MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC Twin Frozr Video Card Review By Hank Tolman Manufacturer: MSI Computing Corp. Product Name: Twin Frozr GeForce GTX 760 Model Number: N760 TF 2GD5/OC UPC: 816909108637 EAN: 4719072301576 Price As Tested: $259.99 Full Disclosure: MSI provided the product sample used in this article. The latest member of the GeForce GTX 700 series lineup to hit the market is the GTX 760. This GPU is built off the GK104 GPU like quite a few GPUs in the GTX 600 and 700 series. The GTX 760 is built to replace the GTX 660Ti and fill an important price position between about $250 and $300. At Benchmark Reviews, we have MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC video card on hand and have tested it with some of the most popular and graphically intensive titles currently available. The MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC takes the stock features of the GTX 760 and adds to them by overclocking the GPU, adding a proven cooling solution, and including a bunch of other extras that you won't find on the other GTX 760s. So without further ado, let's get into the details of the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC video card. NVIDIA has been releasing their newest lineup of GPUs and we've already seen the first few products and where they stand. The first GPU we saw was the Titan, which is technically not really part of the GTX 700 series lineup, but set the stage for the next GPU, the GTX 780. The GTX 780 rocked us with 2304 CUDA Cores, 192 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GTX 770 came next and cut the CUDA Cores nearly in half to 1536, dropped the TMUs to 128, and the ROPs to 32. For the next iteration, NVIDIA has brought us the GTX 760. The GTX 760 is positioned to replace the GTX 660Ti. In fact, the two GPUs are very similar. They are both built on the 28nm GK104 GPU, although the GTX 760 is technically the GK104-225 revision. The amount of CUDA cores is actually decreased on the GTX 760 to 1152 compared to the 1344 on the GTX 660Ti. The GTX 760 starts off where the GTX 660Ti ended, though, in terms of the GPU clock. The GTX 760 has a base clock of 980MHz and a boost clock of 1033MHz. The GTX 660Ti sat at 915MHz and 980MHz respectively. The memory on the GTX 760 actually follows the GTX 670 a little more closely than the GTX 660Ti. The GTX 670 has between 2 and 4GB of GDDR5 memory, depending on the manufacturer, and a 256-bit interface. The memory clock stays the same at 6GHz effective with a bandwidth of 192GB/s. TDP for the GTX 760 is 170W. Some NVIDIA features follow and then we'll get into the specifics of the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC. GTX 700 Series Features NVIDIA Boost 2.0 NVIDIA GPU Boost technology automatically increases the GPU's clock frequency in order to improve performance. GPU Boost works in the background, dynamically adjusting the GPU's graphics clock speed based on GPU operating conditions. Originally GPU Boost was designed to reach the highest possible clock speed while remaining within a predefined power target. However, after careful evaluation NVIDIA engineers determined that GPU temperature is often a bigger inhibitor of performance than GPU power. Therefore for Boost 2.0, we've switched from boosting clock speeds based on a GPU power target, to a GPU temperature target. This new temperature target is 80 degrees Celsius. As a result of this change, the GPU will automatically boost to the highest clock frequency it can achieve as long as the GPU temperature remains at 80C. Boost 2.0 constantly monitors GPU temperature, adjusting the GPU's clock and its voltage on-the-fly to maintain this temperature. In addition to switching from a power-based boost target to a temperature-based target, with GPU Boost 2.0 we're also providing end users with more advanced controls for tweaking GPU Boost behavior. Using software tools provided by NVIDIA add-in card partners, end users can adjust the GPU temperature target precisely to their liking. If a user wants his GeForce GTX 770 board to boost to higher clocks for example, he can simply adjust the temperature target higher (for example from 80C, to 85C). The GPU will then boost to higher clock speeds until it reaches the new temperature target. Besides adjusting the temperature target, Boost 2.0 also provides users with more powerful fan control. The GPU's fan curve is completely adjustable, so you can adjust the GPU's fan to operate at different speeds based on your own preferences. Adaptive Temperature Controller With GPU Boost 2.0, the GPU will boost to the highest clock speed it can achieve while operating at 80C. Boost 2.0 will dynamically adjust the GPU fan speed up or down as needed to attempt to maintain this temperature. While we've attempted to minimize fan speed variation as much as possible in prior GPUs, fan speeds did occasionally fluctuate. For GeForce GTX 770, we've developed