MSI GTX660 question

[lkiseljak]

ok so i am probably be buying a Msi gf gtx660 OC graphics card. In store there is a standard and the TwinFrozr edition,the difference in prices is 10 dollars.. my question is do i need the TwinFrozr or should i just save money as the only difference is a bit better cooling design and about 20 mhz clock difference

 

[17seconds]

Definitely skip your next Taco Bell Loco Taco Combo and use the money for the Twin Frozr version. The cooler temperatures will result in higher, more consistently maintained turbo boost clocks and overall better performance.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

a 20mhz clock difference probably = about 2% performance increase. So you weigh up weather or not the price is right for that. As for better cooling, it is only needed if you want to overclock further, which with these cards you need to BIOS mod to get decent overclocks. If you dont want to bios mod, a standard cooler works well enough to get a +50mhz clock increase, which is about all you will get without a bios mod. Bios mod is the only way to increase voltage on these cards to get higher overclocks.

 

[17seconds]

a 20mhz clock difference probably = about 2% performance increase. So you weigh up weather or not the price is right for that. As for better cooling, it is only needed if you want to overclock further, which with these cards you need to BIOS mod to get decent overclocks. If you dont want to bios mod, a standard cooler works well enough to get a +50mhz clock increase, which is about all you will get without a bios mod. Bios mod is the only way to increase voltage on these cards to get higher overclocks.

The latest 2.3 version of Afterburner restored the ability to unlock voltage on MSI cards.

I learned a lot about Turbo Boost from this review of GTX 660 Ti's:
Quote:
"Temperature in particular impacts boost in a big way as evidenced by the falling clock speeds of EVGA’s SC and the reference board. Meanwhile, the custom cooled cards were able to stay at lower temperatures for longer periods of time, resulting in clock speed stability and higher performance over longer periods of time."
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/56432-gtx-660-ti-roundup-asus-evga-gigabyte-galaxy-msi-24.html

 

[lkiseljak]

OK seems like the TwinFrozr is a better choice,I'll probably go with it. Thanks everyone!