MSI RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG Review: Skinny Version Packs a Punch!

Today, on our test bench, we have another ‘Super’ card, but this time, it’s the MSI RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG. What a mouthful! Outside of the obvious that it’s a 4070 Super and slim compared to the 3-slot plus monsters we’re used to seeing, the MLG version (where their Dragon, Lucky, turns into the Dragon Princess) sports red highlights, and it includes a magnetic backplate with a picture of their anime-style princess.

The Gaming X Slim MLG versions (there’s also non-MLG Slim in all black and another in white), sport the fastest clock speeds in their product stack along with Tri-frozr three fan cooling solution. If you need a smaller card, the Ventus 2x line with two fans is much smaller lengthwise and performs similarly. Read on as we cover the uniquely styled MLG version and put it through its paces in our newly updated test suite.

ADA Lovelace Architecture and Technologies

For those who read our RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid X, the MSI RTX 4080 Suprim X review, RTX 4070 Ti Suprim X article, Gigabyte RTX 4070 Ti Super, RTX 4070, or even the MSI RTX 4060 Ti, the Ada Lovelace architecture shouldn’t be anything new. Below we’ve kept a lot of the information in there but updated it with the RTX 4070 Ti  Super details in case you’re new or want a refresher.

Nvidia’s new Ada Lovelace architecture is fabricated on TSMC’s 4N manufacturing process. The smaller process allowed Nvidia to dramatically increase the transistor count, which turns into more cores (70% more CUDA cores than GA102). The entire core consists of a whopping 76.3 billion transistors, which they state makes it one of the most complex chips ever made.

With the new core, the Ada architecture also operates at higher clock frequencies using “… high-speed transistors in critical paths that could otherwise restrict the rest of the chip”. The RTX 4070 Super its AD104 variant have base clocks of 1,980 MHz on the core and 1,313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) on the 12GB GDDR6X and 192-bit bus. Power consumption is listed as 220W (Total Graphics Power) with partner cards like our MSI, potentially increasing that limit a bit.

The AD104 GPU on the RTX 4070 Super comes equipped with 5 Graphics Process Clusters (GPCs), 28 Texture Processing Clusters (TPCs), 56 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), and the most signficant difference, a 192-bit memory interface (6x 32-bit memory controllers). Nvidia states the TFLOP rate for the FP64 cores is 1/64th the TFLOP rate of FP32 operations, and the small FP64 core count is included to ensure compatibility with FP64 code, including Tensor Core code.

The third generation RT core in these Ada GPUs adds a dedicated unit called the Opacity Micromap Engine and the Displaced Micro-Mesh Engine (DMME). The former evaluates Opacity micromaps that are used to accelerate alpha traversal. The DMME allows the Ada RT core to ray trace complex objects and the environment with significantly less BVH build time and storage costs which, when simplified, makes for a much faster and more efficient pathing. Together, Nvidia claims the Ada 3rd-gen RT core is the most powerful Nvidia has ever made.

Another significant improvement over the previous generation is the upgrade from DLSS 2.0 to DLSS 3.0. The new sauce inside is a new frame generation technique that combines optical flow estimation with DLSS to improve the gaming experience. In other words, inserting accurately synthesized frames between existing frames enhances the frame rate and provides a smoother gaming experience. The most significant performance uptick, you’ll see, is with using DLSS.

The Tensor cores have also been updated. Compared to Ampere, Ada provides more than double the FP16, BF16, TF32, INT8, and INT4 Tensor TFLOPS and runs the Hopper FP8 Transformer Engine, delivering over 1.3 PetaFLOPS of tensor processing on the 4090.

For those who like to stream content, Nvidia’s NVENC encoder and existing optimizations for OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) eliminated the need for a dedicated PC for video capture so you can play and stream at the PC without sacrificing quality or performance. Ada takes that further, incorporating support for AV1 video encoding the 9th gen NVENC hardware encoder. Previous generations only decoded but didn’t encode. The AV1 encoder is said to be 40% more efficient than the H.264 encoder found in the 3000 series GPUs. With this update, users can increase from 1080p to 1440p while running at the same bitrate and quality. The 4080 and 4090 use two NVENC encoders for the work.

Details aside, the table below lists the specifications for the new ADA GPUs, including our review sample, Gigabyte RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG.

Specifications and Features

The MSI RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG

MSI’s RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG (sheesh, what a name!) landed at your local retailer a couple of months ago and received a generally positive reception. It has robust power delivery, Tri-Frozr cooling, and a meager 220W TDP. This card gets its power, which needs two 8-pin PCIe to make it whole/functional. MSI recommends a 650W power supply, which will be plenty, even with a flagship-class processor and overclocking.