an all-new fan controller that uses an adaptive temperature filter with an RPM and temperature targeted control algorithm to eliminate the unnecessary fan fluctuations that contribute to fan noise, providing a smoother acoustic experience. NVIDIA GeForce Experience GeForce Experience is a new application from NVIDIA that optimizes your PC in two key ways. First, it maximizes your game performance and game compatibility by automatically downloading the latest GeForce Game Ready drivers. Second, GeForce Experience intelligently optimizes graphics settings for all your favorite games based on your hardware configuration. Shadow Play Utilizing the H.264 video encoder built-in to every Kepler GPU, ShadowPlay works in the background, seamlessly recording your last 20 minutes of gameplay footage, or if you'd like to record your latest StarCraft match, ShadowPlay can record that too. Compared to software-based video encoders like FRAPS, ShadowPlay takes less of a performance hit, so you can enjoy your games while you're recording. Download NVIDIA GeForce Experience here: geforce.com/drivers/geforce-experience/download Closer Look: MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC When I got home and saw the box for the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC waiting for me, I got pretty excited. The box looks fantastic. The Gaming G Series logo on the front and the dragon highlight that this card is made for gamers without overdoing it with half-naked characters or battle scenes. The front of the box hints at some of the MSI specific features that come with the N760 TF 2GD5/OC. You can clearly see that this card with use the Twin Frozr cooling design, and the OC edition sticker in the bottom left corner offers some insight. The back of the box is quite a bit busier. Here we get all the details about the features of the N760 TF 2GD5/OC and what specifically sets it apart from the competition. A couple of things shown on the back that we will discuss a little later include the Twin Frozr IV thermal design and the Military Class components. From the front of the N760 TF 2GD5/OC you can clearly see that this GTX 760 video card follows in the Twin Frozr legacy that MSI has built. The Twin Frozr Advanced Thermal Design is now in its 4th iteration, but the not much has changed. MSI claims to have started the dual-fan trend and the Twin Frozr IV sticks with the original dual-fan, dual-slot design. The Twin Frozr IV design uses two large fans on top of some huge heatsinks that cover the components. The Twin Frozr design uses five heatpipes to transfer heat from the components to the heatsinks, where they are cooled by the fans. From the rear of the N760 TF 2GD5/OC you can see what I mean by a huge heatsink. It's raised slightly off the PCB which should allow for nice airflow over the components that are not directly plated. The top of the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC shows that the shroud and piping of the Twin Frozr IV design actually extend beyond the limits of the PCB itself, so the card is actually a little larger than some other GTX 760 designs might be. The shroud hides the four smaller heatpipes and only the larger, longer heatpipe is visible. The top view here also shows the extra PCI-E connector's you are going to need from your PSU to support the N760 TF 2GD5/OC. As you can see, you'll need a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector. Unfortunately, the N760 TF 2GD5/OC only includes one MOLEX to 6-pin PCI-E adapter, so check your PSU before you get home and realize that the card won't work with your system. Besides the adapter, the only other accessories that the N760 TF 2GD/OC came with is a user's guide, an installation disc, and a DVI to VGA adapter. What is particularly interesting about the lack of accessories is the box inside the video box that the accessories came packaged in. If you noticed that the disc case was a little bent up, this is why. Inside the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC box is another box for the accessories. It is huge. The four items that were in that secondary box just slid around any time the box was moved. Honestly, I think it's a huge waste of packaging and totally unnecessary. If they included a poster, like some manufacturers do, or a decal, or something else, that box might come in handy. The back of the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC really shows how the heatpipe and the shroud overlap the PCB. Unfortunately, that same shroud hides the other heatpipes. I am a fan of the visible heatpipes, so this knocks the N760 down a point in visual appeal for me. Further inspection of the back of the MSI N760 TF 2GD/OC shows the excellent build quality of this GTX 760 video card. The most concentrated section of the card is very neatly organized with no left over solder or staining. Now in the next section, let's explore some of the other features