Taking everything in its stride
Graphics cards are something we have seen a
lot of over the last few years of publishing. In fact, I would hazard a guess
that these devices fall comfortably into our top three for device review
categories, if not the number one slot. That should tell you something about
the graphics card market. It’s full, busy and constantly evolving. This is both
a good and a bad thing. On the one side, there is always new technology
available. On the other, it means that your brand new card is out dated very
quickly. Such is life in IT…
MSI are right up there when it comes to
both running with new technology and implementing great ideas. We have seen a
number of their graphics card offerings and, quite honestly, we enjoy what we
see every time. From their lower end cards right through to the high end
devices, MSI manage to deliver great performance pretty much consistently. And
that counts for the R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5, too.
Armed with a Radeon 7950 chipset and an
awesome 3GB of GDDR5 RAM, this card chews through the most challenging graphics
without breaking much of a sweat. And it does so without turning the inside of
your PC case into a sauna, too.
The great heat performance is largely due
to MSI’s Twin Frozr technology, something that we have seen time and again (and
are still impressed by.) Twin turbine style fans combine with extra thick heat
pipes, high density heat sinks and a direct contact design to bring the heat
down significantly. The packaging claims 10 per cent cooler than reference
cards… while we can’t say that for certain, we can agree that this card does
run a lot cooler. The airflow increase granted by the fans alone is
significant.
In keeping with their usual modus operandi,
this card makes use of Military Grade III components, which aside from reliability
and stability also means that the card’s operation is quieter. Even with those
two big fans, this device doesn’t make a lot of noise, even under strain.
As for performance? Well, the specs say it
all; this card does the job with grace and ease, even after protracted periods
of use.
There is a downside to this otherwise
excellent device. While most graphics cards make use of two DVI ports, this one
only offers one. It also has an HDMI port and two DisplayPorts. Sure, you can
connect four monitors to the card, but in certain set-ups, it will require more
PT to get right. DVIis still a very common standard, so reducing the number of
ports for that standard seems odd.
But that will only affect some people, and
those that buy a card like this will certainly be willing to make a plan. It is
worth it.
A
glance:
Summary
Lots of RAM and GPU power, little noise and heat – a great
graphics combo!
Tech Specs:
§
7950 chipset
§
3GB GDDR5 RAM
§
1 DVI output
§
1 HDMI output
§
2 DisplayPorts
§
Military Class III components
Manufacturer: MSI
RRP: Approx. $425
Pros: Quiet, Cool, Powerful
Cons: Only one DVI port
Score: 89
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