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MSI GeForce GTX 560 Twin Frozr II/OC graphics card review

by Tarinder Sandhu on 25 May 2011, 14:35 4.0

Tags: MSI, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qa52w

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How we test

GPU comparisons

Graphics card Approx.
pricing
GPU clock
(MHz)
Stream
processors
Shader clock
(MHz)
Memory clock
(MHz)
Memory bus
(bits)
Graphics driver
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1,024MB £180 822 384 1,645 4,008 256 ForceWare 275.20
MSI GeForce GTX 560 TF II 1,024MB £160 870 336 1,740 4,080 256 ForceWare 275.20
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 TOP 1,024MB £175 925 336 1,850 4,200 256 ForceWare 275.20
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 1,024MB £150 822 336 1,645 4,008 256 ForceWare 275.20
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1,024MB £110 900 192 1,800 4,104 192 ForceWare 267.59
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB £140 675 336 1,350 3,600 256 ForceWare 267.59
KFA2 GeForce GTX 460 768MB £125 675 336 1,350 3,600 192 ForceWare 267.59
Inno3D GeForce GTS 450 1,024MB £90 783 192 1,566 3,608 128 ForceWare 267.59
Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2,048MB £200 800 1,408 800 5,000 256 Catalyst 11.4
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1,024MB £150 900 1,120 900 4,200 256 Catalyst 11.4
Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1,024MB £130 775 960 775 4,000 256 Catalyst 11.4
Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB £150 850 1,600 850 5,000 256 Catalyst 11.4
AMD Radeon HD 6790 1,024MB £105 820 800 820 4,200 256 Catalyst 11.4
HIS Radeon HD 5770 1,024MB £100 850 800 850 4,800 128 Catalyst 11.4
Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1,024MB £90 700 720 700 4,600 128 Catalyst 11.4

Test bench

CPU Intel Core i5 2500K (3.30GHz, 6MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1155)
Motherboard Intel DP67BG
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance (9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz)
Power Supply Corsair AX750
Monitor Dell 30in 3007WFP
Disk drive(s) Crucial RealSSD C300 (256GB)
Chassis Corsair Graphite Series 600T
Operating system Windows 7, SP1, 64-bit

Benchmarks

3DMark 11 Performance preset, overall score and combined test results recorded.
Aliens vs. Predator DX11, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 2xAA, 8xAF, medium quality.
Call of Duty: Black Ops DX9, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality, FRAPS-recorded benchmark.
F1 2010 DX11, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, high quality, Monaco circuit.
Just Cause 2 DX10, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, medium/high quality, Dark Tower benchmark.
Metro 2033 DX11, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, medium quality.
StarCraft II DX9, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 2xAA, high quality.
Power consumption To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and whilst playing Just Cause 2.
Temperature To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and whilst playing Just Cause 2.
Noise A PCE-318 noise level meter is placed at front of a Corsair 600T chassis with side panel on.

Notes

We've now included a reference-clocked Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB card in this line-up. The price of the 'last-generation' HD 5870 has been dropping steadily as partners buy large quantities of the GPU from AMD and confuse the market with anachronistic nomenclature.

Radeon HD 5870 is a potent card, especially when evaluated at half its launch price. Appreciating that the MSI GeForce GTX 560 Twin Frozr II and HD 5870 are natural price competitors we've highlighted them in the upcoming graphs.