Well Nvidia has finally blessed us with its presence by entering the Direct X 11 Video Card race. The problem with the new Nvidia cards (as has been the case with most Nvidia cards recently) is the heat issues and all that heat needs to be dealt with somehow and the reference cooler used in the reference design is noisy, and it has to be in order to cope with all the heat these GPU’s put out. MSI saw a need and filled it with their new, not so reference designed cooler system: The Frozr II. This cooler professes to be not only cooler then reference design but also considerably quieter. Let’s see if the Frozr 465 GTX is all hype or all right:
Provided by: MSI
Price: $269.99
Closer Look:
Specifications and Features:
- Twin Frozr II Thermal Design – Reduces Heat by 16℃ and Noise by 21.5dB
– Dual 8CM PWM Fans : Air flow from dual fans can cool down GPU/Memory/Power Module at once.
– Five heat pipes with SuperPipe Technology
– Nickel-plated Copper Base : Large size of Copper Base can dissipate the heat of GPU faster.
Military Class Components
– Hi-C Cap provides more precise GPU voltage.
– SSC (Solid State Chock) has No Buzz noise and higher current for better overclocking ability.
– All Solid CAP for longer lifespan.- Over voltage function of GPU
– Supports over voltage function of GPU by Afterburner, and performance can be up to 15%! 
PhysX & 3DVision Surround technology
– Support PhysX technology effects for realist physics effect.
– Support 3DVision Surround technology to provide 3 monitor output simultaneously and real 3D image experience. (3D Vision surround for 3 monitors require 2 cards running in SLI mode to work. Need to work with 3D monitor and 3D glass.)
co-development by MSI and Rivatuner, MSI releases the ultimate graphics card utility “Afterburner”. This utility enables all MSI graphics cards users to boost performance and to monitor all kinds of critical information in real-time. Afterburner is a completely free utility which is compatible with almost all MSI graphics cards.
MSI Graphics Card products utilities high quality solid capacitor. For the gamers and high-end users, this feature not only means that product has better quality components within, but also provide much stronger support while users want to engage in hard-core tuning.
MSI unique SuperPipe technology uses 8mm heat pipe which is 60% thicker than traditional ones and increase 90% of cooling efficiency. By using SuperPipe technology, MSI graphics cards provides better stability and overclocking ability.
MSI Live Update online is designed to automatically download and update the BIOS and driver when there’s a new version online. It helps reduce the risk of getting the wrong file and minimize the trouble of searching the files from MSI website.
- Explosions that cause dust and collateral debris
- Characters with complex, jointed geometries for more life-like motion and interaction
- Spectacular new weapons with incredible effects
- Cloth that drapes and tears naturally
- Dense smoke & fog that billow around objects in motion
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Video Output Function
MSI Dual Core Center 
Testing Setup:
- Intel Core i7 875K
- Intel DP55SB P55 Motherboard
- 8GB Patriot Viper II Sector 5 DDR3 Memory
- 1TB WD 64MB Cache
- 1250W Sparkle PSU
- Cooler Master HAF X
- Windows 7 Ultimate
Testing:
I will be putting the Frozr II against the Sparkle GTX 480 and 465 as well as the PowerColor 5870. All of the testing is done through stock default settings for each benchmark. The 3D Marl Vantage scores (stated as 1280 x 1024, 1680 x 1050, 1920 x 1200) are the performance, high, and Extreme Tests.I have been having issues with the Cinebench 11.5 tests so I decided to use the R10 Version.
Conclusion:
While performance is the most important when dealing with a Graphics Card review, this is the Frozr II and temperature is a very essential benchmark so the temperatures goes from hottest to coolest:
Sparkle 480GTX: 75.2 degrees
Sparkle 465GTX: 63.7 degrees
MSI Frozr ii N465GTX: 60.1
PowerColor 5870: 59.6
So I guess the Frozr lives up to its name. Under full load it sat in and around 3 degrees cooler than the Sparkle Card with Reference Cooler. This isn’t quite the 16 degree difference stated on the box it is cooler and the temperature on the Sparkle Fluctuated a lot more than the Frozr. At idle the Frozr sat around 48 degrees and the Sparkle was around the 55 degree mark. I use a laser IR Temp gun in order to get my readings so it is possible the GPU temperature directly was a lot different than the external temps and as such I wouldn’t rule out the temperature difference being much broader.
Overall the Frozr II is a beautiful card with serious performance for budget gamers. The Sparkle card is about $10 more than the Frozr and the software that comes with the MSI Card is much more impressive than the Sparkle.
Would I recommend this card? Yes, I have used a lot of graphics cards over the years but the MSI Frozr II is one of my favorites, I like the look the temps and the performance and if you are looking for more boost than the 5830’s and 460’s that are coming out I strongly suggest checking out an MSI card is you haven’t used one yet, it actually has a permanent place in my testing rig now and I am keeping it till MSI release the Next Frozr line of cards.
Pros:
- Price
- Performance
- Temps
- Afterburner Software is Awesome!
- Quiet
Cons:
- I Would Like to see a few Extras but not bad Either way
