Zotac GTX1070 Mini – Review

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The Zotac GTX 1070 Mini Powered by Pascal GP104 chipset and is a Nvidia graphics series that actually was released to replace the GeForce GTX 970. Custom PCB design and fitted with Zotac latest IceStorm & Freeze Tech cooling system – dual 9cm fans. The copper base heatpipe direct touch on the GPU core. You will spot one 8-pin power connector and at the backside you’ll find a sturdy metal backplate.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Architecture

The Nvidia GTX 1070 based on GP104 chipset can be found on GTX 1080, but with 1 of the 4 Graphics Processing Clusters (GPCs) disabled, the video memory controllers and ROP remain. With the new architecture GP104 – GTX 1070 fully replace the predecessor GTX970.

Model: GTX 1070 GTX 970
GPU Chipet GP104 GM204
Codename Pascal Maxwell
Process 16nm 28nm
CUDA CORES 1920 1664
TEXTURE UNITS 120 109
ROPS 64 56
CORE CLOCK 1506MHZ 1050MHZ
BOOST CLOCK 1683MHZ 1178MHZ
MEMORY BUS WIDTH 256-BIT 224-BIT l 32-BIT
MEMORY SPEED 8GHZ 7GHZ
MEMORY BANDWIDTH 256GB/S 196GB/S  l 28GB/S
MEMORY SIZE 8GB GDDR5 3.5GB l 0.5GB GDDR5
TDP 150W 145W

geforce_gtx_1070_block_diagram

The memory for GTX 1070 doesn’t get GDDR5X, instead the card gets 8GB of GDDR5 running at 8Gbps. This delivers a total memory bandwidth of 256GB/sec. The GTX 1070 is rated for a 150W TDP increase 5W over its predecessor.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU Boost 3.0

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Pascal also upgraded a new version of GPU Boost 3.0. The Nvidia GPU Boost 3.0 adjust the clockspeed for all voltage points  at the same time. It limits the highest stable overclock to the lowest point on the voltage/frequency curve. Each point on the curve can be adjusted individually. This means the weakest points can be overclocked to a lower degree while the strongest points can be more significantly higher clock speed. However, if your cooling system is good and you can maintain at the high point of the clock speed while playing high demand game. It’s same as temperature protection on the hardware when the core temperature reach the chipset recommendation limit and the GPU will automatically lower down the clock speed and voltage to prevent damage.

Let’s unbox this card.

The Zotac GTX1070 Mini has default clock frequencies of 1708 MHz (boost) / 1518 MHz (base) with a reference clocked 8192 MB GDDR5 / 8008 MHz effective data-rate on the memory. We test the graphics card at its default out of the box and thus software settings.

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In the box you’ll find:
– A User Guide and Quick Installation Guide
– Driver DVD
– 2x 4-Molex to 8-pin Power Adapter

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A closer look at Zotac GTX 1070 MINI

Zotac has created IceStorm cooler for the Geforce 100 series. We were impressed with the cooling performance and the build quality. The next image shows the back plate.

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Zotac uses two 9cm fans cooler for IceStorm & Freeze Tech, the large dark grey parts made of metal. On the back, you find a sturdy metal backplate. Dimensions of the card are 210mm x 122 mm.

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ZOTAC has always impress us with their IceStorm cooling technology and the cooler that keeps the temperature low.

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The card has a 150 Watt rated TDP, 75 Watts is delivered though the PCIe slot and another 75 Watts through the single 8-pin PEG (PCI Express graphics) power connector.

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Display connectivity options include a DVI port, an HDMI port, and three DisplayPorts.

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Zotac’s Freeze Tech technology stops the fans in low-load situations such as web browsing or light gaming to remain fully silent.

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Pictured below are the front and back, showing the disassembled board.

Let’s move on to take a closer look at the components on the PCB which are hiding under the cooler. On the left, we have the I/O backpanel containing the five digital video outputs, followed by the graphics processor at the middle surrounded by eight pieces of GDDR5 memory chips. The left side of the PCB sports a number of voltage regulation components (MOSFETs) and controllers. The pcb circuit design look alike ASUS GTX760 Direct Cu Mini. However, this graphics card is design for small form factor casing.

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At the back of the PCB doesn’t have any video memory chip but fill with components.

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Let us list down the components.

Components Brand Model
8 x 1GB DDR5 Video Memory Micron 60A47
5x Mosfet – MultiPhase UBIQ M3816N
PWM controller IC uPI uP95110
DC input/output current buck controller uPI uP1735P
Mosfet switches IC uPI uP19625
Polymer capacitors Fujitsu 2.5v, 1200uf
Polymer capacitors Fujitsu 2v, 330uF
Polymer capacitors Fujitsu 6.3v, 560uF
Choke Unknown Custom AIO R22

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The heat sink has three copper heat pipe connected to a large area of copper based, through two Apistek 9cm fans to blow away the heat. The Freeze Tech control fan speed to stop by the BIOS setting to achieve the graphics card fan at low load to be stopped, the GTX 1070 graphics card can achieve zero noise at low load.

