MSI GeForce GTX 780 LIGHTNING Video Card Review @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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MSI GeForce GTX 780 LIGHTNING Video Card Review - We've got MSI's flagship GeForce GTX 780 LIGHTNING video card to evaluate today. This video card has a new design, comes completely customized from the ground up, and has obtained the highest overclocked we've ever achieved on a GTX 780. We put it up against the GALAXY GTX 780 HOF and the AMD Radeon HD 7990.
 
Nice :D

Add: Seems odd to be launching this card right before a potential price drop across the Nvidia line, what with the impending launch of AMD's answer to the 700 series. On the upside perhaps the prices on these things will drop quickly?
 
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..a very nice card, if not a bit late when priced so high - would have been a sell-out if available near launch time. Nvidia need a games bundle and I don't mean Duke Nukem Forever:rolleyes::rolleyes:...
 
The price is a serious downer. Anyway impending competition in the form of Hawaii XT should bring price cuts to all GTX 780 cards.
 
I wonder how the 780 Lightning compares to the ASUS 780 DirectCU II card
 
That's a pretty swanky card there.

I think it's a pretty hard sell compared to the Galaxy HOF model though.:D
 
-fixed. Thanks!

Also I doubt people who buy a GTX 780 are the kind of people who "need to save every dime". Let's accept that a GTX780 is a high-end luxury product.
Not that this changes the fact that the MSI GTX 780 Lightning is a bit too expensive of course...
 
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I know there are no guaranties in overclocking but it really makes you wonder if some other sites are doing something wrong or there were just golden cards tested in some situations since they vary so much:

1333 MHz max overclock
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...80_lightning_video_card_review/3#.UkBIOxB8VhE

1122 MHz max overclock
http://www.kitguru.net/components/g...gtx780-lightning-3gb-graphics-card-review/22/

1120 MHz max overclock
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/29.html

1333 MHz max overclock
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_780_lightning_review,28.html

1280 MHz max overclock
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ws/63200-msi-gtx-780-lightning-review-10.html

1241 MHz max overclock
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...g-Graphics-Card-Review/Overclocking-and-Closi

1135 MHz max overclock
http://www.vmodtech.com/th/article/msi-geforce-gtx-780-lightning-on-amd-fx-8350-test-review/page/20
 
Fixed! Thanks for the extra set of eyes.
 
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striker444 said:
I know there are no guaranties in overclocking but it really makes you wonder if some other sites are doing something wrong or there were just golden cards tested in some situations since they vary so much:
Click to expand...

It's a combo of both, with it usually being the former. Many review sites can be clueless when it comes to oc'ing.

The lightning, as expected, has spectacular performance with a high price tag.
 
Nice card but as is said in the article, the price is a major issue in the current landscape. The only category of customers mentioned is for those who price is no object. If that is the case, then why wouldn't these people then buy a few Titan cards for their rig? So, I see this as wonderful hardware geared to no particular customer other than those in the $750 - $800 price range for a card (whoever those peeps are). Really, with the latest price drop, it would be tempting to get a 7990 and add a waterblock to it as the price difference would cover the hardware. Too bad about the TDP of the 7990 as it would appear to otherwise be a pretty good overclocker with a good watercooling loop attached.
 
striker444 said:
I know there are no guarantees in overclocking but it really makes you wonder if some other sites are doing something wrong or there were just golden cards tested in some situations since they vary so much:
Click to expand...
Fixed that for ya ;) & good point you have.
Since I'm not familiar with Vmodtech.com I'll leave them out of this. But generally speaking the card seems to do very well. I really trust Techpowerup so I believe they just got a bad card... This also makes me think, is it a very small number of cards that get sent out for almost every review we read on so many websites?
Worth noting for me from Msi's marketing pics, Gigabyte no longer seems to have their "Super Overclock" branding for their highest end cards & Asus doesn't seem to have their "TOP" branded cards which I believe used to be cherry picked.
I long for the days of seeing hand picked cores for cards ala Gainward Golden Sample.
Thanks for the review guys!
 
striker444 said:
I know there are no guaranties in overclocking but it really makes you wonder if some other sites are doing something wrong or there were just golden cards tested in some situations since they vary so much:

1333 MHz max overclock
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...80_lightning_video_card_review/3#.UkBIOxB8VhE

1122 MHz max overclock
http://www.kitguru.net/components/g...gtx780-lightning-3gb-graphics-card-review/22/

1120 MHz max overclock
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/29.html

1333 MHz max overclock
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_780_lightning_review,28.html

1280 MHz max overclock
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ws/63200-msi-gtx-780-lightning-review-10.html

1241 MHz max overclock
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...g-Graphics-Card-Review/Overclocking-and-Closi

1135 MHz max overclock
http://www.vmodtech.com/th/article/msi-geforce-gtx-780-lightning-on-amd-fx-8350-test-review/page/20
Click to expand...


a little of both. you have impatient people that don't take the time to overclock things correctly, you have people that just set a card to something say "oh good it worked in this game, thats the max stable clock", and you have the people that are to scared to touch any voltage settings. typically i just go through all of the overclock reviews and just average it out. so that becomes my starting point when overclocking.
 
