Video cards that claim a place between the high-performance and mass segment have always attracted the interest of most users. This time, MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION with excellent cooling and the prospect of playing not only QuadHD but also 4K games arrived for editorial review.
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| Technical characteristics | |
| Interface | PCI-E Gen 5 x16 |
| Technical process | 5 nm |
| Graphics processor | GB203-300 |
| VRAM speed | 28 Gbps |
| VRAM | 16GB GDDR7, Samsung K4VAF325ZC-SC28 |
| Memory bus | 256-bit |
| Streaming processors | 8960 |
| Exits | 3 x DisplayPort v2.1b |
| 1 x HDMI v2.1b | |
| Power connector | 16 Pin (12VHPWR) |
| Energy consumption | 300 W |
| Recommended power supply | 850 W |
| Additionally | Switch between Silent and Game modes |
| Dimensions | 357x151x66 mm |
| Weight | 1945 grams |
| Takes up space | 3.2 slots |
| VRM | Monolithic Power Systems MP29816 |
| DrMOS | Monolithic MPS MP87993 |
The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION graphics card was tested on a test bench with the following components:
The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION came in the largest box I’ve ever seen for a video card. This unusual series additionally contains a rare figure as part of the — Lucky Around The World edition. I don’t know how much gamers need it, but it might be of interest to collectors of unusual models.
The outer shell is presented in black and green colors. On it we find a lot of additional information about the key features of the video card. After unpacking the top part, we find the main box, which is black with a white insert and the inscription VANGUARD.
Inside, in the upper section, we find a box with a Lucky figure, as well as more practical things: a power adapter (3 x 8 pin to 12VHPWR), a proprietary «leg» to support a video card, and documentation.
Putting the top panel aside, we can finally see the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION in the anti-static package. Despite the fact that this is not a flagship, it immediately becomes clear that the manufacturer has decided to take a responsible approach to the assembly materials, design and implementation of the cooling system.
In terms of design, it resembles the SUPRIM series, which has already been featured in this month’s editorial review. But unlike the laconic and restrained design of SUPRIM, the emphasis here is on the gaming orientation. This is emphasized by sharp corners and carbon fiber inserts that will be appreciated by Forza fans.
When you install the graphics card in your PC, you’ll see the MSI logo with the signature dragon and the words GEFORCE RTX light up. The bottom edge near the PCI connector also glows with a cheerful backlight. Overall, the combination of metal, plastic, and carbon gives the impression of a quality product.
However, let’s get back to the HYPER FROZR cooling system. It includes three STORMFORCE fans with double ball bearings, eight CORE PIPES heat pipes, thermal pads, and a massive evaporation chamber. They provide cooling for the GPU itself, as well as memory and VRM components.
On the rear panel there is a mechanical switch between gaming and silent modes
MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION is at the «crossroads of gaming worlds» between the NVIDIA RTX 5080 and the yet-to-be-announced mass-market graphics cards. NVIDIA itself positions the RTX 5070 Ti more as a model for QuadHD gaming, but with some prospects for 4K resolution if you use its proprietary neural scaling technologies based on Transformer and Multi Frame Generation.
