The MSI 960 Gaming 2 is a very good example of what can be done with the rather mediocre stock GTX 960; and quite frankly is a very good card in its own right. Sadly, it is also a bit of a missed opportunity for MSI to truly show off their Twin Frozr V heatsink and dual fan combination. As we saw in the overclocking section MSI binning, combined with one excellent heatsink and fan design made for the highest overclock on the GM-206 core we have seen – and it easily allowed the 960 Gaming 2 to leap past the PNY 960 Elite OC.
Sadly, at factory vs factory settings the MSI is a touch slower than PNY’s version. When choosing 1279Mhz as the maximum factory boost MSI did complicate things as PNY has set their model to 1367. Mix in a shorter warranty and the end result is the MSI 960 Gaming 2 is simply not going to be right for everyone. So let’s break it down on who should be interested in this card – and who will not find it a perfect fit.
Aesthetics and what you consider ‘beautiful’ is a personal decision so we cannot comment on A vs B. Pick which ever you think is prettier and be satisfied with a real arse kicker of a GTX 960. Now with that out of the way, first and foremost is if you really cannot get past an industry standard length 3 year warranty the MSI may not be a great fit for your needs. Yes this card is extremely robust and built with Military grade components; and yes this means it should last for a long time. Sadly if you are always worrying about it after the warranty has expired you may not consider this an optimal solution.
If you plan on using your GeForce GTX 960 is a smaller case the rather large foot-print of the MSI Gaming 2 may also be a deal breaker. For most it should not matter, but for some it will. If you are the type who does not want to overclock your video card, the lower GPU settings will mean you will not get as many frames per second as what other manufactures can offer. Of course, keeping this card at factory settings is a cardinal sin, as this card was made for pushing the envelope, but there are people who do precisely that.
On the other hand if you want a GTX 960 card that is literally silent at idle speeds and downright quiet under load then the Gaming 2 is for you. The same is for consumers interested in overclocking as that Twin Frozr V heatsink with Torx fans is a beast. This card is a real joy to play with and it does reward your efforts with noticeably better frames per second. Last but not least since the MSI 960 Gaming 2 also costs about $15 less than the PNY 960 Elite OC. This is not much of a difference but for consumers who enjoy a good deal as much as they do playing with their GPU the MSI 960 Gaming 2 is tailor made for your needs.
