MSI N280GTX OC HydroGen
Conclusion
Published: 22nd January 2009 | Source: MSI | Price: £359.99 |
The MSI N280GTX OC Hydrogen certainly validated its high price tag. Taking into consideration the cost of the lush full cover copper block and the fact that this is an extremely high, pre-overclocked package and it starts to work out at a competitive price point. Alternatively, for £360 you could get a 4870x2 which would no doubt outperform even this pre-overclocked card in most areas, but at a cost. One of the benefits of having a water-cooled GPU that seems to come lower down the list of priorities to performance and cooling is something that is often overlooked. Depending on your water-cooling setup, the GTX280 OC HydroGen will run silent. A silent, high performing card is certainly nothing to be taken lightly these days, nor is the fact that many manufacturers will frown upon adding aftermarket cooling let alone water-cooling if it came to warranty issues. Herein lies the attraction of the MSI card. You get the best of both worlds - high Performance, silence, and cool running but no warranty worries.
The pre-overclocks were already the fastest we have seen at OC3D so I was amazed at how much further the card could be pushed. A GPU core speed of a smidge under 800mhz is an amazing achievement, due in part to the efficient water-cooling block provided which kept temperatures in the mid 40's regardless of how much strain the card was under. The power draw of the card will be slightly less than that of a standard GTX due to there being no fan but consideration needs to be made to the added power requirements of a water-cooling loop. Noise, as we have previously mentioned isn't an issue so I am struggling to find anything bad to say about the card.
If I had to find fault it would be the price. For the money you could buy the newer GTX285 and add your own block but this could invalidate your warranty - something a lot of people are concerned with doing after paying over £300. There is also the risk of damaging the card yourself when fitting an aftermarket waterblock but at this end of the market, speed is everything and speed usually goes hand-in-hand with temperatures so this is something people are willing to risk. The MSI card eradicates this risk. As stated, the flagship ATI card would offer more performance but then noise becomes an issue, so while the GTX280 OC HydroGen does at first glance appear expensive, it strikes a very even balance and could form an attractive proposition to the shrewd water-cooling performance junkie.
The Good
- Amazing overclocking
- Great performance
- Fantastic cooling
The Mediocre
- No included barbs
- Dual slot I/O plate
The Bad
- Some may be put off by the high price of a previous gen card, despite it's benefits
Thanks to MSI for providing the n280GTX OC HydroGen for todays for review. Discuss in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
Impressive performance for a GTX 280! And the card has an interesting heatsink.
First time I seen a fine machined waterblock from a watercooled ready gpu manufacturer. Looks like it cools well too 
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Originally Posted by name='moogle'
First time I seen a fine machined waterblock from a watercooled ready gpu manufacturer. Looks like it cools well too
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Stunning performance. It's so nice to see proper paste instead of that awful white goop too. But wow what a huge performing card and block.
Shame about the bracket. The devil is in the details.
VB
Shame about the bracket. The devil is in the details.
VB
Have you tried overclocking past the limits?
At 40C that is so cool.
At 40C that is so cool.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Agreed. I'd actually prefer that block (in terms of looks at least) over anything that EK could offer.
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Originally Posted by name='VonBlade'
Shame about the bracket. The devil is in the details. VB |
Or can't you buy a single bracket that will fit on it. Only problem is I think there is an LED indicator on the 2nd grill part of the bracket, so you'd have to take that off.
Those blocks are awesome.. I believe Aqua-pcs may be stocking them soon, not too sure though.
What company manufactured the blocks for them. Reminds me of aquagraFX blocks a bit.
wow, loved that block pretty cool 
, and great performance, +1 for MSi. 
, also wc it wont obviously wont void warrantry 
thanks for the review jim, pretty cool one
Soap.
, and great performance, +1 for MSi. , also wc it wont obviously wont void warrantry thanks for the review jim, pretty cool one
Soap.
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Originally Posted by name='AntiHeroUK'
What company manufactured the blocks for them. Reminds me of aquagraFX blocks a bit.
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Also known as heatkiller.Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='AntiHeroUK'
What company manufactured the blocks for them. Reminds me of aquagraFX blocks a bit.
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Thanks Luigi.
How do you reckon MSI's water cooled 260's compete against the BFG variant? Granted there are marketing terms like MAXCORE and thermointelligence used, but do these actually play any part in making the cards have more bang for their buck?
-HypoG
-HypoG
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Originally Posted by name='HypoglossalXII'
How do you reckon MSI's water cooled 260's compete against the BFG variant? Granted there are marketing terms like MAXCORE and thermointelligence used, but do these actually play any part in making the cards have more bang for their buck?
-HypoG |
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Originally Posted by name='HypoglossalXII'
Granted there are marketing terms like MAXCORE and thermointelligence used, but do these actually play any part in making the cards have more bang for their buck?
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I still prefer choosing your own waterblock because when it comes to selling your card, you're limited to a small market of watercoolers rather than everyone (if you had the original cooler).
Hasn't anybody here at OC3D heard of Zotac? They've got a GTX 280 AMP clocked at CC 700, SC at 1400, and MC at 2300 on air! So MSIs N280GTX OC doesn't really impress me. I purchased two of these Zotacs just recently and current OC is 730/1536/2650...still on air! Fan is set to auto and flucs between 40 - 60 with temps rarely getting above 64C. Things are so steady and quiet, I may try pushing Core a little higher. At my current OC, I've even got the Zotac 285 AMP beat!
Of course we have heard of Zotac - we reviewed a GTX260 from them already.
MSI also have an air cooled GTX280 available which runs at the same clocks as the warercooled version. Somehow though I doubt it would run as cool, silent or indeed overclock aswell as the HydroGen. I am however, happy to be proven wrong
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MSI also have an air cooled GTX280 available which runs at the same clocks as the warercooled version. Somehow though I doubt it would run as cool, silent or indeed overclock aswell as the HydroGen. I am however, happy to be proven wrong
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Originally Posted by name='w3bbo'
Of course we have heard of Zotac - we reviewed a GTX260 from them already.
MSI also have an air cooled GTX280 available which runs at the same clocks as the warercooled version. Somehow though I doubt it would run as cool, silent or indeed overclock aswell as the HydroGen. I am however, happy to be proven wrong . |
"Thermointelligence"... That's what I use when I look out the window and decide to stay inside because it's winter. I have just got myself 2 EVGA GTX280 cards. I would love to get them watercooled at a later stage. And the SLI-Set HEATKILLER® GPU-X² G200 they have at watercool.de seems spot on when the time comes
Thats just sexy, I'll have two please.
Why stop at two? Get TRI SLI and be a man
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Originally Posted by name='w3bbo'
Why stop at two? Get TRI SLI and be a man
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MSI N280GTX OC HydroGen