EVGA GTX 770 SC ACX Vs. MSI GTX 770 Lightning

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Cobalt J

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Jun 26, 2013
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Hey I've seen a couple of other threads asking the same question but my situation is a little bit different.

From what I can tell, the majority of what you're paying an extra $30 for on the Lightning is overclocking capability, and quite frankly, I won't overclock it.

What I DO like on the lighting it - lets face it - it looks amazing. No but seriously, the only TRUE functionality that draws me towards it is:
1) Better cooling
2) dust removal via fans spinning in reverse (I only get to really clean out my PC about once a year and I live near the ocean so i get a LOT of dust)
3) military grade components (can anyone comment on this? Is it just a gimmick?)

Now for EVGA:
1) They're known for being rock solid in terms of both reliability and customer support.
2) It's not gaudy (the lightning looks really good but some aspects are a bit over the top).
3) A lot of people have the EVGA card and have said great things about it.
4) Truthfully I am partial to EVGA.

Practically speaking, I know the EVGA is probably a fantastic card and I should probably by that one because its cheaper - I just wanted some second opinions.

Lastly, I'm not a super hardcore gamer. Yes I love playing games with my friends and want my games to look the best they can - but I'm not playing on multiple monitors, overclocking my gpu, etc

Thanks for the help!
-Cobalt J
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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Jul 27, 2010
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The EVGA GTX 670 is not made with the ACX cooler. The closest they make for the 670 is the Signature 2 cooler. Hopefully, you mis-typed and are actually looking at the GTX 770's.

If you aren't overclocking, the Lightning makes less sense, but it's still a better card than the EVGA one regardless of the model number. It probably also costs more. The Twin Frozr IV cooler makes all the difference and is much better than the Signature 2 for the 670, but is a closer match to the ACX on the 770.

If you are looking at 670's, then the MSI Power Edition cards are cheaper and also come with the Twin Frozr IV cooler, upgraded components, etc., just not as extreme as the Lightning.
 
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vinhn

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Jun 15, 2013
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Go with the EVGA then, the new ACX cooler are quite great from what I read. Beside I would just buy them just for the better customer support too(I'm not bias, I'm using MSI card right now).

Anyway, it is up to you which card you like the best, I doubt that you can not go wrong with either card.
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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Then yeah, EVGA's the way to go. I've been a fan of theirs since they offered a double lifetime warranty, which covered both overclocking and modifying the card's cooler.

Sadly, that no longer exists, but they still pride themselves on their customer service.
 
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Cobalt J

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Jun 26, 2013
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You don't think the extra cooling matters?
 
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Cobalt J

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Hmm okay...The reason I ask if because I'm returning my EVGA GTX 670 FTW due to faulty cooling - it essentially fried itself (hence the new card)
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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But that was faulty cooling, correct? I've got a 670 FTW myself, and it keeps cool just fine.
Also, the ACX cooler is not a blower style cooler like some people thing, and actually is a wonderful little thing; there are a lot of rave reviews out there about it.
 
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RussK1

RussK1

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Lightning by leaps and bounds. It's non-reference pcb is the Deal taker. Better vrm, more phases, binned chips, etc... all this equates to lower temps across the board. Up power control in Precision or AB and see the higher boost clocks without much effort.

Gigabyte 4GB WF3 for $450 is a good choice as well.
 
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Cobalt J

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I should also mention that because I'm returning my GTX 670 the EVGA card would essentially be a free upgrade and the MSI card would only be a $30 upgrade. So price isn't really a limiting factor. From this point it seems like it's overall better card (MSI) vs better customer support and warranty (EVGA).
Speaking of which, has anyone and any experience with MSI returns and/or customer support?
 
