Mid-Range NVIDIA GPU Battle: GTX 460 vs. GTX 470
MSI N460GTX Hawk
Micro Star International (MSI) manufactures a variety of computer components. Established in 1986, they originally focused on the motherboard and graphics card market, but now produce a variety of notebooks, barebone systems,and wireless networking devices. The Hawk sports MSI's attractive Twin Frozr II heatsink and is arguably the best looking GTX 460 on the market.
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MSI Hawk GTX 460 Graphics Card
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| Model N460GTX Hawk Core Clock 780 MHz Memory Clock / Size 900 MHz / 1 GB Ports Two DVI One Mini HDMI |
Accessories MSI Afterburner Utility User Manual DVI to VGA Adapter Mini HDMI to HDMI Adapter Two 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe Power Adapters Warranty 3 Years Parts / 2 Years Labor Price $214 |
MSI offers several versions of the GTX 460. The N460GTX Hawk features a core clock of 780 MHz, a 16% boost from the stock speed of 675MHz. There's also the Hawk Talon Attack, clocked at 810MHz, and the Twin Frozr II SOC at 750MHz. These cards look identical but provide different GPU clock speeds. The Hawk uses a 7+1 phase PWM design which increases the maximum current capabilities to 120 amps. That's 30 more amps than the 4+1 phase design found on the reference model, and potentially increases the overclocking potential of the GTX 460 Hawk.
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As previously mentioned, Twin Frozr II is the name of MSI's cooling system. It's here we find dual 80mm PWM fans on top of the Lightning's cooler which directs airflow to cool down the GPU, memory, and power module components at the same time. They circulate through a series of aluminum fins that transfer heat from four shiny chrome heat pipes that measure 8mm in diameter. Like the reference design, the N460GTX features two 6-pin PCIe connectors.
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MSI includes the Afterburner overclocking utility with the GTX 460 Hawk. Out of all the OC software available, Afterburner is one of the best on the market. The program interface looks very sleek and polished. In this version, users can adjust core voltage, memory voltage, and PLL. MSI markets this as the world's 1st triple over voltage capable card, so overclockers have even more options at their fingertips.
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