Great in depth review. You guys put a lot of work into this! While I would really love one of these cards - I just have a hard time justifying ~$750 for a video card.

There is another option that I would really like to see explored - that is an SLI 770 or 680 vs. these cards. Am I better off picking up a 2nd 680 (I've seen as low as $329) or holding off for now. Two 770s can be had for $758 right now. Would those top the 780s OCed or the 7990?

These cards are just not compelling me to make a jump right now.
 
I don't know what all the fuzz is about, MSI had to pull the 300% bios due to Nvidia's regulations so the LN2 part of this review becomes null for the consumer, most if not all the premium GTX 780's overclock marginally similar anyway. Also I think that with so much power this card should've overclocked way better than it did. The card looks cool, really cool. The cooler didn't perform as well as I would've expected, I don't think this is a gold award product. The EVGA Classified 780 does the same and costs less, plus you can extend it's warranty to a hefty 10 years. I know it is a little downgrade from lifetime but Galaxy expects us to pay $700+ for a premium product with a 2 year warranty and MSI expect us to do the same for an extra year.
 
twzTechman said:
Great in depth review. You guys put a lot of work into this! While I would really love one of these cards - I just have a hard time justifying ~$750 for a video card.

There is another option that I would really like to see explored - that is an SLI 770 or 680 vs. these cards. Am I better off picking up a 2nd 680 (I've seen as low as $329) or holding off for now. Two 770s can be had for $758 right now. Would those top the 780s OCed or the 7990?

These cards are just not compelling me to make a jump right now.
Click to expand...

I have a EVGA GTX 780 Classified and my roomate has 2 EVGA GTX 770 ACX in Sli. The 770's pump out like maybe 16-25 extra frames in most games over my rig. I chose the single card solution because I am really tired of multi card heat/bugs/space/power issues. I'm hitting
139 FPS avg on Battlefield 3, so what if I'm not hitting 155fps?

In my opinion you would be better off buying another 680 and riding the wave for maybe this whole Nvidia, AMD generation. With a setup like that I think you'll do fine.

This would keep you warm and cozy; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500248
 
striker444 said:
I know there are no guaranties in overclocking but it really makes you wonder if some other sites are doing something wrong or there were just golden cards tested in some situations since they vary so much:

1333 MHz max overclock
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...80_lightning_video_card_review/3#.UkBIOxB8VhE

1122 MHz max overclock
http://www.kitguru.net/components/g...gtx780-lightning-3gb-graphics-card-review/22/

1120 MHz max overclock
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/29.html

1333 MHz max overclock
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_780_lightning_review,28.html

1280 MHz max overclock
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ws/63200-msi-gtx-780-lightning-review-10.html

1241 MHz max overclock
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...g-Graphics-Card-Review/Overclocking-and-Closi

1135 MHz max overclock
http://www.vmodtech.com/th/article/msi-geforce-gtx-780-lightning-on-amd-fx-8350-test-review/page/20
Click to expand...

I would say its a safe bet that those review sites getting under 1200MHz OC's aren't measureing the actual max boost clock in game. I also think its a safe bet that ALL Lightning 780's are going to be in the mid 1200's to low 1300 range using max boost clocks.
 
Do you guys trust these high OC'd cards long term? Is using non outside exhausting fan designs worth it?

I'm was planning on going back to reference cards for my next buy. With all the noise, heat and trouble with my now failing Galaxy 580s, I don't know if I trust aftermarket coolers and high factory OCs anymore.
 
For the article, were you guys running a special BIOS? I'm in LN2 mode and I can't increase the Power limit beyond 109%. I've been reading online of some firmware updates that regular users are doing to bypass this but I was curious if there was an official method.
 
VIC-20 said:
Do you guys trust these high OC'd cards long term? Is using non outside exhausting fan designs worth it?

I'm was planning on going back to reference cards for my next buy. With all the noise, heat and trouble with my now failing Galaxy 580s, I don't know if I trust aftermarket coolers and high factory OCs anymore.
Click to expand...

