MSI has expanded their Lightning video card series with the launch of two models: N580GTX and R6970. These cards are specifically designed to handle extreme overclocking. They feature military-class components (Hi-c caps, solid ferrite chokes, and solid caps), a high-end voltage regulator circuit (18-phase for the R6970, 16-phase for the N580GTX), test points on the board for you to check the GPU and memory voltages using a voltmeter, and an independent power supply for the memory, using its own eight-pin power connector.

They also are equipped with the MSI’s Twin Frozr III dual-slot cooling solution (two 90 mm fans and three copper heatpipes) that according to the manufacturer is more efficient than the reference GTX 580/HD 6970 cooler.

The R6970 Lightning works internally at 940 MHz (6.82% above the stock clock of 880 MHz), has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory accessed at 5.5 GHz QDR through a 256-bit interface, and has two DVI, one HDMI and two mini DisplayPort connectors.

The N580GTX Lightning works internally at 832 MHz (7.77% above the stock clock of 772 MHz), has 1.5 GB of GDDR5 memory accessed at 4.2 GHz QDR (4.79% above de stock clock of 4,008 MHz) through a 384-bit interface, and has two DVI, one HDMI and on DisplayPort connectors.

Information on pricing or availability was not provided.

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