|
|
|
|
|
MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning |
|
Join the community - in the OCAU Forums!
|
Synthetic Benchmarks, Heat & Noise, Conclusions
Synthetic Benchmarks:
Benchmark: 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11
Score: GPU/Graphics Score Only - Higher is Better.
Download Link: here.
Benchmark: Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Score: Average Frames per Second (FPS) - Higher is Better.
Download Link: here.
Noise and Temperature Results:
Noise measurements were taken with a digital sound meter approximately 3cm away from the video card fan, reducing the ability of other components such as the CPU or PSU fans to interfere with the final results. Software used for stressing was 3D Mark Vantage, looped until the sound level was stable and stopped rising.
Temperature readings were taken at an ambient temperature of approximately 22 degrees Celsius, on a open test bench with the fan set to auto. Load and idle temperatures were monitored by MSI's Afterburner utility. Software used for stressing was 3D Mark Vantage, looped until the temperature was stable and stopped rising.
Conclusions:
MSI have gone all out with their GTX 580 Lightning, and as seen with our previous review of the HD 6970 Lightning, they've customised every square inch of the design. From the enlarged PCB to help fit the 16 phase power design, CopperMOS MOSFET's, Super ferrite chokes, NEC Proadilizer chips, dual 8-pin power inputs and Twin Frozer III dual fan cooler, the GTX 580 Lightning has had a lot of engineering time and money poured into it for the sake of enthusiasts, not to mention the plethora of adjustments and tweaks available on the card and software provided.
Overclocking the card we were able to achieve a respectable 970 MHz on the core, and 2400 MHz (4800 MHz effective) for the memory with the help of MSI's own Afterburner software and voltage tweaks. We had hoped for that magical 1 GHz core clock number, we couldn't quite get there. But that wasn't necessarily the card's fault as the power circuitry was more than capable, just more of a 'luck of the draw' with how capable the GF110 core is on each card. Nevertheless, with all the time spent cranking up voltage the card didn't even break a sweat, the Twin Frozer III cooling solution really shines when voltages are maxed out. Even in stock form we found the load temperatures were the lowest we've ever seen with such a high end GPU, mainly due to the re-designed power circuitry, beefy 5 heatpipe cooling solution and oversized PCB design allowing for plenty of real estate for a complex design. The MSI GTX 580 (N580GTX) Lightning is currently available for purchase in Australia, and comes with a 3-year warranty.
Feel free to comment on this review in this thread.
|
|
Advertisement:
All original content copyright James Rolfe.
All rights reserved. No reproduction allowed without written permission.
Interested in advertising on OCAU? Contact us for info.
|
|
