Introduction
Note: This review was originally published September 8th, 2020 prior to the RTX 30 release. It has since been updated with our charts including the RTX 3080. GALAX cards are grouped and were taken prior to the new chart format but the benchmark is still the same as the new format.
GALAX is one of those companies that outside of their high-end HOF line, still can’t nail down a series that will stick and so they bring out the design shotgun and pump out a wide range of products. This week, we’ll take a look at a couple of RTX 20 series cards from GALAX from their RTX 2070 SUPER, 2060 SUPER and 2060 lineup for review. As the RTX 20 series cards are at their last hurrah, vendors are still being creative with their marketing to push out stocks to gamers that are not intending to jump into the latest generation cards.
That said, in this series of review we’ll take a look at four GALAX cards:
- GALAX RTX 2070 SUPER Work The Frames (WTF) Edition
- GALAX RTX 2060 SUPER Gamer 1-Click OC Edition
- GALAX RTX 2060 SUPER 1-Click OC Edition
- GALAX RTX 2060 EX White 1-Click OC Edition
In this review we’ll take a look at the playfully named WTF Edition from GALAX. Expanded to Work the Frames, the GALAX RTX 2070 SUPER WTF is a personal favorite of mine from GALAX’s line, not because of the RGB but its smartly utilized backplate art which you’ll see more of later in this review.
About the GALAX RTX 2070 SUPER Work the Frames
Based on the larger RTX 2080’s TU104 die, the RTX 2070 SUPER features a reduced 2650 CUDA cores vs the 3072. Both cards share the same GDDR6 8GB memory on the same 256-bit wide bus. The stock RTX 2070 SUPER has a 1605Mhz base clock, higher than the 1515Mhz of the RTX 2080.
The main attraction of the Work the Frames series cards is their RGB lighting option. As seen in the video above you have access to 23 lighting effects which is great for visually inspired themes, especially vertically mounting the this GPU.
Still, the cooler itself is a triple fan design boasting an extra large heatsink array. The card itself receives a slight bump in clock speeds with a boost clock of 1815Mhz than reference.
Talking more about the cooling, aside from the larger heatsink design, GALAX also uses a new fan design which improves overall airflow as well as keeping noise low. Dubbed WINGS, the fans have a unique fan blade design which also accentuates the lighting feature of this card.
Test Setup and Methodology
Processor: Intel Core i9 10900K
Motherboard: ASUS ProArt Z490 Creator 10G
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3600 16GB
Storage: Patriot VPN100 1TB M.2 NVme
PSU:Â Seasonic Platinum 1050w
Cooling: Corsair H150i
Monitor: ROG PG27UQ 4K 144hz HDR1000
VGA: Listed
Note: This review was originally published September 8th, 2020. It has since been updated with our charts including the RTX 3080.
For a full-hardware workout, visit https://benchmarks.ul.com for our system warm-up and stress test of choice.
For benchmarking methodology please see our game benchmark method guide.
We’re working with CapFrameX to deliver this review to you.
Since this is a GPU review, we benchmarked the area of the games that put heavy load on the GPU.
All our test runs are repeatable, click the links below for area and details. Read our benchmarking methodology.
- DOTA2 – Kiev Major Grand Finals Game 5: OG vs Virtus.Pro (54:05 – 55:05)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: FPS Benchmark Workshop Map
- The Witcher 3 – Woesong Bridge
- Grand Theft Auto V – Palomino Highlands
- Rainbow Six: Siege – Benchmark Mode
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Kuwaq Yaqu
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 – Fog of War
- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Wildspire Waste
- F1 2020: Benchmark Mode (Australia)
See our Youtube playlist for benchmark sequences.
Note: Some proprietary technologies of NVIDIA like PCSS, HBAO+, and HairWorks work on AMD GPU’s BUT to maintain uniformity amongst GPUs, these have been turned OFF.
You can click on any of the benchmark charts enlarge. You can also move forward and backwards to quickly navigate through our charts via gallery view. For this test, only the out-of-box normal mode will be tested.
Power Draw, Clock Speed and Temperature
We’ll switch things up and open with the power and temperature behavior of the graphics card first. We use Final Fantasy XV Benchmark to simulate a gaming workload but for those looking extreme loads, we do put our cards through Kombustor on first installation for stress testing to check for stability. For our reviews though, we use Final Fantasy XV to simulate a true gaming scenario. Power draw is captured inline via PCAT or Powenetics so no other components affects readings. Readings are taken from the average 15 min idle readings for both load and idle. Ambient temperature is kept at 28*C.
