The package
MSI provides all the necessary gubbins to use the card straight away. A wide CrossFire bridge enables two-card CrossFireX, a DVI-to-VGA dongle and HDMI cable are both nice, and the company provides a couple of power cables for easy hook-up to six-pin PCIe ports from the PSU.
All connected up inside a chassis, the PCB also has 12 LEDs on the underside that detail basic activity: you'll know if no power is being pushed through the card.
It would be pretty pointless in having the cooling if no voltage adjustments were available. Just like the reference HD 5870, one can toggle both the frequencies and GPU juice through MSI's Afterburner software. The default setting is 1.164V, but this can be raised to 1.35V and lowered to 1.0V.
Perhaps the only thing missing from the bundle is a decent game, to showcase the card's abilities. Backed up by a three-year warranty and presenting a £50 premium over reference HD 5870 cards, let's head on over to the numbers.