| Comparative characteristics of GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and 4070 Ti SUPER | ||
| Manufacturer | Nvidia | Nvidia |
| Architecture | Blackwell | Ada Lovelace |
| Code name | GB203 | AD103 |
| Base frequency | 2588 MHz | 2340 MHz |
| Shader blocks | 8960 | 8448 |
| Texture Modification Units (TMUs) | 280 | 264 |
| Output units (ROPs) | 96 | 96 |
| SM blocks | 70 | 66 |
| Tensor kernels | 280 | 264 |
| Ray tracing kernels | 70 | 66 |
| L1 cache | 128KB per cluster | 128KB per cluster |
| L2 cache | 48MB shared | 48MB shared |
| Pixel Fill Rate | 248.4 GPix/s | 251 GPix/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 724.6 GTex/s | 689 GTex/s |
| Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| TGP | 300 W | 285 W |
| Production | TSMC | TSMC |
| Technical process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
| Crystal size | 263 mm² | 379 mm² |
| Transistor density | 118.25 MPa/mm² | 118.73 MPa/mm² |
| Memory type | GDDR7 | GDDR6X |
| Memory capacity | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory frequency | 1750 MHz | 1313 MHz |
| Effective memory frequency | 28000 Mbps | 21000 Mbps |
| Tire | 256 bits | 256 bits |
Blackwell’s graphics architecture features Neural Rendering — an innovative technology that radically changes the approach to visualization. It allows a generative artificial intelligence model to integrate into the underlying graphics processing, creating objects, textures, and other elements using AI, and combines «artificial intelligence» with traditional raster 3D graphics This is made possible by the new hardware control processor — AMP and increased memory bandwidth, which allows GPUs to work more efficiently with AI models and graphics rendering. NVIDIA has also joined forces with Microsoft to standardize this technology within the DirectX API, providing applications with direct access to Tensor cores. You can read more about the architecture and its features in the article: How the NVIDIA RTX 5000 works and why it’s good: analyzing the Blackwell architecture under the microscope.MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION contains the same chip as the RTX 5080but his «truncated» modification called GB203-300. It still has 8960 CUDA cores, 280 tensor cores, 280 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 70 RT cores. Considering latest newsyou need to take a close look to see if you have a video card with a reduced number of rasterization units (ROPs). As you can see in the GPU-Z screenshot, everything is fine in our instance
Using the Amuse 2.3.2 Beta image generator, the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION generated 10 images in 61 seconds. Last time, the RTX 5080 did it 20 seconds faster. In general, only Amuse agreed to work with the new 5000 series. Invoke and Fooocus refused to perform their tasks correctly or did not launch at all, unlike the 4000 series graphics cards. Therefore, those wishing to run local neurons will have to wait until software developers fix these shortcomings by updating frameworks and libraries for the new architecture.
In the Blender performance test, the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION scores a total of 7511 points. This puts it between the RTX 4070 Ti Super and RTX 4080 Super, and it is 17% less than the RTX 5080. Realistic Interior Lightning took 187 seconds to render a scene at a resolution of 6000 x 3900 px, which is 30% slower than the RTX 5080. As you can see, the smaller number of cores and units in the stripped-down GB203-300 GPU makes a difference.
Given the architectural features of the video card, we can roughly understand what awaits us in further tests. But, looking ahead, I will say that MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION managed to surprise usBlackwell’s architecture focuses on the development of neural technologies, among which the new DLSS4 and Multi Frame Generationwhich doubles the number of frames compared to the previous version.
| Game + preset | MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC | RTX 4090 | RTX 4070 Ti Super (DLSS x2) | MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 85 | 61 | 44 | 54 | 52 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – Balanced, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – High) | 121 | 95 | 62 | 80 | 77 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (4K, Ultra, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – 4x, Path Tracing – High) | 200 | 99 | 62 | 187 | 134 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF, Ray Tracing) | 70 | 53 | 31 | 50 | 39 |
| Counter-Strike 2 (1080p, Low) | 710 | 623 | 448 | 570 | 510 |
The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION was tested in popular gaming projects at 4K, Quad HD, and 1080p resolutions. In addition to the standard performance measurements, we’ll add the RTX 4070 Ti Super to the comparison, which also includes 16 GB of video memory, although it’s not as fast. In addition, we will try to understand whether it makes sense to overpay for older models — RTX 5080, which are much more expensive.
It’s no secret that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 in 4K mode requires a very high-performance graphics card. With the technology turned off DLSS and Frame generator, we get 52 frames per second. DLSS in Quality mode increases the figure to 73 FPS.