The Gaming X Slim MLG comes with a single BIOS. So, any adjustments to fan profiles need to come from software (MSI Afterburner, to name one) or the MSI Control Center. The latter also gives you a slight uptick in boost clocks from 2,640 to 2,655 MHz (+15). You won’t feel it, but there is a simple option to bump up the core clock. Pricing for this model is currently $669.99 at Newegg and $669.99 at Amazon.

MSI offers three SKUs in RTX 4070 Super flavor. You get the high-end Gaming X with three variants, including all black, white, and our MLG version. Next is the Ventus 3x OC, which is similar to the Gaming X but with lower clock speeds, and finally, the Ventus 2x – a smaller two-fan version of the Ventus 3x (comes in black and white), also sporting lower clocks than the Gaming X models. If you’re in the market for a 4070 Super, there’s something for everyone in MSI’s product stack.

Speaking of looks, the MLG version of the card is interesting. It reminds me of MSI just a few generations back when they introduced the gaming cards sporting the black and red theme.  The MLG version differs slightly and includes a backplate (attaches magnetically) with Lucky transformed into a beautiful anime princess. It’s not my cup of tea, but there are plenty of users out there who will enjoy the value-added backplate.

If you’re looking for a lot of RGB lighting, you’ll have to look elsewhere as the only area is on the top of the card towards the IO. The RGB LEDs illuminate a small transparent plate with the MSI branding and the dragon. You can adjust the color and modes in MSI Center, specifically the Mystic Light application.

	TRI Frozr 3 Thermal Design Stay Cool and quiet. MSI’s TRI FROZR 3 thermal design enhances heat dissipation all around the graphics card.
	TORX FAN 5.0 Design improvements to TORX FAN 5.0 result in +23% airflow compared to an axial fan and +10% airflow compared to TORX FAN 4.0.
	Copper Baseplate Heat from the GPU and memor modules is immediately captured by a solid nickel-plated copper baseplate and then rapidly transferred to an array of heat pipes. This widening of the thermal transfer systems wih
	Airflow Control Airflow Control improves airflow dynamics through the Wave Curved 2.0 and updated deflectors design for optimizing the balance between cooling and quieter acoustics
	Double Ball Bearing Fans Two sets of durable ball bearings spin the TORX FANs for years of intense and lengthy gaming sessions.
	ZERO FROZR The fans completely stop when temperatures are relatively low, eliminating all noise.
	Unrestricted Cooling A large airflow vent on the backplate allows exhaust air to pass through directly.

Retail Packaging and Accessories

Retail Packaging – Front

Retail Packaging – Rear

Retail Packaging – Open

Accessories

Retail packaging for this 4070 Super is predominately black with the dragon princess featured along with the name and type of card. The back of the box lists several features and specifications and displays a picture of the card. After opening it, you’re greeted by the card sitting securely in form-fitting foam. There are also cutouts for the included accessories (the 12VHPWR cable, graphics support, manual, and the extra backplate).

Meet the MSI RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG

Focusing on the card itself, there’s a lot of black and red, which takes us back to the good old days of MSI gaming. The three-fan configuration cools effectively and quietly using the default fan curve. The back of the card includes a large, primarily black, back plate (MSI naming and the dragon are there). If that one is too boring, you can easily add the other one, which has a bit more bling with the princess on it.

Card – Front

Card – Back

Card – Top

Card – Bottom

Card – Alt1

Card – Alt2

A Closer Look…

Zooming in on the I/O, we see the typical fare for this generation on the 4070 Super as well – three DisplayPort ports (v1.4a) and one HDMI (v2.1a) port. The former supports a maximum resolution of 8K (7680×4320), while the HDMI port handles up to 4K @ 120Hz. The Gaming OC’s Windforce 3 cooler sends most of the air inside the case while some gets pushed through the vented IO plate.

Power for this card goes through the new 12VHPWR connector (included), which uses two 8-pin PCIe power leads for the 12-pin configuration.

After tearing the card apart, we see the short PCB (thank you, MSI, for producing short versions for ITX! and the bottom of the oversized heatsink. Next, we see a close-up of the AD104 core, the Micron memory, and the OnSemi 50A MOSFETs.

