KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
If MSI's Talon Attack had theme music, it would probably sound something like this. The HAWK range has always had aircraft symbolism and the Talon Attack version is no different – a stealth bomber takes centerstage.
The box opens up into a beautiful gatefold presentation piece which is very attractive. We will get into the technical data in a few minutes.
The package contains literature on the card, a software disc, power convertors and V check point cables. There is also a guarantee that the card has passed MSI's stringent tests in the factory before shipping.
The first thing we noticed was the weight of the card, caused by the all metal cooling system (called Twin FrozrII). It is an extremely attractive design and really does catch the eye.
The cooler comprises four, heavy duty heatpipes running from either side of the cooler to the dual fan system, which spreads the air flow across the full length.
Once the cooler is removed we can get a closer look at the underside of the nickel plated copper base. The dual 80mm fans are ideally situated to force high levels of air across all the components. MSI are calling the heatpipes ‘SuperPipe Technology' – they are also coated to help improve heat dissipation.
The card offers dual link DVI connectors with a mini HDMI port to cover digital connectivity. It is SLI capable and requires two 6 pin power feeds to operate. There are also three V check points here to utilise with the cables supplied.
As with all high end MSI products,they are using ‘military class components' with a triple overvoltage option controllable via software. The standard overclocked MSI HAWK card is supplied at 780 mhz core, 3600 mhz memory and 1590mhz shader, but this special limited Talon Attack edition is pushed even higher to 810 mhz core, 3900 mhz memory and 1620 mhz shader. These are some seriously impressive ‘out of the box' speeds, although not quite as high as the eVGA GTX460 FTW we reviewed last week (850/4000/1700mhz).
The Talon Attack features a 7+1 Phase PWM design for higher current and overclocking capabilities with enhanced stability. Super Ferrite Chokes are used for 30% higher current capacity and 10% higher Power Efficiency Improvement. The design is all Solid CAP for longer lifespan and HI-C Caps provide more precise GPU voltage. Additionally MSI are using Active Phase Switching to help save power usage by controlling the PWM automatically. MSI are using Hynix 0.4ns GDDR5 memory.
Holy shit, I thought the eVGA was as good as it got, clearly not !
Wow that GTX460 is the best card nvidia have ever made, without a doubt
MSI arent even one of their tier one partners. they produce some stunning products, you just need to wait a few months.
1ghz on the core? lol, by december it will hit 1.2ghz. what an insane design. love it.
well I would have bought the FTW if there was stock, but there hasnt been.
I just preordered this, glad I waited !
I am still going to wait for 6870 just to see what AMd have up their sleeve, but I can’t see it beating this, depending on price.
I thought 900mhz on a 460 core was good, but 1ghz? It is just as well that nvidia brought this card out, the rest of their range isnt really wonderful tbh. 480 is good, like it, but the rest? forgettable.
460 rocks.
This really does ask the question, why buy anything more than a £200 card now? There is no need at all. I like to see teh focus on 1920×1080 and 1920×1200. I see some sites benchmarking cards like this at 1280 and 2560. pointless.
Well this is incredible. what a hell of a card. very reasonable pricing also.
Heck, if AMD 6000 mid range can beat this ill be a happy customer. No need for high end boards anymore ! id say 1 in 50,000 people have a 30 inch screen. id rather have two 24 inch screens than a single 30 inch. price is much better also.
What a brilliant card, although id rather the card was sold at 1ghz speeds, rather than 810mhz. software is always a hassle, especially when a new driver comes out and rivatuner/msi afterburner wont work right.
wait, something is not rite here- the pics show regular Hawk version: NO hynyx 0.4ns memory, the regular samsung 0.5ns is clearly visible (“HC05” speaks for itself), NO Proadlizer in the back of the board.
WTF?!?!?!
I have spoken to MSI, and they have sent a ‘wrong’ version with the Talon BIOS flashed, so you are right there is indeed an error, but it was certainly not intentional or a PR stunt as you said in an email to me. This is probably why the memory didn’t overclock as well as expected, only hitting 4000mhz
MSI have issued this statement to me : this was an early version of the Talon Attack with different memory, and slightly different board design which has affected the overclock in this review (we would expect much higher than 4000mhz with the final retail version). You can be sure that the final version will overclock even better than the one on test today.
Good update, I wondered why the memory only increased by 25/100mhz….. makes sense 🙂
thanks for the clarification, may be the review needs to be put “on hold” until you get the proper card. also would be nice to bench the Talon against the Colorful igame460 and Gigabyte 460 Super Overclock as all three have the same features.
Thanks kalawera. I have to say, I should have noticed the memory on the card myself, but I have so much work on right now that it was overlooked.
MSI actually noticed this morning that the memory overclocks werent as good as they thought and when you contacted me, we all started an investigation. The card isnt a standard HAWK edition, it was an early test model with the retail TALON bios, so as you say there are differences.
The final version of this card whenever it hits, should prove to overclock quite a bit more on the memory front, our memory overclock was very minor indeed. Still rather than put the review ‘on hold’ I think we just need to honest in public and use this review as a baseline for another review later against the cards you mention. I have appended the conclusion to indicate the updated information, however the results are still accurate. (they will probably be higher if the memory overclocks significantly more).
Not the final version? — George MMM 2010-10-19 18:18
You wrote that “We have found out today that the Talon Edition we reviewed was not the final version … the memory is not the same on the retail product …” and my question is what do you mean exactly by this. I am asking because the Talon Attack has arrived already here (Greece) and tomorrow I will have one from a Greek e-shop. Should I get it or wait for the final version you mentioned above ??? Thanks George
George, the card you will buy will be fine. Ours was an early revision for this review. All talon branded cards will have the improved memory.
Holy crap! OCed MSI talon gtx460 is faster than ati 5870? Insane! Buying it right now!
Hi Zardon,
I’m really impressed with your Talon Attack review. How can I send you a private mail?
I have some questions regarding on how to overclock this card. I was really convinced to get this card over the 6870. I’ve had my email on this message. Glad if you could send me yours. Thanks in advance. -Mike
Not sure he will be reading this now as its an older thread. you could ask on the forums or email him zardon (at) kitguru.net
Not sure why not trolling or anything but was it really fair to put that card up against
poorly cooled single slot cards? this msi 460 wouldnt touch my sapphire 5770s as they are clocked @930/1300 which isnt even the whole ccc slider. Just seemed like the 5770s chosen this way to give the 460 a fighting chance lol. Why didnt you use 2x hd 5770 hawks?