When comparing EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC Gaming ACX 3.0 vs ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 ROG STRIX, the Slant community recommends ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 ROG STRIX for most people. In the question“What are the best GTX 1070 cards?” ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 ROG STRIX is ranked 5th while EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC Gaming ACX 3.0 is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 ROG STRIX is:
The Strix cooler Asus uses performs extremely well. Under light loads, the [maximum temperature measured](http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_geforce_gtx_1070_strix_gaming_review,9.html) was 37 degrees Celsius. This is actually a bit on the higher side, but the cooler's fans don't turn on until the temperature reaches 60° C. This temperature threshold can be adjusted in the software if you wish. The cooler really shows its worth when looking at results under full load. The GTX 1070 ROG Strix achieves a [maximum temperature](http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_geforce_gtx_1070_strix_gaming_review,9.html) of only 65 degrees Celsius, a very impressive feat. For comparison: a GTX 1070 Founders Edition heats up to 76 degrees Celsius, and the next coolest GTX 1070 is the Palit Premium edition which measures in at 70 degrees Celsius. Better temperatures not only result in increased lifespan of the graphics card, but it also ensures throttling doesn't occur. Throttling is the process where the graphics card clocks itself down in order to remain cool, effectively sacrificing performance. The GTX 1070 is generally pretty good when it comes to avoiding throttling, but great cooling systems reduce the changes of throttling even more.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great noise levels, stays quiet during operation
EVGA has used the ACX 3.0 cooler on a number of their graphics cards and it is widely known for its low noise production. The GTX 1070 SC Gaming is no exception. In idle situations, the fans aren't active and thus the graphics card is silent. The ACX 3.0 cooler user passive cooling (without spinning of the fans) for temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius.
When using the card in a more intensive full load situation, maximum sound production measured was 38 decibels (A), which is a great result. The reference cooler of the GTX 1070 is also fairly quiet at 40 dBA - the difference here is less noticeable. There was also no noticeable coil whine (an undesirable high-pitched sound).
Pro Overclocks really well
The EVGA GTX 1070 SC allows for further generous overclocking of the card, even though the card has already been somewhat overclocked in-factory. In this case, an extra increase of 120 MHz was achieved without any major issues, for a total of 1715 MHz compared to the reference 1506 MHz. This resulted in an even higher performance, with 18224 3DMark Firestrike points compared to the non-overclocked SC version with 16680 points, a 9.25% increase.
Pro 3 Year Warranty
Pro Slightly higher performance than the Founders Edition
The GTX 1070 SC Gaming ACX 3.0 features a slightly higher clock speed of 1594 MHz, which is a 6% increase compared to the Founders Edition. This results in a slightly better performance, although the difference isn't really noticeable in most situations. In Rise of the Tomb Raider for example, the GTX 1070 SC achieves an average FPS of 111 in 1080p resolution with maximum settings, compared to the FE's 108 frames per second.
The results are more impressive in DOOM, where the overclocked EVGA card manages to achieve an average of 156 FPS (1080p), which is a 10% improvement over the Founders Edition's 142 frames per second.
Testing Hitman at 1080p shows a subtle difference: 88 FPS for the EVGA GTX 1070 SC while the reference FE card achieves 86 frames per second. When gaming in 1440p or 4K, the difference is slightly higher with 69 vs 65 FPS and 40 vs 37 FPS respectively.
Pro Low operating temperatures prevent throttling
The ACX 3.0 cooler used on the GTX 1070 SC Gaming offers slightly better temperatures compared to the reference cooler used on the Founders Edition. In idle, the GPU heats up to a maximum of 37 degrees Celsius. This is actually an increase of seven degrees compared to the Founders Edition, but the fans of the SC version don't spin up at all under 60 degrees and are thus passive. If preferred, you can adjust this with the included software.
Under load, the EVGA SC reaches a maximum of 72 degrees Celsius, which is a minor improvement over the 76 degrees of the reference GTX 1070. Throttling never occurs with the EVGA GTX 1070 SC ACX 3.0. Throttling occurs when temperatures of around 80° C are reached, in which case the graphics card will clock itself down in order to remain cool, effectively sacrificing performance.
Pro Best cooling system of any GTX 1070
The Strix cooler Asus uses performs extremely well. Under light loads, the maximum temperature measured was 37 degrees Celsius. This is actually a bit on the higher side, but the cooler's fans don't turn on until the temperature reaches 60° C. This temperature threshold can be adjusted in the software if you wish. The cooler really shows its worth when looking at results under full load. The GTX 1070 ROG Strix achieves a maximum temperature of only 65 degrees Celsius, a very impressive feat. For comparison: a GTX 1070 Founders Edition heats up to 76 degrees Celsius, and the next coolest GTX 1070 is the Palit Premium edition which measures in at 70 degrees Celsius.
Better temperatures not only result in increased lifespan of the graphics card, but it also ensures throttling doesn't occur. Throttling is the process where the graphics card clocks itself down in order to remain cool, effectively sacrificing performance. The GTX 1070 is generally pretty good when it comes to avoiding throttling, but great cooling systems reduce the changes of throttling even more.
Pro Ability to add two extra PWM fans
On the back of the STRIX card, there are two available PWM-connectors. If you attach additional fans to the back of the graphics card, they will regulate speed via PWM in addition to the STRIX cooler itself. This is a unique feature among GTX 1070 cards, which can help cool down the graphics card to prevent overheating or throttling (which could - in theory at least - allow for more overclocking).
Pro Easy to overclock
This GPU is easily overclockable to over 2GHz through Asus software.
Pro Features adjustable RGB lightning
The exterior of the ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 ROG STRIX features some RGB lights and you can adjust the color of these lights via the included software package. This allows you to customize the look of the graphics card, which can be useful if your setup is built with a specific color scheme in mind.
Pro Very quiet operation
When they don't need to, the fans on the Asus GTX 1070 ROG STRIX won't spin at all and are thus completely inaudible: the card remains passive below 60 degrees Celsius. Under full load, a maximum sound production of 39 decibels (A) was measured. A reference GTX 1070 Founders Edition card also performs very well in this aspect however with 40 dBA, which means the difference isn't quite as extensive as with other GPU's.
Cons
Con VRM area is a hotspot on the card
While a backplate will make your graphics card more durable, it can trap heat in some areas. On this EVGA GTX 1070, the backplate traps heat around the VRM area - which can warm up to 96 degrees Celsius when at 100% (as seen here).
Con Expensive
The price tag of the EVGA SC Gaming ACX 3.0 is higher than most other (significantly) overclocked GTX 1070 cards with a custom cooling solution.
Con Factory overclock isn't noticeable in practice
Although ASUS has increased the base clock speed of the GPU by 1.66% from 1506 to 1531 MHz, this higher clock speed only results in a negligible performance increases in gaming situations. Other GTX 1070 chips have higher clocks, which allow for better performance.
Con Only 2 DisplayPorts
To be more VR-friendly, Asus removed one of the DisplayPorts in favor of an additional HDMI port (both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive require 2 HDMI ports).