Reviewed: MSI GTX760 HAWK

Pricing

The MSI GTX760 HAWK isn’t the cheapest 760 going around and the question will come down to how much you need the ‘value add-ons’ that MSI have included. At $359, with the back plate, dual BIOS, quiet yet effective cooler and subtle blue LED lighting it’s a good purchase. The overclocks that we saw on our sample gave us a nice boost on our frame rates and its a factor that may help with performance longevity for some gamers. At the highest end of the 2GB GTX760price range though, it won’t be for everyone – hence why its marketed as an Enthusiast Overclocking card.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a card to suit 1080P gaming with the eye candy on, the MSI GTX760 HAWK needs to be on your short-list. The Twin Frozr IV cooler would be well suited to a Steam Box although if you are not intending to overclock, there are cheaper options with very similar cooling solutions.

Personally, if I didn’t already have an SLI GTX670 OC setup on my own rig and was looking to upgrade from a GTX570 or similar, I’d probably grab a pair of these and run them in SLI. The unlocked BIOS, amazingly quiet fans and backplate are worth the extra cash in my view but it is a tough call when the 4GB cards start at around the same price point.

As an enthusiast ‘upper’ mid-range card, the 760 HAWK is a worthy purchase and one of those products that works as advertised with no apparent downside. In terms of GTX760 offerings, this one gets the Editor’s Choice.

Editor’s Note: We will have this card in one of our concept builds at the upcoming RESPAWN LAN event on April 12 in Melbourne.

MSI GTX 760 HAWK Graphics Card
PROS	Factory overclocked with even more headroom Dual BIOS for voltage unlock Very Quiet – virtually inaudible in a rig The MSI Afterburner Software is awesome Aesthetics suit almost all case designs, lighting themes and build concepts Military Grade Components for long term gaming
CONS	I’d like to have seen the power connectors reversed with the clip to the back of the card. It can be tight to get them out with the heatpipe in the way.