If you are not lazy and turn on the frame generator, the counter will show 99 fps. In QuadHD, you can disable both DLSS, and Frame generator, but I don’t recommend it, because in this case we will observe unpleasant flickering in shadows and objects.
| Game + preset | MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 85 | 54 | 52 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – OFF) | 105 | 82 | 73 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – DLAA, Framegenerator – OFF) | 81 | 57 | 50 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON) | 161 | 115 | 99 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 110 | 95 | 79 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (1080p, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON) | 218 | 195 | 173 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (1080p, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, Framegenerator – OFF) | 114 | 102 | 92 |
With DLAA anti-aliasing enabled, you can see the Exclusion Zone at 76 frames per second. The difference with RTX 4070 Ti Super in this case is 23% in favor of MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION. In all measured modes, it is only 11% slower than the RTX 5080.Optimal settings for playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 at 4K: Epic quality, DLAA, Frame generator. In this case, we will get 70-75 fps, a nice picture, and acceptable gameplay.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle recently received support for DLSS4 Multi frame generator. On the «Ultra» preset at 4K with DLSS, FG turned off and without path tracing, the frame rate will be 83 fpswhich is only 14% less than the RTX 5080. For example, the previous generation flagship — RTX 4090 with the previous version of DLSS can demonstrate «only» 95 fps
And here we can argue for a long time that the frame is supposed to be «fake». Personally, I don’t care about the source of the footage, as long as I don’t see any unnecessary artifacts and the gameplay seems smooth and responsive.
| Game + preset | MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – OFF) | 185 | 145 | 145 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS 4 MFG, Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – OFF) | 220 | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – QUALITY, Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – OFF) | 161 | 132 | 102 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, TAA – ON, Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – OFF) | 129 | 97 | 83 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, TAA – ON, Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – Medium) | 75 | 51 | 39 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – OFF, TAA – ON, Framegenerator – OFF, Path Tracing – High) | 48 | 30 | 25 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – Balanced, Framegenerator – 2x, Path Tracing – High) | 121 | 80 | 77 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (4K, Ultra, DLSS – Balanced, Framegenerator – 4x, Path Tracing – High) | х | х | 141 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS – Balanced, Framegenerator – ON, Path Tracing – High) | 185 | 135 | 115 |
Optimal settings for a comfortable game in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at 4K: Ultra quality, DLSS «Quality», frame generator x4, Path Tracing — Medium. 150 FPS is a great score, especially if you own a 144+ hertz gaming monitor.
Cyberpunk 2077 also supports DLSS 4 with the Transformer scaling model, so the new 5000th generation gets a huge boost here compared to previous graphics cards. Disabling DLSS and FG, you won’t be able to fully play in 4K even without Path Tracing, unless you have 43 FPS. Despite its age, the game can bring any graphics card to its knees, and MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION is no exception
Optimal settings for a comfortable game in Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K: DLSS «Quality», frame generator x4, ray tracing enabled. The output is 130 fps even in the busiest areas of Night City.
Silent Hill 2 is as merciless to gaming hardware as the city of the same name, where mystical and mysterious events await us The Unreal Engine doesn’t mind making fun of any video card. Therefore, turning off all NVIDIA’s assistants at 4K and enabling Ray Tracing for a real atmosphere, we will see only 39 fps, almost like its console ancestor in 2001. If we move away from «superstitions» and use all available technologies, then we will get comfortable gameplay and over 67 FPS.
| Game + preset | MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (4K, Ultra, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – 4x, Path Tracing – High) | 248 | 187 | 134 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 85 | 55 | 46 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF, Ray Tracing) | 70 | 50 | 39 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS – ON, Ray Tracing) | 103 | 70 | 67 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (QuadHD, Epic, DLSS+FG – ON, Ray Tracing) | 205 | 105 | 83 |
At QuadHD, the frame counter shows 83 fps, hinting once again that the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION is primarily positioned as a solution for 2560 x 1440 pixels.
As you know, there are no two identical battles in Counter-Strike 2, but there are different frame rates. If you choose FullHD eSports with low settings, the overlay will record 510 fps, and in 4K ultra quality, the frame rate will reach 201 FPS.
| Game + preset | MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION |
| Counter-Strike 2 (1080p, Low) | 710 | 570 | 510 |
| Counter-Strike 2 (4K, Very High) | 340 | 228 | 201 |
The number of frames in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 at 4K on ultra settings and with DLAA varies between 50 and 85 fps depending on the location. Therefore, it is better to enable the mode DLSS Quality or switch to QuadHD.
