DPS Department Wing Lu edited by Dennis Achterberg Version
1.11EU (October 21, 2010)
Dedicated to extreme LN2 overclockers
Evolution of MSI Lightning October 5th 2010 February 2009
N480GTX Lightning August 2009 Broke 9 world records at once. Worlds
highest core clock on GTX 275 - April 2009 1.3GHz Worlds 1st GTX
260 that reached 1.1GHz
MSI Lightning, World Champion Overclocking MSIs N480GTX
Lightning already beat the previous highest GTX480 GPU clock by 125
MHz before it is even released! Competitors old highest clock was
1325 MHz (HWBOT) For more information about the world record,
please visit
http://hwbot.org/community/submission/1061564_elmor_3dmark_vantage
.
MSI Lightning Power4 Architecture 16 Phase PWM Design
Independent Memory Power CopperMOS 4 Proadlizers Extreme OC
Military Class Twin Frozr III Triple Overvoltage Functions
Components 18 cooler GPU/Memory/PLL Convenient kits for Longer
product lifespan than reference design Voltage Adjustment extreme
overclocking V-Check V-Switch Points
Independent Memory Power Input Power Comparison N480GTX
Lightning 480 Reference GPU Input 8+8 pin 8+6 pin Power (Also
supports 8+6 pin) Memory Shared PCI- Dedicated 6-pin Input Power
Express Power GPU Input Power Dedicated PCI Shared PCI- PLL Power
Express Slot Power Express Power (Compatible with 8+6 pin) Memory
Input Power Comparison of Memory Current Ref. GTX 480 N480GTX
Lightning A lower current wave means a more stable power
supply.
CopperMOS Double sided cooling for the best thermal performance
20 100% 40 80% Current Capacity (A) Temperature Cooler MOSFETS,
higher current capacity
Proadlizer Proadlizer Prompt Stabilizer Broadband Next
generation capacitor for extreme overclocking Flat footprint,
suitable for extreme cooling Extremely High Capacitance: 1000uF
& Low ESR: 1 m Placed in the shortest route to GPU and Memory
for maximum effect 1 for Memory 3 for GPU Solid Cap Proadlizer
Solid Cap Proadlizer Proadlizer Characteristics
Active Phase Switching (APS) Active Phase Switching Unlike
other solutions, APS works APS is MSIs unique power saving
technique that also Tomshardware.com increases the power efficiency
of the N480GTX Lightning. It is fully automatic and independent of
the operating system used. PWM clock frequency is adjustable from
the Lightning Tweaker Tool Low Load Per GPU Phase load indication
High Load Per GPU Phase load indication
Twin Frozr III Thermal Design Dual 9cm PWM Fans SuperPipe
Technology Dual 9cm fans provide 55% more airflow than the
reference 8mm SuperPipes transfer heat much faster to the fins
under cooler, to cool down GPU, memory, and PWM. the dual PWM
fans,
Twin Frozr III Thermal Design Nickel-plated Copper base Large
Copper base coated with nickel provides the best heat dissipation
and the best contact area with the GPU. Form-in-one Heatsinks Dual
Form-in-one Heatsinks cover the front and rear of the PCB to
dissipate the heat of memory and other components up to 24% more
efficiently. High-Density Fins Ultra high density aluminum fins
have a large area for heat dissipation. Spaced equally for optimum
efficiency.
Triple Overvoltage Triple Overvoltage Combine MSIs Afterburner
2.0 with your N480GTX Lightning and unlock its fullest potential
with the Triple Overvoltage Feature. Check voltages with the
built-in voltage measuring points! Overclocking Performance N480GTX
Lightning 134% (max. voltage setting) Ref. GTX 480 100% (default
setting) 3DMark Vantage Extreme *Overclocking results vary per
GTX480. N480GTX Overvoltage Competitors Lightning GPU Overvoltage
Not Confirmed Memory Overvoltage - PLL Overvoltage -
Extreme OC Functions Dual BIOS One default BIOS, another BIOS
for extreme settings, to circumvent the GTX480 cold bug. V-Check
Points Allows on-the-fly readouts of GPU, Memory and PLL voltages.
PWM Clock Tuner Tune PWM clock from 260MHz to 350 MHz for
noise/ripple elimination. V-Switch Instant adjust GPU/Memory/PLL
voltage. OCP Unlock Remove overcurrent Protection. Reference is
320A, with OCP Unlock unlimited. XtremeCool Dedicated switch to
solve cold bug for LN2 extreme overclocking.
Military Class Components Tantalum Core Rare metal, incredibly
stable Extremely high conductivity 15 times less leakage Stabilizes
GPU power, better overclocking Super-Permeability Ferrite Choke 30%
higher current capacity 10% better! 10% power efficiency
improvement Power stability = better overclocking 30% better!
Aluminium Core 10 years ultra long lifetime Extremely low ESR Lower
temperatures Higher efficiency
Lightning Power Layer The best PCB and power circuit design for
extreme overclocking! Independent circuit design for GPU, Memory,
and Power layer. Increase power supply stability Eliminate power
signal noise (ripple) Better PCB cooling
Gold-plated Connectors N480GTX Lightning: All four connectors
are plated with gold for the best signal transmission. Dual Link
DVI-I HDMI DisplayPort MSI N480GTX Lightning 2 1 1 GTX480 - Other
vendors 2 1, mini - Other vendors Only the three default
connectors
GTX 480 Comparison Product N480GTX Lightning GTX480 - Other
vendors CopperMOS - Power4 Architecture - Proadlizer - Memory Power
Dedicated 6-pin Shared with PCI Express Overvoltage GPU / Memory /
PLL GPU PWM Power 480A 154A # of Fans Dual 9cm Fans Single fan
SuperPipe - PWM-Tuning V-Checkpoint Extreme OC Functions - V-Switch
OCPUnlock Xtremecool # of BIOS 2, selectable 1 Output
DisplayPort/HDMI/ 2x Dual DVI-I Mini HDMI/Dual DVI-I APS -
Product Specification Marketing Name N480GTX Lightning Model
Name V228 GPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Codename GF100 CUDA Cores 480
Units Core Clock 750 MHz Shader Clock 1500 MHz Memory Clock 4000
MHz Memory Size 1536MB GDDR5 Memory Bus 384 bits Output DisplayPort
/ HDMI / 2 DL-DVI TDP 269 W Card Dimension 305x127x45mm Form Factor
ATX DirectX 11 OpenGL 4.0 CUDA Y SLI Y PhysX Y PureVideo HD Y HDCP
Y
Conclusion Power4 Architecture The most powerful components for
extreme overclocking Worlds most powerful graphics card Independent
Memory Power for better overclocks and stability CopperMOS with 2x
higher current capacity for stable power supply Four Proadlizers
optimize power supply and have better overclocking capability Twin
Frozr III thermal design with dual 9cm fans, 8mm SuperPipe
technology and form-in-one heatsinks keep your Lightnings
temperatures up to 18 cooler Military Class components ensure the
best power efficiency and stability under extreme loads Extreme OC
features : Dual BIOS, PWM-Tuning, V-Checkpoint, V-Switch, OCPUnlock
and Xtremecool Triple Overvoltage by Afterburner (GPU/Memory/PLL)
for extreme overclock performance.