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Lightning!

oldestgregg

oldestgregg

oldestgregg

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Joined
4 Sep 2011
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I have my eye on the lightning boost edition here on OCUK.I have flashed my ref bios so its at 1050mhz (i think that is right) so will that mean the lightning will run at 1050mhz also when I Xfire it with my ref model 7970? If so would I be better off just getting the non boost version to save maybe £20?
In fact will I be better off just buying the cheapest 7970? I really like the look of the lightning though but I am starting to think it could just be overkill.Oh.I am running a 27" 1400p monitor and I like to turn EVERYTHING all the way up....I don`t mean is Xfire 7970s overkill :D
My other option is to buy the lightning and sell my XFX ref model which will cost me £100 but from what i can see the lightning is a lot faster than mine?
Any help at all on this will go a long way
 
Not sure on AMD card but for Nvidia, I set each card to what it can cope with and they run at individual speeds. I would imagine it being the same for AMD. I just alter each card in Afterburner and apply.
 
Oh right! Cheers,Single G Greg! A lot of the MSI ads seem to suggest that the lightning is 50% faster than a ref 7970 so I may just replace my ref one with the lightning........Cant help but think this is a waste of money though...Hmmmm :confused:
 
If it helps (and probably not) I changed my reference 680 to another Lightning but only to make water cooling easier.
 
Did you notice any difference speed/performance wise? They make it sound like because of the military grade parts and voltage stuff it is a better performer?
 
They're essentially the same cards, if you clock your card the same as a Lightning they will preform the same, difference being temperature and noise.

The bonus with the premium cards become more apparent when overclocking, most the top scores on 3D11/3DV and Heaven threads are ~Lightnings etc, the exception given to those very fortunate enough to have golden chips/exotic cooling.
 
On the 680, they use better quality phase capacitors than normal but for the rest, I couldn't say. I know the 680 Lightnings clock higher than any other brand (unless someone gets a golden chip from another brand).

Maybe PGI or another Lightning 7970 user can confirm.
 
Tbh unless you plan to put them under water you wouldn't see much benefit over a cheaper aftermarket cooled card.

I say that as the Lightning series is aimed at overclocking and benchmarks, the higher grade components are aimed to perform well at high voltages and low temps :)

Though the HUGE advantage of the Boost Edition Lightning is that it has stock clocks of 1150/1500mhz, making it THE fastest out of the box 7970 on the market, so if you don't want to clock but want the higher speeds (thats 225mhz higher on the core then a reference 7970!) then go for it. You'd probably be hard pushed to get even a 7950 to those speeds with heavy clocking too ;)
 
Thanks guys.I was doing some reading there and it seems theres no dual link DVI on the card? Dunno what I would do there as I am rocking a Hazro 27" and it only has dual link DVI.Bugger paying £75 for an adapter :eek:
 
Yep major draw back with the lightning, something to do with its eyefinity-6 support, unlike other cards it doesn't share bandwidth between slots.

I honestly don't even think MSI know why they picked this display output for a card aimed at benching.
 
That`s that decided then........I aint getting the lightning! Gutted,was really looking forward to that as well.Although a close competitor to OCUK has the boost edition as having one single link and one dual link?? Could this be an updated version or a mistake by said competitors? Hmmmm.....The plot thickens :confused:
 
I can assure you both editions of the 7970 Lightning are single link ;)

How about a look at the Asus Matrix Platinum? Runs around the same price as the Lightning, similar clocks (is also designed with benching in mind) AND comes with DL DVI?
 
Thanks for the suggestion but its a 3 slot card isn't it? I would like to add a second card in the future should i replace the one I have.I am in a state of disbelief that a card designed to run uber high resolutions cannot output dl-DVI :eek:
 
Oh well,better get looking for a different option.I quite like the look of the HIS ICE-Q cards but finding them in stock at the moment is a bit of a nightmare.
 
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