Remnant 2 on MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION will only cause suffering in the gameplay, not in the number of frames Even Unreal Engine 5 will not bring additional difficulties to destroy annoying roots and almighty bosses.
| Game + preset | MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC | MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION |
| Remnant 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 97 | 57 | 54 |
| Remnant 2 (4K, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 207 | 115 | 113 |
| Remnant 2 (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 218 | 190 | 183 |
At 4K ultra-quality, you can’t do it without DLSS. In general, the indicators are very similar to those we have already obtained in the RTX 5080 tests within the measurement error. This is probably due to the unoptimized game engine.
Medieval stealth action — A Plague Tale: Requiem with DLSS and Frame generator turned off at 3840 x 2160 px delivers 65-70 fps. If you do not ignore Frame generator and DLSS, the number of frames will reach more than 110 FPS, and in QuadHD, 200+ fps.
Power consumption was recorded in «Game mode». The cooling system predictably worked at the highest level. Even in hot gaming adventures, the coolers spun up to a maximum of 1360 rpm and did not stand out from the general noise background of the test system. The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION heated up to a maximum of 59 degrees Celsius for memory and 58 ℃ for the graphics chip. Furmark was only able to get it up to 54 degrees. The backplane and connector were barely warm — total 32-35 ℃.
The HYPER FROZR cooling system plays with the power consumption of the video card, as it is capable of cooling even flagship solutions, so no overheating cannot be even in theory.
In idle mode, the video card consumes about 17 watts, while watching video – 24 watts (the same amount of power is consumed by the RTX5090). The maximum recorded power consumption did not rise above 276 watts. The performance index in terms of watts of electricity is 13% lower than the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G SUPRIM SOC.
Like all members of the 5000 series, the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION was no exception and refused to work with my favorite local neuron shells: Fooocus, Invoke, and Stable DiffusionBut with the 4000 series, there are no such problems, so I’m not in a hurry to switch to the Blackwell architecture yet.Previously, when testing «the most important question from gamers» concerned the number of frames in Crysis. But now the «Olds» gaming community is outraged. And that’s because the latest drivers (572.47) no longer support the 32-bit version of PhysX for the RTX 5000 series. Because of this, some of your favorite games of the past show catastrophically low FPS. I seized the moment to check the truth of these rumors by running old projects from the past that supported PhysX.
Back in the days of the ancient gods of governors and kings, I played many hundreds of hours of Titan Quest. It was called the best Diablo clone, but in my opinion, it has far surpassed its prototype, given the numerous additions. By forcing the 4K resolution in the configuration file, I got about 60 fps. There was no drop in FPS during physical effects.
For reference, back in the day, 128 megabytes of video memory was enough for me to play this game at a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels
Anabiosis: Sleep of the Mind — is a first-person survival horror shooter from Ukrainian developers Action Forms. To a certain extent, it has become synonymous with stability, as it slowed down both in 2009 and continues to do so today on 5000 series graphics cards. As soon as PhysX effects are launched, the frame rate drops to obscene values around 39-45 fps. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to conquer the North Pole and solve all the mysteries.
Well, how not to check out the legendary classic — Mafia II. The rumors turned out to be true, and the first gunner (Part «Story») drops the frame counter to 16 FPS. Thus, we have reached a new barrier separating the compatibility of old games from modern systems. Perhaps some kind of DosBOX analog will be created for them and the problem of oldies will disappear by itself.
However, such minor issues are unlikely to scare off avid computer enthusiasts. Without hesitation, I installed the RTX 4060 as a second video adapter, assigning it in the NVIDIA control panel to be responsible for PhysX acceleration.
If we look back to the late 2000s, then there were specialized physics accelerators in games, for example AGEIA PhysX Accelerator 200 Series PCI Express Card.
With the help of our improvised «physics accelerator» based on the RTX 4060, the number of frames in the tested games with 32-bit PhysX support reached quite acceptable values. Playing old games has become much more comfortable. You can see the results of this hybrid solution in the video.
Despite this small fly in the ointment, the card pleased us with low temperatures and good 4K performance with all scaling and frame generation technologies enabled. In addition, The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION is easy to overclock with MSI Afterburber. An extra 10% of performance will never be superfluous and will bring it close to the older, untuned version — RTX 5080.
MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VANGUARD SOC LAUNCH EDITION is not yet available for official sale. Its price is expected to be 57,999 UAH.
