Best RTX 2070 in 2021

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Looking for a RTX 2070, but not sure which one to get? With custom cards featuring different overclocks, cooling features and prices, it can be really hard to know which one is best for you.

Take a look at our guide below listing our top five 2070s, along with our pick of the best budget option.

RTX 2070 Graphics Cards, Explained

RTX 2070 graphics cards are a perfect mid-range option for a lot of gamers, hence their popularity.

Whilst the RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti have that latest ‘wow’ factor, they’re simply out of most people’s budgets.

Enter the 2070, the most affordable card with real-time ray-tracing technology (RTX).

It’s got 20% more CUDA cores and 6Gbps faster GDDR6 video memory over its predecessor, the 1070.

It comes packed with 2,304 CUDA cores, and 8GB of memory at 14GB/s memory speed. It’s also great for overclocking, and all cards come with factory overclocks.

You get incredible 1080p gaming, excellent 1440p gaming that’s over 60fps, and even playable 4k gaming.

In fact if you don’t insist on the highest settings, you can indeed get very comfortable 4k gameplay.

All without spending a ridiculous amount on your GPU.

Some opt to go for a 1080 Ti instead, which has more impressive specs but no RTX.

Top 5 RTX 2070 Graphics Cards

1. MSI GAMING Z GeForce RTX 2070 8GB

MSI GAMING Z GeForce RTX 2070 8GB

Image Source: MSI

Pros:

  • Huge factory overclock
  • Amazingly cool
  • Dead silent

Cons:

  • Takes up 3 slots
  • Expensive

This card goes big with a huge overclock; a 1,830 MHz boost, over 200 MHz more than the Founders Edition.

Which translates into great gaming. Gaming easily reaches 60fps for 1440p resolutions. You can get 127.3fps on Battlefield V at 1080p. 99fps for Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p and 70fps at 1440p, though dropping to 38fps for 2160p.

The black plastic shroud will go with any setup, and it comes with a nice brushed metal backplate, too. The RGB lighting is insane, curving around the fan edges rather than just the usual logo.

It also comes with Twin Frozr 7 cooling, the 7th generation of MSI’s finely-honed thermal design.

This includes TORX Fan 3.0 fans, a wave-curved heat sink for better heat dissipation, a ton of aluminium fins and copper heatpipes running together at the contact with the base for maximum heat transfer.

And of course you get a semi-passive mode, with the fans not spinning below a pretty high 60°C.

And does all that cooling tech pay off? Well, it only reaches a max of 67°C, pretty impressive with just two fans.

Unfortunately although it’s only a dual-fan, it’s so thick it takes up three slots.

All the ports are here, with three DisplayPorts, one HDMI and one USB-C ready for VR.

The noise levels are even more shocking at just 33dBA at load. No coil whine either. This is one ultra-silent GPU.

Overall: incredibly overclocked, yet incredibly cool and incredibly silent. There’s very little to dislike here.

2. ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 2070

ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 2070

Image Source: Amazon

Pros:

  • Super high frame rates
  • Runs ice cold
  • Dead silent

Cons:

  • Expensive
  • Very heavy
  • Takes up 3 slots

This is one of the most expensive 2070’s going, but it’s worth it.

It’s also massively overclocked; a 1,845 MHz boost, even more than the MSI Gaming Z.

Battlefield V gets an impressive 108fps at 1080p, 84fps at 1440p, and even 52fps at 2160p. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is similar 99fps at 1080p, and 70fps at 1440p, though dropping to just 38fps at 2160p.

It has a much larger and longer heatsink with the three fans, as opposed to the Founders Edition two.

The fans are 90mm wing-blade fans which blow air to the vertical fins beneath. These thick aluminium fins are split into two sections, with one jutting out at the bottom to increase surface area.

On top of this, there’s six heatpipes and the heatspreader is Max Contact.

All this helps give a much more impressive thermal performance.

It runs extremely cool, just 56°C max in Performance mode and 66°C in Silent mode.

It’s also dead silent, just 33dBA in Silent mode, and 39 in Performance mode.

Are you ready for these dimensions, though? Almost 12” long (30cm), 5 ⅛” (13cm) thick, and weighing in at 2 lbs. 11 oz (1.21kg).

The Founders Edition is just  2 lbs. 2 oz. (968g), so this is a lot heavier.