MSI had added into the N760 TF 2GD5/OC. MSIN760 TF 2GD5/OC Features The first feature on the list for the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC is the included Gaming App. The Gaming App is included for easy tuning of the GTX 760 video card to get the most out of your games. The GTX 760 does a good job of keeping up with nearly any game anyway, but the Gaming App gives you even more versatility. The Gaming App uses three different modes, OC Mode, Gaming Mode, and Silent Mode. OC Mode lets you tune the core clock and the fan speed. Gaming Mode gives you a stable overclock for improved gaming. Silent Mode strives to give the optimal performance with the lowest amount of fan noise. OC Mode gave me an extremely stable overclock at 1215MHz. Next up is the Military Class 4 components. This is a staple of MSI for their gaming and enthusiast series of components, and the N760 TF 2GD5/OC is no different. The Military Class 4 components are certified according to MIL-STD-810G and are intended to withstand the brutal conditions that gamers and overclockers put their components through. The Military Class 4 components include Hi-C CAP capacitors made from rare earth metals. These capacitors are highly conductive and are supposed to offer more stable overclocks. Solid CAP capacitors are also part of the Military Class 4 components. Solid capacitors are used throughout the computer hardware industry to provide longer life, lower temps and ESR, and higher efficiency. Another feature that MSI includes with the N760 TF 2GD5/OCs the Predator tool. The Predator tool is a neat utility that gives you the ability to take screen or video captures during your gaming session. Predator is embedded within MSI's Afterburner program. Afterburner is a great tool for manually overclocking your MSI, or any, video card. MSI also includes a program called Kombustor that hyper-stresses your video card so that you can test the thermal levels and the stability of your overclock. Finishing off the N760 TF 2GD5/OC specific features, let's take a look at the IO. MSI stuck to a pretty normal IO here, but this is one place that you might actually see differences between the manufacturers. Then again, it seems that this layout has become the standard now. The MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC has two Dual-Link DVI connectors, a full-sized HDMI, and a DisplayPort 2.1 input. With this video card, you could run a four monitor setup. Both DVI ports and the HDMI port can all be used simultaneously, as well as the DisplayPort. Testing & Results Testing Methodology The Microsoft DirectX-11 graphics API is native to the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System, and will be the primary OS for our test platform. DX11 is also available as a Microsoft Update for the Windows Vista OS, so our test results apply to both versions of the operating system. All of the tests in this review were run with DX11 graphics. While a lot of gamers use the 1680x1050 desktop resolution, 1920x1080 is rapidly becoming the most popular. Because it is the more demanding of the two, I ran all of my tests at a resolution of 1920x1080. You can expect slightly better frame rates if you are using 1680x1050, but the difference probably won't be dramatic. I used a combination of synthetic and video game benchmark tests in this article to illustrate relative performance among graphics solutions. Our benchmark frame rate results are not intended to represent real-world graphics performance, as this experience would change based on supporting hardware and the perception of individuals playing the video game. Test System Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi Z77X Motherboard Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge CPU 3.3GHz System Memory: 16GB (4 4GB DIMMs) Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24) Disk Drive: Seagate 1TB SSHD ST1000LM014 PSU: Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W 80-Plus Certified Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit DirectX-11 Benchmark Applications Assassin's Creed III Very high textures, high shadows, tesselation, SSAO, advanced shadow sampling, 4x AA, 16x AF 3DMark11 "Extreme" settings (1920x1080) ComputeMark 2.1 Extreme Presets, 1920x1080 Far Cry 3 Performance Presets Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0 Extreme tesselation, high shaders, 4xAF, 8xAA Tomb Raider Ultra textures, AFx16, TressFX Hair, FXAA, Ultimate Settings Bioshock Infinite Ultra Quality Level Presets (1920x1080) A New Dawn Presets, 1920x1080 Lost Planet 2 Benchmark High textures, High shadows, High DX11, High rendering, CSAA32X Assassin's Creed III Assassin's Creed III is based on the AnvilNext engine and uses Havok CPU physics. This makes it a perfect game to test using both NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, as long as your CPU doesn't bottleneck performance at all. Assassin's Creed III is very visually intensive and utilizes DX 11 features, especially tesselation, to provide an extremely realistic experience. Wood and clothing grains are extenuated and movement and environment look more natural than ever. Assassin's Creed III is the latest in the Assassin's Creed line and follows Desmond Miles as he steps into the memories of his ancestors. This time, Miles is transported to early American history as his native American ancestor, Connor, battles his way through both sides of the American Revolutionary War. The area covered in the game is enormous and the landscape and features are very detailed. Assassin's Creed III High Settings Next up is the 3DMark 11 Benchmark. 