CONCLUSION

   I never liked very large cards for the simple reason that they take up too many slots and are too long for “normal” cases. Actually, when the very first dual-GPU cards by ATI (Radeon HD 295x2/6990/7990) and NVIDIA (GeForce GTX 590/690/TITAN Z) made their debut last decade i had no problem with the extra size but only because it brought along with it 50-80% better performance compared to the single GPU models. Today however that’s not the case so the GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming Slim 12GB model by MSI was a somewhat pleasant surprise for me. Yes, it may not come overclocked from the factory (there’s a Gaming Slim X model that does) and its cooler may not be the best around but during my tests it did extremely well across the board. In terms of performance the GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming Slim exchanged numerous blows with the Radeon RX 7800 XT Nitro+ by SAPPHIRE with the former surpassing the latter in most of my tests something which to be honest I wasn’t expecting (especially from a stock/vanilla clocks model). My sole concern is that the 12GB of the card may not be quite enough soon but considering that this card was made for 1440p/1600p gaming that shouldn’t be an issue. Performance aside the GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming Slim also did very well in regards to power consumption and temperatures and even though noise levels weren’t particularly high at max (again, this is how loud the card got during my tests, not how noisy the fans are at 100% speed) it’s still not as silent as some other models in the charts. Having three DP v1.4a ports is also very good if you plan on using the card on a tri-monitor setup and surprisingly enough this isn’t how every manufacturer goes about it (some offer 2xDP and 2xHDMI). Finally in terms of looks the single ARGB zone may not stand out very much but it’s still better than nothing at all.

   Currently the GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming Slim 12GB by MSI retails for USD584.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 687.11Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is quite good for what you’re getting in return. Unfortunately, the new GeForce RTX 4070 Super Gaming Slim model retails close to USD1000/1000Euros so at least for now the non-super model will probably represent a much better price/performance ratio for most consumers. Overall, I only have good things to say about the GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming Slim 12GB by MSI, performance is very good, the 12GB are plenty for 1440p/1600p gaming (even 4k in some games without RT) and last but not least this is a 2-slot model which should easily fit in just about any case around so the Golden Award is in order.

PROS

- Build Quality (Materials / Backplate)
- Very Good Performance
- 2 Slot Model (46mm Thick)
- Good Overclocking Headroom
- Power Consumption, Noise Levels & Temperatures
- ARGB Zone
- Available In Black & White
- Supported Technologies

CONS

- 12GB (4K & RT Already Push It)