Introduction

When we checked out the reference GTX 660 just the other week we didn't find ourselves getting the same "wow" factor that we got from other GTX 600 based models like the GTX 660 Ti, GTX 670 and GTX 680. That's not to say it's not a good video card, but ultimately we found that the GTX 660 didn't hold any real surprises as it lined up almost perfectly against its main competitor, AMD's Radeon HD 7870.

Today, though, we get to take more of an in-depth look at the new model as we're able to look at not just the performance numbers, but also the temperature, power draw and noise levels with what MSI are offering us. Being part of the Twin Frozr series of course means that it's going to carry the Twin Frozr cooler and if the past is anything to go by, that's only a good thing, as it has impressed us each and every time.

We're hoping that with a retail video card in hand now we'll find ourselves a little more impressed with the new GTX 660. As always, though, before we look at the card, we've got to look at a couple of things before we get started.

The first thing we'll do is check out the package MSI is offering and the bundle. Once we've done that we'll move onto the card itself and see how the Twin Frozr cooler looks on the new model before we look at the specification side of things and see what they've done with the clocks. We'll then quickly look at our testbed, cover the cards that will be in our graphs and then get into the performance side of things.

Package

Looking at the front of the box we can see a picture of the Twin Frozr cooler and we've got some of the main details including the model number and amount of memory.

Opening up the box we're greeted with a wealth of information including talk about MSI Afterburner, information on the Solid Caps that MSI opted to use and some of the awards that MSI have got for its Twin Frozr cooler.

Moving to the bottom portion of the box we've got a window that lets us look at the card and we've got a bunch of information regarding the Twin Frozr cooler design that tells us know why it's so special. Some of the main features include the propeller blades, nickel-plated copper base and multiple heatpipes to cover just some of the main features. Turning to the back you can see most of the information is focused on the GTX 660 and the specific features that it offers.

When it comes to the bundle we don't have a heap going on which doesn't come as a huge surprise considering this is a mid-range model. We've got a bit of paperwork along with a dual Molex to 6-pin PCIe power connector and a DVI to VGA connector to round everything off.