MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Twin Frozr II Video Card

MSI freezes the GTX 560 Ti with its Twin Frozr II cooler. We see how the card goes with the iconic cooler from MSI.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: MSI
14 minutes & 16 seconds read time

Introduction and Package


Introduction

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We've already been amazed with what the GTX 560 Ti offers us when we looked at the GIGABYTE version which falls into the SOC series from the company. Now it's time to see what MSI can do with the model and while this one might not fall into that higher end HAWK series that we've grown to love, it does carry with it both an OC and the Twin Frozr II cooler.

We instantly know that the card isn't going to be as aggressive on the clock front because it's part of the Twin Frozr II series, but we expect it to offer some great cooling numbers while at the same time giving us a better idea of how lower clocked GTX 560s will perform against the competition.

With the full package on hand, we'll check out what MSI has got going on with the bundle before we look at the card itself, that Twin Frozr II cooler, and of course the specifications that MSI are offering us with this model.


Package

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MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Twin Frozr II Video Card 04


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Looking at what's on offer from MSI, you're not seeing anything out of the ordinary when it comes to the package. We've got the manual and quick user guide for paperwork, the driver CD, two dual Molex to 6-Pin PCI-E power connectors along with a single DVI to VGA and mini HDMI to HDMI connector.

Card and Specifications


The Card

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Checking out the GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II, like the package you're not seeing anything that you haven't really seen before with the Twin Frozr II cooler being used and taking up most of the card. You can see all those heat pipes across the bottom and of course the twin fans which help give the cooler the name.

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As for the rest of the card, we've got two 6-Pin PCI-E power connectors at the back of the card, while closer to the front we've got a single SLI connector which lets us run up too two cards and connectivity comes in the form of two Dual-Link DVI connectors and a single mini HDMI port.


Specifications

The Twin Frozr II GTX 560 we're looking at today is overclocked out of the box. Before we cover the clocks that we're seeing from MSI here, we'll just quickly cover the reference GTX 560 Ti clocks.

A reference card will carry with it a 822MHz core; that means the Shader comes in at 1644MHz. As for the 1GB of GDDR5, that comes in at 4000MHz QDR.

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MSI have bumped the core up to 880MHz; that's pushed the Shader to 1760MHz and the 1GB of GDDR3 comes in at 4200MHz QDR.

Test System Setup and 3DMark 11


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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASRock, Kingston, Mittoni, Noctua and Corsair.

We've again got a big line-up of cards including the MSI GTX 580 and GTX 570, ECS GTX 460 Black and both HD 6900 cards at reference clocks and overclocked using Afterburner with more voltage on the core.

Let's get started!


3DMark 11

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/
Buy It Here




3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC's gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

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NVIDIA isn't as strong under 3DMark 11 and you can see here we're below the HD 6950. Fortunately it's not the most important benchmark of the lot.

3DMark Vantage




Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmarkvantage/
Buy It Here




3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware.

3DMark Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX10, the new graphics API from Microsoft.

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With PhysX enabled we see that strong performance from NVIDIA cards. We see a strong gain over the GTX 460.

Unigine Heaven Benchmark




Version and / or Patch Used: 2
Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com
Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//



New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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Under Heaven we can see the MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II is battling it out with the HD 6950, pulling out a win at one resolution and a loss at the other.

Benchmarks - Resident Evil 5


Resident Evil 5

Version and / or Patch Used: Demo Benchmark
Developer Homepage: www.residentevil.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.residentevil.com/




Resident Evil 5 is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on September 18. Resident Evil 5 revolves around Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar as they investigate a terrorist threat in Kijuju, a fictional town in Africa.

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Getting into some games, we see some strong performance from the GTX 560 Ti. At 1920 x 1200 and below we can see the model is battling it out with both HD 6900s; it falls a little behind at the higher 2560 x 1600 resolution, though.

Benchmarks - Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/UK/default.aspx
Product Homepage: http://www.hawxgame.com/




Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 is an arcade-style flight action game developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft. The game is the sequel to Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., released in 2009.

The game begins with Colonel David Crenshaw participating in a routine patrol mission in the Middle East. After halting an insurgent attack, a volley of missiles is fired at the Air Force base that Crenshaw was stationed at, with one of the missiles disabling Crenshaw's aircraft, resulting Crenshaw being in enemy captivity. A joint strike force composed of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and a Ghost Recon squad executes an operation to rescue Crenshaw. In Scotland, Royal Navy Pilot Colin Munro encounters an unidentified passenger aircraft that explodes from an on-board bomb when undergoing training exercise. In Russia, an air force squadron led by Colonel Denisov and Captain Dmitri Sokov engages separatist aircraft but is ordered to retreat from the region after numerous Russian military installations have been attacked.

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H.A.W.X. 2 shows some strong performance for the NVIDIA cards and you can see that the AMD cards really struggle to keep up with the NVIDIA offerings under this benchmark.

Benchmarks - Mafia II


Mafia II

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.2kczech.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.mafia2game.com/
Buy It Here




Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games. The game is set from 1943 to 1951 in Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State"), a fictional city based on San Francisco and New York City, with influences from Chicago and Detroit. The game features a completely open-ended game map of 10 square miles. No restrictions are included from the start of the game. There are around 50 vehicles in the game, as well as licensed music from the era.

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Under Mafia II we've got some excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050. At 2560 x 1600 it does unfortunately fall back a little; more importantly, though, it falls under that 60 FPS average we aim for.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2


Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/




Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game, "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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Like the HD 6900 series the GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II can't break that 60 FPS mark at 1920 x 1200 and 2560 x 1600. Unlike the HD 6900 series, though, the model is able to break the 60 FPS mark at 1680 x 1050.