3DMark11 3DMark11 is Futuremark's latest iteration of the video card software benchmark suite, building on the features of 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 06 as well as earlier version. It's optimized and intended for testing DirectX-11 capable hardware running under Windows Vista or Windows 7. 3DMark11 "Extreme" settings, 1920x1080 resolution Those are the Benchmark Scores, but as part of the testing, 3DMark 11 goes through four different graphics tests. The first two are shown in the chart below. Tests 3 and 4 are shown in the chart below. ComputeMark 2.1 results are next. ComputeMark 2.1 ComputeMark is actually a relatively old benchmarking tool, but it really stresses out even the highest-end GPUs. ComputeMark 2.1 is a Compute Shader benchmark and a GPU burner. It measures the compute power of the GPU by putting it through a serious of rigorous tests. Those tests include Fluid 3DTex, Fluid 2DTexArr, Mandel Vector, Mandel Scalar, and QJuliaRayTrace. The next benchmark in our suite is Far Cry 3. Far Cry 3 Far Cry 3 is the next installation in the Far Cry series which pits players against a tropical landscape and hostile indigenous forces. After escaping from ruthless kidnappers, the player is sent on a mission to avenge his brother's death and find and rescue the remaining members of his initial party. With DX 11 optimization, Far Cry 3 uses the Dunia engine to render the island and village landscapes in stunning detail. One of the most difficult jobs of any graphics engine is to render water, and Far Cry 3 has plenty of that. Far Cry 3 High Settings, DX11, 4xAA, 4xAF Unigine Heaven 4.0 is the next benchmark. Unigine Heaven 4.0 The Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark is a free publicly available tool that grants the power to unleash the graphics capabilities in DirectX-11 for Windows 7 or updated Vista Operating Systems. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode, emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming. The distinguishing feature in the Unigine Heaven benchmark is a hardware tessellation that is a scalable technology aimed for automatic subdivision of polygons into smaller and finer pieces, so that developers can gain a more detailed look of their games almost free of charge in terms of performance. Thanks to this procedure, the elaboration of the rendered image finally approaches the boundary of veridical visual perception: the virtual reality transcends conjured by your hand. The Heaven benchmark excels at providing the following key features: Native support of OpenGL, DirectX 9, DirectX-10 and DirectX-11 Comprehensive use of tessellation technology Advanced SSAO (screen-space ambient occlusion) Volumetric cumulonimbus clouds generated by a physically accurate algorithm Dynamic simulation of changing environment with high physical fidelity Interactive experience with fly/walk-through modes ATI Eyefinity support Unigine Heaven 3.0 High Shaders, Extreme tessellation,8xAA, 4xAF Next up is the results from a newer game, Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider The Tomb Raider game includes a benchmark in it that highlights the TressFX features used in the game. TressFX is specifically a hair quality physics feature that aids in realistic looking hair in games. Each strand of hair is given dozens of connections in a chain-like fashion. Each strand can be affected by gravity, wind, and head movements. The hair is also given collision, so that the overlapping hairs don't merge together and they don't penetrate solid surfaces like the character's head. Bioshock Infinite Results are up next. Bioshock Infinite Bioshock Infinite, by Irrational Games, was one of the most highly anticipated games of its time. According the vast majority of reviews on the game, it didn't disappoint. Having played it, I can tell you that the story line grabs you and doesn't let go. The moral and ethical quandries and twisting plot will keep you in front of your screen for hours on end. The graphics are nothing to shake a stick at either. That being said, Bioshock Infinite was built on the aging (although still widely used) Unreal Engine 3. That same engine has been in use since DX9 and was designed to take full advantage of shader