MSI GTX 980 Ti Lightning 6GB Review

Nvidia's GTX980 ti has been dominating the high end graphics sector now since it was released, and with modified, overclocked partner cards widely available this year the situation hasn't changed. These partner solutions take performance levels a stage further, but none quite as much as the MSI GTX980 Ti Lightning OC model we analysed today.

First impressions are positive. There is no doubt that this Lightning card is a looker – we love the yellow accenting on the first and third fans, which spell out ‘OC'. The metal construction and backplate are reassuring, after all if you have just spent £659.99 then you will demand something substantial.

The GTX980 Lightning is 33cm long so a little care will be needed on case selection, otherwise you may run into fitting issues during installation.

In operation, the card is a little heavy on the power demand, although this is an intentional move by MSI, to ensure that overclocking capabilities are not limited. Incorporating two 8 pin and a single 6 pin PCIe power connector is an clear indication that MSI are taking performance overclocking seriously.

The substantial cooler copes very well however, holding the thermals at 66c under extended load. We were a little surprised to see that the backplate doesn't make direct contact although measurements with our thermal imaging camera did indicate that backplate temperatures hold at 62c while heatsink temperatures hold steady around 73c. Excellent results.

We don't test with Liquid Nitrogen, so we are unable to verify if the potential power delivery and PCB design help to reach ultra high limits, but with the installed air cooler we could only manage a 6% core overclock. The GDDR5 memory responded well to manual overclocking – stable at 2,000mhz, or 8Gbps effective.

You can buy directly from Overclockers UK for £659.99 inc vat HERE. It isn't cheap, but you do get a lot for the money.

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Pros:

• beautiful design.
• backplate.
• customisable lighting.
• excellent bundle included.
• high ‘out of the box' speeds.
• quality, Torx triple fans incorporated.
• plenty of power delivery available from 2x8pin and 1x6pin header.

Cons:

• overclocking this card on air seems limited.
• expensive.
• 2.5 slot design.

KitGuru says: The MSI GTX980 Ti Lightning is one of the fastest graphics cards that money can buy. This is clearly designed for the hard core gamer, and overclocking enthusiast.

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