Msi Video Card Gtx 1050 Ti 4gt Lp Geforce Gtx 1050 Ti 4gb Gddr5 Review

Similar virtually of its Nvidia "card-partner" kin, in late 2016 MSI rolled out a lineup of GeForce GTX 1050 Ti ($139) video cards using graphics processors (GPUs) based on Nvidia'south new "Pascal" compages. The GTX 1050 Ti slots handily betwixt the GeForce GTX 1050 and GTX 1060 in Nvidia'due south line. We've tested a whole bunch of of these lower-terminate Pascal cards, and this time around, nosotros're looking at one of the more affordable models, dubbed by MSI the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC. For its cards around this item GPU, MSI is offering both a "premium" range (relatively speaking) and a more bones collection, with six cards to cull from.

At the top of the MSI GTX 1050 Ti range are ii cards that bear the familiar red-and-black MSI color scheme and take the "Gaming" label; these are the company's flagship GTX 1050 Ti cards. The company is also offer more than pocket-size versions. In commutation for a lower price, they look a bit more than pedestrian and pack specs that are closer to stock. Our review menu is one of the latter, and MSI offers a like version of this menu in non-Ti trim, as well, that we tested. (See our review of the MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2G OC .) Also worth noting: MSI recently unveiled a depression-profile, half-height version of the GTX 1050 Ti, the $155 MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GT LP, for PC upgraders and gamers looking to boost a thin dwelling-theater PC or other slim desktop. (Decent-performing one-half-height video cards take been scarce in recent years, with the best of the recent lot being based on the aged GeForce GTX 750 Ti.)

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But as for the card we accept on hand: The full-height carte we're testing here today is a stock GTX 1050 Ti in about regards, merely information technology does include an MSI-induced, mild overclock (of 63MHz) out of the box, hence the "OC" in its name. Despite its overclock, information technology is selling for the MSRP of a typical base of operations-model GTX 1050 Ti, which is $139. Our feel with Nvidia cards indicates that the card may well overclock beyond the overclock numbers listed on the spec sail, just we'll see in a chip almost that. Note that MSI besides sells a true stock version of this card, defective the "OC" in the proper noun and adhering to the base specs listed for this GPU by Nvidia.

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Since this is carte du jour is close to stock autonomously from the mild overclock, it has all the standard specs of a GTX 1050 Ti, including 4GB of GDDR5 retentiveness (on a 128-bit retention interface) along with 768 CUDA cores. Its cooling apparatus employs just a unmarried fan, and the card takes upwardly two PCI Express slots due to the width of its air cooler. The carte du jour is rather brusque in length, though, making it neat for a small-class-gene build if you can't afford or would rather not shell out the extra expense for 1 of the mini versions of the GeForce GTX 1060, which tend to run around $200 for the 3GB versions and $240 for the 6GB. (See, for instance, our review of the Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 Mini.) The MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC measures just 7 inches long, making it easy to fit into fifty-fifty tight desktop-PC chassis.

Easing the installation further is the fact that it doesn't crave a PCI Limited power connector, as it'south able to pull all the juice it needs out of the PCI Express slot it'due south plugged into. (MSI suggests the minimum of a 300-watt power supply for use with this card, so note that some low-end or business PCs may not have the necessary power-delivery overhead. You lot'll want to check.) Too know that the port mix is a fleck abbreviated from college-end cards, or fifty-fifty the Gigabyte G1 Gaming version of the GTX 1050 Ti we tested (no four or five ports here on the backplane), comprising single DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort connectors.

Despite its entry-level status, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC supports key leading-border features common to recent GeForce cards, including Nvidia'southward G-Sync, 8K output, and DirectX 12. This menu is not "VR-capable," notwithstanding, by the standards of today'due south Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets. That doesn't mean information technology tin't run VR titles, just that information technology likely will non run them well, and a substandard VR experience can pb to nausea and headaches—choppy frame rates are the least of your troubles. The baseline for smooth VR on the Nvidia side of the aisle is the adjacent model up from this, the GeForce GTX 1060.

MSI backs the GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC with a three-year warranty, and instead of pairing the carte du jour with its specialized MSI Gaming App software often seen on its higher-stop cards, it includes (every bit a download) the MSI Afterburner utility (which, incidentally, anyone can download and use on whatsoever video card). It lets you monitor temperatures and clock speeds, as well every bit overclock the GPU. More on that later.

Operation

Equally we've mentioned in our other recent menu reviews, things are in flux these days when it comes to testing 2016's video cards, considering the ii emerging technologies that electric current-gen cards are built for are proving difficult to test in these early on days.

