Packaging & Accessories: 7 out of 10
Both the shipping container and accessories included are best described as average. The only saving grace is MSI has upgraded the aesthetics and it is rather attractive looking. If you prefer the flashier ‘other MSI’ color scheme then please take off another point or two for your final score.
Functionality & Aesthetics: 14 out of 20
On the one hand this card does have a nice aesthetics in an understated way, on the other the card itself had to make a lot of cooling sacrifices in order to try and reach the FHHL dimensions. If it had actually met them these sacrifices would have been a lot more justifiable. It does not. As such it’s a lot harder to justify those performance and cooling cuts.
Build Quality & Warranty: 12 out of 20
When you combine a lack of space optimization with a ton of plastic and then handicap the card with only one fan where two really is needed… well the end result is mediocrity. Thankfully MSI does stand behind their cards and are very easy to deal with. That is the only saving grace of this card.
Performance: 18 out of 30
Once again mediocrity is the best way to describe the level of performance this card has to offer. Yes it can get to basically Founder Edition 1070 performance levels… but that is not saying much these days. Especially when companies like Zotac and their Mini have shown the world how to do things right. MSI really needs to go back to the drawing board and take a page from Zotac if they want to be competitive in this niche market.
Value: 10 out of 20
There are two ways to look at the overall value of this card. The optimistic one is to say that it does offer ‘big(ish) card’ performance in a small form-factor… so if the Zotac Mini won’t fit this is a good value card. For most though the compromises you will have to live with are simply too numerous to overlook. Especially when this card is not priced like a Founders Edition model.
Final Score: 61 out of 100
This card is not going to be right for everyone. In fact, it is not going to be right for most buyers. Yes, it is incredibly small, but for not that much more in cost and size buyers can get a much better card like the Zotac GTX 1070Ti Mini. By the same token if you have a case that simply cannot fit the Zotac Mini in, the MSI Aero ITX OC may be your best choice. There are very, very few cards that are remotely this good for its size. Just understand that it does make a lot of compromises in order to get its small – but still not true ITX – dimensions.
