# MSI Radeon HD 7970 Lightning 3 GB



## W1zzard (Apr 24, 2012)

MSI's Radeon HD 7970 Lightning is a heavily customized implementation of the HD 7970 with focus on performance and overclocking. The card uses a beefed up voltage regulation circuitry and massive dual-fan heatsink to ensure stable operation at MSI's clocks of 1070 MHz core and 1400 MHz memory.

*Show full review*


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## swirl09 (Apr 25, 2012)

All going well a new build will be happening next week. Over the past month Ive gone back and forth from the red team to the green team a couple of times, well the wheel is about to stop rotating and we're currently sitting on red ^.^

Its not going to be this card however, the lack of dual link DVI is not acceptable for me. Altho on a positive note for this card I would like to point out that while the price is listed as a con here, its actually readily available for just under the price of most reference 680's (UK&IE), which just a month ago was a cornerstone of the praise nVidia were getting.


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## FreedomEclipse (Apr 25, 2012)




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## hhumas (Apr 25, 2012)

in comparison where is evga gtx 680 sc signature


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## dj-electric (Apr 25, 2012)

W1zz, where is overvolting?


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## Completely Bonkers (Apr 25, 2012)

single link DVI! :shadedshu

W1zz... could you please add TDP and technology nm as a standard in all your spec tables? (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_7970_Lightning/) Thanks!


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## the54thvoid (Apr 25, 2012)

Nice.  The 7970 at 1070 performs somewhere between the 680's operating range (1006-1110).

I don't like the perf summary graphs as they (by definition) have to iron out the quite massive diffs between cards.  I took the liberty to take W1zz's review and plot a spreadsheet using the 1200 res results on all games tested.

It shows MASSIVE swings between the two cards.
Red is an AMD win, Green is an Nvidia win.  Anything under 5% isn't coloured - it's too low to be significant.  Note the whopping 20% higher average power draw too.  But then again, _in four titles it beats the 680 by 20%_

This chart is nothing but a mathematical model of W1zz's review.  Hope it helps.  (The minus simply means it went Nvidia's way).






One caveat - I'm sure the fan profile could be altered to make it quieter but also, Hardware Canucks tested the 7970 Lightning and got this result (they confirmed W1zz's power draw results).


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## W1zzard (Apr 25, 2012)

the54thvoid said:


> I'm sure the fan profile could be altered to make it quieter



of course. but then temps would be higher.

does hwcanucks test card only noise or whole system? what meter do they use? 12 inch seems a bit close


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## the54thvoid (Apr 25, 2012)

From HC



> What you see below are the baseline idle dB(A) results attained for a relatively quiet open-case system (specs are in the Methodology section) sans GPU along with the attained results for each individual card in idle and load scenarios. The meter we use has been calibrated and is placed at seated ear-level exactly 12” away from the GPU’s fan. For the load scenarios, a loop of Unigine Heave 2.5 is used in order to generate a constant load on the GPU(s) over the course of 20 minutes.



Methodology section.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...53263-msi-hd-7970-lightning-3gb-review-4.html

Guru3D gets this: http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-radeon-hd-7970-lightning-review/12


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## W1zzard (Apr 25, 2012)

"seated ear level".. maybe they use a highly directional microphone (like most sound level meters) and don't point it towards the graphics card.

even subjectively the 7970 lightning is extremely noisy

guru claims the card does not get much noisier going from idle to load (36 vs 37). you want me to make a recording how that sounds here?


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## the54thvoid (Apr 25, 2012)

I never find recordings useful.  I never know what volume to use 

It's academic to me, I'm under water now with my card - which is a point, EKWB make blocks for Asus DCII cards.  Someone should make blocks for Lightnings.

Tweaktown tested the Lightning, albeit at 1225 core and it also noisy as hell.  I guess there's many factors concerned and the luck of the draw how it will work out in each persons rig.

My GTX 580 Lightning hit the sound barrier and ran at about 50-60 degrees load.  I tweaked it on a fan profile to hit closer to 70 degrees but it kept it very quiet.


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## BigMack70 (Apr 25, 2012)

Nice review to have. 

I do think it might have been more helpful if it included the Lightning's overclocked results in all the tests. The entire purpose of the card is overclocking (as is even said in the review), so I think it's a disservice to not include those tests.


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## Lionheart (Apr 25, 2012)

Hey Wizz, will you be showing more games in the Overclocked page other then COD4 in the near future?


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## W1zzard (Apr 25, 2012)

Lionheart said:


> Hey Wizz, will you be showing more games in the Overclocked page other then COD4 in the near future?



no plans for more than one game.

this review adds eyefinity testing, temperature and oc comparison tables. last review added a new ivy bridge test system and alan wake. nobody had anything to say about that. not very motivated right now to add extra work


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## Delta6326 (Apr 25, 2012)

Awesome review! Love the new setup W1zz just when I thought your reviews couldn't get any more pro you come out with this. I really like the Temp page.

I agree with you W1zz that the GTX 680 is the better buy.


