When comparing GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1070 Windforce OC vs MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X, the Slant community recommends GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1070 Windforce OC for most people. In the question“What are the best GTX 1070 cards?” GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1070 Windforce OC is ranked 8th while MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1070 Windforce OC is:
The Windforce OC version of the GTX 1070 is fairly inexpensive at the available price of $379.99, especially compared to the reference Founders Edition which retails at $450.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Inexpensive
The Windforce OC version of the GTX 1070 is fairly inexpensive at the available price of $379.99, especially compared to the reference Founders Edition which retails at $450.
Pro Quiet operation with no coil whine
While there isn't any easily accessible data to back it up, many users have been reporting that there is no annoying coil whine, and that the card stays very quiet even when under a full load.
Pro 3 year warranty
Gigabyte offers a 3 year warranty, which means buyers can rest easy if this GTX 1070 ever malfunctions.
Pro RGB lighting allows custom looks for your graphics card
There are RGB lights on this GTX 1070, which helps it look premium and really helps complete your computer build (at least if you have a window on the side of your rig). There are 2 of these LEDs which provide decent accent lighting without being too distracting.
Pro Smaller size compared to most GTX 1070 cards
The MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X has a smaller size than most GTX 1070 cards on the market which usually have a 2.5-3 slot size, while the Gaming X has a 2-slot size. This makes it a good card for smaller builds which don't have as much physical space.
Pro Excellent design
The GTX 1070 Gaming X, like its GTX 1080 counterpart is an excellent card as far as looks go. The black and red color scheme can easily fit a lot of builds for those users who are obsessed with their build looking as good as possible. It also has an array of RGB lights in the back which can be controlled by an app supplied by MSI.
Pro Very energy efficient
Under normal load the Gaming X uses just under 150W.
Cons
Con Plastic covering feels cheap
The GTX 1070 Windforce OC has some metal components in it, but the casing is plastic which makes it feel fairly cheap.
Con Factory overclock isn't noticeable in practice
Although GIGABYTE has increased the base clock speed of the GPU by 3% from 1506 to 1556 MHz and a boost clock from 1683 to 1746 MHz (+ 4%), these higher clock speeds only result in a negligible performance increases in gaming situations. Compared to the Founders edition, the GTX 1070 Windforce OC doesn't offer much extra in terms of performance.
Con For the same price there are other cards with better performance
You can find other cards with a better performance for the same price or even lower. One such card for example is the Palit GeForce 1070 GameRock which scored higher than the Gaming X in the FireStrike benchmark.