• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning Pictured

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,276 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Ahead of its launch, press-shots of the upcoming flagship graphics card of MSI, the OC-series GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning, leaked to the web. The pictures reveal a card that MSI threw all its engineering expertise into. It retains the yellow+black design scheme of its predecessors, and is characterized by an even larger Tri-Frozr triple-fan cooling solution. The cooler consists of a large nickel-plated copper base, from which five 8-10 mm thick heat pipes make their way to two dense aluminium fin-stacks, ventilated by a trio of 100 mm spinners.

The cooler only makes up part of this product, a bigger chunk of engineering went into its custom-design 10-layer PCB, with a 15-phase VRM that draws power from a combination of one 6-pin and two 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and a plethora of overclocker-friendly features such as voltage measurement points, dual-BIOS with an LN2-friendly secondary BIOS, the ability to control speeds of individual fans, and more. The MSI GTX 980 Ti ships with a factory-overclock of 1203 MHz core, 1303 MHz GPU Boost, and 7.10 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory; which certainly isn't the highest factory-OC out of the box, but this is probably MSI's way of inviting users to overclock it to Kingdom come.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 

manofthem

WCG-TPU Team All-Star!
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
10,960 (2.27/day)
Location
Florida
Processor 3900X @ 4.0
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X570-E
Cooling DeepCool Castle 360EX
Memory G Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB 3600
Video Card(s) RX 5700 XT Pulse
Storage Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB
Display(s) LG 34UC88
Case Thermaltake P3
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 750w
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard G Skill KM570 MX Silver
Software Windows 10 Pro
That's a beast card! :D
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2013
Messages
911 (0.24/day)
System Name BlueKnight
Processor Intel Celeron G1610 @ 2.60GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PH (rev. 1.0)
Memory 1x 4GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz (Kingston KVR13N9S8/4)
Video Card(s) Onboard
Storage 1x 160GB (Western Digital WD1600AAJS-75M0A0)
Display(s) 1x 20" 1600x900 (PHILIPS 200VW9FBJ/78)
Case μATX Case (Generic)
Power Supply 300W (Generic)
Software Debian GNU/Linux 8.7 (jessie)
MSi, you've just failed one more time. :shadedshu:
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Messages
734 (0.18/day)
Location
Malaysia
System Name Cypher-C4
Processor Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
Cooling Deepcool AK620
Memory 32GB Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX 3060 Ti Dual
Storage 250GB Crucial MX500 + 2TB Crucial MX500 + 2TB WD Black + 4TB Toshiba + 1TB Samsung F3
Display(s) Acer XV272UP
Case Corsair Obsidian 750D
Audio Device(s) Behringher UMC202HD Audio Interface + Mackie HM-4 + Sennheiser HD 280 Pro + Shure SM58
Power Supply Corsair HX750i
Mouse Steelseries Rival 310
Keyboard Keychron K8 + Kailh BOX Crystal Jade switches + Ducky Good in Blue keycaps
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
2,452 (0.55/day)
Location
Bulgaria
System Name Sandfiller
Processor I5-10400
Motherboard MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling Noctua NH-L9i (92x25mm fan)
Memory 32GB Corsair LPX 2400 Mhz DDR4 CL14
Video Card(s) MSI RX 5700 XT GAMING X
Storage Intel 670P 512GB
Display(s) 2560x1080 LG 29" + 22" LG
Case SS RV02
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z
Power Supply Fractal Design IntegraM 650W
Mouse Logitech Triathlon
Keyboard REDRAGON MITRA
Software Windows 11 Home x 64
Rarely I see a back-plate without a single cut out. I am guessing it's ok for the hardware. After all many engineers put their name under the warranty.
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,762 (1.91/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified

wow that lightning hit the aircraft
 
Joined
Jan 25, 2014
Messages
2,068 (0.56/day)
System Name Ryzen 2023
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7700
Motherboard Asrock B650E Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory G Skill Flare X5 2x16gb cl32@6000 MHz
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro + gaming Oc
Storage WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB 64MB 7k SATA600 Blue WD10EZEX, WD Black SN850X 1Tb nvme
Display(s) LG 27GP850P-B
Case Corsair 5000D airflow tempered glass
Power Supply Seasonic Prime GX-850W
Mouse A4Tech V7M bloody
Keyboard Genius KB-G255
Software Windows 10 64bit
The yellow decoration on the card spell's OC. I wonder if that was intentional or just a design fluke..
 

