Reviews - MSI Radeon HD 5770 HAWK Edition: the very best mid-range graphics card?

[HEXUS]

It arrives stacked with features. We examine the credentials of this £155 gaming card.

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[0iD]

Good card, but losing the dual outputs is going to put a lot of people off who are used to a dual display setup, myself included.

That said, it's the quality product we've come to expect from MSI these days. OK, it's a bit more expensive, but it's going to appeal to the overclocking fraternity who are on-the-whole used to shelling out a bit more cash for their hardware.

Also, it would make an excellent candidate for watercooling to tweak a bit more performance out of it.

[Pob255]

Looks like it's a very nice card
The overclocking/monitoring/stress tool looks like one of the better bits of bundled software I've seen.
MSi have really been improveing their software.

The voltage monitoring points are a very nice inclusion for the serious overclocker, would of been nice if they where hard points set at a right angle, rather than loose wires, although they look like they can be disconnected eaisly.

That was a really good overclock, what would the effects of been on the bang for buck score?

Shame about the price, although it's not too bad.

Also would of been nice if they made the fans that little bit larger.

[chis]

Oh god, please will someone make another PASSIVE 57xx! I want the kind of performance this MSI 5770 card gives, it would be a nice step up from the 4650 I have. But it must be passively cooled! I can't be the only one that wants a "performance-orientated" card that is silent?

[alwayssts]

Powercolor makes a passive 5750, which should be right up your alley. Club3d is also making one that I 'believe' is almost exactly the same.

It looks to incorporate an Artic Cooling S1 which I own and have used for many-a upgrade on larger cards. I have 2 quiet 120mm Yate Loons zip-tied to mine, but I digress. It should be the same as the 'stock' 5700 series cooler fan-less. A reviewer mentions 43c at idle, Hexus has the 5750 at 43c idle stock in their review. You wouldn't want anything with higher power consumption than the 5700 series with a just a passive cooler.

If I had to guess the resolutions you play at, I'd say it's a literal 3x+ improvement over a 4650. Higher resolutions closer to 4x, and playable. If you were playing games with your 4650, I would suggest a new monitor or look rather at a 5670. If you were scaling a 1680/1920 monitor with that card, then ouch.

I know this is a UK site and you're a UK pal, but here's the card at Newegg. I don't know about the UK, but buying that card saves you a little over $5 bucks than buying the parts separately there, plus you can re-use the cooler for future upgrades: just buy the cheapest version of whatever card you want next time, even if it has a janky cooler. This can save you quite a bit of ching in this segment, as sometimes AIBs will match cards in this range with bare-minimum coolers to separate themselves on price. Mounting holes will not change, they have become a standard.

If you want something like in this review, then buy a aforementioned cheap 5770, a S1, and overclock it a wee bit. I bet it would cost you less than this card. 1ghz/5600mhz though, just ain't gonna happen passively. That, or wait for NI...Which I think will end up with many passive cards.

Good luck.

[Brewster0101]

A good 4890 can be had for this money and offer more power. I think from a gamers point of view the 5770 is over priced for now.

[chis]

Thanks chaps, but I'm absolutely dead-set on a passive card.

Yes, I'm on 1650x1080 with that card... but with a second monitor. So almost all games I play windowed around 1440x900 anyway. The Club 3D card doesn't seem to be available anywhere, and the Power Color one is listed at Amazon UK for a staggering £133. Damnit I should have just bought it from Novatech for £120... just paid a hefty tax bill last month, though.

A 4890 isn't likely to get close to passive cooling, Brewster. I'm prepared to pay a little more for a properly-cooled "performance" card, but I'm concerned with Power Color's history and reports of dreadful customer support. Up until now, all my graphics cards have been Inno3D or XFX, and I've had no issues with either.

[Clockedtohell]

Looks like it's a very nice card
The overclocking/monitoring/stress tool looks like one of the better bits of bundled software I've seen.
MSi have really been improveing their software.

The voltage monitoring points are a very nice inclusion for the serious overclocker, would of been nice if they where hard points set at a right angle, rather than loose wires, although they look like they can be disconnected eaisly.

That was a really good overclock, what would the effects of been on the bang for buck score?

Shame about the price, although it's not too bad.

Also would of been nice if they made the fans that little bit larger.

Interestingly this card is £133 odd from eBuyer, as much as I always use Scan normally I'll be bagging one of these from eBuyer for now