MSI's new GeForce GTX 780 Gaming 6 GB targets the demanding gamer who wants plenty of VRAM to be available in every situation. With recent games like Wolfenstein: The New Order and Watch_Dogs recommending 3 GB with details at Ultra, it might look like a good idea to buy a card with some extra memory. Compared to the reference design GTX 780 with 3 GB, the MSI 6 GB Gaming is 12% -13% faster, which can be attributed to the overclock only since our game tests conclusively show that there is no significant improvement due to the extra video RAM. The only test where we can see a difference between 3 GB and 6 GB is with Watch_Dogs at 4K (Ultra HD) resolution. Here, the MSI GTX 780 Gaming 6 GB overtakes the GTX 780 Ti with much more shading power but less performance because it lacks the extra memory. All other games show no such improvement, not even with Watch_Dogs at 5760 x 1080 (the next lowest resolution). You might anticipate future games demanding more memory at 4K, but a single GTX 780 is simply too slow to deliver playable framerates at 4K, no matter whether it has 3 GB or 6 GB of VRAM. Still, the MSI GTX 780 Gaming delivers excellent performance because of its overclock out of the box, which makes it faster than the GTX Titan and Radeon R9 290X, although it is roughly 8% slower than the GTX 780 Ti. In terms of performance delivered, I would classify the MSI GTX 780 Gaming as the ideal card for gameplay at 1440p resolution, where it can run all games at maximum details and with good framerates. I only wish MSI had overclocked the memory chips, too, since those could easily take a few hundred MHz extra.
Other components of the card remain largely unchanged. The card's PCB design is identical to the 3 GB version as the additional memory is implemented by using chips with twice the capacity each. The voltage regulation circuitry and cooling solution also remain the same as well and go perfectly with the card. The card also emits roughly as much noise as the NVIDIA GTX 780 reference design, which makes the MSI GTX 780 3 GB Gaming quieter than the card reviewed today. The difference seems to be due to different fan setting in the BIOS. It certainly can't be related to power consumption because our testing shows there to only be a marginal increase in power consumed.
With a price of $590, the MSI GTX 780 Gaming 6 GB is not cheap. It costs $100 more than the cheapest GTX 780 with 3 GB and certainly doesn't provide a performance improvement worth the extra $100. NVIDIA's GTX 780 Ti retails for $660, which is another $70 increase, but it performs better in all scenarios, with the exception of Watch_Dogs at 4K, where we saw the extra memory provide a benefit. Unless you have a specific need for 6 GB, you will be much better off buying a GTX 780 3 GB or spending a bit of extra money on a GTX 780 Ti. If you plan on building a SLI or triple-SLI rig for gaming at 4K, I could imagine the GTX 780 6 GB being useful. It offers a better price/performance ratio than the GTX 780 Ti, but looking forward, we're not sure if the extra memory helps. I'm also not convinced it is worth the extra cost in even such a scenario, which is why I am reluctant to give this card an award despite its high score. It is a great card, but there are simply better ways to spend the money.