MSI R7970 Lightning Review + BenchMarks ~ Saad Reviews (Reviews + Benchmarks)

MSI R7970 Lightning is one of the best looking cards we ever had in our labs. If you still don't know what a Radeon HD 7970 is or how it performs, let see....
As MSI claims
Unlocked Digital Power
- Unlocked BIOS: One click to unlock all protections for extreme overclocking
- Digital PWM Controller: More stable and precise voltage by digital signal
- Enhanced Power Design: 2X Power output for maximum OC potential
GPU Reactor
- An add-on device on the back of R7970 Lightning (Behind GPU) for the overclocking stability
- Provide 88% higher power capacity and eliminate power noise (ripple)
Xtreme Thermal
- Dust Removal technology on Twin Frozr IV keeps dust out for the best thermal condition
- Dual Form-in-one Heatsinks provide better heat dissipation and strengthen the structure
Military Class III Components
- Meet MIL-STD-810G standard to ensure the best stability and quality.
- Adopt CopperMOS, Hi-c CAP, Golden SSC, and Dark Solid CAP

We will check it out.

Since the release of AMDs 7900 series we have taken a look at several 7970 products from various manufacturers including two factory overclocked models which applied a custom design to the solid AMD base. As is always the case though time to work with a new product results in manufacturers pushing it further and further towards its limit.
Today we have the most extreme 7970 we have received yet, the MSI Radeon 7970 Lightning. On paper MSI have taken this GPU to a whole new level with extra PCB's, voltage read points, power phases and top of the line components so we are going to do the same. Rather than bench the card at its impressive factory overclock we are taking it to the limit, its maximum stable overclock to see how it compares to the reference design as well as an overclocked, 3GB GTX 580.
What a product to look at, the R7970 lightning has a very rare design, comes with only the best components, has voltage monitoring headers, comes pre-overclocked (extensively) and allows to be voltage tweaked at many levels.
MSI go with a dual 10cm fan "Twin Frozr" design on this 7970 and a yellow trim runs across the heatsink shroud which extends past the length of the PCB. This cooler is dual slot, though it is taller than the pcb to accommodate the large bank of aluminium fins and copper GPU Block which are connected by two 8mm and three 6mm nickel plated heatpipes. Also present under the aluminium heatsink is an additional plate which sits on the memory and VRMs, cooling them while adding stability to the PCB.
To pursue Eyefinity they have made the card Eyefinity6 compatible, by use of four DisplayPort connectors and two single link DVI connectors you can get six monitors running. Though realistically nobody does that as you have that ugly bezel from left to right smack down in the middle of you field of view.There's another feature though, to give the product a little more 'niche' MSI implemented a small add-on board that is called a GPU-reactor which functions as a power supply module which, when installed on the back of the GPU. It increases current volume by 88%, reduces power supply noise by 13%, and should improve overall overclocking stability.
MSI is back in da house this time with the Radeon 7000 series cards, armed with a customized PCB and the popular Twin Frozr III cooler they have launched their Radeon HD 7950 model.
Obviously there isn't a Lightning board without some special cooling, in this round MSI again revert towards the Twin Frozr cooler revision IV. Located under its aluminum cooling body, you can find a high density fin grid array that provides heat dissipating area that is fed by heat-pipes.
New in this series is that MSI also incorporated Dust Removal Technology -- that means that the fans are running in reverse for 30 seconds after booting to remove dust from the heat sinks.

Lets do some pratical work....