Some call this at 2.5-slotter, but realistically it’s probably going to take up 3.

Asus solves the weight issue with both a metal frame and backplate, which they claim gives three times as much structural integrity. It certainly seems effective at preventing sag.

Again it’s a neutral black design, but there’s also plenty of controllable RGB on the shroud and backplate.

Some unique effects include pulsing to music, and changing from green to red as your GPU heats up.You can also turn the RGB off with the simple click of a button on the shroud.

You can configure extra fans and RGB leds with Asus’ neat software.

Performance and Quiet mode are available to alter fan speeds. In Quiet mode, the fans don’t spin below 55°C.

Basically, everything about this model is customizable to the max.

Connectivity-wise, there’s two DisplayPorts, two HDMI, and one USB Type-C.

Overall, Asus really puts a lot of effort into perfecting every detail of the 2070. In our opinion it pays off with higher frame rates, combined with super low temperatures and pure silence.

3. Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Gaming OC

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Gaming OC

Image Source: Gigabyte

Pros:

  • Great 1440p gameplay for less
  • Only takes up two slots

Cons:

  • Runs hotter than others
  • Bit bland-looking

This is a great mid-range option, offering superiority over the Founders Edition but for much less than some other 2070 cards.

It’s not the most premium-looking GPU, with a heavy emphasis on bland black plastic, although there is still a metal back plate.

The RGB is pretty sparse, with just the logo backlit, controlled via Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion software.

There’s a plentiful three DisplayPorts, one HDMI, and one USB Type-C. Like most it helpfully ditches the outdated Founders Edition’s DVI port and replaces it with the potential for VR.

This is a three-fan model, but it’s less beefy than the Asus Rog Strix at 11 inches (28cm) long and 4.4 inches (11.3cm) thick.

But at just 1.56 inches (4 cm) wide, it only takes up 2 slots, which will be a relief to many.

It’s much lighter too at 1.85 pounds (0.84 kg), due to the smaller overall heatsink.

Overclocking is mild, 1,725 MHz in Gaming mode, and all the way up to 1,740 MHz in OC mode. This is an increase on the Founders Edition’s 1,710 MHz.

It’s not built for extreme overclocking, but you still get great 1440p gameplay at the highest settings. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation reaches 59.5fps at 1440p, and surprisingly a similar 59.8fps at 2160p. Grand Theft Auto V reaches 81.1fps at 1440p, and 74.4fps at 2160p.

It incorporates the famous Windforce 3X cooling system, with three 80mm fans, aluminium fins below cleverly split into three sections, a direct-touch sink and four heatpipes.

The center fan spins clockwise, whilst the outer fans spin counter-clockwise, reducing turbulence and competing airflow. It’s also got a semi-passive mode, which they call 3D Active Fan, which you can switch off.

Despite all this, cooling isn’t effective as the others. It reaches a max of 75°C, with fans spinning at a nippy 2,270 RPM.

However, better performance for less is the main metric to focus on here.

4. Zotac Gaming RTX 2070 OC Mini

Zotac Gaming RTX 2070 OC Mini

Image Source: Zotac

Pros:

  • Extremely small
  • Impressive cooling
  • Comfortable 1440p gaming

Cons:

  • Opts for DVI over USB-C
  • Not the quietest

If you need a smaller form factor, look no further than the Zotac Gaming OC Mini.

It’s one tiny card, measuring just 211mm x 129mm x 41mm, and it’s pretty thin too, meaning it fits in just 2 slots.

They’ve managed to keep the memory the same at 14Gbps speed, and it’s even got a slight overclock at a 1650MHz boost clock, just 30MHz faster than reference.

The shroud is fairly attractive, a mixture of gray and black, and it includes a unique wraparound backplate with lots of vents for cooling.

Interestingly the two fans are different sizes; they’re both 9-blades, but the left is 90mm and designed for higher static pressure, whilst the right is 100mm and designed for higher airflow volume.

Despite the size there’s still five nickel-plated 6mm heatpipes and plenty of thermal pads.

RGB fans should look elsewhere, because it only features a white-lit logo.

We’re guessing those who like small also like understated though, which Zotac gets exactly right.

Unfortunately, this model opted to stick with the DVI port of the Founders Edition, rather than changing to a USB-C like most. It’s got three DisplayPorts and a HDMI.

