7950 Twin Frozr III now available for purchase (edit: OOS)

[chimaxi83]

Just putting this here because I know a few guys said they were interested, I was... until I got an MSI 7970 for about the same price as this card.

Anyway, Newegg.

Edit: Out of stock now.

 

[Gloomy]

I think MSI's Twin Frozr might be my favorite non-reference cooler/shroud design. I like the vanilla AMD 5xxx and 6xxx designs, very austere and businesslike. But why did they have to go glossy with the 7xxx design? It looks like something that belongs on a Hot Wheel playset now...

 

[nitromullet]

I think MSI's Twin Frozr might be my favorite non-reference cooler/shroud design. I like the vanilla AMD 5xxx and 6xxx designs, very austere and businesslike. But why did they have to go glossy with the 7xxx design? It looks like something that belongs on a Hot Wheel playset now...

It's loud too... The Twin Frozr 7950 is definitely nicer than the reference cooler.

 

[Hauk]

Their power components and Twin Frozer III cooler make for a great card regardless of GPU. Man what a card, must resist..

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Custom coolers cost a lot, yes almost as much as the next level up.

But they can OC high and run cooler

 

[Leyawiin]

I'd rather slap an Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II on one. Its compatible, runs very cool and is dead quiet.

 

[blackened23]

I'd rather slap an Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II on one. Its compatible, runs very cool and is dead quiet.

and it also doesn't effectively cool the VRM as well as TF3. All of the AC coolers have issues with VRM cooling to my knowledge. Also, a 7950 + Accelero 79xx costs 449.99+ 89.99$ - the MSI lightning is a better buy.

 

[JBT]

I'd rather slap an Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II on one. Its compatible, runs very cool and is dead quiet.

Holy crap that thing is like $60!! Why would people even do this?

 

[railven]

Holy crap that thing is like $60!! Why would people even do this?

Same reason why people buy stock cooler factory OC'ed cards? Options - why harsh on em? I welcome em.

The Zalman coolers look sexy too me, perf wise not all that but definitely sexy looking (speaking of the VAF3000)

 

[JBT]

eh I just remember back in the day I could get a nice GPU HSF for 20-25 bucks. $60 seems crazy to me. Now that a lot of the cards come with fancy HSF's anyways and they don't usually cost $60 more, more like $25 to 50.

 

[chronochime]

OOS already

 

[Leyawiin]

My bad guys. The Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo II is for the upcoming HD 7850 and 7870. There's a specific (and expensive) Accelero Xtreme model for the 7900 series.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

and it also doesn't effectively cool the VRM as well as TF3. All of the AC coolers have issues with VRM cooling to my knowledge. Also, a 7950 + Accelero 79xx costs 449.99+ 89.99$ - the MSI lightning is a better buy.

I've been researching the AC gpu coolers, and they do come with some pretty beefy vram and ram heatsinks that you add onto the board. Reviews I've seen show that the VRM heatsinks are capable of providing more overclocking headroom vs. stock coolers, and the GPU heatsink keeps temps usually about 30C lower on load. The main selling point for the AC cooler is the fact that most reviews say the other case fans are louder than it at full load.

 

[Hauk]

and it also doesn't effectively cool the VRM as well as TF3.

A reason I love the MSI Twin Frozer III (or Lightning) cooler. I'll not do aftermarket coolers again when there are superb solutions like this. If choosing a Twin Frozer card, look for the III version which features a stiffening bracket and PCB component coverage:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/vimages/msi_n560gtx448_pe/16.jpg

http://www.overclockersclub.com/vimages/msi_n560gtx448_pe/21.jpg

 

[deadken]

Why no Twin Frozr 7970 yet? I like the idea of the better cooling, and the MSI warranty. I even like the idea of the better quality components. But, I want it in a 7970. I don't understand how they've had the 7970 out for nearly two months and still no MSI Twin Frozr version yet.

Back to the original topic:
That looks VERY nice. I will seriously consider one of these. I know that they carry a price premium over the stock 7950, but I think it is worth it. It is a little sad, with all the talk of better vram cooling, that they didn't OC the memory at all.

 

[chimaxi83]

Well, the 7970 version is the Lightning. That typically comes out 5-6 months after release, I believe. It's fully custom PCB with a TFIII cooler on it.

Check out this short interview with an MSI rep. He says the turnaround time for reference PCB with non-ref cooler (Twin Frozr) is about 2-4 weeks, which is pretty much what it was for their 7950. He then said custom PCB based Lightning takes longer due to R&D, testing, etc., and for the GTX580 for example, was 6 months after reference release.

 

[deadken]

Well, the 7970 version is the Lightning. That typically comes out 5-6 months after release, I believe. It's fully custom PCB with a TFIII cooler on it....

Cool, thanks! Of course, by then we'll see what is available on the market.

But for now, I'll consider a Twin Frozr 7950 over a 'vanilla' 7970.

 

[SZLiao214]

Cool, thanks! Of course, by then we'll see what is available on the market.

But for now, I'll consider a Twin Frozr 7950 over a 'vanilla' 7970.

The twin frozr coolers are my favorite 2 slot coolers. The vf3000 that the other member mentioned is a great cooler but also 3 slot design.