Now, if you have a yellow themed build you may well like the design – but the fact is, many of us don't, so I can only see the design limiting the overall appeal of the card. Then there is the ‘push the limit' RGB section which is just unnecessary really. The yellow is too bold for my liking, and the red lettering on the ‘power boost' chip also clashes with the yellow strips. Personally, I think the design is rather gaudy. I thought Zotac had moved away from its yellow backplates when I saw the GTX 1080 Ti Mini, but clearly I was dead wrong. Now, moving onto the backplate, I must say this design is going to split opinion like no other. There are also thermals pads applied to help cool the VRAM chips. In terms of the heatsink, aside from its sheer size, the fact that it uses six copper heatpipes is also noteworthy – that should greatly help heat dissipation. There is also a monstrous 8+3 power phase design to deliver stable voltage – ‘extreme' indeed. The PCB is obviously a custom job, and I was immediately drawn to the secondary heatsink that is actually screwed onto the VRM MOSFETs – this simply increases the surface area to allow for better heat dissipation, but it is a nice touch. Prising off the heatsink is a simple matter of removing 5 screws – 4 spring-loaded GPU core screws and 1 secondary screw at the side. Given the 56.6mm thickness of the card, it also worth noting that it is a two-and-a-half slot card so it is definitely best to check your case's dimensions if you are unsure if the card will fit. Looking at the cooling solution, the three fans are noteworthy as Zotac callas these ‘EKO' fans, and it reckons they can deliver up to 30% more airflow. Zotac calls this the ‘carbon exoarmour' and it is certainly something different. In terms of aesthetics, the shroud is a sort of gunmetal grey colour, though there are also some carbon sections which add a little interest. Measuring in at 325mm x 148mm x 56.6mm, it is safe to say Zotac has not held anything back from the card's design. Now, moving onto the card itself, this things is an absolute beast. Inside, the only accessories are two 2x 6-pin to 1x 8-pin PCIe power adaptors, and one quick installation guide. The Zotac GTX 1070 Ti AMP Extreme ships in an unmissable bright yellow box – it definitely stands out from the swathes of black product boxes we get into the KitGuru labs. With a distinctive design, too, you are unlikely to forget the Zotac card any time soon, so without any more fuss, let's jump right to it. I think it is safe to say this is not a card for Mini-ITX system builders. Last time around, we reviewed the ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1070 Ti and although that card is not small, measuring 298mm x 134 x 40mm, it is absolutely dwarfed by the Zotac GTX 1070 Ti AMP Extreme – measuring 325mm x 148mm x 56.6mm. So, is this card a must have or is it best avoiding? Let's find out. Then there is pricing to consider, as at £479, the AMP Extreme is sitting right in GTX 1080 territory. However, size isn't everything – even though the giant heatsink may suggest cooling performance will be excellent, we do need to put that to the test. The fourth aftermarket GTX 1070 Ti card to come through our labs, the Zotac AMP Extreme is undoubtedly the biggest and is definitely deserving of its ‘extreme' moniker.
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