Question 1

What type of CPU does this GPU require?  Does it even matter? Can this run with an intel i5-4670k?  My goal is to spend money on a GPU and save money on other components.

Accepted Answer

As far as I know, computer components are interchangeable... I'm not even running PCI 3.0 and it runs just fine... I have a p67 sabertooth with i7 2600k sandybridge. Hope this helps :-)

Question 2

is this VGA compatible with mother board asrock h87 fatal1ty ?and power supply 650w?

Accepted Answer

A 650w PSU should be more than ample as long as your are not running SLI. Your MB should also be able to handle the card as it can run in a PCI Express 3.0 slot. You should be good to go!

Question 3

Is this GPU compatible with a EVGA X58 SLI LE Motherboard - LGA 1366?

Accepted Answer

that motherboard will be fine, some will say that the lack of pci-e 3.0 support restricts the card but i can tell you that i'm running 2 of these on a pci-e 2.0 board and there is hardly a bottleneck with 2 cards let alone 1

i would normally suggest you look at a different model as if you have to ask this question then chances are you wont put the more advanced features the lightning edition has to use. however the price seems to have dropped a fair bit and at the current price point its worth getting just for the better cooling and durability alone

Question 4

Think I can fit this into a Cooler Master 130 case?

Accepted Answer

That case advertises the ability to fit cards of 13.5 inches in length. This GPU is 11.61 inches. This means it should fit and that you should have just under 2 inches of extra space

Question 5

is this product brand new ?.

Accepted Answer

This is my 3rd msi branded vid card I have never had a problem .over the past 10 years of using nivida msi branded cards run great are really quite and run cool would definitely recommend it.

Question 6

Is the shroud if this card plastic or metal?

Accepted Answer

It's metal and probably  the heaviest 780 available.

Question 7

Should I get the evga geforce gtx 780 ftw or the msi lightning gtx 780? What are the differences? Which one can you overclock more? What will give more performance? The evga geforce gtx 780 ftw costs $530 and the msi lightning gtx 780 costs $550. Which one is worth it? Thank you!

Accepted Answer

Oh for sure get the msi lightning. I mean the msi lightning is literally a different class of card. I am not saying the evga is bad in anyway. its just not the build quality of the msi lightning. for 20 dollars more its a steal. I have had both cards (sold off the evga and gave the lightning to my brother).  The cooler is so thick and heavy. It is quieter. BUT FORGET all that. The clock speeds and features of the msi lightning make it a must have.  I would highly suggest you stay away from any other 780 UNLESS its in the 490 range. Hope I helped. have a nice day man.  (also this is not a bash to the evga model, it worked well too for me, its just not on the same league as the MSI.)  I think you will see what i mean by the quality and weight when you get the MSI lol. just trust me on this.

Question 8

Is there a reason why this card is listed for around $80 less then most other websites? I purchased an MSI 680 power edition which was cheaper and apparently a lightning card that didn't make it passed their standards, it had absolutely no overclocking potential. I don't want that to happen again. Also what does the N780 stand for? What's the difference between just 780?

Accepted Answer

MSI has pretty much always used N for their Nvidia Lightning cards, my GTX 275 Lightning is also N275, for AMD Lightning's it's usually always R for instance my HD 6970 is a R6970.

If i had to guess N = Nvidia and R = Radeon other than that i'm not sure.

On another note overclocking is never really a guarantee, it's always a lotto but when overclocking did you try it with just a Single GPU? and adding extra voltage while upping the fan speed on manual? my 1st card was a good overclocker but my 2nd was not so much but still was able to hit it. Also did you try just overclocking the GPU core itself while leaving the memory alone at stock?

Wish i could help a little more but i've sold my 780 Lightning and moved on to a 780 Ti K|NGP|N which is an ok Overclocker but was not able to overclock as far as my old Lightning did, but again it's always a lotto and never a guarantee unless they bin every single chip which let's be honest i doubt they do.

Question 9

(1) Will I be able to install two of these in an ASRock Extreme/9ac (i.e. would there be enough spacing between the two for adequate air flow)?  (2) Will a Corsair AX1200i be able to run dual SLI?  Thanks!

Accepted Answer

1) The Extreme9 will fit both without issue. The two x16 lanes on that board are PCI-E slot 1 & 4 which have a ton of spacing between them.

2) That PSU will be plenty for a pair of Lightnings in SLI. With my Lightning at 1350/1650 and a 4670k, my whole system only pulled 420W from the wallplate while running the Valley 1.0 benchmark. Another card would add 200-300W depending on clocks.

Question 10

I've seen a lot of people talking about the size of this beast, would it fit inside my NZXT Guardian 921 RB?

Accepted Answer

mine fits great inside my corsair c-70 case which is also a midsize tower, i would say the only thing that would give you issues would be the placement of your expansion ports as this graphics card sticks out bout 2 inches from my mobo (MSI Mpower max) towards the front of my case. So check your expansion port slots and HDD bay to make sure you have a good 3 inches to work with.

Brand	MSI
Model	N780 LIGHTNING

Chipset Manufacturer	NVIDIA
GPU Series	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700 Series
GPU	GeForce GTX 780
Core Clock	980MHz
Boost Clock	1033MHz
CUDA Cores	2304 Cores

Effective Memory Clock	6008 MHz
Memory Size	3GB
Memory Interface	384-Bit
Memory Type	GDDR5

DirectX	DirectX 11.1
OpenGL	OpenGL 4.3

HDMI	1 x HDMI
DisplayPort	1 x DisplayPort
DVI	2 x DVI

MSI N780 LIGHTNING G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 780 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Learn more about the MSI N780 LIGHTNING

Customer Reviews of the MSI N780 LIGHTNING

Warranty & Returns

Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

Warranty

Return Policies

Manufacturer Contact Info

RAMDAC	400MHz
Max Resolution	2560 x 1600
3D VISION Game Ready	Yes
SLI Support	SLI Ready
Cooler	Triple Fans
Thermal Design Power	250W
System Requirements	250W Power Consumption
Dual-Link DVI Supported	Yes
HDCP Ready	Yes

Form Factor & Dimensions
Card Dimensions (L x H)	11.61" x 5.06"
Slot Width	2 Slots

Item#: N82E16814127754