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For this review we are using one of the fastest systems we have in our labs. The Intel Core i7 990x overclocked to 4.8ghz with 24GB of DDR3 memory, running at 1866mhz. This system is liquid cooled.
We test under real world conditions and don't focus at resolutions of just 2560×1600. We know only a very small portion (less than 1%) of the audience own a 30 inch screen.
System Validation is available here
Processor: Core i7 990X Extreme Edition @ 4.8ghz
Cooling: Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Black Edition
Chassis: Lian Li X2000F
Power Supply: ADATA 1200W
Memory: (6 x 4GB) 24GB Visiontek DDR3 1866mhz (10-10-10-24)
Storage: Intel 120GB SSD & 2TB Samsung storage drive
Monitors: Dell U3011 & Dell U2410 x 3.
Comparison cards:
AMD HD6990
AMD HD6970
AMD HD6950
AMD HD6870
Nvidia GTX590
Nvidia GTX570
Software:
Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
Fraps Professional
Steam Client
FurMark
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Nikon D3X with R1C1 kit.
Keithley Integra unit.
Thermal Diodes.
Calibrated power meter.
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp.
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter.
Games:
Alien V Predator
Lost Planet 2
F1 2011
Battlefield 3
Witcher 2
HomeFront
Resident Evil 5
Total War: Shogun 2
All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform generally under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests games across five closely matched runs and then average out the results to get an accurate median figure. If we use scripted benchmarks, they are mentioned on the relevant page.
Some game descriptions are edited from Wikipedia.
excellent, been waiting on a review of these for a very long time
Amazon have them also. I ordered one there, great deal and thanks for review.
Lol that power drain for the system is insane. I was drooling, but im glad I dont have it,. my electricity bill would be insane.
haha, total overkill. gotta love tech. Not sure id like the bill for a years worth of gaming on that system though.
Nice idea to work with arctic. I think sapphire did for a while on a range of cards didnt they?
impressive, never heard of the company. their website is great too. hope to see more of their products here
the power drain scares me for that full system. mine consumes less than 200 watts!
@ the cons
SLI cables come with SLI capable motherboards
It does come with a free game (even in the link product)
No mention that it is a triple slot cooler and thus will only fit certain motherboards in
SLI
Mine didnt come with a free game, bought it on amazon. The batman deal is with nvidia on seleected stores.
It is a disgrace these cards dont come with an SLI connector. My MSI motherboard has an SLI connector with it, but its a HARD, inflexible style connector not designed for cards of this size, so it wouldnt work. A high end card like this with a custom cooler should be supplied with a large flexible SLI connector.
If lowest price is the main deciding factor then yes. If performance and engineering of the card then most definitely no.
MSI Lighting 580 (not ridiculously overpriced Extreme Ed.) beats KFA2 580A in every test. And MSI TF3 cooling is well worth the extra few quids in price. It keeps card very cool – below 40C. In stress you can also get few degrees off vs KFA. And most important thing – cooling is a 2 slot solution which means you can easily squeeze 4 of such monsters in one case. It is pretty much impossible with KFA580A – you can do that only with min. 10 PCI slot case using PCI Express x16 risers/extenders (extra cost which nullify the advantage in price – risers are not cheap).
MSI lightning 580 is ok at best, I want this one 🙂
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-133-MS&utm_source=froogle
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