Why not run it long term? The card is rarely ever at 100% load except under gaming or benching. Any other time, the clock speeds and voltages throttle down while not gaming or benching.
 
Would this card be good for long term full [H]ard use 24/7/365 with Folding @ Home?
 
This card is currently priced at $540 at online etailers like Amazon and the 'Egg.
 
Rdzona said:
Dont you want more compute capable cards for folding? Which 780s are not.
Click to expand...

Well... price versus performance... with the OC abilities of the Lightning you can get awful close to the performance of the Titan for about half the cost.
 
Pocatello said:
Well... price versus performance... with the OC abilities of the Lightning you can get awful close to the performance of the Titan for about half the cost.
Click to expand...

Two for me came out around 1k shipped. Should arrive next week :)
 
Got mine yesterday but doesn't overclock for shit. Besides that is damn good card and well made.
 
xoleras said:
What OC's are you getting specifically?
Click to expand...

I picked up 2 of them on Wed. I got them both at 1202 on the core 6300 on the ram....Not too shabby but the temps suck.

I planned to either go with an AIO cooler with a mod bracket I have, or full blown water cooling since the block just got released.

I also planned to go with the unlocked power limit and higher voltage bios soon.

Not great clocks, but I know I can do more.
 
DASHlT said:
I picked up 2 of them on Wed. I got them both at 1202 on the core 6300 on the ram....Not too shabby but the temps suck.

I planned to either go with an AIO cooler with a mod bracket I have, or full blown water cooling since the block just got released.

I also planned to go with the unlocked power limit and higher voltage bios soon.

Not great clocks, but I know I can do more.
Click to expand...

That's about what I get 1189 core 6350 mem. What's your vcore and mem voltage? Also what the hell do I do with this 'prioritize' setting?
 
naticus said:
That's about what I get 1189 core 6350 mem. What's your vcore and mem voltage? Also what the hell do I do with this 'prioritize' setting?
Click to expand...

Well i didn't test each card by itself, was just a quick test. I am using the L2N bios, set the vcore slider all the way to the right which was +100, power limit was set to 109%. I put the memory voltage at 1700 instead of 1600 (which did completely nothing for overclocking the memory), and left AUX voltage alone.

I put the prioritize option to temps over power limit. After about 3-4 hours of BF4, my max temp on the top card was 85c (not sure when it hit it, I just played for stability), and the max power limit was 98% on each card...Not bad

Great cards, great overlockers for the GPU, FUCKING HORRIBLE memory overclocks....

If you are interested, there is an unlocking bios out for these cards specifically. Since we are lucky and we have 2 bios's, I planned to flash the L2N bios with the new unlocked one, and keep the stock one stock incase something goes wrong.
 
Played around with mine for a little bit today (was just delivered this morning). Played some Crysis 3 and Metro LL, ran it on the stock bios, power at 109, core at +100 which gave me around 1240 mhz core. Totally stable, temps around 65 with auto fans, fan speed hovered around 58%, very quiet.

Can't wait to mess around a bit more with it, seems to be an awesome card.
 
Dashit, yeah I might try the %300 bios or whatever it is sometime though I would have to probably get a waterblock for it to work for the temps I would like.

@ Tony do you mean by core + 100 the voltage or core clock? My core coltage only goes to +37 is this normal?

EDIT: Just booted into LN2 BIOS and still have the same vcore at max +37 -- is this the highest we can push the core voltage on these cards?

OKGEsqO.jpg
 
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naticus said:
Dashit, yeah I might try the %300 bios or whatever it is sometime though I would have to probably get a waterblock for it to work for the temps I would like.

@ Tony do you mean by core + 100 the voltage or core clock? My core coltage only goes to +37 is this normal?

EDIT: Just booted into LN2 BIOS and still have the same vcore at max +37 -- is this the highest we can push the core voltage on these cards?

OKGEsqO.jpg
Click to expand...


WOW.....that is odd. I am using the MSI Afterburner for lightning cards. Did you happen to snag that one? I am not sure if it will make a difference. I just snagged that one and had the option for +100
 
No I am using the regular afterburner. Can you link the one you are using I can't find it anywhere. They all redirect me back to the version of afterburner that I am using.
 
naticus said:
No I am using the regular afterburner. Can you link the one you are using I can't find it anywhere. They all redirect me back to the version of afterburner that I am using.
Click to expand...

http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/msi_afterburner_beta_download.html

When you scroll down. Choose the link that specifically says its for 680/770/780 lightning cards. Now im not sure if that gives ya access to +100 volts, I just downloaded that one and been using it since I got the cards.

Good luck!
 
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