PCB and Heatsink

PCB

AD104-350-A1 Core

Micron Memory

OnSemi Conductor NCP302150 50A MOSFETs

Below is a screenshot of GPU-Z showing the clocks our card ran with stock speeds. Our review card has a listed boost clock of 2,640 MHz, but ran much higher (~2,745 MHz+) throughout our testing.

MSI RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG on test bed…

Test System and Benchmark Methods

Our test system is based on the latest (at the time of publishing) mainstream Intel z690 platform and uses the i9-14900K 8P,16E/32t CPU. The DRAM is in a 2×16 GB configuration at 6000 MHz with CL36-38-38-80 timings, a middle-of-the-road option balancing performance, and cost. The CPU runs stock for the motherboard.

Since the last update, we have made some changes and updated titles. More details can be found in the most recent GPU Testing Procedure article, which we have updated with our latest benchmarks. Below is a quick summary for easy reference.

• UL 3DMark Time Spy – Default settings
• UL 3DMark Fire Strike (Extreme) – Default settings
• UL 3DMark Port Royal – Default Settings (Ray Tracing capable cards only)
• UL 3DMark Speedway – Defaul t settings
• Unigine Superposition – 4K Optimized
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider – DX12, “Highest” preset
• Assasin’s Creed: Mirage  – Ultra High preset
• F1 2023  – Ultra High preset, Las Vegas track
• Far Cry 6 – Ultra preset, HD Textures enabled
• Avatar – Ultra preset
• CyberPunk 2077 – Ultra preset

Synthetic Benchmarks

Our first set of benchmarks hails from Underwriters Laboratories, which acquired Futuremark in 2014. Earlier in 2018, a rebrand occurred, and since that time, Futuremark is now UL. The benchmarks have not changed, just the name. We chose to use 3DMark Fire Strike (Extreme) and 3DMark Time Spy, 3DMark Speedway, and 3DMark Port Royal as these tests give users a good idea of performance on modern titles and includes ray tracing.

3DMark Fire Strike (Extreme) is a DX11-based test that runs at 1080p resolution. UL says the graphics are rendered with detail and complexity far beyond other DX11 benchmarks and games. 3DMark Time Spy is a DX12 benchmark designed for Windows 10 PCs. It supports new API features such as asynchronous computing, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading, running at 2560 x 1440. 3DMark Port Royal is the first Ray Tracing benchmark designed for Windows PCs and graphics cards with Microsoft DirectX Raytracing capabilities while Speedway is another DX12 benchmark.

3DMark

3DMark

3DMark

3DMark

Unigine Superposition

Results from the synthetic benchmarks show the RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim slotting in between the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti Super in our synthetic tests.

Gaming Benchmarks

We have updated our testing suite for gaming benchmarks to bring more modern titles into the mix. Gone are Assasin’s Creed: Odyssey, F1 2022, The Division 2, and Metro Exodus, replaced/updated by Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, F1 2023, Avatar, and CyberPunk 2077.  Worth a mention for high-end cards, they aren’t made for 1080p gaming, so the gaps between them tend to get minimized as this is a wholly CPU-bound resolution with such powerful SKUs.

1920 x 1080 (1080p) Results

Cyberpunk 2077

F1 2023

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage

Avatar

Far Cry 6

SOTR

In 1080p gaming, our card pushed all titles to over 120 FPS+ and with nearly all eclipsing 140 FPS.+ It’s a solid card for 1080p high-Hz gaming using Ultra settings. Here again we see the card slotting nicely between the the RTX 4070 and the RTX 4070 Ti Super we have tested.

2560 x 1440 and 4K UHD Results

Below are the higher resolution results starting with 2560 x 1440 and the gaining-in-popularity 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD) resolution.

At 2560×1440, the RTX 4070 Super can handle even the most demanding titles (CP 2077 and Avatar) in our testing suite and still produce over 80 FPS. For other games that are less stressful, it’s a competent 120Hz+ card.

4K UHD gaming also showed solid results, though in CP 2077 and Avatar, it’s below the magic 60 FPS threshold so most users will lower in-game settings to reach that mark. In the other lighter titles,. it was well over 60 FPS and 4K/60 capable with Ultra settings.

Ray Tracing and DLSS/FSR Testing

The charts below show what the review card can do when using ray tracing and DLSS/FSR capabilities. We test at 2560 x 1440 and 3840 x2160 in this grouping.