Test Setup and Methodology
Processor: Intel Core i9 10900K
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3600 32GB
Storage: Patriot Viper VPN4100 1TB Gen4 M.2
PSU:Â Seasonic Platinum 1050w
Cooling: Corsair H150i Pro 360mm AIO
Monitor: ROG PG27UQ 4K 144hz HDR1000
VGA: Listed
For a full-hardware workout, visit https://benchmarks.ul.com for our system warm-up and stress test of choice.
For benchmarking methodology please see our game benchmark method guide.
Test results are gathered and produced on CapFrameX.
Since this is a GPU review, we benchmarked the area of the games that put heavy load on the GPU.
All our test runs are repeatable, click the links below for area and details. Read our benchmarking methodology.
- DOTA2 – Kiev Major Grand Finals Game 5: OG vs Virtus.Pro (54:05 – 55:05)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: FPS Benchmark Workshop Map
- The Witcher 3 – Woesong Bridge
- Grand Theft Auto V – Palomino Highlands
- Rainbow Six: Siege – Benchmark Mode
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Kuwaq Yaqu
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 – Fog of War
- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Wildspire Waste
- F1 2020 – Benchmark Mode
See our Youtube playlist for benchmark sequences.
Note: Some proprietary technologies of NVIDIA like PCSS, HBAO+, and HairWorks work on AMD GPU’s BUT to maintain uniformity amongst GPUs, these have been turned OFF. The AMD equivalent of these features are disabled as well.
You can click on any of the benchmark charts enlarge. You can also move forward and backwards to quickly navigate through our charts via gallery view. For this test, only the out-of-box normal mode will be tested.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, popularly known as CSGO, competes for Steam’s most popular game. It has found a resurgence in its popularity and has recently peaked in 2020 in the number of players that play the game. Based on Valve’s Source Engine, the game received major asset overhauls during the years since its inception nearly 10 years ago. Still, it’s a light game and can be played on fairly lighter systems but the competitive scene for CSGO has seen average players demand high FPS from their systems thus gaining favorable standing with GPU vendors just from the demand for higher FPS alone. CSGO is a game that can easily go past 500FPS on enthusiast systems on maximum settings. We’re including CSGO as requested by our community.
API: DirectX9 (default)
Maximum In-Game Settings
Texture Streaming Disabled
Vsync OFF
DOTA 2
Note: JUNE 2020 – DOTA2 has recently implemented a transition from DirectX9 to DirectX11 and new install of the game will prompt users to switch from DX9 to DX11. With that said, we are testing DOTA2 in DX11 from now on.
In contention for the most popular game on Steam and the biggest competition in eSports: DOTA 2 is powered by the Source 2 engine. The game is fairly light on low to medium settings but maxed out, with heavy action on screen especially during clashes, can really stress most systems. This is a game where frame times matter as responsiveness is very important in high-stakes competition. We’re looking at consistently low frametimes in this game for the best experience
Our test uses actual game replay, using the segment from game 5 of the Kiev Major 2017 Grand Finals between OG and VP. The clash during the 54:05 to 55:05 of the game is a nice example of how much a system will get punished during intense team fights in DOTA2.
You can watch the replay of the actual game used in the benchmark here in Youtube or download the replay file here for your DOTA2 client: Game 3149572447. (save it to your DOTA2 replays folder)
API: DirectX11 (default)
Best-Looking slider setting (Ultra)
FPS_MAX 240
Vsync OFF
Rainbow Six: Siege
Nearly 4 years later and Rainbow Six: Siege has become a phenomenon after a lukewarm beginning. The massive shift in focus of the game sees it stepping into eSports territory and the excellent mix of gameplay mechanics, good design and a dedicated dev team has put R6: Siege in a position it couldn’t even picture during launch. Rainbow Six: Siege focuses heavily on tactical and creative gameplay and its vertical levels and highly destructible maps encourage players to be quick on their feet so the action is always going. Powered by Ubisoft’s own AnvilNext 2.0 engine which powers some of Ubi’s recent visual masterpieces, R6:Siege also feature excellent graphics and can get very taxing at high detail settings. The game also features an Ultra HD texture pack download for those that want higher resolution textures but will of course demand more from the system.
API: DirectX 11
Ultra Settings
Anti Aliasing: TAA
Ultra HD Texture pack not installed
Ambient Occlusion: SSBC
Vsync OFF
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red’s latest installment in the Witcher saga features one of the most graphically intense offering the company has to date. As Geralt of Rivia, slay monsters, beasts and men as you unravel the mysteries of your past. Vast worlds and lush sceneries make this game a visual feast and promises to make any system crawl at its highest settings. This game has found great resurgence in its playerbase thanks to the release of Netflix’ Witcher series.
