NVIDIA's GTX 10 line-up of graphics processing cards are the next-generation of gaming powerhouses. The GTX 1080 is for those who have an expansive budget and need to do some 4K gaming, the GTX 1060 and GTX 1050 are for the 1080p market, while the GTX 1070 is a nice middleground. It's also the best option for those who plan to upgrade their displays at a later date. We take a look at the ZOTAC AMP! Extreme edition GTX 1070.
You're all probably already more than aware of how good NVIDIA's new Pascal chips are, and this is what gives the ZOTAC 1070 all of its horsepower. What the OEM manufactuerer has done is enhance the card to "extreme" lengths, hence the name. You've got three fans, dual-power input, strong factory overclock, and the whole thing requires three PCI slots. It's huge.
It's definitely worth considering the dimensions of any component before you make the purchase. The last thing you wish to do is splash out $400 on a new GPU for it to not fit inside your PC case. Here's what we'll be working with after installing the card into our system:
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| GPU | GeForce GTX 1070 |
| CUDA Cores | 1920 |
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit |
| Engine Clock | 1632 MHz |
| Engine Clock (Boost) | 1835 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 8208 MHz |
| Display Outputs | 3 x DisplayPort 1.4HDMI 2.0bDL-DVI |
| HDCP Support | Yes |
| TDP | 250W |
| Dimensions | 325mm x 148mm |
Performance of the GTX 1070, and an overclocked GTX 1070 at that, is impressive. Paired up with an overclocked Intel Core i5-6600K and we've got quite the capable gaming rig. As announced by NVIDIA, the GTX 1070 is fully capable of VR gaming, and the AMP! Extreme edition from ZOTAC ensures your PC exceeds the requirements for smooth virtual relaity, according to Steam's Performance Test.
That's a fairly decent Fire Strike score using the 3DMark suite. In real world games, I managed to clock up an average of 112FPS in Doom on ultra settings, and 49FPS in Grand Theft Auto V, again with everything set to maximum. This is at 1440p too. It's safe to say you'll be able to enjoy a stable experience with fantastic graphical fidelity in even the more demanding titles.
It's not always just about raw power, however. An added bonus of this particular ZOTAC GTX 1070 card is the ability to configure fan control and lighting. The ZOTAC badge on the side of the card can be configured separately to the rear "push the limit" slogan and lighting that surrounds the fans. The entire unit looks the part with the industrial-looking backplate. Though due to the size of the GPU it still sags slightly.
The only issue I have with the card itself is the noise at times, which can be audible when the three fans kick up to 50% speed and beyond. It's worth noting that I do not find the fans to be loud, it's simply you can hear them more clearly thanks to other cooling being almost idle, alongside the absence of any mechanical drives. The case is almost silent so it's easier to for the GPU fans to produce sound I can pick up.
One needs to take into account the performance you get out of the GTX 1070 platform and what ZOTAC has managed to achieve with the factory overclock. It's a stellar card and one that's worth picking up should you have some cash to spend and wish to take your gaming experience to the next level. It's fully kitted out and you'll be paying out more than a standard GTX 1070 from another manufacturer, but you can snap one up for $429.99.