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The ZOTAC GTX 1070 Mini comes with a full coverage resign sturdy backplate.

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Specifications
Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 Mini
Graphics Core GP106
Process Node 16nm FinFET
CUDA Cores 1920 CUDA Cores
Base Clock 1518 MHz
Boost Clock 1708 MHz
VRAM 8 GB GDDR5
Bus Interface 256-bit bus
Power Connector Single 8-Pin Power
TDP 150W
Display Outputs 3x Display Port 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0
1x DVI

GPUZ

gpuz

System Configure
Processor Intel Xeon E5-2683 v4 -16 Cores/ 32Threads
Ram Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR4 2133 ECC
Motherboard AsRock X99 Extreme 6 Bios 3.20
Power Supply Power PC & Cooling 850W Gold
OS Windows 10 Professional Build 14926
Driver 372.90

Benchmark

3DMark

3DMark includes everything you need to benchmark your hardware in one software.

3d-mark

3d-mark-temp

 

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Valley Benchmark

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19 Comments
  • Hi, would just like to know if the backplate comes out of the box… or is it a separate order?

  • Hello. I bought this card and it did not come with a backplate. No site that i’ve looked it up, including the zotac site, shows that it comes with a backplate. Where did you get this backplate and where can i order it?

  • This article is really interesting. I have bookmarked it.
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    • Dear Antonio,

      You might need to check with your local reseller, because different region might have a different SKU model.

      For Singapore SKU, it comes with backplate.

      Best regard,
      ASUSWRT

  • is there a significant difference in the ‘mini’ to the other brands that dont make “mini” versions of 1070.

    • Dear Zhikai,

      The Zotac GTX1070 Mini performance same as a normal GTX1070.

      Best regards,
      ASUSWRT.NET

  • Hello,

    It would be rally helpful if you could tell me how much is the difference between Zotac GTX 1070 Mini and Zotac GTX 1070 AMP! Edition? In my region Mini is cheaper by 50 euros, so I would love to know do I get more performance/better cooling for that extra 50 euros if I choose AMP! model.

    Also how much noise Mini produce under load, since the fans don’t spin at idle?

    Thanks.

  • Is it possible to use to card without the backplate? Trying to fit this beast into a mini-itx build, that backplate really got me thinking..

  • Hello, thanks alot for this review, i really wanna buy this card (asap i have a buyer for my Zotac mini GTX970 ~200€).

    BUT what about the consumption after your overclocking ?
    because, initially with lows speeds (1518 1708 2000), the value given is 150W …
    for the AMP-Extrem (1632 1835 2052) is … 250W !!
    And your OC surpass the AMP-E …. so far !

    i am really interested to have this setup …
    but not if the graphic card will burn until 300W !!

    You talk about 15% gpu voltage … = +15% consumption (172W) ???
    if yes, OC every days ! but i dont believe it lol …

    if for 460€ you could have “the best frequences possible on 1070 … no reason to spend 100/150€ more for “more famous brand”

    thx for your feedback about this point.

  • I see you mentioned something about the FireStorm utility being unstable. I have the same card, and when I run FireStorm, it always reads zero for the GPU voltage in the ‘Monitor’ tab. Is it the same for you? Other apps, such as GPU-Z, CPUID HWMonitor and MSI Afterburner seem to be able to read it OK.

  • This review is missing many things.

    How loud are the fans when running benchmarks or games?

    Is there any coil whine?

    The graphs are too small. I have a 24-inch 1080p screen and the graphs are almost unreadable.

  • quick feedback after using yesterday evening >> this card is amazing !!!

    with power boosting of 112% (automatic coordination of it, through the FireStorm Zotac Tool)
    (1873 stable max speed !! 200MHz is not ridiculous, OC ASUS/MSI cards are selling until 150€ more for that value by défault)
    with smart manual setting of the FANS steps, during heaven benchmark since 5 minutes,
    haven’t heat more than 74°C .. with fans speed at 80% during few seconds, until temp down to 69°C and fans speed switch to 70% = not audible !

    exactly the sames stats than my old Zotac dual fans GTX970 !!

    perfect !

    to grow up from 70 FPS to 110 (Benchmark result) with the same power consumption !
    perfect card, the best 1070 for me, because 460€ until 550 … for same higher clock capacity
    and really solid efficient cooling system 🙂

    • Quick question. When I run FireStorm, it always reads zero for the GPU voltage in the ‘Monitor’ tab. Is it the same for you?

    • Hi NicanorFCB,

      We don’t have any issue with the fan speed during our stress test and you might want to visit your local Zotac service centre for inspection.

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