API: DirectX 11
Frame Rate: Unlimited
Nvidia HairWorks: Off
Ultra Settings
Motion Blur: Off
Blur: Off
Anti-aliasing: On
Bloom: On
Sharpening: High
Ambient Occlusion: SSAO
Depth of Field: On
Chromatic Aberration: Off
Vignetting: On
Light Shafts: On
VSync OFF
Grand Theft Auto V
The fifth and most successful installment to date in the highly controversial Grand Theft Auto series brings a graphical overhaul to the PC version of GTA V which many have lauded as a superior approach in porting a console game to PC. Featuring large areas and detailing, GTA V is a highly challenging application in terms of scene complexity.
Our benchmark uses a run from Palomina Highlands running through a lush area to a remote road all the way to a neighborhood in our car to simulate multiple scene changes.
API: DirectX 11
FXAA Off
MSAA 4x
TXAA Off
Very High settings
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
Motion Blur disabled
Advanced Graphics enabled
Vsync OFF
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the latest installment in the reboot run of the classic Tomb Raider franchise. The game follows the story set forth by the previous game which Shadow of the Tomb Raider short follows after. Technology-wise, the game uses the Foundation engine updated to meet the demand of developer Eidos Montreal to push the engine to its limits. The game supports DirectX 12 and is one of the launch titles to support RTX technology namely DLSS which launched a couple of months post-launch.
API: DirectX 12
Graphics Settings Preset: Highest
Texture Quality: Ultra
Texture Filtering: 8x Anisotropic
Anti-Aliasing: TAA
DLSS: OFF
Raytraced Shadow: OFF
Vsync OFF
Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare is a reboot of the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare storyline, set in a different world where you, along with Captain Price have to stop the world from going to war. Call of Duty Modern Warfare reignites the franchise by introducing full crossplay support where Xbox and PS4 players can play together with PC players. On PC, the game features a new engine pushing photorealism for COD far beyond what their older engine is capable of. The new engine also introduces raytracing and the AI is designed to perceive light as well. With a revitalized multiplayer arena, the game will require fast frame rates.
API: DirectX 12
Render Resolution: 100%
Texture Resolution: High
Texture Filter Anisotropic: High
Particle Quality: High
Tessellation: All
Shadow Map Resolution: Extra
Particle Lighting: Ultra
DirectX Raytracing: OFF
Ambient Occlusion: Both
Anti-Aliasing: Filmic SMAA T2X
World Motion Blur: Off
Vsync: OFF
Shaders Installed before benchmarks*
Conclusion
Let’s break it down for the GALAX RTX 2070 SUPER Work The Frames Edition graphics card. Going over performance, everything is to be expected from an RTX 2070 SUPER evenmoreso for a triple fan design. I was expecting this card to be more of a higher-performing model but stocks clocks are relatively reference and one should explore playing around with the power limit thru an OC tool. We’ll have a more comprehensive chart in the coming days for that as we transition our graphics card charts. Still, performance is near RTX 2080 levels and should suffice for gamers that are looking into that 1440p 144hz sweet spot without going straight to a higher budget margin.
Moving over to looks, this is definitely one of the strongest points of the GALAX Work The Frames series. I admit, RGB doesn’t readily appeal to me but there area some execution that I can say is really good. The GALAX RTX 2070 SUPER Work The Frames manages to stroke my RGB side and anyone with a vertical GPU mount will definitely want something like this propped up on its side. For those that don’t particularly care, the backplate is gorgeous and that galaxy artwork is an excellent touch. Again, it may not be for everyone but I have to stress that other than aesthetics, this card is still a decent performing RTX 2070 SUPER.
UPDATE: With the RTX 30 series released, I thought I’d update the charts for my recent graphic card reviews. Price drops have been issued on some older RTX 20 series cards and that definitely made these cards or palatable but the main issue here is with NVIDIA struggling to keep up with the demand for the RTX 3080 and the RTX 3070 still a month away, the RTX 20 series still have their place. The RTX 30 launch shifted the prices thus shifting the performance bracket as well.
And RTX 2070 Super is definitely a great mainstream card to go for right now especially with 360hz monitors already being announced and 1440p becoming more available as time goes on. The GALAX RTX 2070 SUPER Work the Frames Edition manages to offer a compelling combination of looks which I feel is greatly needed in the non-enthusiast variation of graphics cards.
GALAX backs the RTX 2070 SUPER Work the Frames Edition with a 3-year warranty. I give it a B2G Gold Award and a B2G Recommended Seal!