64K

Joined
Mar 13, 2014
Messages
6,104 (1.66/day)
Processor i7 7700k
Motherboard MSI Z270 SLI Plus
Cooling CM Hyper 212 EVO
Memory 2 x 8 GB Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2070 Super
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB and WD Black 4TB
Display(s) Dell 27 inch 1440p 144 Hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply EVGA SuperNova 850 W Gold
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech G105
Software Windows 10
The yellow decoration on the card spell's OC. I wonder if that was intentional or just a design fluke..

I think it was intentional. It probably adds a little eye candy appeal to people spending big bucks on a good overclocking card.
 
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
1,079 (0.24/day)
Location
Indonesia
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Motherboard ASUS STRIX X570-E
Cooling NOCTUA NH-U12A
Memory G.Skill FlareX 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX 4070 DUAL
Storage 1 TB WD Black SN850X | 2 TB WD Blue SN570 | 10 TB WD Purple Pro
Display(s) LG 32QP880N 32"
Case Fractal Design Define R5 Black
Power Supply Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
Mouse Pulsar X2
Keyboard KIRA EXS
The yellow decoration on the card spell's OC. I wonder if that was intentional or just a design fluke..

Haha just realised that. And yes, I also think it was intentional.
 

peche

Thermaltake fanboy
Joined
Nov 7, 2014
Messages
6,709 (1.96/day)
Location
San Jose, Costa Rica
System Name Athenna
Processor intel i7 3770 *Dellided*
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory 16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s) GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s) 22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s) On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?

wow that lightning hit the aircraft
i hope that does not announces a upcoming fail ....
the weird thing ... no vents on that backplate.... WTF MSI
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,401 (1.44/day)
Location
Florida
System Name natr0n-PC
Processor Ryzen 5950x/5600x
Motherboard B450 AORUS M
Cooling EK AIO - 6 fan action
Memory Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB)
Video Card(s) EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage Various
Display(s) PIXIO IPS 240Hz 1080P
Case Thermaltake Level 20 VT
Audio Device(s) LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W
Software XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6
yellow as all ways
 

RMX

Joined
Aug 27, 2015
Messages
26 (0.01/day)
Glad I waited, liking the looks, but will be ditching it anyway for a nice waterblock :) Let's hope this puppy will OC as good as the 290X Lightning, loved that card and its 1300mhz 24/7 under water OC :)
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.43/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
i hope that does not announces a upcoming fail ....
the weird thing ... no vents on that backplate.... WTF MSI

No vents on the back of the reference 980 either. Backplates are rarely needed to cool. They have two main uses: 1)Looks, because everyone seems to like them and want them, and 2) to provide SOME extra rigidity, althouugh the merits of this are debatable to how effective it is, especially if backplate is thin plastic.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,366 (3.72/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
No vents on the back of the reference 980 either. Backplates are rarely needed to cool. They have two main uses: 1)Looks, because everyone seems to like them and want them, and 2) to provide SOME extra rigidity, althouugh the merits of this are debatable to how effective it is, especially if backplate is thin plastic.
Yay! Thinking!
 