The first of these is DirectX 12 (DX12), which is just now coming on the scene. In that location are relatively few real-world benchmarks for it. Still, DX12 will eventually be the standard graphics API, then it's of import to know if a bill of fare can handle DX12 well earlier buying. Nosotros tested the GTX 1050 Ti with the newest DX12-capable games we had on hand, including Hitman (the 2016 edition), Ascension of the Tomb Raider, and Ashes of the Singularity, as well as Futuremark's 3DMark DX12 benchmark, Fourth dimension Spy. We tested a load of games using DirectX 11, too, because that API volition still be in broad use for at least another yr, and probably much longer.

The other angle is virtual reality (VR) support, or lack thereof. VR is cerise hot these days, merely the GTX 1050 Ti is not powerful enough to earn a thumbs-up from Oculus and HTC for their headsets, and then you won't be immersing yourself in bogus worlds with this card (or any other of its class) anytime soon, unless the hardware situation changes on the VR headset side.

And then, on to the benchmarks. Since this specific MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti carte du jour costs $139, nosotros'll compare it to the $110-to-$130 Radeon RX 460, and information technology'll be quite interesting to encounter how they match up. GTX 1050 Ti cards are more often than not priced slightly above the Radeon RX 460 crew; actually, the RX 460 is matched to do boxing with the GTX 1050, non the GTX 1050 Ti. That allows the GTX 1050 Ti version to preside over its own little bubble with no real contest amidst current-generation cards, since the Radeon step-upwards card, the Radeon RX 470, is a expert bit more expensive, at $179 or so. (Some RX 470 cards are a tad cheaper than that, via $10 or $20 mail-in rebates, just virtually were in the $170 to $190 range at this writing.) We've also already tested and reviewed a premium GeForce GTX 1050 Ti card from Gigabyte, the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti G1 Gaming 4G, which toll $30 more than the MSI card at this writing. And then it'll exist intriguing to see what that actress wad of cash delivers.

All of the contempo-generation cards we've tested in the $100-to-$200 range accept also been included in the benchmark charts beneath, with a few higher-end cards such as the GeForce GTX 1060 and AMD Radeon RX 480 thrown in for perspective. We too dropped in the short-board AMD Radeon R9 Nano, for an idea of the performance you tin can get in a very meaty card if money is no object. (At this writing, information technology was about iv times the price of a typical GTX 1050, or more than than three times that of this MSI GTX 1050 Ti.)

3DMark Fire Strike

We started off our testing with Futuremark'south 2013 version of 3DMark, specifically the suite's Fire Strike subtest. Fire Strike is a synthetic test designed to mensurate overall gaming operation.

In the first face-off between the two GTX 1050 Ti cards we have tested, the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti G1 Gaming came out on top on the Graphics Score, by iv percentage. That's a decent margin because that information technology has the same GPU in its belly every bit the MSI carte and both are overclocked. The Gigabyte card comes overclocked college than the MSI menu, and then this isn't too surprising. Both GTX 1050 Ti cards also spanked the less expensive Radeon RX 460, simply in turn were drubbed by the pricier RX 470.

Tomb Raider (2013)

Let's start with some older games. Here, nosotros fired upwardly the 2013 reboot of the classic title Tomb Raider, testing at the Ultimate detail preset and iii resolutions.

We're merely 2 tests in and already a pattern is emerging: The college-clocked Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti is a smidge more powerful than the mildly overclocked MSI OC card. In this test, we saw the Gigabyte overtake the MSI card by virtually four frames per second (fps) at 1080p, but that's still an achievement given their hardware similarities. Both cards were able to hit over 60fps in this title, every bit well. In contrast, the Radeon RX 460 nosotros tested (a PowerColor card) languished in the 40fps zone.

Sleeping Dogs

Next, we rolled out the very demanding real-world gaming benchmark test congenital into the 2013 title Sleeping Dogs...

Again, the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti G1 Gaming carte du jour held a steady 5 percent advantage over the MSI GTX 1050 Ti carte in this examination. Both cards failed to cantankerous the 60fps threshold, but they were shut; kicking downwardly the detail level ane notch would go you there with ease. Both of the GTX 1050 Ti cards too practically doubled the performance of the Radeon RX 460 card, and so it seems prophylactic to say at this point that this "matchup" isn't much of one.

