MSI N240GT Review - PAGE 1

I just recently took a look at the Palit GT240 Sonic, which turned out to be a great little video card. Now I'm going to take a look at another GT240 from a different manufacturer. I'll be taking a look at the MSI N240GT. Unlike the Palit GT240 Sonic, the MSI N240GT is equipped with only 512MB of GDDR5 memory. While the company was not able to get 1GB of GDDR5 working, they did throw in a few extremely cool features. Not to mention they used military class components.

You read that correctly: MSI actually used military class components in it's version of the GT240. The entire GPU is obviously not military class, but some of the most important components are. These include the Hi-c CAP, the SSCs, and the Solid Capacitors. The Hi-c CAP stands for Highly Conductive Capacitor. This Hi-C CAP produces 15x less leakage, and is used in space shuttles and satellites. So what exactly will it do for a GPU? Allows for more stability in overclocking of course!

The remaining two military class components are the Solid Capacitors, and the SSCs. The Solid Capacitors have an aluminum core, and a 10 year lifetime. They will also operate and lower temperatures, with low ESR. Now let's move on to the SSCs. SSC stands for Solid State Choke, and they all have pure iron cores. Unlike ring chokes, the coil of the SSC is completely buried inside the SSC. This prevents any vibrations being generated, plus it means they won't produce any buzzing noises. These chokes have a higher maximum current output, and will better protect you from a power surge. Plus, they were designed for overclocking.

Speaking of overclocking, the N240GT was designed to be overclocked. It actually allows you to control the voltage, which should allow the user to reach higher core clocks. Will get into more detail on this a little later on. For now, let's take a closer look at the card!