MSI R5870 Lightning on the test bench

German colleagues scrutinized the MSI tuning card.

A Micro-Star International Radeon 5870 Lightning model already we reported once , but after half a year, not everyone will remember it, so let’s run through the parameters quickly again. Contrary to previous news, the manufacturer has raised the clock of the graphics core called Cypress not to 1000 MHz but to “only” 900 MHz from the reference 850 MHz. The memories still represent an effective clock signal of 4.800 MHz. The card, blessed with a unique cooler and assembled from a selection of components, requires two 8-pin power cords for trouble-free operation, thus guaranteeing the possibility of overdriving. The custom-designed printed circuit board is equipped with measuring points that can be used to accurately measure the exact value of branches with different voltages. In principle, twelve LEDs on the back of the model change color depending on the load. (During the test, this did not work for some unknown reason, as they were in one color all along.)

In addition to the card, MSI also adds its own tuning software, Afterburner and Kombustor. With the help of these, the GPU clock was upgraded to 990 MHz, which was achieved by raising the factory voltage of 1,16 volts to 1,35. The memory chips also got a lot out of the speed stroke causing them to tick at 5.400 MHz. It couldn’t go any further because Afterburner doesn’t allow core voltages higher than 1,35 volts. With such awesome clocks, the Twin Frozr II cooler wasn’t embarrassed at all, as it was still able to keep the GPU temperature around 70 degrees. In terms of consumption, however, it still eats less than a Geforce GTX 470.

Now follow some test results with some game software. All tests were performed at 1920 × 1200 resolution and 4x edge smoothing. During Colin McRae Dirt 2 and Far Cry 2, the card refused to go below 60 FPS. During Crysis, he was able to squeeze out 31 FPS with maximum, i.e. very high detail, which even the most powerful Fermi, the Geforce GTX 480, could not achieve.

In the box next to the card, we find the usual amount of cables, but we don't get a full version of the game. The end-user price of a video card designed specifically for tuners is 460 euros.