Bioshock Space

The pop title Bioshock Infinite isn't overly enervating, but information technology'southward a pop ane with stellar practiced looks. In its congenital-in benchmark program, we set the graphics level to the highest preset (Ultra+DDOF)...

The MSI GTX 1050 Ti card was able to close the gap with the more expensive Gigabyte card in this test, with the two cards merely iii.five per centum apart at 1080p. Both cards were in the high 70fps/low 80fps range at 1080p, then that'southward pretty much a wash from a real-world performance perspective.

Hitman: Absolution

Next upwardly was Hitman: Absolution, which is an crumbling game but nonetheless pretty hard on a video carte, especially at our examination settings.

The race tightened further in this test, with the difference between the two GTX 1050 Ti cards within the margin of departure between test runs. In this championship, information technology is effectively a tie between them. The RX 460 was not shut at whatsoever resolution, and even the RX 470 didn't vanquish the two GTX 1050 Ti cards by much.

Far Cry Central

Side by side, we moved to a more recent game, released in 2016. Ubisoft's latest open-world first-person hunting game is one of the virtually demanding examination titles we employ, with lush leaf, detailed shadows, and otherwise incredible environments. We used the Normal detail setting first.

This is the first test where we can actually see where the actress $30 for the Gigabyte 1050 Ti carte is being spent, as it was able to outpace the MSI OC carte by a lusty 15 percent at 1080p. As the resolution increased, the gap narrowed (to the signal where only ane frame per second separated them at 4K resolution), but nobody is going to play this game at 17fps.

And here's what we saw at the killer Ultra setting...

The two GTX 1050 Ti cards pulled off playable frame rates, the RX 460 was deadline, and the RX 470 clearly overran them all.

Ashes of the Singularity

Oxide's Ashes of the Singularity is a bit of a departure every bit a criterion, as information technology's a real-time strategy title, rather than a first-person shooter or a tertiary-person action title. Due to the planet-scale nature of its boxing scenes, with hundreds of onscreen tanks, ships, and other implements of future warfare, it can be extremely enervating at high settings. And because of the plethora of rendered units, this game is also manner more than CPU-bound—especially at high settings and resolutions—than near other recent games. We used the Standard preset here, rather than the game's killer Crazy preset.

At 1080p resolution nosotros saw the Gigabyte hold a moderate advantage of a few frames over the MSI OC card, though both GPUs struggled with this punishing benchmark. Both GPUs were just virtually as fast as a GeForce GTX 960 from the previous generation, which is interesting. The Radeon RX 460 was borderline acceptable at 1080p, limping to the end line with a score of just 28.4fps.

One thousand Theft Auto V

One of the well-nigh popular game franchises on the planet, Thousand Theft Auto needs no introduction. Version 5 took a lot longer than many expected to state on the PC. Merely when it finally did, in early on 2015, it brought a number of graphical improvements and tweakable visual settings that pushed the game far beyond its console roots.

Note that many of the cards beneath have no bars because they would non run GTA V at our exam settings. That's a quirk of this game: It will automatically bounce down settings if the game perceives it will not run passably at a given mix of resolution and item settings.

This is a brutal test, equally the nautical chart shows the RX 460 couldn't hack our (absolutely demanding) settings. The GTX 1050 Ti cards pulled it off, though, with both the Gigabyte and MSI GPUs striking over 60fps at 1080p, though the Gigabyte G1 Gaming held a 9 percent advantage. Surprisingly, the slightly overclocked MSI GTX 1050 we tested (the non-Ti card) held its own on this exam, too, placing just a smidge backside its amped-up Ti brethren.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Lara Croft rises once over again in the early 2016 iteration of Square Enix'south long-running action franchise. As our hero works to unfold an ancient mystery (and reveal the secret to immortality) ahead of the ancient and mortiferous Order of Trinity, she traipses through a slew of complex atmospheric environments, from arid tombs to the frigid Siberian wilderness. A dynamic weather system, and the complexities of Lara'southward current of air-tousled pilus, add to the game'south visual complexity. Let's look at the game at the Medium detail preset.

The results of this test largely mirror the others, with the Gigabyte card belongings a small advantage, and so we won't labor the details. What's more interesting from a performance standpoint is merely how good the cheaper MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2G OC is for this game, as it was simply a few ticks slower than the MSI OC Ti card. The GTX 1050 Ti showed its teeth to the GTX 1050, though, at the Very High preset...

