Tried for Christmas: MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GB and 1GB - brothers battle

Recently, we have had the pleasure that more and more MSI products are being shipped to our shelters for testing. The gratifying happiness is that not only motherboards but also video cards come into play from the manufacturer’s palette. The latter case also applies to this article.

Eye-catching readers may have noticed in other articles when describing our test configuration that an MSI video card, not from the weaker type, was included in the permanent system thanks to the domestic representation of MSI. He is none other than the N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II / OC. This means three things: the first is that we are facing a GeForce GTX 560 Ti that still represents a major force today. The second is that the second-generation Twin Frozr cooling on the card serves.

The third is that we are dealing with a factory overdriven version. This model runs on 1GB of GDDR5 memory, but not only will we get to know it during the test, but also with its recently released big brother, the MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5 / OC. This model is practically the same as its predecessor except for the amount of on-board RAM, the latter has doubled, i.e. fattened from 1024 MB to 2048 MB, the type of course remaining GDDR5. In addition to presenting them in the article, within the framework of a few measurements, we are looking for the answer to the question of whether a GeForce GTX 560 Ti has a raison d’être of 2GB of memory. Let's cut into it!

Since the two cards are the same except for the amount of RAM, we assume them to be the same during the presentation.

The size of the GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II does not show a significant difference compared to a reference GeForce GTX 560 Ti. The black printed circuit board is 23,8 cm long and 11,1 cm wide, and 3,7 cm high, including the cooling on it. In terms of appearance, the most distinctive point of the card is the cooling itself. The metal cover resting on the rib complex and its design has now become a trademark of MSI Twin Frozr cards, with the manufacturer's logo and family definition on it (in this case Twin Frozr II). Of course, the point is below that. The ribs are relatively large, symmetrical in structure, and each block carries an 8 cm diameter fan.

The dense cooling made of aluminum fins extends over virtually the entire length of the PCB, and the heat leaving the GPU to the base is dissipated by four thick (6-7 mm) nickel-plated copper heat pipes over the entire surface of the Twin Frozr II cooling. The fans are, of course, PWM controlled. At the top of the PCB is the one-eyed SLI connector. Since the GTX 560 Ti is a muscular controller, it’s no surprise that we have two 6-pin PCI Exress power connectors on the back, another good piece of advice is not to send the oil out to it with a good 300-watt Codegen power supply. In terms of outputs, we can't report anything special, it follows the GeForce recipe, which can be called standard nowadays, ie a native miniHDMI has been added to the back of the two Dual-link DVIs. By the way, the card occupies two slots, the output connectors can be discovered on the lower half of the back panel, and the top row serves as a lattice for ventilation purposes, with a msi design surprise in the middle.

Since this is an OC version, we could count on factory tuning, and luckily we didn't have to be disappointed either, as MSI set the 822/1644/4000 MHz values ​​(GPU / shader / RAM) to 880/1760/4200 MHz re increased. This translates to 7% tuning for GPUs and shaders, and 5% tuning for memory, which, while not the roughest factory tuning on the market, provides a noticeable performance boost over ref clocks. These models also feature the classic GF114 GPU with 384 CUDA cores.

The memories are connected via a 256-bit bus, giving an available bandwidth of 134,4 GB / s. On the 1GB model, the KDG4FE-HC10325 GDDR04 chips are from Samsung, which are theoretically certified for 5 GHz, so in principle there is still plenty of spare in them. Although we do not have certain information about this, presumably the same chips have been added to the 5 GB version.

As MSI Twin Frozr II cards are also made in the spirit of Military Class, we summarize what components this service includes.

Hi-c CAP

The soul of Hi-c capacitors is tantalum, which is the 73rd element of the periodic table, and is a rather rare, off-white, shiny metal. Its melting point is very high, 3017 ° C. Due to its high chemical resistance, chemical devices and electrodes are made of tantalum. It is used to make dental drills, analytical balance weights, X-ray tube cathodes, fountain pen tips. Because it fits well with tissues, it is used to make aids that remain inside the body, such as supporting bones. It is also widely used mainly for capacitors in mobile phones and other electronic equipment, as shown in the attached figure. As a result, the Hi-c capacitor is estimated to have eight times longer life than conventional solid electrolyte capacitors.

SFC

 SFC (Super Ferrit Choke) covers a specially designed iron core coil. The coil contains an iron core whose permeability has been significantly increased. Compared to conventional coils, the SFC works at a temperature 35 ° C lower. Of course, this also has a small positive effect on heat production and stability.

Solid CAP

Solid CAP, the solid electrolytic capacitor, is the starting point for the Military Class series. These models no longer include conventional electrolytic capacitors, all conduits are at least Solid CAP, but where needed, Hi-c capacitors are added. This way we no longer have to worry about exploding capacitors, these types of capacities fail in a negligible number, with a nominal lifespan of 10 years.

From these components, Military Class II is formed, and in the package we also find a certificate that guarantees the authenticity of these parameters.

Summary of features

Twin Frozr II cooling:

- Dual 8cm PWM fans with increased air delivery.

- SuperPipe technology and nickel-plated copper heat pipes for better heat dissipation

- 20 ℃ degrees lower operating temperature compared to the reference cooling.

- Only 30dB noise at 70 teljes at full load

MSI Afterburner Tuning Utility:

- Voltage boost support for GPU.

- Parameterizable fan control (automatic or manual).

– "Burn-in" stability test.

Military Class II components:

- SFC (Super Ferrite Choke) for better overdrive characteristics.

- Hi-C CAP for GPU for more stable (smaller voltage drop = Vdrop) voltage.

- Solid CAPs for extended life.

Full specification:

Now we know the cards from the inside, let the measurements come!