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## douglatins (Apr 25, 2012)

Weird, the lightning 580 is perfect, low noise and low temps, this have neither WEIRD


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## the54thvoid (Apr 25, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> no plans for more than one game.
> 
> this review adds eyefinity testing, temperature and oc comparison tables. last review added a new ivy bridge test system and alan wake. nobody had anything to say about that. not very motivated right now to add extra work



The work you do is second to none for in depth analysis.  Your games spread is top notch and the review is clinical.  I always place your reviews at the top of the quality pile. I think many take your work a little for granted but please understand your work is easily THE reference point for other reviews.


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## dj-electric (Apr 25, 2012)

I concur w1zzard's opinion, the sharp shape of TF II-IV's fans does make A LOT of noise. A lot of the times an unnecessary noise even at low temperatures. MSI really needs to fix the fan\temp ratio operation of their TwinFrozrs in a lot of graphics cards such as the lightning


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## Darkleoco (Apr 25, 2012)

Very nice looking card with very nice performance in BF3 O_O.


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## cadaveca (Apr 25, 2012)

Damn you MSI for using black PCB and gold chokes. Can haz three, please?


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## Delta6326 (Apr 25, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> no plans for more than one game.
> 
> this review adds eyefinity testing, temperature and oc comparison tables. last review added a new ivy bridge test system and alan wake. nobody had anything to say about that. not very motivated right now to add extra work



If it makes you fill any better I *ONLY* use TPU for my tech info and I do notice the big and small changes you make with your reviews. 

I'm good with hardware, but suck with software I only use the internet for TPU, Newegg, Gmail.


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## BigMack70 (Apr 25, 2012)

As to fan noise... I own one of these cards and it is pretty quiet at 1.22v 1200/1600 OC. It's significantly quieter than my XFX DD Black Edition 7970 was at that clock, though it is not as quiet as my previous card (8800 GTS) was.

Granted, I have very good case ventillation (2x120mm front + side intake, 3x140mm top/rear exhaust), but still... I dunno about the noise results here, especially since noise isn't a big complaint in other reviews of this card. 

I'm getting good temps (sub-75C) with only marginal fan noise, at a pretty high overclock. Now, I don't use OCCT/Furmark, so if that's the test here for noise then I could see things being different. However, for hours of gaming, I have no complaints with temps/noise.

Wish that the one OC test for this card was something where the 680/7970 perform more similarly in... the 7970 does really poorly in some old DX9 games like COD. It would be like testing a 680 OC on AVP... doesn't give a good indication of the average performance boost compared to the other card. I think 54thvoid's point above is very important to note when comparing the 7970 and the 680.


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## W1zzard (Apr 25, 2012)

i'm open to suggestions for a test that checks oc performance


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## Casecutter (Apr 25, 2012)

Sure we knew this would promote a huge TDP once OC'd and max'd that not a true bellwether, when a GTX680 no longer permit you the traditional OC gains like this.  In all fairness, today it’s really moot.  Looking at “Peak” (Crysis 2 at 1920x1200), we get a better representation of a typical gaming power draw and there’s no real difference. (ref to ref)

I'd now like to see the power figures for each game during real play.  I think looking at Nvidia GTX680 (or AMD) those Max power number (Furmark) matters little anymore.  I'd like to see how [H] has been reporting it, they pull power on all B-M runs (they do 5 titles).  There some clear advantages for the GTX680 (BF3), but once averaged the GTX680 is 4-5% more efficient for what not any big performance difference in what you see coming through the monitor for those five.  

Nvidia got it right this time a small fast Chip, but with complexity and cost, while negating the long-established enthusiast OC’n.  They made their card "plug-n-play"... while idot proof.  If you do bump it up, it still ends up maintianing OC'n limits based on dynamically adjusted clock/voltage against the rendering load, temperature, and other factors.


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## FreedomEclipse (Apr 25, 2012)

I would be nice if you included tests with the GPU reactor on and off as I think the GPU reactor will be sold seperately.

there are some sites that are saying the reactor is more of a gimmick and doesnt really do much for overclocking at all but just makes the card look more sexy


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## erocker (Apr 25, 2012)

Lack of dual DVI makes it a loser for me.


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## eidairaman1 (Apr 25, 2012)

I want to see the GB 7970/7870 review

how about a MSI Hawk 7870 Review too


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## the54thvoid (Apr 25, 2012)

erocker said:


> Lack of dual DVI makes it a loser for me.



Yeah, had to check the back of my card to see, standard board is dual DVI I think.  Why scupper a premium card with a numbnuts decision like that?


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## _JP_ (Apr 25, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> i'm open to suggestions for a test that checks oc performance


Battlefield 3 is a game that has been tested and proved to be entirely dependent on GPU performance. So I think that makes it a good contender.


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 25, 2012)

_JP_ said:


> Battlefield 3 is a game that has been tested and proved to be entirely dependent on GPU performance. So I think that makes it a good contender.



I agree! BF3.


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## EarthDog (Apr 25, 2012)

Unigine Heaven (Hwbot version) as well.


