MSI GTX460 HAWK Talon Attack Vs Powercolor HD5770 CrossFireX

The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 24c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this. These results are taken with the system built inside the Cooler Master CM 690 II which offers great airflow.

Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test.

The MSI Hawk Talon Attack Edition delivers an astounding set of results, peaking at 50c when gaming under reference voltage conditions, only an 8c increase. The PCB layout, component quality and cooler design are all working in tandem to deliver this amazing performance profile. With most things in life, faster means hotter, but not with the Talon Attack.

The Powercolor HD5770 single slot cards run significantly hotter, caused in part by the single slot solutions used in this design – they do run slightly cooler than the XFX HD 5770 Single slot versions we tested in August, but it comes at the expense of noise, although we detail this on the next page.

Return to ambient is a feature we have recently added to our reviews … we measure the time it takes for a solution to return to idle temperatures, immediately after full load. The faster the time (less), the better the cooler – for example a Noctua NH D14 cooler will return an Intel processor to idle temperatures much faster than a reference cooler. This is a good indication of how quickly a heatsink can dissipate heat.

The Twin FrozrII cooler returns the core to idle state in around 10 seconds which is a fantastic result. Unfortunately the single slot cooler on the HD5770's takes 27 seconds to return to idle …. this isn't an issue, but it is an inherent characteristic with such a design.

Become a Patron!