MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Z Graphics Card Review

“Z” as in the last letter of the alphabet. Does the Z in MSI’s GTX 1070 Gaming line up mean that it’s the last card in their line up and the last series you’ll need to buy? MSI thinks so. There are 2 letter designations in this round of releases from MSI; the Gaming X and Gaming Z. For the 1070 line up, the Gaming X boosts the GPU 114 MHz above the reference design and memory clock speeds 108MHz in OC mode where as the Gaming Z tacks on another 63MHz for the GPU. The GTX 1070 Gaming Z also features LED lighting and uses the latest revision of MSI’s TwinFrozr GPU cooling solution.

Review Sample Provided by: MSI
Product Name: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Z
Price at time of review: $  USD
Product was given in exchange for work done to produce this review.

Packaging

Unlike the Gaming series packaging of the past, MSI does away with featuring the dragon as the main focus on the box but instead puts a large image of the card on the front. On the back side of the box, MSI goes into detail on the features of the GTX 1070 Gaming Z.

Inside, you’ll find a thicker, sturdier cardboard box. On top is a fold that contains the accessories and the card is tucked away inside closed cell foam and further protected by an anti-static bag.

After unpacking it all, you’ll find that along with the graphic card,  a driver and software CD, case stickers, a quick start guide and information on registering your card for the warranty are included.

Specifications

• Graphics Processing Unit
  NVIDIA GeForce^® GTX 1070
• Interface
  PCI Express x16 3.0
• Boost / Base Core Clock
  1860 MHz / 1657 MHz (OC Mode)
  1835 MHz / 1632 MHz (Gaming Mode)
  1683 MHz / 1506 MHz (Silent Mode)
• Memory Size (MB)
  8192
• Memory Type
  GDDR5
• Memory Interface
  256-bit
• Memory Clock Speed (MHz)
  8108 MHz (OC Mode)
  8108 MHz (Gaming Mode)
  8010 MHz (Silent Mode)
• Output
  DisplayPort x 3 (Version 1.4) / HDMI (Version 2.0) / DL-DVI-D
• Virtual Reality Ready
  Y
• Digital Maximum Resolution
  7680 x 4320
• Maximum Displays
  4
• HDCP Support
  2.2
• DirectX Version Support
  12
• OpenGL Version Support
  4.5
• Multi-GPU Technology
  SLI, 2-Way
• Card Dimension(mm)
  279 x 140 x 42 mm
• Card Weight (g)
  1096
• Power consumption (W)
  150
• Recommended PSU (W)
  500
• Power Connectors
  6-pin x 1, 8-pin x 1