When comparing ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 ROG STRIX vs MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X, 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 MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X is ranked 11th. 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
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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.
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 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).
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.