EVGA's GTX 1070 SC performs mostly where the reference card falls when it comes to framerates, but there's a lot more to it than that. Noise levels are reduced to effectively 0dB added when idle, which is most of a GPU's usage, and thermals are cut by 14% load. That puts us at 46.89C when under peak load, versus 53.86C for the reference design. Certainly an improvement – and that's at 100MHz faster and at a slightly cheaper price of $440.
MSI does outperform EVGA when it comes to overclocking, but the practical impact of that in non-production scenarios is minimal. You're talking about a frame or two in most games, to put it into perspective. The MSI card does have a better power design, PCB, and cooler, but it's also priced higher than reference at $460.
The EVGA GTX 1070 SC is a huge step-up from the FE card when it comes to the thermal performance. Noise is similar, FPS is similar, and overclocking is pretty close – but the EVGA card, overall, is a much better buy than reference. MSI puts some pressure on EVGA, though does have a disadvantage in the form factor department – it's much taller than an expansion slot – and in its $20 extra cost. The FPS gains are marginal and not noteworthy, but MSI's cooler is better than EVGA's as a result of its taller form factor.
We think the price of these cards should fall more before making a purchase. The EVGA GTX 1070 SC is in a good place to compete, it just feels like it should be closer to the $400 to $420 mark.
Note: At the time of this review, the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 were still exceptionally hard to find. Price-gouging runs rampant in such times, and so MSRP is often unrealistic until time is provided for the market to cool down. The Pascal chips should become more available in July.
Editorial, Test Lead: Steve “Lelldorianx” Burke
Video Production: Andrew “ColossalCake” Coleman
Sr. Test Tech: Mike “Budekai?” Gaglione
Test Tech: Andie “Draguelian” Burke
Test Tech: Patrick “Mocalcium” Stone
