If you want a GeForce GTX 260/216 with double the amount of memory, with a better manufacturing quality, with a better cooler, coming factory-overclocked and coming with this interesting overclocking panel, MSI N260GTX Lightning Black Edition is for you.

There are some drawbacks regarding this card. First is the USB cable from the panel, which is too short. The second are the buttons on the panel, which don’t work very well. Third is the absence of games (but honestly this doesn’t bother most gamers). And fourth, pricing. At USD 295 it is a little bit over USD 100 more expensive than the standard GeForce GTX 260/216 (64% more for 15% performance gain). If you live in the US you can get a USD 20 rebate, making it to cost USD 275.

If you are really worried about pricing, good news is that you can get a card with similar specs but half the standard memory size (896 MB) and without the overclocking panel for USD 200 (or USD 180 after a USD 20 mail-in rebate). This card is called MSI N260GTX-OCv3.

We are always looking for the best cost/benefit ratio for our readers. With MSI N260GTX Lightning Black Edition costing over 50% above the standard model it doesn’t provide this important feature.