Usage review of my new EVGA GTX1070 (F)or (T)he (W)in--FTW graphic card

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Hello all,

 

I have had the pleasure of use, of my new purchase for the better part of a week, and have been enjoying and exploring the extraordinary features and capabilities of ths Pascal based card, as per my base of my prior GTX 680 2GB.

 

The experience has been a true eye-opener, in the following performance.

 

It was apparent that I was never receiving the true processing power of my i7-975 Extreme 4 core CPU , in any of my prior cards, that being the GTX285 that came with the system, and my GTX680, that replaced the GTX285 original.  

 

With my Pascal 1070 8 GB card, I have mostly doubled the FPS and clarity of video output, over the two previous cards.

 

Here are the details and some screen shots of the present performance.

 

After running my EVGA GTX1070 8GB card at the stock GPU and Memory Mhz settings, I decided to try my overclock that I had been running with on my GTX680, and here is the screen grab of my settings:

 

 

...with this modest graphics card overclock, of which the FTW model handles without so much as a sigh...here are two screen grabs of P3D over an area that I am exploring today in  Australia.  I have never had such performance from my CPU/GPU combo, ever....before my purchase and installation of this fabulous card.

 

Double left click on both the pictures twice, to bring up the full size and to easily read the top left readout's of this card's performance metrics.

 

 

 

...where I would have had about 27-33 FPS in this same route and region, pre GTX 1070 installation, I am easily in the high 80's and low 90's for a sim setting with Unlimited FPS.  Not one OOM, measured over a hour or more, and no more morphing of ground textures (sometimes) to blur and corrupted detail.  As you can also see, my card's temperature is running very cool, with the overclocked GPU and Memory freq's you see displayed in the upper corner of my display.

 

In closing, I will say that this single purchase of the EVGA GTX1070 FTW, was the best, and most pivotal purchase, I have ever made to further and to gain flight simulator performance.  I clearly was never getting to the screen the full CPU processing capabilities that were there...but could not be passed through by the prior two card series and versions.

 

I see no further need to upgrade, unless there is now a system component failure.  I don't need anything more in FPS then what I am getting, and in my standard running of the sims flat out on the feature sliders.

 

Do I personally recommend this card if you are looking for a GTX 1070 model?  You bet I do!

 

Cheers,

 

Mitch/Sesquashtwo

[Dave_YVR 972]

 The 1070 is certainly a huge jump from a 680. I'm more of an Asus guy and went with the Strix 1070 OC from a Strix 970 and am pretty happy with it in P3d. It's EVERY other game I have that I am REALLY happy with the jump.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

 The 1070 is certainly a huge jump from a 680. I'm more of an Asus guy and went with the Strix 1070 OC from a Strix 970 and am pretty happy with it in P3d. It's EVERY other game I have that I am REALLY happy with the jump.

Very happy with the performance.  I get 55-65 FPS at the dock at CAC8, and 65-88 average once in the air;  with P3D fully cranked, so am very impressed with the 1070.  

 

In XP 10.50, I get over 100 FPS, and that's now with Res at the highest EXTREME setting.  I have also shadows at 'Melt your GPU!', with everything else cranked to its highest setting.  I couldn't be happier.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post a reply.

 

Take care,

 

Ses

[ErichB 3,642]

Great news there.  Enjoy it.

 

Is it worth going to a 1070 from a 980Ti?

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Great news there.  Enjoy it.

 

Is it worth going to a 1070 from a 980Ti?

That, I couldn't advise, having made the jump from a GTX680. But...if you are getting the same FPS's that I show, then perhaps not.  I can say, though, that if you have perhaps 25 percent less on average than my present metrics, and have had an OOM or three...then perhaps the answer is yes.

 

This card truly rocks...and is my second EVGA, with only great longevity and quality throughout on the 680, and now as well residing within the 1070 FTW.

 

Many say that in flight simulation it is the CPU that mostly is the bottleneck.  Not in my case, as it turns out.  The 1070 has the expanse to let through all that my CPU can process and send its way.......and the result, is stellar FPS and smoothness, from all platforms.

 

Very satisfied. Very.

[Hypofx 10]

Congrats:) I have a 1070GTX as well and i have the same results- great looking sceneries with good fps using the NGX

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Congrats:) I have a 1070GTX as well and i have the same results- great looking sceneries with good fps using the NGX

 Thanks!

 

I really wanted one from the start, but had to hold to my budget, and waited for the prices to come down off of the release-peak.  They have, and one now happily resides in my case...

 

1070's are simply amazing!