Joined
Apr 8, 2012
Messages
270 (0.06/day)
Location
Canada
System Name custom
Processor intel i7 9700
Motherboard asrock taichi z370
Cooling EK-AIO 360 D-RGB
Memory 24G Kingston HyperX Fury 2666mhz
Video Card(s) GTX 2080 Ti FE
Storage SSD 960GB crucial + 2 Crucial 500go SSD + 2TO crucial M2
Display(s) BENQ XL2420T
Case Lian-li o11 dynamic der8auer Edition
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar Essence STX
Power Supply corsair ax1200i
Mouse MX518 legendary edition
Keyboard gigabyte Aivia Osmium
VR HMD PSVR2
Software windows 11
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
461 (0.12/day)
System Name Auriga
Processor Ryzen 7950X3D w/ aquacomputer cuplex kryos NEXT with VISION - acrylic/nickel
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming WiFi
Cooling Alphacool Res/D5 Combo •• Corsair XR7 480mm + Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS radiators •• 7xNF-A12 chromax
Memory 2x 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB @ 6200MHz, 30-40-40-28, 1.35V (F5-6000J3040G32GX2-TZ5NR)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid X w/ Bykski waterblock
Storage 2TB WD Black SN850X ••• 2TB Corsair M510 ••• 40TB QNAP NAS via SFP+ NIC
Display(s) Alienware AW3423DWF (3440x1440, 10-bit @ 139Hz)
Case Thermaltake Core P8
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Razer Viper V2 Pro (FPS games) + Logitech MX Master 2S (everything else)
Keyboard Keycult No2 rev 1 w/Amber Alps and TX stabilizers on a steel plate. DCS 9009 WYSE keycaps
Software W10 X64 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/c3rxw7

Original---------------------------This sample-----------------------Overclocked
Core Clock: 1002 MHz------------Core Clock: 1203 MHz-------------Core Clock 1268 MHz
Boost Clock: 1076 MHz-----------Boost Clock: 1304 MHz------------Boost Clock: 1480~1500 MHz
Memory Clock: 7012 MHz--------Memory Clock: 7096 MHz---------Memory Clock: 8694 MHz

i have doubts that the memory is stable at those speeds. when i try going over 7800 MHz on any of my cards, i start getting artifacts, graphics glitches like random shit flashing here and there. it'll run without crashing in excess of 8000MHz but it's not pretty.
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.43/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
i have doubts that the memory is stable at those speeds. when i try going over 7800 MHz on any of my cards, i start getting artifacts, graphics glitches like random shit flashing here and there. it'll run without crashing in excess of 8000MHz but it's not pretty.

But don't forget, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that they selectively bin and test for the highest quality chips for something like this.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
25 (0.01/day)
Location
Québec
System Name WTF
Processor i5-9600K @ 5.1
Motherboard asus z370
Cooling H90
Memory 32gb
Video Card(s) ASUS STRIX GTX1080
Storage 30TB
Display(s) ROG PG278Q
Case HAF 912
Audio Device(s) integrated
Power Supply 1000w
Mouse rat 7 mad catz
Keyboard logitech g15
Software yes please
Benchmark Scores yes
But don't forget, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that they selectively bin and test for the highest quality chips for something like this.

They must be doing that because my reference GTX980ti does only 1408MHz on watercooling. They kept their worst chips for reference design cards. Regardless of voltage/power/memory overclocking it won't go higher. It might be related to ASIC quality selection.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
25 (0.01/day)
Location
Québec
System Name WTF
Processor i5-9600K @ 5.1
Motherboard asus z370
Cooling H90
Memory 32gb
Video Card(s) ASUS STRIX GTX1080
Storage 30TB
Display(s) ROG PG278Q
Case HAF 912
Audio Device(s) integrated
Power Supply 1000w
Mouse rat 7 mad catz
Keyboard logitech g15
Software yes please
Benchmark Scores yes

johnspack

Here For Good!
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
5,979 (0.99/day)
Location
Nelson B.C. Canada
System Name System2 Blacknet , System1 Blacknet2
Processor System2 Threadripper 1920x, System1 2699 v3
Motherboard System2 Asrock Fatality x399 Professional Gaming, System1 Asus X99-A
Cooling System2 Noctua NH-U14 TR4-SP3 Dual 140mm fans, System1 AIO
Memory System2 64GBS DDR4 3000, System1 32gbs DDR4 2400
Video Card(s) System2 GTX 980Ti System1 GTX 970
Storage System2 4x SSDs + NVme= 2.250TB 2xStorage Drives=8TB System1 3x SSDs=2TB
Display(s) 2x 24" 1080 displays
Case System2 Some Nzxt case with soundproofing...
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar U7 MKII
Power Supply System2 EVGA 750 Watt, System1 XFX XTR 750 Watt
Mouse Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
Keyboard Ducky
Software Manjaro, Windows 10, Kubuntu 23.10
Benchmark Scores It's linux baby!
Top