June 3 2011 review by kitguru

While this card is already supplied in a highly overclocked state, this particular core had a massive headroom, thanks in part to the voltage tuning options on offer via the MSI Afterburner software. The reviewers were able to break the 950mhz barrier from this sample which is one of the best results they have ever achieved. Obviously, overclocking can be very hit and miss, with even different samples from the same batch delivering mixed results. Twin Frozr III cooler is one of the best available and this card gives a Better value for money than the GeForce GTX590.

Test Setup:

• Computer Case : Thermaltake Level 10
• CPU : Intel Core i7 970
• CPU Cooler : Coolit Vantage
• Mainboard : MSI X58A-GD65
• PSU : OCZ ZX 1250W
• RAM : 6GB G.Skill Performance Gaming ram
• SSD : Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB
• SSD : Kingston SSDNow V+ 512GB Gen 2

Compared To:

• AMD Radeon HD 5850, HD 5870, HD 6850, HD 6870, HD 6950, HD 6970, HD 6990
• MSI N560GTX Ti Twin Frozr II
• nVidia GeForce GTX 460 OC, GTX 570, GTX 570, GTX 580, GTX5 90
• XFX HD5970

Benchmarks Tested:

Alien V Predator, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Dead Space 2, Far Cry 2, Lost Planet 2, Mafia 2, Metro 2033, Resident Evil 5, STALKER: Clear Sky, Total War: Shogun 2.

April 12 2011 review by tweaktown

The GTX 580 is fast, when overclocked it's even faster! The HD 6970 Lightning has a better price/performance, while the GTX 580 Lightning is pure performance, for a high price though.

Benchmarks Tested:

Many games, power consumption, sound and temperature test, performance and value rating, PhysX test.

Compared To:

AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB, HIS Radeon HD 6860 1GB and HD 6950 2GB, MSI GeForce GTX 580 1536MB, Palit GTX 560 Ti 1GB Sonic Platinum, Sapphire HD 6970 2GB and HD 6990 4GB.

Test Setup:

• CPU cooler : Noctua NH-D14 with 2 fans
• CPU : Intel Core i7-980X
• Graphics Card : MSI N580GTX Lightning
• Memory: 6GB Kingston HyperX 2000MHz DDR3 PC16000
• OS : W7 Ultimate x64
• PSU : Corsair AX1200
• SSD: Kingston SSDNow V+128GB

Overclocking:

The reviewers did not perform any overclocking.