MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition Review
Our Summary and Conclusion
Performance Summary: The MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III performed very well throughout our entire battery of benchmarks. The R6950 Twin Frozr III’s higher GPU and memory clocks gave a marked advantage over AMD’s reference design Radeon HD 6950. The R6950 Twin Frozr III was also faster than its predecessor, the R6950 Twin Frozr II, as well. The R6950 Twin Frozr III’s higher clocks also allowed it to catch or even surpass the GeForce GTX 570 in a couple of tests, where the stock reference card could not.
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III
We think MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III is one of the more compelling Radeon HD 6950-based graphics cards on the market currently. This card offers about 5% – 8% better performance than reference models, thanks to its factory overclock. It also has a quieter, more capable cooling solution, it consumed less power under both idle and load conditions, and it’s easily overclocked even further as well. Heck, we even think the MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III looks cool too.
Strictly talking in terms of its specifications and features, there’s virtually nothing to complain about in light of other Radeon HD 6950-based graphics cards. But there is a catch. MSI has set the price on the R6950 Twin Frozr III at $309.99. That’s about 10 – 15% higher than some reference Radeon HD 6950s, which isn’t bad considering the additional performance and features of the card. However, you can currently buy MSI’s own reference Radeon HD 6970-based card, which offers even more performance, for only $10 more (after MIR). If you’re in the market for a card in this price range, it is absolutely worth investing a little more money for the 6970.
We suspect there’s a possibility the R6950 Twin Frozr III’s street price will creep just a bit lower than its MSRP, however, once cards are available in volume. Shave a few bucks of this baby’s price tag and it’s an Editor’s Choice candidate. Regardless, the MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III is still a very strong product worthy of consideration if you’re shopping for a relatively affordable, high end graphics card.
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