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GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Video Card Review
The GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is a high-end/mainstream video card from NVIDIA. With 2,432 processing cores, it sits between the GeForce GTX 1070 and the GeForce GTX 1080. Let’s test this model from GALAX.
The GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is the most recent chip from the NVIDIA GTX 1000-series, based on Pascal architecture. It uses the GP104 chip, the same used on the GeForce GTX 1070 and the GeForce GTX 1080, manufactured under 16 nm technology. The difference is that in the GTX 1080 all the 2,560 cores are enabled, in the GTX 1070 there are only 1,920 cores enabled, and in the GTX 1070 Ti there are 2,432 cores enabled.
This chip works with GDDR5 memory running at 8 GHz (in the GTX 1070 and the GTX 1070 Ti) or GDDR5X at 10 GHz (in the GTX 1080,) with a 256-bit bus on all models. The TDP on the GTX 1070 Ti is 180 W.
We tested the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti EX from GALAX. This model brings the same clock rates of the “Founders Edition”, the reference model offered by NVIDIA itself: base clock of 1,607 MHz, turbo clock of 1,693 MHz, memory bandwidth of 256 GiB/s and TDP of 180 W. The recommended power supply is 500 W or more.
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Just like its sisters, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti supports SMP (Simultaneous Multi-Projection) technology, which is useful for Virtual Reality applications, and the Ansel technology, which allows to capture an in-game high-resolution picture with any camera position and even 360 degrees.
The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti supports SLI technology, that combines the processing power of two or more video cards.
Figure 1 shows the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti video card from GALAX.
Figure 1: the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
The closest competitor of the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is the Radeon Vega 56, but unfortunately we have not this model in our labs. So, we are comparing the GTX 1070 Ti to its sister, the GeForce GTX 1080, to see which one is the best buy.
In the table below, we compare the main specs from the video cards we included in this review. Prices were researched at Newegg.com for this article.
Figure 1: the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
The closest competitor of the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is the Radeon Vega 56, but unfortunately we have not this model in our labs. So, we are comparing the GTX 1070 Ti to its sister, the GeForce GTX 1080, to see which one is the best buy.
In the table below, we compare the main specs from the video cards we included in this review. Prices were researched at Newegg.com for this article.
Video card | Core clock | Turbo clock | Effective memory clock |
| GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | 1,607 MHz | 1,683 MHz | 8.0 GHz |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 1,607 MHZ | 1,733 MHz | 10.0 GHz |
Video card | Memory bus |
|
|
| GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | 256 bit | 256 GB/s | 8 GiB GDDR5 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 256 bit | 320 GB/s | 8 GiB GDDR5X |
Video card | Processing cores |
| DirectX |
Price |
| GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | 2,432 | 180 W | 12.1 | USD 550 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 2,560 | 180 W | 12.1 | USD 640 |
Now let’s take a closer look to the tested video card.
The GeForce GTX 1070 Ti EX from GALAX is 10.6 inches (268 mm) long and uses two slots. It uses two 100 mm fans with red LEDs.
Figure 2 shows the video connectors of the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti. It brings one DVI-D, three DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.0b connectors.
Figure
2: video connectors
In Figure 3, you see the top of the card, where there is an eight-pin and one six-pin PCI Express power connectors. The “GEFORCE GTX” logo lits when the card is powered on, and you can select the color and light effect of this logo.
Figure 3: top view
Figure 4 shows the bottom of the card.
Figure 4: rear view
Figure 5 shows the solder side of the GTX 1070 Ti, which is covered by a backplate.
Figure 5: backplate
Figure 6 shows the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti with its cooler removed.
There is a copper base for the GPU and the cooler also touches the memory chips. Notice that there are eight memory chips.
Figure 6: cooler removed
Figure 7 unveils the GP104 chip, which is manufactured under 16 nm process.
Figure 7: the GP104 chip
Figure 8 shows one of the memory chips present on the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti. It is a GDDR5 Micron MT51J256M32HF-80 memory chip.
Figure 8: memory chip
Figure 9 shows the voltage regulator of the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti. It uses five phases for the GPU and two phases for the memory chips.
Figure 9: voltage regulator
During our benchmarking sessions, we used the configuration listed below. Between the tests, the only variable component was the video card being tested.
Hardware Configuration
- CPU: Core i9-7800X running at 4.6 GHz
- Motherboard: Gigabyte X299 AORUS Gaming 7
- CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate
- Memory: 64 GiB DDR4-3000 HyperX Predator, four KHX3000C15/16GX 16 GiB modules running at 2666 MHz
- Boot drive: Samsung 960 EVO 500 GB
- Case: Thermaltake Core P3
- Video Monitor: Samsung U28D590
- Power Supply: Corsair CX750
Operating System Configuration
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Driver Versions
- NVIDIA driver version: 388.71
Software Used
- 3DMark
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- F1 2017
- GTA V
- Hitman
- Mad Max
- Rise of the Tomb Rider
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Error Margin
We adopted a 3% error margin; thus, differences below 3% cannot be considered relevant. In other words, products with a performance difference below 3% should be considered as having similar performance.
