. Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered from Unigine Superposition after a 4K optimised run, confirming the numbers are accurate with HWMonitor. Furthermore, the ambient temperature is always kept +/- 1c from 21c. Synthetic Benchmarks 3DMark FireStrike Ultra - 65013DMark TimeSpy - 10661Unigine Superposition 4K Optimised - 8598 3DMark FireStrike Ultra 3DMark TimeSpy Unigine Superposition Experience Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Available now on Steam. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance 1080p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1391440p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 992160p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 56 Now an experienced covert operative, Adam Jensen is forced to operate in a world that has grown to despise his kind. Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy. Available now on Steam. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Performance 1080p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 1281440p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 89.52160p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 50 The Ghosts, an elite US Special Forces team, are sent behind enemy lines to wreak havoc, destabilize, and eventually break the alliance between the cartel and the corrupted government. Facing an almighty enemy in a massive and hostile environment, the Ghosts will need to make critical moral choices and engage in tough battles to complete their mission – their grittiest and most dangerous operation to date. Available now on UPlay. Ghost Recon: Wildlands Performance 1080p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 133.751440p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 102.712160p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 60.01 Enter mankind’s greatest conflict with Battlefield™ V in the most intense, immersive, and innovative Battlefield yet. Lead your squad to victory in all-new multiplayer experiences like the multi-map Grand Operations. Fight for survival in Firestorm – battle royale, reimagined for Battlefield. Witness a never-before-seen portrayal of WW2 in the single-player War Stories campaign. Assemble your Company of customized soldiers, weapons, and vehicles – then take them on an expanding journey where every chapter brings a new battlefield. You will never be the same. Available now on Origin. Battlefield V Performance 1080p Battlefield V - 1341440p Battlefield V - 1042160p Battlefield V - 58 Metro Exodus is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter from 4A Games that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Flee the shattered ruins of dead Moscow and embark on an epic, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Explore the Russian wilderness in vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. Available now on Epic Game Store. Metro Exodus Performance 1080p Metro Exodus - 90.211440p Metro Exodus - 69.122160p Metro Exodus - 41.96 Seventeen years after a global nuclear catastrophe, civilization re-emerges from the chaos to find a world dramatically changed. In Hope County, Montana, the remaining populace has gathered into different groups, each with their own rules for survival. In this new world order, the vicious Highwaymen, led by twin sisters Mickey and Lou, travel from place to place bleeding people dry of all available resources. As the Survivors try to defend their lands against the Highwaymen's relentless onslaught, it's up to you to come to their aid and lead the fight. In the latest instalment of the award-winning Far Cry franchise, you are the last line of defence in a transformed, post-apocalyptic Hope County. Help the community of Survivors grow stronger, craft a makeshift arsenal through Turf Wars and cross-country Expeditions, and form unexpected alliances to fight for survival in a dangerous new frontier. Available now on UPlay. Far Cry New Dawn Performance 1080p Far Cry New Dawn - 1301440p Far Cry New Dawn - 1102160p Far Cry New Dawn - 62 Seven months have passed since a deadly virus hit New York City and the rest of the world, crippling the population. When the virus hit, The Division, a unit of civilian sleeper agents, was activated as the last line of defence. Since then, Division agents have been fighting relentlessly to save what remains. For The Division, the stakes are higher than ever. Washington, D.C. – the most heavily protected city on earth – is at risk, leaving the entire nation on the brink of collapse. If Washington, D.C., is lost, then the nation falls. As a Division agent who has been in the field for seven months, you and your team are the last hope to stop the fall of society after the pandemic collapse. Available now on UPlay. The Division 2 Performance 1080p The Division 2 - 1671440p The Division 2 - 1142160p The Division 2 - 61 Currently, Ray Tracing is only available on Nvidia graphics cards. We only test this feature on RTX class cards at the time of writing. It can be used on some other cards in an emulated format, but not one that is well suited to benchmarking. Since SUPER is replacing non-SUPER cards, we have not tested the "older cards" just yet. The only exception being the RTX 2080 Ti, which hasn't been given a refresh release. Ray Tracing Performance Power Consumption Temperatures Acoustics How Much Does It Cost? Much to my own frustration, I couldn't actually find any stock of this card at major retailers. However, MSI does have their Super Ventus OC for £509.98, which is a more affordable model than the MSI RTX 2070 Super we just reviewed. Above that, we have the triple-fan Trio model, which features a more aggressive overclock, priced at just £578.99. It doesn't take a mad scientist to guess the dual fan model sits somewhere between those two, likely around £550. That would make it about £100 more than the similarly designed MSI RTX 2060 Super Gaming X. Overview MSI really has been on a winning streak with their Frozr cooling design. I mean, it's on the 7th iteration now, and I can remember the first generations of it from way back when I started at eTeknix about eight years ago. The dual-fan design has been heavily improved though. Better fans, better bearings, improved airflow to the shroud, a more robust backplate, a better set of radiators; it's all improved. The end result is a card that can be pushed pretty damned hard and maintain its clocks. Most importantly though, it's both cool to run and quiet too, which are both huge wins for the MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X. Gaming Without a doubt, this is very fast graphics card. It's giving us a performance that's shouting down the RTX 2080 (non-super) graphics cards. If that's not enough, this model gave all the other RTX 2070 Super cards we've tested to date a bit of a whipping too. It's not massively faster, but it's absolutely clear that it's the fastest RTX 2070 class card we've tested to date. I suspect that comes thanks to that massive cooler, but that's hardly a surprise really. For gaming at 1080p it's complete overkill and even managed 1440p with ease. Of course, your refresh rate may be above 60hz, so there's obviously still some appeal for this card even at 1080p for 144hz+ gamers. Because the performance is so close to that of an RTX 2080 (non-super), the card is quite adept at 4K gaming too. OK, so some games will have you dropping a few quality settings a little bit, but not by so much you'll be feeling left out. Either way, it's a jack of all trades without the big prices of Nvidia's flagship cards. Should I Buy One? With solid gaming performance, great cooling, and very quiet fans, the value of the MSI Gaming X RTX 2070 super kinda speaks for its self. However, throw in some impressive ray-tracing performance, and features like DLSS, G-Sync, DSR, and more, and you've got one hell of a gaming card. I'm sure the slightly more expensive Trio model is brilliant too, but honestly, I can't see anyone feeling like they settled for second best with the Gaming X!