MSI R7770 Power Edition Review - PAGE 14

The MSI R7770 Power Edition is one of the most unique graphics cards we have seen in some time. It is standard in today’s market for manufacturers to push the envelope by creating a custom design for their graphics cards that increases the thermal and gaming performance and power efficiency. However, most manufacturers stick to the current trends and only slightly alter their product from a working recipe. MSI on the other hand has created something that was actually able to surprise us, as the R7770 PE is not only the first HD 7770 on the market to include a triple over-voltage feature, but it is also the first to our knowledge that has a customizable thermal solution.

MSI achieved this by including an additional fan with the R7770 PE that can be used to improve the thermal performance. The secondary fan can be placed directly above the primary fan which increases the airflow through the GPU hot zone, thus reducing the temperature of the core. Or it can be used at the top portion of the heatsink to increase the airflow being directed toward the VRM. Either way the additional fan improved the thermal performance substantially, making this model one of the coolest and quietest HD 7770s we have tested to date. However, since the secondary fan is optional anyone with a small case can opt to not use it and while the resulting temperatures will be higher they are still well under the results of the reference cooler.

The MSI R7770 PE is already available on the market and is only $10 more expensive than the reference model. That makes it extremely easy to recommend this model, as it offers superior thermal performance, better acoustic levels and higher overclocking potential. Of course it also comes with a customizable heatsink that can be configured either for optimal thermal performance or to fit into a compact system. The only downside of the R7770 PE is its 128-bit memory interface which will cause to card to struggle at higher resolutions, but it is still a strong option for gaming at or below 1680x1050.