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## W1zzard (Apr 25, 2012)

more input for possible oc benchmarks please. bf3 seems like an acceptable choice so far



eidairaman1 said:


> how about a MSI Hawk 7870 Review too



still under nda


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## eidairaman1 (Apr 25, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> still under nda



I honestly cant wait till that lifts cuz Im goin right for 7800 series myself


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## BigMack70 (Apr 26, 2012)

I would +1 to BF3 as the new title to test overclocks in... it's a solid DX11 title that many people look to in order to answer the question "how will this GPU run it".

It is also a title that will entice people to overclock their GPU, since no single GPU card can currently max the game out at 60fps minimum framerate at stock speeds (at least in the worst case scenario - 64 man sharqi/karkand multiplayer - I realize that benchmarking has to be done in single player where framerate is much higher).


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Apr 26, 2012)

Ever since looking into the poor overclock gains of the 7750 I've been of the mindset that you need more than one game for the overclock results. It might gain 2% in one game but 14% in another.


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## Delta6326 (Apr 26, 2012)

I would be up for BF3 its widely more popular then the old COD4 and it will be one you can use for quit some time as most stuff doesn't max it out.


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## manofthem (Apr 26, 2012)

I really like the addition of eyefinity benches along with the other resolutions. Even though I'm not running eyefinity yet, it really adds some great insight into the cards. Thanks W1zz for that.


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## Spaceman Spiff (Apr 26, 2012)

Hey Wiz, I apologize in advance if I missed it, but I think many people, mainly myself, would love to see physical dimensions of the cards you are reviewing. Or maybe just me, since I'm trying to squeeze some big GPUs in my not so large case. 
I know there were some differences in 6970's between reference and non-reference. 
Just a thought.


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## SonDa5 (Apr 26, 2012)

I miss the UT3 benchmark comparisons.


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## SnapS4 (Apr 26, 2012)

really noisy cooling when loading


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## Lionheart (Apr 26, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> more input for possible oc benchmarks please. bf3 seems like an acceptable choice so far
> 
> 
> 
> still under nda



Since I brought it up lol I shall mention mainly the DX11 titles, Metro 2033, AVP, Shogun 2, Crysis 2 (Meh lol) and like the other guy mentioned BF3, don't want to add too many OCed game benchmarks to your workload


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## jomama22 (Apr 26, 2012)

Hey wizzard nice review.

I had a question for you. Which adapter do u finally get your dvi dl 2560x1440 monitor to work with? I have three of these cards and tried both accel and startech adapters but neither worked. Even if it doesnt work 100% ill still get it lol.

Thanks


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## dj-electric (Apr 26, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> i'm open to suggestions for a test that checks oc performance



I have tested A LOT of games when overclocking graphics cards, the best test i've ran into - definitely Anno2070.


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## W1zzard (Apr 26, 2012)

jomama22 said:


> Hey wizzard nice review.
> 
> I had a question for you. Which adapter do u finally get your dvi dl 2560x1440 monitor to work with? I have three of these cards and tried both accel and startech adapters but neither worked. Even if it doesnt work 100% ill still get it lol.
> 
> Thanks



best one was the 270 mhz accel (KS30008-131). there are a bunch of other companies that sell the same adapter under a different name, for example club 3d in europe.

i haven't tried their 330 mhz adapter. might be worth giving it a try


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## radrok (Apr 27, 2012)

Awesome review W1zzard, everytime you get to review a GPU is fantastic because you're one of the few who actually spend time by removing the heatsink and show how the card is really made.

Many reviews around the web are just a copypaste of their previous reviews with changed names/numbers and they don't cover half of what they should.

Thank you, W1zzard.

The card is awesome, it's tempting me especially because EK is going to make a fullcover block (they said it on the 7970 waterblock thread on XS) which should be ready in 3 weeks.


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## DeadSkull (Apr 27, 2012)

For the max overclock did you guys bump up the vcore or did you get 1210 Mhz with stock voltage?

I can see that 





> Maximum stable clocks of our card are 1210 MHz core (13% overclock) and 1850 MHz Memory (32% overclock).


 and if you guys got that without increasing any of the voltages at all that's a very good card.


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## Frogger (Apr 27, 2012)

W1zzard said:


> still under nda





eidairaman1 said:


> I honestly cant wait till that lifts cuz Im goin right for 7800 series myself



the MSI Hawk 7870 might just be the sweet spot of the bunch waiting sucks


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## dj-electric (Apr 28, 2012)

380$ isn't a sweet spot at all. Better off getting an HD7950.


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## Steevo (Apr 28, 2012)

I am Steevo, and I approve of this review.


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## purecain (Apr 28, 2012)

use fluidmark as we have a benchmarking thread... that way we can directly see where new cards fall reletive to our own....

just an idea Wizz...


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## Ravenas (Jul 13, 2012)

I've been considering this card for some time now. I've finally decided this is the card I want. The improvements over this card and the Ghz edition are not enough in my opinion.


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## m1dg3t (Jul 13, 2012)

Differences? This beast is already better than GHz edition plus it doesn't have the new dumb dynamic OCing introduced with the GHz editions 

Can't wait for the rest of my gear so I can play with my MSi


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