Gaming is still a comfortable minimum ~60fps at 1440p. Battlefield V reaches 79.2fps at 1080p, 59.2fps at 1440p and 39.2fps at 2160p. Shadow of the Tomb Raider reaches 103.9fps at 1080p, 71.2fps at 1440p and 38.1fps at 2160p.

It runs much cooler than expected at just 63°C max. Power consumption is also incredible, drawing just 170W at load.

However, it’s probably one of the loudest 2070’s on the list, reaching peaks of 42dBA.

Some sacrifice has to be made somewhere for such a tiny card, though, and this still isn’t what you would call really ‘noisy’.

5. EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 XC

EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 XC

Image Source: EVGA

Pros:

  • Inexpensive
  • Quiet and cool
  • Easy overclocking

Cons:

  • Lower-end gaming performance
  • Love-or-hate design

This is a cheaper, dual-fan option that takes up 2.5 slots. Performance obviously isn’t as impressive as the MSI Gaming X or Asus, but it’s a great value card.

It comes with a 1,710MHz boost clock, which has a respectable 90 MHz on the Founders Edition.

EVGA makes a lot of claims about it’s improved cooling technology with this generation of graphics cards. For example, there’s 24% more surface area on the fan blades, L-shaped heat sink fins with holes improving heat dissipation by 58%, and a punch-press backplate improving thermal conductivity by 155%.

Is this all true? Well, it runs pretty cool at 69°C max temperature. Noise levels peaked at 36.6dBA, which is also pretty quiet.

You’ll either love or hate the unique transparent shroud. The fans are also covered in tiny ‘Es’, and you can customize the shroud by adding different color trims.

The logo is RGB and fully customizable with EVGA’s Precision X1 software, which also makes overclocking a cinch. Overclocking was around 1,995MHz-2,010MHz, resulting in a 4-5% improvement on some games.

1440p gaming was variable, but still excellent on a lot of games. For example, Shadow of the Tomb Raider reaches 97fps on 1080p, and a very comfortable 67fps on 1440p. It drops to 36fps on 2160p, though.

Ashes of the Singularity reaches just 63.9fps on 1080p, but only drops to 56.2 on 1440p, and even reaches 49.8fps on 2160p.

GTA V, meanwhile, is extremely impressive, reaching 103.95fps on 1080p, 93.38fps on 1440p, and 52.95fps on 2160p.

Overall, you don’t get awe-inspiring performance, but you get easy overclocking, plus a cool and quiet GPU, all for a great price.

Best Budget RTX 2070

MSI Ventus RTX 2070

MSI GAMING Z GeForce RTX 2070 8GB

Image Source: MSI

Pros:

  • Amazing value
  • Small
  • Runs nice and cool

Cons:

  • Can’t reach 60fps at 1440p Ultra
  • A bit noisy
  • No USB-C or DVI

You can’t get a better budget option than the MSI Ventus; a rock-bottom price from a high-quality manufacturer.

You still get all the same main specs as the Founders Edition, including 8GB GDDR6 and 14GB/s memory.

It’s not a bad-looking model, either, or at least it looks a bit more exciting than most of the all-black alternatives. A silver and black color scheme with the slight splash of green is refreshingly different.

It’s also pretty small at 226 mm in length, and only taking up 2 slots, so it’s going to fit nicely into a ton of cases. You still get some kind of a backplate to prevent sag over the long term.

There’s three DisplayPorts and one HDMI, but sadly no USB-C. Oddly they also skip the DVI on the Founders Edition, so you’re down to just two types of port.

There’s two TORX 2.0 fans with steep dispersion fan blades to accelerate airflow.

The factory overclock is just 1,620 MHz. Gameplay is still amazing at 1080p and playable at the highest settings at 1440p. Far Cry 5 gets 112fps at 1080p, and 46fps at 2160p. Unique Superposition gets 119.7fps at 1080p, and 51.9fps at 4k.

Tweaking a few settings from the maximum will still enable you to have playable 4k gameplay.

Temperatures were very impressive at this price, peaking at just 67°C at load. It’s silent at idle, though unfortunately you will hear some noise at load.

As expected, this isn’t going to handle much overclocking at all.

Overall, though, MSI really delivers for the price point.

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