EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW GAMING ACX 3.0, 8GB GDDR5, RGB LED, 10CM FAN, 10 Power Phases, Double BIOS, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC) Graphics Card 08G-P4-6276-KR

This card is crazy good. An excellent price point with excellent performance. This card handles all current titles with reasonable frame rates 30+. While it may not provide the crushing performance of the 1080, it gets the job done without totally blowing the budget, maybe just a little stretch.If you have the money, the 1080 is a much better card and will run games faster, farther into the future than the 1080. Also if you already own a 980 TI, R9 295X2, R9 Fury X, or better, the 1070 will not be an upgrade and you should consider the 1080.http://amzn.to/2upKr7UI purchased the FTW with 1797 clock, the 08G-P4-6276-KR version. EVGA makes several versions of this card and it can be difficult to determine what the difference between them is. I will try to do so here.GlossaryBlower Cooling - Cooling that uses a blower style cooler and heatsink. Economical design.ACX3.0 Cooling - Advanced cooling system using variable speed fans and heatsinks. Good design.iCX Cooling - Evolution of ACX3.0 including additional thermal sensors and technology. Best fan and heatsink designHybrid Cooling - Closed loop water cooling that requires mounting a radiator on the back of the case. Very effective coolingBackplate - A metal sheet that is placed over the back of the card further protecting the electronics, and improving heat handling capabilities.RGB LED - An LED that can change color programmatically to any color. Easily match the color of other items inside your case to maximize flexibility in design.10 Phase Power - An enhanced power supply design that will deliver more consistent power to the graphics processor to insure reliable operation. More phases means cleaner power, and greater power capacity. The other design is a 4 phase design.8 pin connector - Add in graphics cards need additional power provided to them. This is typically done with an 8 pin connector from the power supply. Some older cards used 6 pin connectors, so some power supplies provide 6+2 connectors, while others provide 8 pin connectors. You need to make sure that you have the proper number of 8 pin connectors (or 6+2) or you will not be able to power your graphics card and it will not work. A 6 pin connector will not work, it does not supply enough power, or fit for that matter. If you do not have either 8 pin or 6+2 pin connectors available, you will need to upgrade your power supply. This is common in older computers, as well as name brand computers from Dell and HP. The power supplies were not designed for high power add in cards.08G-P4-5170 1683 MHz boost with blower cooling, requires only a single 8pin connector and draws 150W, no backplate (Blower)http://amzn.to/2v2fkms08G-P4-5171 1683 MHz boost but adds ACX3.0 advanced cooling requires one 8-pin and draws 150W, no backplate (uncommon model)http://amzn.to/2hsIA1408G-P4-6170 1683 MHz boost with blower cooling one 8pin 150W White LED, adds backplate (Founders Edition)http://amzn.to/2v3WauV08G-P4-6171 1683 MHz boost ACX3.0 cooling one 8pin 150W adds White LED (REF)http://amzn.to/2vnJPV908G-P4-6571 1683 MHz boost iCX cooling and thermal modules single 8pin 150W White LED (Not on Amazon)08G-P4-5173 1784 MHz boost (super clocked) ACX3 cooling, one 8pin, 170W power White LED, no backplate (SC Black)http://amzn.to/2v2iDKF08G-P4-6173 1784 MHz boost (super clocked) ACX3 cooling, one 8pin, 170W power White LED (SC)http://amzn.to/2v2t3tm08G-P4-6178 1784 MHz boost Hybrid cooling, one 8pin, 170W power White LED (HYBRID)http://amzn.to/2vnDrNt08G-P4-6573 1784 MHz boost (super clocked) iCX cooling, one 8pin, 170W power White LED (SC2)http://amzn.to/2v2oOhN08G-P4-6274 1683 MHz boost ACX3 cooling, two 8pin, 215W power RGB LED, Enhanced 10 Phase Power Supply for overclocking (FTW 1683)http://amzn.to/2v2G0DF08G-P4-6276 1797 MHz boost super clocked ACX3 cooling, two 8pin, 215W power RGB LED, 10 Phase Power for OC (FTW 1797) (The card I purchased)http://amzn.to/2v2pDHp08G-P4-6278 1797 MHz boost super clocked Hybrid cooling, two 8pin, 215W power RGB LED, 10 Phase Power for OC (FTW HYBRID 1797)http://amzn.to/2v45O0t08G-P4-6674 1683 MHz boost iCX cooling, two 8pin, 215W power RGB LED, 10 Phase Power for OC (Not on Amazon)08G-P4-6676 1797 MHz boost super clocked iCX cooling, two 8pin, 215W power RGB LED, 10 Phase Power for OC (FTW2 1797)http://amzn.to/2upMLMpI chose the model I did, because it had ACX cooling, and the 1797 clock with the 10 phase power and RGB LED. The more expensive cards offered very little benefit.If the 1070 is just too much of as stretch for the budget consider the 1060 at 6GB (not enough savings to go to 3GB). Be aware that the 1060 is comparable to the 970, 708 or Titan. It is also comparable to the Radeon RX580/570/480/470, R9 390/290 or Intel HD7990. If you own one of those it will not be an upgrade.http://amzn.to/2vyqP6KIf the budget is really tight you should look at the 1050. Be aware that the 1050 is on par with the 950, 760 or 660 Ti. It is also comparable to the Rx460, R7-370, R9-270 or Intel Hd 7870. This card will not be an upgrade if you have one of those or better.http://amzn.to/2v4S4CO

I have been doing research on purchasing a new video card since the GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 launched last Spring. I was quite frustrated with the lack of AMD Crossfire support for the R9 390X in Crimson software, and as of this writing, Team Red has nothing to offer at the "high end", although I know Vega is due out shortly. Since I recently purchased a new 32" 2560 X 1440 VA Panel Monitor (for all purpose, including some FPS Gaming), I needed some new Graphics Horsepower.The GTX 1070 offerings are many, but I chose this particular Card due to the high quality of construction, EVGA Customer Service and Support, and I received a significant and stable overclock out of the box. The Marketing was not just hype, but the performance is truly there. With no adjustments, Nvidia Boost 3.0 has my Card running at 2012 Mhz in Game. I did apply a custom fan curve through MSI Afterburner, and my fans start up at 45 C. I never saw the temperature go above 65 degree C., and the fans are quiet. I am not getting any coil whine, and everything just works. My results at 2560 X 1440 in CRYSIS 3 and Metro Last Light are on Par with what the major reviews have already benchmarked for this Particular GTX 1070 FTW Card. I also like the 10 phase power, and the larger fans over the SC version. I have not Overclocked any further than the out of box settings thus far, but since I already have a significant overclock, I am not strongly compelled to test this further to obtain very small FPS gains. I would rather just move up to a GTX 1080 for that.I can't comment on the EVGA Precision XOC Program, as I am not using it. I will stick with MSI Afterburner for now. While I think the idea of RGB lighting is pretty cool on the Card, I am personally satisfied with the pale blue color of the default LED color, and I am more satisfied that I do not have to run Precision XOC software just to fiddle with the RGB lighting. I am also staying away from the Nvidia Experience Software. I just do not need it.I would like to add that I purchased this card, well aware that there have been some expressed concerns about the VRM cooling. As VRMs do run hot, (VGA Card, Motherboard), I do believe that cooling is important. I did go ahead and order the free thermal pad kit available from EVGA, and I will go ahead and install them. EVGA is also offering a BIOS update to address and remediate these concerns. I am pretty comfortable tearing down my PC equipment, and I build my own custom computers. I really like EVGA's approach to this concern, and it is one more reason why I am buying this particular video card from EVGA.So, for me, it is EVGA FOR THE WIN.