MSI Lightning GTX 680

[Kaiser499]

Anyone know if this card is being discontinued? I planned on getting one soon and been watching it go in and out of stock on Amazon for a couple of weeks now, Newegg says it's discontinued but does anyone know for sure?

[Majesticii]

Think these are always somewhat limited offer cards.

[Drakoes]

Pretty sure they don't stock them any longer - it's the same story here in the UK. Only the shops that still have remaining stock, will either sell them or have removed their product page for it.

A potential factor into why they've been discontinued is because it initially offered unlocked voltage, something MSI immediately addressed, and consequently ran into trouble for doing it.

[Majesticii]

Additionally, were you going to use that 680lightning in combination with that x2-550? D:

[MMKing]

I know the feeling. Trying to acquire a second 7970 Lightning myself.

[Kaiser499]

Additionally, were you going to use that 680lightning in combination with that x2-550? D:

Haha no, I have all the computer parts for my new comp. I just needed a new graphics card and the Lightning was the one I was going to get but it seems that when I finally have the money for it it gets discontinued.

[Irloki]

Seems like you can only get it from resellers for exorbitant prices right now.

[Kaiser499]

I sent an e-mail to MSI to see if it really was being discontinued and what not, I'll post what they say.

[Deleted]

chance's are low you'll find one i found 1 last Evga GTX680 superclocked signature edi (very happy with it so far had it less than a week) but that was 1 shop in whole belgium and i couldn't even find any anymore at a lower price out of country (netherlands pays less tax on hardware)

so yep gl kaiser

[Faithh]

Go for the Asus gtx 680 dc2t highest binned card out there.

[Toffie]

Forget the 680 Lightning. If you want to spend 500 $ try to look for the 7970 Matrix, crushes the 680 in almost everything. I regret buying the 680 Lightning when 400 $ 7970 cards was outperforming it.

[Kaiser499]

MSI responded back to my inquiry and they didn't even answer my question, told me to go ask Amazon & Newegg *sigh*

[Deleted]

well if you want to stick with a 680 , i'd say check this one out (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500248)
gigabyte is also good in the overclock department , however their high end series seem to suffer from coil whining quite often.
hell even an evga signature 2 SC edition would be a very good choice for a high end card while not losing budget out of sight.

[Kaiser499]

I ended up biting on a used MSI Lightning GTX 680 from Amazon Warehouse deals for $466.48. Should I keep it or go with a 7970? I play mostly Blizzard games along with Path of Exile,Tera,X-Com, stuff like that.

[Shiromar]

Honestly do you really need that expensive of a card for those games? I'd go with a 7950 for $300 and overclock it to stock 7970 levels and you'll be perfectly set. My Gigabyte 7950 is overclocked to 1100 and runs much more demanding games at 60+ fps, so I would honestly go that route.

[Kaiser499]

Would I see an increase in power from my current ASUS EAH6850? I'm just looking to have a constant 60 fps while I start streaming games that I play.

[Deleted]

You're asking if you'll see an increase in power form a low end last generation card to a top end $500 this generation card? Or are you asking about the 7950? Either way yes you will see an increase in performance.

Maybe instead of that get an I5-3570k+z77+7870XT, much better performance overall:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($248.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $548.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-23 02:47 EDT-0400)

[jmmathe1988]

I watched a video on this card by an MSI representative and they said unless your going to go nitro cooled the card really isn't for you seeing as all those extra features are for the extreme overlockers, I would go with the twin forzr edition...which is what I have and love it! I am at 1135 Base 1200 Boost!

[Kaiser499]

I already have all of my parts picked out except the graphics card.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $690.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-23 03:00 EDT-0400)

[Toffie]

I ended up biting on a used MSI Lightning GTX 680 from Amazon Warehouse deals for $466.48. Should I keep it or go with a 7970? I play mostly Blizzard games along with Path of Exile,Tera,X-Com, stuff like that.

Do not buy it, he may have damaged it by overclocking too much or he may be selling because the overclocking capability is bad. Like I said, you will max all games for a few years with the Matrix 7970 which can be overclocked 1300/1800 easily. Take it from someone who have had the 680 Lightning.