hardware. In Bioshock Infinite, of course, the engine uses DX11 features to make the graphics that much more realistic. Next up is the Lost Planet 2 benchmark. Lost Planet 2 Capcom provides a stand-alone benchmark tool for Lost Planet 2. Reviewers love stand alone benchmarks, and users should, too, since they allow the evaluation of a system without the trouble and expense of purchasing and configuring the actual game. Lost Planet 2 takes place on E.D.N. III, the same planet in the original Lost Planet game, but ten years later. The snow has melted and somehow giant tropical jungles have grown to fill the landscape. Lost Planet 2 takes advantage of DX11 features including tessellation and displacement mapping on water, level bosses, and player characters. In addition, soft body compute shaders are used on 'Boss' characters, and wave simulation is performed using DirectCompute. These cutting edge features make for an excellent benchmark for top-of-the-line consumer GPUs. There are two parts to the benchmark: Test A, which is a semi-random script that's a good example of normal game play, and Test B, which is a deterministic script that places a significantly heavier load on the card being tested. That's it for the benchmarks. Now let's take a look at temperatures and power consumption. MSI N760 Temperatures We're at the start of a transition: for years the PC industry has produced faster and more powerful CPUs and GPUs, which always came with ever-higher power draws. But as the industry moves to smaller and smaller fabrication processes, we're seeing power draws drop, and clever designs save even more power. Users benefit from GPUs that disable large portions of their circuitry when idle, leading to dramatically lower power draws and very cool idle temperatures. At the other end of the scale, reduced power at the higher end means smaller coolers, quieter fans, and less heat to worry about dissipating. At the start of this test, I measure the idle temperature of the card with the card sitting at the Windows desktop, using the GPU-Z utility. Next, I start FurMark's stress test and let it run until the temperature curve flattens and the temperature has not varied more than 1 degree in the last five minutes. FurMark does two things extremely well: drive the thermal output of any graphics processor higher than applications of video games realistically could, and it does so with consistency every time. FurMark works great for testing the stability of a GPU as the temperature rises to the highest possible output. The temperatures discussed below are absolute maximum values, and not representative of real-world performance. Keep in mind that my testbench is open to the air, and that affects the results by a lot. Still, the proven capability of the Twin Frozr design keep the N760 TF 2GD5/OC very cool. Ambient Temperature 20C XFX R7790 Idle Temperature 31C XFX R7790 Load Temperature 67C VGA Power Consumption The new generation of video cards-- AMD's Southern Islands and NVIDIA's Kepler-- are certainly fast, but their new power saving features are almost as impressive. The move to a smaller process has helped, but both products benefit from a variety of power-saving techniques, including aggressively underclocking and undervolting themselves in low demand scenarios, as well as turning off unused portions of the card. Both companies also use other, proprietary methods to keep power usage low. To measure isolated video card power consumption, Benchmark Reviews uses the Kill-A-Watt EZ (model P4460) power meter made by P3 International. A baseline test is taken without a video card installed inside our test computer system, which is allowed to boot into Windows 7 and rest idle at the login screen before power consumption is recorded. Once the baseline reading has been taken, the graphics card is installed and the system is again booted into Windows and left idle at the login screen. Another power reading is taken when the display sleeps, and then I measure the power under a heavy gaming load. Our final loaded power consumption reading is taken with the video card running a stress test using FurMark. Below is a chart with the system totals displayed in watts for each specified test product: Situation Power Windows login, no video card 52 watts Windows login, video card 68 watts Windows desktop 69 watts Windows desktop, display sleep 66 watts Gaming load 155 watts FurMark load 215 watts Most moder graphics cards can drop the clockspeed and operations of the GPU in order to make it consume less power at idle. The N760 TF 2GD5/OC is no different and video card itself is only responsible for somewhere around 18 watts of power in idle mode. Even under the most intensive gaming conditions, the GTX 760 consumes only around 100 watts of power. That number rises to around 150 or so when stressing the GPU beyond what any normal application would. MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC Conclusion IMPORTANT: Although the rating and final score mentioned in this conclusion are made to be as objective as possible, please be advised that every author perceives these factors differently at various points in time. While we each do our best to ensure that all aspects of the product are considered, there are often times unforeseen market conditions and manufacturer changes which occur after publication that could render our rating obsolete. Please do not base any purchase solely on our conclusion, as it represents our product rating specifically for the product tested, which may differ from future versions. Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary for each of the areas that we rate. The MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC falls right in line with its expected performance. The GTX 760 is supposed to replace the GTX 660Ti, and that is exactly what it does. In every single test, the GTX 760 outperformed its predecessor, even though it was working with quite a few less CUDA Cores. The extra clock speed and the memory bandwidth help the GTX 760 to come out on top. In quite a few benchmarks, the N760 TF 2GD5/OC outperformed both the Radeon HD 7950 and the even the GTX 670. If AMD wants to keep a leg in this game, they need to show us some 8000 series graphics. At this point, NVIDIA is setting the bar. I find the MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC to be very visually appealing. I have always liked the Twin Frozr design and I prefer the look of the dual-fan cards over the reference designs. The red and black of the N760 TF 2GD5/OC works very well and I am a huge fan of the G Series shield. Getting a little picky, I don't particularly like the extra shrouding on the N760. It covers up the other heatpipes and I like that look. Also, the N760 TF 2GD5/OC is very bulky. It is quite a bit taller than the XFX GTX 660Ti I used to test against. MSI is well-known for their top-notch construction quality, especially when it comes to their gaming components. The N760 TF 2GD5/OC keeps that legacy alive using MSI's Military Class 4 components. The solid capacitors will help ensure that this video card keeps on ticking long after you have moved on to another card. As we saw from the heavily crowded back of the N760, MSI is consistent in the cleanliness of their cards as well. The high build quality makes the N760 an easy overclocker. The N760 TF 2GD5/OC includes a lot of extra features that set it apart from the competition. First off is the Twin Frozr IV thermal design. This cooling feature has been tested and tried and has consistently performed very well, regardless of the GPU it is fitted on. Additionally, the N760 comes factory overclocked out of the box, something you may not find on other GTX 760 video cards. Although the MSI N760 didn't come with hardly any accessories (door handle signs are getting big now), the included applications help to set it apart. From the auto-overclocking Gaming App to Afterburner, Kombustor, and Predator, there is something for everyone bundled with the N760. In terms of overclocking, the N760 TF 2GD5/OC was rather impressive. I didn't spend a lot of time tweaking it through afterburner, but I plan trying some more. I was able to achieve an ultra-stable overclock at 1215MHz through the Gaming App included with the card. That represents a nearly 20% increase in clock speed (before Boost is factored in). Unfortunately, that 20% didn't translate into benchmark scores. The N760 TF 2GD5/OC only average around a 7% increase in benchmark scores and that average was closer 4% if I take out the Lost Planet 2 results. In the Lost Planet 2 benchmark, the N760 averaged a 22% increase in performance when overclocked. Still, a 20% increase in clockspeed is pretty good, and when newer drivers come out, you'll likely start seeing even better scores with the GTX 760 video cards. MSI set the MSRP for the N760 TF 2GD5/OC at $259.99. That puts it directly in the price range of the GTX 660Ti and lower than the Radeon HD 7950. That is a stellar price point. This video card is definitely priced to move. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw a rather significant price drop in the GTX 660Ti after this release. It just doesn't make sense for it to be the same price as or more expensive than a card that beats it every time. The GTX 760 also goes toe to toe with the Radeon HD 7950 and is now less expensive. In my opinion, at $260, the N760 TF 2GD5/OC is an awesome value. Pros: + Great Cooling with Twin Frozr IV design + Challenges the Radeon HD 7950 + Support for up to 4 monitors + Good Overclocker + Lots of good Apps Cons: - Very Skimpy on the Accessories - High Overclock didn't translate into Performance Ratings: Performance: 9.50 Appearance: 9.00 Construction: 9.50 Overclocking: 8.50 Functionality: 9.50 Value: 10.00 Final Score: 9.33 out of 10. Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.