F1 2023

F1 2023 – RT and DLSS

F1 2023 – RT and DLSS

F1 2023 – RT and DLSS

F1 2023 – RT and DLSS

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage – DLSS

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage – DLSS

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 – RT and DLSS

Cyberpunk 2077 – RT and DLSS

Cyberpunk 2077 – RT and DLSS

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

SOTR – RT and DLSS

SOTR – RT and DLSS

SOTR – RT and DLSS

SOTR – RT and DLSS

Avatar

Avatar – RT and DLSS

Avatar – RT and DLSS

Avatar – RT and DLSS

Avatar – RT and DLSS

Enabling ray tracing still drops FPS quite a bit (typically in half or more, depending on settings), but Nvidia DLSS and AMD’s FSR help to bring that up by using AI to look at in-game frames and make new ones. It uses Supersampling to sample a frame at a lower resolution then uses that sample to construtct a higher resolution image/frame. Additionally, it can also take that frame sample and use it to generate more frames which boosts the frame rate.

To that end, Avatar and CP 2077 are our resident GPU killers. As you can see, with only ray tracing enabled, even our RTX 4070 Super struggled to reach 60 FPS. The other titles weren’t as stressful and could handle things, especially with DLSS enabled. You’ll have to play with settings to get the best experience when enabling ray tracing.

Folding @ Home Performance

For all of the folding @ home community, we had a chance to let this run for most of a full day. Since we didn’t capture a full 24 hours+, I captured the F@H Advanced Client window that shows around 13.6M PPD on the current WU. During testing, the card averaged ~211W and ran around 2,800 MHz during its time folding.

Overclocking the MSI RTX 4070 Super Gaming X Slim MLG

For overclocking, we used the latest version of MSI Afterburner. Unlike previous OC methods, I went manual this time and landed on +98 for the core and +826 MHz on the RAM. The scores/FPS responded well, particularly at higher GPU-bound resolutions. The card ran at 2,835 MHz core with these settings and held that consistently. Power peaked at ~258W (compared to 244W at stock). Note that we did not touch the voltage during this endeavor.

Temperatures and Power Use

We test power consumption by running through the game benchmarks of F1 2023 and Cyberpunk 2077. We monitor temperatures throughout this testing, with the peak temperature listed in the data below. The benchmarks are extended (time) to allow the card to settle to simulate extended gaming conditions more accurately. Most air cooled cards will staturate and normalize around 10 mins or so.

Temperatures on this card reached 69°C in F1 2023 and 68°C CP 2077 at stock settings. Once overclocked, temperatures increased slightly in both, peaking one degree Celsius higher in F1 2023, and two degrees in CP 2077. Longer gaming sessions will increase the temperatures, but this gives you a general idea of the card’s cooling capability.

Idle Power Use

F1 2023 Power Use

CP 2077 Power Use

Power use for the RTX 4070 Super peaked at 244 W (video card power only) in F1 2023 and 241 W in CP 2077. Overclocking didn’t increase use much as we didn’t (manually) increase the voltage (and the power limit can only increase 6% above stock). A high-quality 650W power supply will be plenty to support this card and a flagship-class processor.

Conclusion

The Nvidia RTX 4070 Super slots perfectly, performance-wise, between the RTX 4070 and RTX 4080 SKUs. For an MSRP of $599 (this SKU is $669.99 at Newegg), you get quite a performer. A card that will easily run 2560 x 1440 at Ultra settings and achieves at least 80 FPS+. The card produced over 120 FPS in our less stressful titles and proved it could be a competent high Hz/FPS video card using Ultra settings. It can also be a 4K/60/Ultra card, but in some titles, like CP 2077 and Avatar, you’ll have to lower the settings or run DLSS/FSR to reach that magic threshold.

As you’d imagine, each card partner has their version of the RTX 4070 Super, with MSI offering a few different versions. Starting at the top of the product stack are the Gaming X Slim cards (three – an MLG, a standard ‘black’ card, and the Slim White) along with the Ventus line that sports three-fan or two-fan cooling and a shorter length. In short, there’s an RTX 4070 Super that fits your needs (and chassis!) from MSI.

Ultimately, the RTX 4070 Super is a welcome site in the landscape. Most would still consider GPU prices high, but looking at the big picture, the 4070 Super is a breath of fresh air, especially if you can get it closer to the MSRP. You can’t find a 4070 Ti for less than $700 on Newegg. However, RTX 4070s are coming in well below $600 and are just a few percent behind. The performance of our 4070 Super was solid, and the MSI’s three-fan cooling solution kept it cool and running quietly. The biggest boon for the card is the 2-slot width. If you’re in the market for a 4070 Super, MSI’s Slim cards are a good option in a crowded space.

– Joe Shields (Earthdog)

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