MSI GTX 660 Twin Frozr OC Edition Review None Specified   Page 1

Reviewer: Chris Ledenican Article Publish Date: 9/13/2012

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

 

 

There was a three month gap between the time the Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 and GTX 660 Ti were released, which finally brought the price of the Kepler architecture into a more affordable price range. Nvidia is not waiting quite as long this time around though, as it has been just under a month since the GTX 660 Ti hit the scene and we are already getting our first look at the GTX 660 (non-Ti Edition).

 

Like the previous release, Nvidia is not directly sending out graphics cards themselves, so instead of testing a reference model we are instead going to be examining a custom designed GTX 660 from MSI. The graphics card is the MSI GTX 660 Twin Frozr Overclocked Edition, which has a GPU Base and Boost clock speed that are set at 1033MHz and 1098MHz respectively, a full 5.5% higher than the reference design.

 

Of course the increased clock speed of the MSI board is not the only thing that distinguishes it from the reference models. This is because it also comes equipped with MSI’s exclusive Twin Frozr III heatsink which capable of running the GPU 19°C cooler than the reference thermal solution and up to 12.9dBA quieter as well. In addition, the MSI model also utilizes a high quality VRM design that extends the lifetime of the graphics card, lowers the ESR and improves efficiency via Solid CAPS and high quality phase units.

 

As always, custom design is slightly more expensive than their reference counterparts, but MSI has kept the premium at only $10 above the base MSRP. This means instead of this model retailing for $229, it will have an MSRP of $239. Not bad for a custom designed graphics card.