MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme Edition 3GB GDDR5 PCIe

Overview

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Browse 8 expert reviews so far

Excellent:

2
Good:

0
Average:

1
Bad:

0

Pros:

Highly overclocked; Huge heatsink keeps it cool; Dual fans are quiet; Dust removal Tech is brilliant; 3GB ram is great for multiple monitors.
Overclocked out of the box, 3 GB GDDR5 memory, Dual BIOS switch, Triple voltage change support, Low temperatures, Low power consumption, DIP switches for enthusiast overclockers, Native fullsize HDMI & DisplayPort output, Support for DirectX 11, Support f

Cons:

Need SLI configuration to take advantage in multiplemonitor setup
Noisy fan, 3 GB memory can not make a difference, Same clocks as previous GTX 580 Lightning, Power draw limiter could complicate advanced overclocking

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Last revision on April 22, 2013

Reviewers Liked

Highly overclocked; Huge heatsink keeps it cool; Dual fans are quiet; Dust removal Tech is brilliant; 3GB ram is great for multiple monitors
Overclocked out of the box, 3 GB GDDR5 memory, Dual BIOS switch, Triple voltage change support, Low temperatures, Low power consumption, DIP switches for enthusiast overclockers, Native fullsize HDMI & DisplayPort output, Support for DirectX 11, Support f

Reviewers Didn't Like

Need SLI configuration to take advantage in multiplemonitor setup
Noisy fan, 3 GB memory can not make a difference, Same clocks as previous GTX 580 Lightning, Power draw limiter could complicate advanced overclocking

Expert reviews and ratings

MSI is no stranger to custom cooling solutions on graphics card; their Twin Frozr and Cyclone heatsinks are renowned in the hardware community. So when I heard that they have built and “Xtreme” version of the already incredible N580GTX...

By Tbreak.com on September 04, 2011

Actively selling a card with an LN2 pedigree seems like an odd decision, especially as the majority of pro-overclockers are paid in free hardware for their expertise and feedback. What's more, hardware is usually handed out at the start of...

By Bit-tech.net on June 03, 2011

MSI's new GeForce GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme Edition builds on the success of the previous Lightning GTX 580. The only performance related difference is the inclusion of 3 GB of memory instead of 1.5 GB like on the successor. Unfortunately thoughout...

By techPowerUp! on May 30, 2011

The MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition is a typical premium-class graphics card with everything that this positioning entails: a high-quality PCB with LED indication, durable components, stable operation even in overclocked mode (also with...

By X-bit Labs on November 18, 2011

MSI really has this stuff down. Their Lightning series of cards for this particular generation are just second to none in my testing. The N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition takes all the goodness of the previous Lightning cards and adds in those three...

By PCPer on August 03, 2011

MSI has produced the best single-GPU GeForce GTX 580 GPU based video card we have seen yet. The N580GTX Lightning XE really does have everything including the kitchen sink. We've found the features supported to please any hardcore hardware...

By HardOCP on June 06, 2011

When we tested the GeForce GTX 580 Lightning from MSI roughly a month ago, we stated that the product might become product of the year, it really is that good. But little did I know about an Xtreme edition that MSI still had in the works. Yep,...

By Guru of 3D on May 31, 2011

With the GTX 580 maturing like a fine wine, it has been interesting to see what NVIDIA’s board partners had in store for the market. We’ve already looked at Gigbayte’s Super Overclock and MSI’s Lightning and there even more custom...

By Hardware Canucks on May 30, 2011