3DMark is a program with a set of several 3D benchmarks. We ran the Time Spy, Fire Strike Extreme and Sky Diver benchmarks.
The Time Spy benchmark measures DirectX 12 native performance, running at 2560 x 1440 resolution. In this benchmark, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti performed similarly to the GeForce GTX 1080.
The Fire Strike Ultra benchmark measures DirectX 11 performance and is aimed at high-end gaming computers. It runs at 4K UHD resolution. In this test, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 8% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
The 3DMark Sky Diver benchmark is aimed at mainstream PCs with DirecX 11 simulations. It runs at 1920 x 1080 Ti. In this test, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was also as fast as the GeForce GTX 1080.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an action RPG with FPS elements, launched in August 2016, that uses the Dawn engine, being compatible with DirectX 12. We tested it using the benchmark included in the game, with DirectX 12 enabled, graphic options “high” and MSAA 2x.
The results below, in Full HD and 4K, are expressed in frames per second.
On Deus Ex: M
ankind Divided in Full HD, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 5% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was also 5% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
F1 2017
F1 2017 is a racing game launched in August 2017, using the Ego 4.0 engine, being compatible with DirectX 12. We tested the performance in this game using the built-in benchmark, with quality options “high”.
The results below are expressed in fps.
On the Doom test with Full HD, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 5% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K resolution, both the video card had the same performance.
These results shown that there was a CPU bottleneck in this game.
GTA V
Grand Theft Auto V, or simply GTA V, is an open-world action game released for PCs in April of 2015, using the RAGE engine. In order to measure the performance on this game, we ran the performance test of the game, measuring the framerate with FRAPS. We ran GTA V at Full HD and 4K, with all image quality set as “very high” and MSAA 2x.
On the Full HD benchmark, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 4% faster than the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti performed similarly to the GeForce GTX 1080.
Hitman
Hitman is an action/stealth game, launched in March 2016, that uses a DirectX 12 compatible version of the Glacier 2 engine. To measure performance in this game, we ran the benchmark in it, measuring the framerate with FRAPS. We ran this game with DirectX 12 enabled, with image quality set as “ultra” and SMAA on.
The results below, in Full HD and 4K, are expressed in frames per second.
On Hitman, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti performed similarly to the GeForce GTX 1080.
With 4K resolution, also both video card had the same performance.
Mad Max
Mad Max is an open-world action game launched in September of 2015, using the Avalanche engine. In order to measure the performance using this game, we ran its intro, measuring the framerate with FRAPS three times. We ran the game with image quality set as “very high”.
The results below are expressed in fps and they are the mean between the three collected results.
On Mad Max, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was on a technical tie to the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 5% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
Rainbow Six Siege
“Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” is a tactical FPS game launched in December 2015, using the AnvilNext engine, which is DirectX 11. In order to measure the performance using this game, we ran the benchmark included on it, using graphics quality “ultra”.
The results below are expressed in frames per second.
On this game, in Full HD, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 5% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K resolution, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 4% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
Rise of the Tomb Rider
Rise of the Tomb Rider is an adventure/action game launched in January of 2016, based on Foundation engine. In order to measure the performance using this game, we ran the benchmark included on it, using graphics quality “high” and DirectX 12 enabled.
The results below are expressed in frames per second.
On Rise of the Tomb Rider, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 7% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K resolution, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was 6% slower than the GeForce GTX 1080.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open-world RPG, released in May of 2015 and based on the REDengine 3 engine. In order to measure the performance in this game, we walk around at the first scene of the game, measuring the framerate with FRAPS three times. We ran the game at Full HD (1920 x 1080), with image quality set to “ultra”.
The results below are expressed in frames per second and represent the arithmetical mean of the three collected results.
On Rise of the Tomb Rider, in Full HD, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti performed similarly to the GeForce GTX 1080.
On 4K resolution, the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti was also as fast as the GeForce GTX 1080.
In our tests, it was clear that the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is almosts as fast as the GeForce GTX 1080. On most games, they performed similarly, and on the other ones, the GTX 1070 Ti was around 5% slower.
This was actually expected, since these two video cards use the same architecture and have very similar specs; the only differences are that the GTX 1070 Ti has 128 cores less, and its memory ticks at 8 GHz, and not 10 GHz like on the GTX 1080.
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Regarding to the GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 Ti EX model, it is robust and well-made. The cooling system is great and it is almost quiet even at full load. The fans stop when the GPU is idle. Bringing two power connectors also gives a better chance of a successful overclocking.
The decision to buy the GeForc
e GTX 1070 Ti will depend on the price you find it: if it costs less than the GeForce GTX 1080 (it should do,) it is a better deal, since it has almost the same performance. This video card will allow you to play any recent game at Full HD resolution with the highest possible quality and high framerate, and it will even support 4K gameplay on some titles.
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