Hitman (2016)

The newest game in the Hitman franchise finds Amanuensis 47 turning over a new foliage, and embarking on a journey of self-discovery as a teacher at a schoolhouse for underprivileged children. Merely kidding, of class; he kills loads of people in this one, merely similar the rest. It does offer gorgeous graphics in both DX11 and DX12 varieties, though. We'll tackle the former (DX11) start, at the Medium detail setting.

This game produced the usual very linear pecking order based on price and specs, so as card value increased then did performance, and vice versa. Once once again the MSI OC card was just a tiny bit behind the Gigabyte G1 Gaming, with both topping 70fps at 1080p. The RX 460 was in the hunt (59fps at 1080p) but most surprising was the fact that the GTX 1050 Ti cards were almost competitive with the much pricier GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition on this exam. We saw the aforementioned dynamic at the High preset, though the GTX 1060 reasserted itself there...

Information technology's tough to get any rock-solid sense of DirectX 12 functioning at this point. When we wrote this, still merely a few major titles were available with DirectX 12 support. And running these games, anecdotally we saw no graphical differences between the titles running at DX11 versus DX12 settings. In some instances, titles running under DX12 offered performance gains, only elsewhere we saw lesser performance.

In other words, don't draw any set-in-rock conclusions from the DX12 results below. DirectX 12 is still in its early on stages. We'll have to await some months to say for sure how much of an advantage DX12 offers, and whether it sways things in favor of AMD or Nvidia in whatever substantive way. Still, it's worth taking a look at what the GTX 1050 Ti and its competition tin practise with Microsoft's latest gaming API today, considering DX12 is the hereafter.

This sequel to 2013's Tomb Raider was one of the first AAA titles to offering DirectX 12 support. We used the preset labeled Medium for testing.

The DX12 results between the two GTX 1050 Ti cards didn't requite u.s.a. any new information, though we expected the RX 460 to do a piffling bit of catch-upwardly thanks to its ostensible DX12 prowess. Alas, it was crushed by the MSI OC card by almost 15fps at 1080p. Naturally, the Gigabyte card was a chip faster than the MSI card, but nosotros expected that. The RX 470 admittedly trounced both 1050 Ti cards, though, topping 90fps at 1080p and fifty-fifty 60fps at 1440p.

The newest Hitman championship also offers up a DX12 graphics selection in its criterion that, like Ascent of the Tomb Raider, looked identical to our eyes to the DX11 version. We used the Medium setting here.

This game appears to be doing some interesting things with our challengers, as the GTX 1050 Ti cards performed virtually the same. It's a rare occurrence, only perhaps the new-ness of DX12 puts both cards on equal ground despite the clock speed difference betwixt them. The RX 460 was meek hither, at to the lowest degree compared to the GTX 1050 Ti cards, while the RX 470 was a powerhouse, specially at 1440p.

Ashes of the Singularity (DX12)

The strategy championship Ashes of the Singularity was amongst the first to offer DirectX 12 support, even when it was nevertheless in beta. (Many missing bars hither, every bit this examination was intermittently balky under DX12 when we tested some of these cards.)

The Radeon RX 460 made up some basis in this test. Not surprisingly, the GTX 1050 Ti cards were shut, with the Gigabyte carte du jour pulling a slight edge. What is also surprising is the MSI GTX 1050 was just one frame per second slower than the MSI GTX 1050 Ti at 1080p.

3DMark (Time Spy)

Nosotros oasis't tested all of the cards nosotros outline here on the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark still; information technology'south a test from the Futuremark suite that was only relatively recently finalized. Simply we did run it on the MSI GTX 1050 Ti bill of fare we're reviewing here, every bit well as on the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti G1 Gaming menu, PowerColor'southward Red Dragon Radeon RX 460 and Red Devil RX 470, and a few other low-end cards. It presented no relative surprises.

The MSI card delivered a Fourth dimension Spy DX12 Graphics Score of 2,238 (while the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti rang up at a close 2,349), versus the ane,622 of the PowerColor RX 460, a three,513 for the PowerColor RX 470, and a 1,809 from a mini version of the GTX 1050 (non-Ti) from Zotac. Those numbers pretty much conform to the pecking guild established throughout our testing.

Overclocking

If y'all think earlier in the review, nosotros noted that this MSI card is an OC edition, meaning MSI ships the GPU with a college maximum possible boost clock than what is specified by Nvidia. Nevertheless, we wrote that fifty-fifty though the specs for this carte dictate a 63MHz overclock right out of the box (which is a 1,455MHz boost clock, for the record), we postulated that the card's GPU Heave would probably go higher than that, making whatever spec MSI listed for this card irrelevant.

