MSI R7970 Lightning
’S
EDITOR
CHOICE
AWARD
RRP: $519.99 | Website: www.msi.com
Test Machine
• Intel Core i7 3770K
• Asus MAXIMUS V Extreme
• Transcend AxeRAM
2400MHZ CL9
• Antec HCP 1200 PSU
• Windows7 64-Bit
O
ver the years MSI’s lighting
range has proved itself
to be the standard when it
comes to graphics cards.
Other vendors make valiant
attempts to cater to the
overclocker, but stop short of
where they should, MSI goes
all the way and leaves nothing
to the reserves. From the
original and still respected
GTX 275 Lightning to the GTX
680 Lightning, MSI has been
improving over the years on
their range. The Radeon R7970
Lightning has been with us for
some time, but even then it
remains the graphics card of
choice for most overclockers.
Understandably so, given
16 The OverClocker Issue 20 | 2012
that not only does it employ
the highest manufacturing
standards, but the
components used on the PCB
are impressive to say the
least. Superior power delivery,
and a beefy cooler, the R7970
Lightning is purpose built
graphics card and to date
there hasn’t been another
7970 that has produced such
impressive results with such
consistency.
The best part about this
card is that all you need to
reach those very high GPU
clocks is included with the
retail package. We’ll not mince
words and tell you that the
regular version of AfterBurner
will do the trick, however
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