GeForce GTX 275 Roundup (Gigabyte, EVGA, MSI, Sparkle, BFG)

MSI GTX 275 896MB Twin Frozr OC

Manufacturer Product Page: MSI GTX 275 Twin Frozr
Product Number: MS-V177-037
Warranty: 3 years (parts) 2 years (labor)
Price: Click here to compare prices



If anything, MSI’s box design is sure to catch your eye if you were to see it at a brick and mortar store. Not only is it emblazoned with all sorts of stickers listing its features for all to see but it comes complete with a hellish creature staring you down.

The interior of the package has plenty of protection for the card and the accessory package is a customer’s wet dream. Sure, there are the usual manuals and driver CDs but the number of included connectors and adaptors is just out of this world. MSI has included a component video cable, DVI to VGA adaptor, a standard S-Video cable and a DVI to HDMI adaptor. Unfortunately, while the Gigabyte card we saw on the last page forgets to add the HDMI dongle, this package features an S/PDIF cable that is missing in action. That means you will have the ability to display images through the HDMI cable but not transmit sound. Please note: MSI lists the S/PDIF cable as included so it may just be our package that was missing it.


MSI’s entry into this roundup is completely different and gave us the break we needed from all the bland reference-based cards. The GTX 275 Twin Frozr OC uses the same proprietary, MSI-designed cooler as found on their higher end Black Lightning cards which uses a pair of fans to cool off a massive internal heatsink. Unfortunately, this means all of the hot air the core produces will be dumped back into the innards of your case and this has the potential to raise the temperatures of all your other components.

Other than the custom heatsink and clock speeds, this card is pretty much bone stock other than the distinctive red PCB.


The two fans on the Twin Frozr’s heatsink are linked to one another via a pair of sleeved cables that are eventually combined into a single 3-pin fan header. As such, the speed of both fans is directly linked to the temperatures of the core.


Like the heatsink’s multiple fins, the contact plates for both the memory and VRM modules are made of aluminum. This will help disperse quite a bit of heat from both areas considering the airflow from the two top-mounted fans passes directly over these two areas.


Like the other cards, MSI has gone with the usual layout of dual 6-pin PCI-E power connectors and an S/PDIF header. Meanwhile the backplate holds a beautifully stamped MSI logo as part of the upper grille assembly along with a pair of DVI connectors and an HDTV Out connector which can be used either component video or s-video.