MSI have pulled out all of the stops to present the nGTX580 Lightning 'Xtreme Edition'. From the outset, the packaging is excellent, the card is superbly presented and while there was no game bundled, the utility disk has plenty of software the end user may want to make use of. As a package then I have no complaints other than I would have liked to have seen a game included.
Aesthetically, the graphics card is certainly eye catching yet understated at the same time. The twin blue fans that dominate the top of the cooler are very attractive but perhaps might limit those looking to theme their setups based on a particular colour scheme which doesn't afford the gloss royal blue colour of the fans. that said the brushed aluminium frame is very appealing, both to the eye and the touch as when holding the card you can't help but feel it is a quality piece of craftsmanship.
With the pre-overclocked GPU and additional 1.5GB of GDDR5 I expected the card to perform well and I am happy to report I am far from disappointed. The card is a fantastic example of how GPUs should be made today. This card in particular though is built with one audience in mind, the overclocker.
This product is certainly not for the mainstream user. While the card will certainly appeal to the masses thanks to its pre-overclocked state, it's the technical innovations that set this card apart from all other offerings. The dual BIOS is a great idea, not only for those wishing to dabble in a little extreme cooling but also for those who may wish to use the extra BIOS as a backup to enable peace of mind when altering the stock BIOS configuration. The additional dip switches will certainly get the extreme overclockers all sweaty palmed as the overclocking overheads these afford are worth their weight in gold eradicating the need for time and occasionally costly volt-mods. After fine tuning the cards voltages, MSI have also kindly included easy to use voltage reading points.
Perhaps the one chink in the Xtreme Editions armour is its inflated price tag. If out and out performance is all you care for, for £500 you could by a GPU that has much higher performance, albeit in dual core format. If however you prefer a single core card that matches the tweakability and gadgetry of Kennedy Space Centre then you really should look no further as the nGTX580 3GB Lightning Xtreme Edition. It is a graphics card that's screaming out to be pushed to the limit, to break those records and will no doubt reward you with high rankings on HWBOT. For that reason alone, the MSI nGTX580 3GB deserves praise. Deciding which award to grant the MSI GTX580 Lightning 'Xtreme Edition' is a difficult task as on the one hand it is an extremely expensive piece of hardware but it is potentially the fastest single core GPU available. Even though I couldn't get the magical 1000MHz stable on the core, with extreme cooling I have no doubt this card could attain that clockspeed and then some. Couple this with the extensive features this card has, there is no more fitting award than our prestigious Vortez Gold Award.
Thanks to MSI for providing the nGTX580 3GB Lightning 'Xtreme Edition' for today's review.
Aesthetically, the graphics card is certainly eye catching yet understated at the same time. The twin blue fans that dominate the top of the cooler are very attractive but perhaps might limit those looking to theme their setups based on a particular colour scheme which doesn't afford the gloss royal blue colour of the fans. that said the brushed aluminium frame is very appealing, both to the eye and the touch as when holding the card you can't help but feel it is a quality piece of craftsmanship.
With the pre-overclocked GPU and additional 1.5GB of GDDR5 I expected the card to perform well and I am happy to report I am far from disappointed. The card is a fantastic example of how GPUs should be made today. This card in particular though is built with one audience in mind, the overclocker.
This product is certainly not for the mainstream user. While the card will certainly appeal to the masses thanks to its pre-overclocked state, it's the technical innovations that set this card apart from all other offerings. The dual BIOS is a great idea, not only for those wishing to dabble in a little extreme cooling but also for those who may wish to use the extra BIOS as a backup to enable peace of mind when altering the stock BIOS configuration. The additional dip switches will certainly get the extreme overclockers all sweaty palmed as the overclocking overheads these afford are worth their weight in gold eradicating the need for time and occasionally costly volt-mods. After fine tuning the cards voltages, MSI have also kindly included easy to use voltage reading points.
Perhaps the one chink in the Xtreme Editions armour is its inflated price tag. If out and out performance is all you care for, for £500 you could by a GPU that has much higher performance, albeit in dual core format. If however you prefer a single core card that matches the tweakability and gadgetry of Kennedy Space Centre then you really should look no further as the nGTX580 3GB Lightning Xtreme Edition. It is a graphics card that's screaming out to be pushed to the limit, to break those records and will no doubt reward you with high rankings on HWBOT. For that reason alone, the MSI nGTX580 3GB deserves praise. Deciding which award to grant the MSI GTX580 Lightning 'Xtreme Edition' is a difficult task as on the one hand it is an extremely expensive piece of hardware but it is potentially the fastest single core GPU available. Even though I couldn't get the magical 1000MHz stable on the core, with extreme cooling I have no doubt this card could attain that clockspeed and then some. Couple this with the extensive features this card has, there is no more fitting award than our prestigious Vortez Gold Award.
Thanks to MSI for providing the nGTX580 3GB Lightning 'Xtreme Edition' for today's review.
