Retail Geforce 6600GT Exploration

MSI

MSI has an excellent concept, bringing the only cooling solution that attaches the ramsinks to the main body of the heatsink. This should allow the fan to cool the block of metal that stretches across the ram as well. Our test also showed this to be one of the quietest cards that we tested.

When we began testing, we noticed that we had a problem. Even though MSI went with a mostly round design, there was apparently enough leverage between the two spring pins to rip the thermal tape loose from the RAM. Even at stock clocks, it did get way too hot and so, we needed to use makeshift clamps on the ram to hold the heatsink in place on the GPU.

It is unfortunate to see a card with such potential overcome by HSF mounting issues. We would love the opportunity to retest this card with a properly mounted cooling solution, and update our cooling numbers. This could have been an unnoticed manufacturing defect, but the setup lends itself to easily pulling up off the RAM if the end user were to press down too hard on the opposite side. In fact, it seemed as if the spring pins held the heatsink off the GPU rather than down onto it. This would have been useful to add pressure to the GPU if the thermal tape had held on the RAM, but again, we received a part in non-working order, so we aren't sure what it should have looked like.