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Here are two reviews of both cards on Guru3d which you can compare side-by-side. The EVGA GTX 770 Classified is more of a better match for the Lightning, but you are looking at the regular OC/Superclocked card.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_770_sc_review,1.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_770_lightning_review,1.html

Core/Boost/Memory clocks
EVGA: 1111/1163/7010 mhz
MSI: 1150/1202/7010 mhz

Power Management
EVGA: 8 phase, 8+6 pin power connector
MSI: 12 phase w/GPU Reactor, 8+8 pin power connector

Power Consumption
EVGA: 199 watts
MSI: 197 watts

Load Temp
EVGA: 69c
MSI: 61c

Fan Noise
EVGA: 40 DBa
MSI: 37 DBa

Overclocking
EVGA: 1181/1280/7560 MHz, Tomb Raider FPS: 101
MSI: 1225/1306/7806 MHz, Tomb Radier FPS: 102
 
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Cobalt J

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Has anyone had any experience with MSI customer support? I haven't really heard anything about them.
If MSI has good support I'll definitely do with the lightning but what good is a higher quality card if I'm dead in the water when something goes wrong?

EDIT: so far all I'm seeing is bad stories :S

OK here the story I can not get a hold of Msi at all I called within their operating hours for support no luck. I have a 3 month old lighting that was not cheap 549.00 and its dead So I hope Msi gets this fixed in a timely manor . I had to do the online rma and pay 35.00 dollars to ship it insured I am not a happy gamer whatsoever. I hope my Rma goes smooth but seeing how I can not speak to a live human for support my hopes are fading fast... Msi will receive the dead card wed so I will keep all posted here on the status. Please help me get this resolved I have spent well over 1000.00 just in the last 4 months on 2 of your top tier cards and have always recommended the lightnings due to their performance and low noise and great coolers. I just hope you support me in my time of need as I have supported Msi .
Click to expand...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but MSI's RMA dept is a train wreck! I had 2 HD4890's in CF. one went bad so I submitted an RMA. a month and a half later I received a comparable nvidia card because they didn't have any more 4890's in stock. I sent back the nvidia card and they sent me a defective 4890 (another month and a half later) so I had to send that one back. At this point, 4890's were discontinued so they were nice and sent me a 5850 (yay, free upgrade!). only problem, It would not CF with my other 4890. after arguing back and forth over email because I couldn't get someone on the phone, They finally agreed to take back my working 4890 and replace it with another 5850 for my CF setup would work. In the end they did right by me and I got 2 nice upgrades out of the deal but every thing took over 6 months to resolve. until than I was a very loyal MSI customer. since then, I have not purchased another MSI product. I wish you the best of luck and hope your experience goes better than mine.
Click to expand...

I RMA'd a Twin Frozr 7950 in September and it took 6 weeks to get a replacement. There wasn't any update to my RMA until 5 weeks of waiting, and they don't email you, they just update the status on the RMA website.
Click to expand...
 
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Oh totally, that's actually a significant concern of mine. I had to RMA a motherboard to MSI, it took a few weeks, I had to pay shipping, which is standard I think, and then after all that..... they sent me a used, defective motherboard! I couldn't bear to go through all that again with the RMA, so I just got disgusted and bought another new motherboard.

Around that same time, I had two other RMA experiences, a PSU with Corsair and a video card with Asus. Both of those went much more smoothly. With Asus, I got a brand new in the box replacement and only had about a week wait time. With Corsair, I live near their factory, so I dropped off the unit and they went in back and got me a new one immediately with no wait.
 
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Cobalt J

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Well.....that was far from comforting :lol:
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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That being said, if you go searching for reviews on any company's customer service, you're going to find only the bad stories. The people who had everything go smoothly don't go online and complain about it. :p

I could tell you all sorts of horror stories about gigabyte, but I haven't dealt with MSI yet.
 
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Cobalt J

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Jun 26, 2013
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Haha yeah I suppose that's true

 
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sdmf74

sdmf74

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Matto17secs is right you should be comparing the 770 classified vs the lightning not the acx version. In this case get the classified. Why bother with crappy cust service and an ugly card. evga has excellent customer service and warranty
 
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