GTX 770 Battle: MSI Twin Frozr vs. Gigabyte Windforce

[redlight]

I'll be purchasing a GTX 770 with my newest build, but I've run into a predicament in deciding which one to get. The two contenders are the MSI Twin Frozr and the Gigabyte Windforce. Both are basically equal in price. I am interested in overclocking either card. The Windforce has higher base clock speeds and 3 fans for cooling, but the MSI card can take advantage of more power.

MSI card:

Core Clock: 1059 MHz
Boost Clock: 1111 MHz
8+8 pin power
2 fans

Gigabyte card:

Core Clock: 1137MHz
Boost Clock: 1189 MHz
6+8 pin power
3 fans

Keeping in mind that I will be overclocking, which card should I go with for best performance?

 

[jerreece]

From a theoretical standpoint the MSI card having two 8pin power connectors 'should' give better power draw to support heavy overclocking. That being said, from what little I've heard so far the limit on OC'ing the GTX 770 so far is about 1250MHz.

The Gigabyte card has a higher factory overclock. But if you're planning to OC on your own that doesn't necessarily matter any. You probably should look at the reviews on the two cards and look at their temperatures. I don't know if the Windforce cooler is any better than the Twin Frozr or not.

Have you priced the EVGA GTX 770 with the ACX cooler? You can get that stock or SuperClocked for $400-$420. Very good cooler.

 

[17seconds]

Are you referring to the MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2? If so, here is a nice review, compare it against the Gigabyte also reviewed on the same site.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_Lightning/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_770_WindForce_OC/

This page compares FPS performance of the overclocked cards in BF3. The MSI Lightning puts out a few more FPS than the Gigabyte, even though both were clocked to the same level on the core (the MSI got a little more OC on the memory).
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_Lightning/29.html

 

[redlight]

Are you referring to the MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2? If so, here is a nice review, compare it against the Gigabyte also reviewed on the same site.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_Lightning/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_770_WindForce_OC/

This page compares FPS performance of the overclocked cards in BF3. The MSI Lightning puts out a few more FPS than the Gigabyte, even though both were clocked to the same level on the core (the MSI got a little more OC on the memory).
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_Lightning/29.html

I wasn't looking at the Lightning, I was looking at the Twin Frozr. :|

 

[17seconds]

Are you referring to the MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2? If so, here is a nice review, compare it against the Gigabyte also reviewed on the same site.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_Lightning/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_770_WindForce_OC/

This page compares FPS performance of the overclocked cards in BF3. The MSI Lightning puts out a few more FPS than the Gigabyte, even though both were clocked to the same level on the core (the MSI got a little more OC on the memory).
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_770_Lightning/29.html

I wasn't looking at the Lightning, I was looking at the Twin Frozr. :|

Sorry about that. You can still extrapolate since its the same cooler.

Here is literally the only review of the MSI GTX 770 Gaming Edition card.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2202/1/

 

[jerreece]

FYI - The MSI GTX 770 Gaming Edition is 10.24" long. The EVGA GTX 770 ACX is 10" long (specs from NewEgg.com). The Gigabyte Windforce is longer (don't see a spec on NewEgg). Make sure you can fit the length.

Also of note is that the MSI cards require two 8pin PCI-E connectors where as the others are one 6pin and one 8pin.

 

[redlight]

FYI - The MSI GTX 770 Gaming Edition is 10.24" long. The EVGA GTX 770 ACX is 10" long (specs from NewEgg.com). The Gigabyte Windforce is longer (don't see a spec on NewEgg). Make sure you can fit the length.

Also of note is that the MSI cards require two 8pin PCI-E connectors where as the others are one 6pin and one 8pin.

Yup! All the details have been noticed and the length/power will be fine for either. It's just difficult comparing the specifics of the overclocking results. For example, certain versions of the GTX 770 overclocked had higher core clock speeds but lower bandwidth, another had higher memory clock speed but lower core clock, I just don't know where to compare the cards and what actually matters.

EDIT: What watt power supply should I look get if I want to overclock the card and the rest of my build is ~100 watts? The base power requirement for the cards is 600. Will 750 watts be enough?

 

[17seconds]

FYI - The MSI GTX 770 Gaming Edition is 10.24" long. The EVGA GTX 770 ACX is 10" long (specs from NewEgg.com). The Gigabyte Windforce is longer (don't see a spec on NewEgg). Make sure you can fit the length.

Also of note is that the MSI cards require two 8pin PCI-E connectors where as the others are one 6pin and one 8pin.

Yup! All the details have been noticed and the length/power will be fine for either. It's just difficult comparing the specifics of the overclocking results. For example, certain versions of the GTX 770 overclocked had higher core clock speeds but lower bandwidth, another had higher memory clock speed but lower core clock, I just don't know where to compare the cards and what actually matters.

The card with the coolest temperatures wins. Turbo Boost 2.0 introduces temperature as a key parameter. Cards that can stay below 80c will maintain higher turbo boost clocks more consistently. The lower the temperature, the higher the performance.

 

[starcraftgod]

Tom's hardware also published a review to compared several 770 cards.
MSI card is not so outstanding in fact. I would prefer gigabyte card pricing less $50 than msi lightning on Newegg.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-770-gk104-review,3519-27.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127742
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463