Benchmarks - Aliens vs. Predator


Aliens vs. Predator

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/
Product Homepage: http://www.sega.com/games/aliens-vs-predator/




Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game is based on the Alien vs. Predator franchise, a combination of the characters and creatures of the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline.

Following the storyline of the campaign modes comes the multiplayer aspect of the game. In this Multiplayer section of the game, players face off in various different gametypes in various different ways.

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Under Aliens vs. Predator we can see that the HD 6950 and GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr are fighting it out.

Benchmarks - Street Fighter IV


Street Fighter IV

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.streetfighter.com/




While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. A new system called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attack" for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.

All the characters and environments in Street Fighter IV are rendered as 3D models with polygons, similar to the Street Fighter EX sub-series Capcom produced with Arika. However, there are a couple of key differences. Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, opted for non-photorealistic rendering to give them a hand-drawn look, with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.

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Street Fighter IV sees big numbers as always across the board and in this case manages to outperform the HD 6970.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2


Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01
Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/
Buy It Here




The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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Good numbers from the GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II again coming out ahead of the HD 6970 at times.

Benchmarks - Batman Arkham Asylum


Batman Arkham Asylum

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/





Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.

Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series.

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Good numbers like Far Cry 2 and again we see at some points the HD 6970 comes off second best against the GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF


High Quality AA and AF

Our high quality tests let us separate the men from the boys and the ladies from the girls. If the cards weren't struggling before they will start to now.

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Aliens vs. Predator and Mafia II struggle to hit that 60 FPS average we need; not so much an issue under Street Fighter IV and Far Cry 2, though. We again see it go a bit back and forth with the HD 6900s.

Benchmarks - PhysX Tests


PhysX Tests

Here we're able to find out when PhysX is turned on in games that support it what kind of frame rates we're able to get. We always set PhysX to the highest possible in game settings while also keeping detail at its highest.

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With PhysX on Mafia II struggles to break the 60 FPS mark at any resolution. We've got playable numbers at 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200 under Batman AA, though, with PhysX set to high.

Temperature Test


Temperature Tests



The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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The Twin Frozr II cooler as always does a great job letting the GTX 560 Ti run very cool.

Sound Test


Sound Tests



Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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Not only does the card run super cool, but it runs super quiet as well, which is why we love the Twin Frozr II cards so much.

Power Consumption Tests






Using our new PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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Good power draw on the model and around 100 watts lower than the SOC version from GIGABYTE.

Total Performance Rating (TPR)


Total Performance Rating

The TPR graph is a combination of all our benchmarks in which NVIDIA and AMD are on an even playing field.

The TPR number is a combination of:

3DMark 11, Heaven Benchmark V2, Resident Evil 5, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.2, Mafia 2 (PhysX Off), Lost Planet 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter IV, Far Cry 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum (PhysX Off) and our four High Quality tests which include Mafia 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter IV and Far Cry 2.

All of the benchmark results achieved are then combined into a single number. As this graph will grow over time and cards won't be re-tested, next to each model you'll find the driver version that was used when the card was benchmarked.

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While the GTX 560 Ti SOC battles more with the HD 6970, the lower clocked Twin Frozr II version from MSI sits more in line with the HD 6950.

Total Value Rating (TVR)


Total Value Rating

The TVR graph is the TPR score divided by the price of the video card. The price of the video card is based on the list price of the model on Newegg.com. In the event the card isn't listed, it will be based on the U.S. $ MSRP given to us by the manufacturer.

In the event we can't source a price from either, the product will not receive a TVR rating. As with our TPR graph, the amount of video cards on the list will grow over time and the price of the model won't change from what it was when first reviewed. For this reason the U.S. $ price that the card is based off will be included next to the name of the model.

In the event you want to find the TVR rating yourself based on the current price, all you have to do is simply divide the TPR number by the list price.

TVR numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number; 100.3 will be 100; 100.8 will be 101 and 100.5 will be rounded down to 100.

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Checking out the value, we can see the model is again very strong with it being ahead of both HD 6900 series.

Final Thoughts




The MSI Twin Frozr II version of the GTX 560 gives us a good idea of how the model will perform with a milder overclock; in this case a little under 900MHz on the core. We can see that compared to the AMD offerings it battles it out with the HD 6950, but we've got a bit of an idea on the OC potential with what we saw from our first GTX 560 Ti.

Outside of the performance, though, which is excellent, you have to look at the Twin Frozr II cooler and what it does for the card. Unlike the previous generation GTX 400 cards, the GTX 500 series don't struggle with heat and while the GTX 460 didn't run hot, the GTX 560 makes it look like it ran hot.

The Twin Frozr II cooler on the GTX 560 Ti gives us a load temp of 54c. If you look at the cards around it, they're either significantly lower in specification or carry with them massive coolers like the Galaxy card with its triple slot, triple fan unit.

It's going to be really interesting to see what MSI do with this model; we're sure that a HAWK version of the card is going to come and if past experience is anything to go by, it's going to be a hell of a model. There's serious OC potential with the card, and it runs exceptionally cool and quiet. The latter facts are what's going to give us more head room than the competition, and that's going to be really important for NVIDIA.

The Twin Frozr II version of the GTX 560 doesn't leave us with the same wow factor we got from the first card we looked at, but that aggressive price tag, fantastic cooling performance and OC potential make the model look good nonetheless.

Out of the box you're going to have a good card. The fun's going to really begin, though, when you fire up MSI Afterburner and start to overclock that bad boy - A slightly different take on the GTX 560 Ti when compared to the first one we did. The good news is that MSI have aimed to make the card run cool and quiet, and they've achieved that.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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