Well, it turns out we were correct. To encounter how well this footling puppy would overclock, we popped it into our exam organisation and out of the box, with no fiddling of software dials or any funny business, it topped out (when heave-clocking) at 1,695MHz. That's quite a boost over the spec for this carte, and impressive for any pocket-size-toll bill of fare like this 1.

That said, that was about as far as we got with this GPU, as our attempts to push it fifty-fifty farther were generally fruitless. In the stop, nosotros hit a clock-speed wall rather quickly, and topping out effectually i,759MHz. (The GPU kept dialing itself dorsum downwardly to 1,695MHz and and so back up to 1,733MHz, then 1,759MHz, and so forth.) When nosotros come across those types of fluctuations—where we try to increment clock speed but it decreases on its own—it means at that place's no more overclocking headroom. It didn't seem to be a thermal limit, as the hottest we saw the GPU get was 64 degrees C, which is not terribly hot for a GPU under load. If y'all read our review of the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti G1 Gaming 4G, you'll run across information technology was running at 80 degrees C under load, so the MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC was quite a bit libation.

Ane final note: In Nvidia'due south press briefing for the GTX 1050 Ti, the company claimed that some of its partner cards ought to be able to get up to i,900MHz. Indeed the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti nosotros tested was able to go just a tad beyond 1,900MHz in our review, simply information technology is also using a "binned" GPU, one preselected for overclocking fitness. Then it looks like in that location really is something to that, not just marketing rant. For the MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC, you lot will have to live with whatever GPU Boost 3.0 produces for an overclock. It'south certainly not bad, simply this card does non overclock well equally the Gigabyte card, which is what costs you $thirty more for that menu.

A Decent, Affordable Graphics Menu

In the graphics-card world, complimentary lunches are scarce, every bit they are everywhere else. If you want operation, yous have to pay for it, and a card that costs less than another commonly isn't every bit powerful. Simple as that. Ham-sandwich prices become you...a ham sandwich.

Now that we've been able to sample a goodly range of current-generation cards from both AMD and Nvidia, nosotros're beginning to run into the subtleties of the cards' pecking order more clearly. At the bottom of the pile is the Radeon RX 460, and at just $99 or so, it is what AMD calls an "e-sports" carte, for Web-based competition games, as it's not really capable of maxed-out 1080p gaming with the latest AAA titles. Then there's the GTX 1050, which can game at 1080p, and the GTX 1050 Ti, even more and so. Those ii GPUs slot in right in the big gap between AMD's Radeon RX 460 and RX 470, and both are first-class GPUs.

As far as this specific card goes, it is as inexpensive equally GTX 1050 Ti cards were at this writing, at just $139, and equally such has few extras. The real question so becomes: Is this card worth the $20 premium over a vanilla GeForce GTX 1050, and in turn, what about versus the $30-more than-expensive Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti G1 Gaming 4G?

It seems, based on our testing and reviews, that the $xx or and so extra for the GTX 1050 Ti over the bones GTX 1050 is money well spent. Not only is information technology quite a bit faster in some games, but it too has double the retentiveness, and it offers all these benefits without requiring additional power. And then, in our minds, that contend is settled; unless money is very tight, go with the GTX 1050 Ti over the GTX 1050, and in plough with the regular GTX 1050 over the Radeon RX 460, equally it'due south a lot faster for just an extra $20 and is actually playable at 1080p.

When considering the MSI GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC versus the Gigabyte G1 Gaming, though, we give the nod to the MSI card for almost buyers. Why? Because $xxx is a lot at this toll point. The Gigabyte card is certainly faster, and it has more bling and overclocking potential. And with its binned scrap, information technology'south clearly a better accommodating bill of fare, but information technology'due south a chip too expensive. If yous're already spending $170, yous might besides pony upwards some other $20 and become a much faster Radeon RX 470.

That leaves the $139 MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti in a sweet spot, more affordable than premium GTX 1050 Ti cards like the Gigabyte nosotros tested, and decisively faster than the GTX 1050 at the key 1080p gaming level. Overall, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC delivers on all the promises of the GTX 1050 Ti lineup; pocket-sized, quiet, and affordable, and very capable for 1080p gaming. Information technology doesn't offering annihilation more than than only the basics, just for most gamers on a budget, that's more than enough.

MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4G OC

The Lesser Line

This MSI card is a nigh-stock GTX 1050 Ti, but that's not a bad matter. It performs well for 1080p gaming and is affordable, obviously and uncomplicated.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4g-oc

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