 

Oh..BTW...for XP users...truly, as most have said all along...XP WILL use your card's 8 GB on-board vid RAM to load into...and for my configuration of everything tapped out in XP... XP 10.50 loads into around 6 GB's, of my 8 available.  The result, is very high FPS, along with beautiful animation smoothness. There is a longer period now of pre-load, but once done, all the scenery XP wants to load in, is resident before XP plops you down at your airport-of-choice, or another. So cool!

 

 

Happy Camper

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Just about to take a night flight out of Toledo Express, in Ohio, within FS9

 

The output from the 1070, is simply breathtaking in clarity.  It's like you are really there...

 

 

 

 

Just got clearance for departure off off runway 25...see ya

 

 

 

 

Final 1070 FS9 demo shot;

 

 

 

 

[TheFamilyMan 280]

I recent upgraded my MSI GTX 780 GTX OC to an EVGA GTX 1070 SC, and paired that upgrade with a 25" 2560x1440 IPS commercial sRGB rated Asus monitor.  I run FSX and the upgrade was stunning to say the least in terms of improved IQ.  I use the DX10 fixer and with 4xGSSSAA the VC experience is 100% perfection...but it comes at a cost that was most surprising.  Though I now laugh at dense layers of REX/AS16 enhanced cloud cover, coastal areas drop my silky smooth 30 hz down about 20%, which can be jarring.  GPU monitoring confirms that it's the GPU that's being overwhelmed.  The bummer was I used this setting with my 780 at 1920x1080 and never really noticed this fps hit.  If I disable GSSSAA, there is no fps hit at all, but that VC suffers (well actually only a little bit...but once you've experienced perfection you are ruined, and also there is no going back to 1920x1080).   If I keep my elevation below 4K ft it's not a problem; get up to +8K ft and it really sucks.  I'm curious is anyone else that using 4xGSSSAA sees this performance hit with coastal areas...crud I love the coastal stuff for GA flying.

[ryanb1986 5]

OP, Got the same card -- EVGA as well, and you pretty much summed it up. It's a beast, even if it is half again the size of my motherboard    

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

OP, Got the same card -- EVGA as well, and you pretty much summed it up. It's a beast, even if it is half again the size of my motherboard  

You couldn't pull this card from my cold dead hands...what a powerhouse.

 

I am getting performance, I have never seen from my system, in graphic clarity and high-count FPS, since first purchasing it. As stated, this purchase was pivotal...and no looking back!!!

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Still shaking my head in amazement....this card...what a beast...

 

DSR x2.0

 

wow...

 

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[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Just a final comment, gents and ladies,

 

Since having this card installed in my system for the last couple of weeks,...frankly, this video card has absolutely changed the entire 'game', as far as my enjoyment, immersion, etc, is concerned.

 

I now note the FPS reader merely for an 'entertainment' perspective, rather than watching the numbers change, and always wishing for 'more'.

 

No need any longer, and as I have noted, certainly no need or pressure to upgrade my motherboard and CPU (an Intel i7-975 Extreme) running in an over-clock of 4.1 GHz.  It is very obvious now, that my CPU was in fact processing on all flight simulation threads,  FSX, P3D, XPX, way more..at least twice as much information, being sent along the GPU rendering pipeline, than that both my original GTX285, and my GTX680, could render and handle, at the load that (I need the sims all maxed out for my entertainment/immersion requirements) I in fact placed along the GPU pipeline on-wards to the screen.

 

This EVGA 1070 8GB FTW card has changed everything, like nothing else I have ever purchased to increase system/video performance!  I am running all my sims at DSR 2.0/33 now...and the result is simply spectacular.  The visuals, clarity...and 55-105 FPS variable animation is equally superb.

 

I couldn't be a happier sim'mer.

 

This card, or for that matter, ANY Pascal-based, 1070, or 1080, is absolutely, and most highly recommended by myself.  They are game-changers folks...this Pascal  Architecture.  As far as a card running cool... in FSX/DX10, with a 12 percent overclock (for fun!) both my ACX v3.0 fans don't even twitch.  So incredible, I am ruuning at 47C!

 

With P3D v2.4, the twin fans only start to turn at 1,100 RPM, after about 15 minutes of flight time.

 

With P3D v3.4.9, after about 5 minutes of flight time, and the card running stable at 73C.  The EVGA ACX 3.0 cooler on the FTW model is very, very thermally efficient.  The heat pipes are different in set-up over even the EVGA SuperClocked, so if you want a very well performing card, in the thermal management department, purchasing an FTW model in the EVGA line-up is a good bet. It's a few dollars more in the EVGA product line-up, but most written, and video reviewers, recommend you considering  the added cost, as a good investment in rendering, processing performance, and card cooling performance.  I can personally attest to both, performance, and the coolest running card I have ever seen.  To fly FSX/DX10 (fully max'ed out)...and have the fans, not needed to come on...is well...an eye-opener.

