As far as gamers are concerned, when it comes to graphics cards, price very often determines quality. But that isn’t necessarily true. Price is determined by specifications, and is really just a reflection of the technology built into the device, rather than a mark of whether that device is any good or not. And besides that, not every computer user plays games – but many non-gamers out there still need punchier graphics than they are going to get off of on-motherboard solutions.
MSI, as a producer of all manner of PC components, have established a reputation for quality through their brand, rather than pricing, and offer a variety of solutions for people who don’t want to see the bank account broken with the purchase of a graphics card. Their R7770, for example, is a solid performer that, while it might not knock your socks off when running the latest games, will certainly do the trick for most every application out there that requires a bit more on the graphics side of things.
The immediate reaction of enthusiasts is to decry a card like this because it uses ‘old technology’. The question, though, isn’t whether the technology is old, but whether it is still viable. This is a far more important consideration, particularly since the march of technology is so fast that we can barely keep up, whether from a timing, or a financial, point of view. We would spend more time upgrading than we did actually using the devices.
With a still capable Radeon 7770 chipset and 1GB of GDDR5 RAM, this card still does the job rather nicely. And it’s pretty small, in comparison to some of the monstrous graphics cards out there. It makes use of MSI’s propeller blade technology in its cooling fan, and is partially encased. Sure, it might not blast along at a million frames a second, but the visuals provided by this card are more than decent. It is a little shy on the port side of things, though, with only one DVI-I, HDMI and DisplayPort on offer. Still, creative cable application will mean that multiple monitors are still an option here. And, as said before, it handles pretty much any graphics task with a fair amount of skill and grace, running quietly and at relatively low temperatures.
A card like MSI’s R7770 makes quite a lot of sense these days, what with money matters being as they are in the world. It might not have all those bells and whistles that people leap at, but it does the job rather well, all things considered. And it will provide you with a decent graphics option at a much better price.
Features
MSI Afterburner overclocking utility
- Support Kombustor to test user's graphics cards.
- Support Real-Time Video Capturing function to record in-game scenes and share with friends.
8cm PWM fan with Propeller Blade technology
- 8cm PWM fan provides better dissipation than reference.
- Propeller Blade technology offers 20% more airflow than traditional fan design.
AMD GHz Edition
- The default core clock is up to 1GHz.
- Provides better performance and visual experience.
All Solid Capacitors
- 10 years ultra-long lifetime (under full load)
- Lower temperature and higher efficiency
- Aluminum core without explosion.
view specs and prices
Features
MSI Afterburner overclocking utility
- Support Kombustor to test user's graphics cards.
- Support Real-Time Video Capturing function to record in-game scenes and share with friends.
8cm PWM fan with Propeller Blade technology
- 8cm PWM fan provides better dissipation than reference.
- Propeller Blade technology offers 20% more airflow than traditional fan design.
AMD GHz Edition
- The default core clock is up to 1GHz.
- Provides better performance and visual experience.
All Solid Capacitors
- 10 years ultra-long lifetime (under full load)
- Lower temperature and higher efficiency
- Aluminum core without explosion.
view specs and prices
