MSI RTX 2070 Armor Graphics Card Review

Peter Donnell / 6 years ago

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

We’re writing this review pretty darn close to the NDA today, yes today! However, there’s still no retail links up for this exact card, so I cannot provide them at this time. However, news from MSI and Nvidia is that the MSRP is just £459. If that’s true, then both parties are onto a winner. The price is near as makes no difference the same as a good GTX 1080 or VEGA 64, making this a strong contender to replace the former and compete with the latter going forward.

Overview

The RTX launch has been a real roller coaster. On one hand, you have the truly remarkable RTX 2080 Ti, which sets a new level of performance for extreme PC gamers and enthusiasts. Unfortunately, you need an extreme performance wallet to afford one. However, if you’re going for 4K monitors, VR, and other extreme hardware, you pretty much expect to pay a high premium for new hardware.

On the other hand, we have the RTX 2080, a blazing fast card that’s to replace the 1080 Ti. It offers better performance than the 1080 Ti for the most part too. It’s much more affordable than the 2080 Ti also, coming in around £100 more than the 1080 Ti it basically replaces.

Finally, we have the RTX 2070 we reviewed today. It’s clear this is built to be a direct replacement of the GTX 1080, and it’s yet another card from Nvidia that stays just ahead of the current AMD flagship; the VEGA 64.

But Wait, There’s More!

So this is the cherry on top of it all basically. GTX cards may perform similarly, but can they Ray Trace? No! Can they perform DLSS techniques? No. If you’re sitting there saying “I don’t bloody want those anyway” then that’s a real shame, as I firmly believe their the most important aspects of this GPU. If you don’t want them, and just want good FPS, the existing range of cards will no doubt reduce in price and offer you a lot of great gaming. However, RT is a big advancement in rendering, and that’s what GPUs are built for. As more developers start rolling out their integrations of it, I think RTX cards are going to start turning a lot more heads.

DLSS is also extremely interesting, as it can deliver an advanced AA technique for smoother images, even at 4K. However, through some clever upscaling techniques, frame rates actually increase when you enable it. I am of course going on the limited set of tests I’ve seen behind the scenes. We’ll have more to share in the coming weeks as games integrate the features.

The Armor

MSI has done a literally solid job here. The Armor lives up to its namesake, with a very durable design. Make no mistake though, as I don’t think this is a particularly high-end RTX 2070, but it’s certainly a competent one. The full-size backplate, ultra-wide cooler, and stylish design all add up to a great card.

Should I Buy One?

If you’re on the market for a new 4K graphics card, this is an absolute bargain. I use the GTX 1080 for my 4K gaming and I’m very happy with its performance. This is a smidge faster, about the same price, and packs in a bunch of new features that will keep you future proof for a generation or two. What’s not to love about that?