 

The card has turned out for myself, to be a total win purchase.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Mitch

I recent upgraded my MSI GTX 780 GTX OC to an EVGA GTX 1070 SC, and paired that upgrade with a 25" 2560x1440 IPS commercial sRGB rated Asus monitor.  I run FSX and the upgrade was stunning to say the least in terms of improved IQ.  I use the DX10 fixer and with 4xGSSSAA the VC experience is 100% perfection...but it comes at a cost that was most surprising.  Though I now laugh at dense layers of REX/AS16 enhanced cloud cover, coastal areas drop my silky smooth 30 hz down about 20%, which can be jarring.  GPU monitoring confirms that it's the GPU that's being overwhelmed.  The bummer was I used this setting with my 780 at 1920x1080 and never really noticed this fps hit.  If I disable GSSSAA, there is no fps hit at all, but that VC suffers (well actually only a little bit...but once you've experienced perfection you are ruined, and also there is no going back to 1920x1080).   If I keep my elevation below 4K ft it's not a problem; get up to +8K ft and it really sucks.  I'm curious is anyone else that using 4xGSSSAA sees this performance hit with coastal areas...crud I love the coastal stuff for GA flying.

I suggest, you completly, delete all your FSX, P3D nVidia Inspector files. I suggest within the actual nVidia driver Manage 3D section that you place everything as 'allow application to control', other than Vsync as 1/2 refresh rate, Adaptive.

 

In FSX...crank all hardware renderings to full out.

 annistropic

In P3D, I suggest, you run ( in sim....); Multi-Sample at the full 8x,  Annistropic  at 16, and I run now my Texture as Ultra, on both my v2.3 and v3.4.9. This difference between the 'high' setting, and the Ultra (4096) is quite notable...and has absolutely no FPS hit, in going from running Textures at my (was, pre FTW)  normal of High, to now my default Ultra, on the FTW. The card, as stated...is a beast!  ))

 

Run DSR at a level of 2.0, with a 33 percent (default) smoothness, with the latest WHQL driver for your O.S.

 

Reboot your computer.  Fire up FSX.....and your FPS will be through the roof!  Also, the virtual world, as well as the plane's hard features, will be artifact-free.  The performance, and visual output is stunning! Truly a jaw-dropper.

 

With a SuperClock model running under the Pascal Architecture, adding entries beyond a clean DSR 2.0/33 is simply hardware process-rendering overkill, in my usage and noting. DSR 2.0/33 will do it all for you, and your SuperClock will kick butt!   All the other nVidia settings you traditionally used to get good visuals...is no longer needed, to ask the Pascal card to process.  Just added layers that do nothing beyond what running in DSR mode at 2.0 times your native resolution will display for you, in video quality output.  I found by trying DSR at 1.5, and 3.0 times my native resolution of 1920x1200, to be either too little, or too much processing required to put out a stunning screen output.  

 

DSR 2.0/33 was the absolute sweet spot! 

 

Mitch

[TheFamilyMan 280]

2560x1440 is a very different environment for rendering than 1920x1200 (60% more pixels).  I always do clean installs which (supposedly) removes all driver profiles (if that is what you are talking about).  I've tried DSR 2x, 2.25x (gives 4k DSR res), and even 4x and in the end none were any better in IQ or performance than 4xGSSSAA; plus as you increase the DSR factor the ATC text starts getting really tiny, as does all the menu bar stuff (maybe P3D fixes that).  Just like EVERYTHING with FSX, everyone suffers from YMMV.  I wish I could really share the IQ I'm getting with this monitor but screen shots only look as good as the monitor they are displayed on (and videos NEVER reveal the full goodness of the source material).  The smoothness of the flight experience along with flawless razor accurate image is so revealing that all defects are magnified thusly (read: jarring).  There was a time I would have been content with the IQ I now get without GSSSAA. But now I'm spoiled by perfection: I got my cake and I'm eating it too.

 

BTW, I'd be most thankful if you'd try a sight-seeing flight heading SE at 8k' from KMSY (New Orleans, LA) to see if P3D gets FPS hammered there out by the coastline like FSX does if you use DSR or GSSSAA (at least that is my current experience).  I've tried DTG FS there with such setting and its performance is not affected, but it looks like crap anyways.  I'll definitely be moving to P3D in the foreseeable future if DTG fails with their full up flight sim (right now I give it a 50-50 chance, their FS is sooo flawed).

