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Nvidia's GTX570 is a very powerful discrete graphics card, delivering high levels of performance at a modest asking price. Equally so, we have always admired MSI's Twin Frozr coolers, and the latest revision is a substantial design that operates well under stressful situations.
The MSI N570 Twin Frozr III Power Edition OC is a very highly specified, customised version of the reference design and we felt that it should be compared against a ‘pimped out', overclocked AMD solution. We selected the Powercolor HD6970 Devil 13 as the main competitor, having reviewed it only a few weeks ago. It is one of the fastest AMD HD6970's currently available.
In direct head to head battle, the MSI N570 delivers superior levels of performance in almost all of the games we tested, while emitting less noise. The cooler is also superior, as the core temperatures are significantly lower when tasked. The N570 demands more power at the socket too, indicating just how good the Twin Frozr III cooler is.
Currently the pricing is very positive for the MSI GeForce N570 Twin Frozr III Power Edition OC, with SCAN selling it for £274 inc vat. The Powercolor HD6970 Devil 13 doesn't appear to be available yet in the UK, but pricing is said to be around £350 inc vat. While the Powercolor bundle is exceptionally good, overall we feel the MSI card is a better value for money purchase.
Are there any other options around the same price point? Well, buying two HD6870's and running them in Crossfire would outperform either solution in this review, but be aware that sometimes the CF driver profiles can lag behind leading game releases. Two XFX HD6870's for instance cost £138 each, including VAT.
Pros:
- Price is very good.
- Twin Frozr III cooler is exceptionally good.
- Noise emissions are low.
- Overclocked performance is excellent.
Cons:
- Bundle isn't great.
Kitguru says: If you are looking for a high performance graphics card under £300, then this should be at the top of your shortlist.