 

Before I got my 1070 I used to always use 4x/25 DSR with my gtx 780 running my old monitor at 1920x1080.  Work beautifully in most situations, but in the end the tiny text got to me so I went back to 4xGSSSAA.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

2560x1440 is a very different environment for rendering than 1920x1200 (60% more pixels).  I always do clean installs which (supposedly) removes all driver profiles (if that is what you are talking about).  I've tried DSR 2x, 2.25x (gives 4k DSR res), and even 4x and in the end none were any better in IQ or performance than 4xGSSSAA; plus as you increase the DSR factor the ATC text starts getting really tiny, as does all the menu bar stuff (maybe P3D fixes that).  Just like EVERYTHING with FSX, everyone suffers from YMMV.  I wish I could really share the IQ I'm getting with this monitor but screen shots only look as good as the monitor they are displayed on (and videos NEVER reveal the full goodness of the source material).  The smoothness of the flight experience along with flawless razor accurate image is so revealing that all defects are magnified thusly (read: jarring).  There was a time I would have been content with the IQ I now get without GSSSAA. But now I'm spoiled by perfection: I got my cake and I'm eating it too.

 

BTW, I'd be most thankful if you'd try a sight-seeing flight heading SE at 8k' from KMSY (New Orleans, LA) to see if P3D gets FPS hammered there out by the coastline like FSX does if you use DSR or GSSSAA (at least that is my current experience).  I've tried DTG FS there with such setting and its performance is not affected, but it looks like crap anyways.  I'll definitely be moving to P3D in the foreseeable future if DTG fails with their full up flight sim (right now I give it a 50-50 chance, their FS is sooo flawed).

 

Before I got my 1070 I used to always use 4x/25 DSR with my gtx 780 running my old monitor at 1920x1080.  Work beautifully in most situations, but in the end the tiny text got to me so I went back to 4xGSSSAA.

As you say...we all run under YMMV...yes.

 

I was just coming back to state with (the included pic) that this card has completly  changed my usage and expectations of all my sim platforms.

 

For the first time ever, I can run each one...FULLY out...not 90-95 percent, and pray for adequate FPS.

 

I now have the really bad boy slider,  AUTOGEN, totally maxed out along with the other two of the grouping, in P3D v2.4, P3D v3.4.9, XP:10, and of course, FSX/DX10   I am finally seeing in all the FSX and P3D's...exactly how Orbx designed the scenery, and what should be there.

 

The scene is simply folks...stunning to behold...and I am getting absolutely stutter-free and silky animation performance, with an FPS lock-down of 33 FPS within the EVGA Precision X O.C. software, and with all the sims running as Unlimited from within.

 

I am getting a most stable (it never wavers lower than what you are going to see for my CORE and MEMORY clock MHz speeds...never dips!) with this fabulous card....  My 12 percent over-clock of the base MHz of the EVGA FTW 1070,  has approched the ratings of the big brother, the 1080!  And stable as a rock...the freq's NEVER drop...and all at an amazing running temp of also...never rising no matter what is being asked of the card...69C!

 

So...my gawd..but do I recommend this manufacturer...and this card.  Only the best rated and most stable parts go into the FTW model, with its ten phase power supply to the core...just an amazing card.

 

Here i am flying over an island in the Carib...at full autogen...and if I were to head over to Detroit....I get the same output, and the same freq's being maintained.  Unbelievable performance, that I never, ever...enjoyed before a couple of weeks ago.  

 

BTW..a very important NOTAM, to anybody's custom card.  You want to ONLY run the power management mode in the nVidia driver mask, at Adaptive,  NOT as Optimal, or Prefer Max Power.  Why?  Because if you run as Optimal, the driver will in live time try to lower..yes, always lower your power to the card...and drop your running frequencies in the Core and in the Memory Clocks.

 

If you run as Prefer Max Power, you will have the quirk, that your card will keep running those fans, even when you drop to the desktop, and other anomalies quirked to each O.S.

 

If you run as the recommended ADAPTIVE mode for your power setting, You will see a totally stable CORE and MEMORY MHz which will be the top that the  card can produce, but WILL drop, but only when the rendering load allows for it...and not as in OPTIMAL, where it is always trying to drop the freq's of the two clocks, to 'save' power...and not to try to give you the 'adaptive' power to keep what the scene needs to optimally render.

 

Try it folks...the Adaptive Setting...and you will shine...

 

Check out those beautiful CORE and Memory Clock MHz's, with only a mild 12 percent O.C. request.  I'm leaving it there...for my in-sim, across all my platforms, is stellar!

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P3D V3.4.9 running in DSR 2x/33 (Mode=2715x1697x32)

With all graphic sliders max'ed now, whatever ORBX or anybody else has programmed into the scene, will be there...nothing less....and all at a smooth 33 FPS.  I have had the sim up to 120 FPS...and I see no difference in rendering, smoothness, or control of the aircraft on final...you can do all with a fast rendering and composure, (with the right card in the slot) with 30-33 (my lock down is 33).  Cheers!