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MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GB5 OC Video Card Review

Stephen Fung
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Everyone loves the way a high-end graphics card plays games, destroys benchmarks, and makes you the envy of every LAN party. While we appreciate top end hardware most of us are only willing to pay bottom dollar to play the hottest games. That’s why nVidia has been trying to hard to win over gamers at the $200 US sweet spot. First they gave us the GTX 460. Now they’ve got a new GPU at around $150 US that uses less power while giving you decent performance. They call it the GTX 550 Ti and today we’ll be looking at the MSI version known as the N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GB5 OC.


What the nVidia Geforce Family Looks Like at the $200 Price Point

The new GTX 550 Ti GPU is sort of a replacement for the original GTS 450 GPU released just a few months ago. Here’s what the family looks like with this latest addition.

As far as specifications go, you can see that the GTX 550 Ti really is stuck between two siblings. The GTX 550 Ti has a wider memory bus than the GTS 450 and a new GF116 GPU that allows the card to run with lower power and with different sized memory blocks. Usually, a 192 bit memory bus card would need to run 768MB or 1.5GB or memory. But to get that magical 1GB onboard, the new logic on the chip allows for uneven blocks. This allows nVidia to get more creative with memory configurations and decrease price for performance. The new GPU also allows higher clock speeds and more memory at a lower price than the upper end GTX 460 768MB, but with fewer CUDA cores.

With $20 separating the GTX 550 Ti from its siblings, the new card really shakes things up. Will the newer GF116 core and the higher clock speed be a factor? Hopefully we’ll be able to answer that in the benchmarks.

How the nVidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti Stacks Up In The Real World

Suggested MSRPs don’t always reflect what is happening in the real world. And this review wouldn’t serve as good consumer advice unless we looked at what you can buy for your hard earned dollar today. Here’s how the GTX 550 Ti stacks up against other options.

Our MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II ($154.99 US) is only $5 US less than a very competitive HD 6850 1GB from Sapphire. It has also swapped places with its older brother, the MSI N460GTX Cyclone 768D5, which is now over $15 US less. nVidia calls the AMD’s HD 5770 the GTX 550 Ti’s primary competition which clearly makes no sense given the price difference.

We think that the real battle for the GTX 550 Ti is between the GTX 460 768MB and the HD 6850. This is the comparison we will be emphasizing to give you a definitive answer as to whether the new kid on the block is a knock out or a miss.

What MSI Brings To The GTX 550 Ti

MSI’s Cyclone cooler isn’t the prettiest thing on the block, but it works really well. The N550GTX-Ti (right) returns with the latest iteration of this cooler known as the Cyclone II. As you can see, the Cyclone cooler on the N460GTX looks very similar to the Cyclone II on the N550GTX-Ti. However, there are two notable tweaks that MSI claims decreases noise and increases cooling performance.

The first change is the fan profile. They’ve retuned the fan blades to work more efficiently and decrease noise. The fan works in conjunction with a redesigned heatsink cover that better distributes are across the face of the card, aiding in overall cooling performance. MSI has also added a heatsink to power components to further reduce temperatures when using their excellent Afterburner software to overclock.

MSI retains all the nice branding touches like the cut outs in the PCI bracket, branded covers that protect the connectors, and a new metal bridge that sits at the top of the PCB that enhances rigidity. Because the Cyclone II is mainly centred on the GPU, unlike a full length cooler, I did notice wiggle in the original Cyclone and this has been addressed.

For $154.99 US, MSI is $5 over the MSRP set by nVidia. However, you do get a card that is overclocked from the stock 900MHz to 950MHz out of the box and you also get a 3 year warranty. For an extra $5, that definitely sounds like it’s worth it. Especially since many retailers are offering an extra game or two to get you started.





What’s In The Box?


Bundle expectations at this price point are fairly low. We did appreciate the mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter that came with bundled with our sample (the black thing in the picture) along with a VGA to DVI adapter. Other things included with this bundle are the user manual, quick start guide, and driver DVD. A 6 pin PCI-E to 4 pin MOLEX x 2 adapter is also included if you are using an older PSU that meets the minimum requirements.

Overall there’s nothing to get really excited about, but if you are able to snag one with the bundled games (usually added by the seller as printed codes) then that really makes this card a lot more fun out of the box.

Test System Setup

The $200 US price point for graphics cards represents a need for systems that are a good mix of value and performance. This is a market that AMD has taken care of very well with their Phenom II Black Edition CPUs and accompanying partner boards. We’ve stuck to an AMD platform for this reason and the system includes the following components.

With DDR3 memory being fairly inexpensive, we of course loaded up the slots. We already know that excessive amounts of memory do nothing for gaming and should not have an effect on the big picture we’re trying get from the results. All of our components were installed in an open test bench (High Speed PC Top Deck Tech Station).

Overall the system does a pretty good job of representing the target market for the $200 GPU market.

Testing Notes

All of our tests were conducted using the latest available drivers and BIOS revisions. As of the date of this article, we are running ATI Catalyst 11.2 drivers for the HD 6850. The GTX 460 768MB gets run with the latest 266.58 drivers and the N550GTX-Ti gets connected with the 267.59 drivers.

For GPU temperature testing we will be using FurMark 1.82 to push each GPUs to their limit and reveal max temperatures and noise levels. Idle temperature will be taken 30 minutes after booting into the system from the off position with each video card while load temperature will be taken after each card endures 30 minutes of torture. Ambient temperature within the room is maintained at 25C for all temperature readings. At the same time, noise levels were measured six inches from the center of the fan side of the card and power draw will also be measured as a whole system consumption at both idle and load conditions using a power meter plugged into the PSU then into the wall outlet.

Unless otherwise stated, benchmarks will be performed using default settings with Vsync off and at least 4x AA. We use an HD gaming resolution of 1920×1080 for all tests that do not have a preset. Please see each test for specific modifications if any. Let’s get cracking!

Overclocking the MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GB5 OC Edition

MSI has given enthusiasts a real gift with their Afterburner software. We really enjoy using their software and if we can give MSI any extra marks it would be for this software. While the software is fully capable of jacking voltages with an MSI GPU, we decided to keep voltage stock and overclocked for 100% stabilty. This means that we may not see as high of an overclock overall, but we will be assured that we cannot blame the card for issues.

After all was said and done, we managed to get another 100MHz out of our N550GTX-Ti OC Edition bringing it from the already overclocked 950MHz core clock to 1050MHz core clock. In order for us to put this number down as our official number, it needed to pass testing with every single one of our benchmarks. That meant a lot of retesting for us, but at least we’re not throwing out some unstable number and getting your hopes up.

Of course, mileage will vary with overclocking any hardware and you may be able to get even higher clocks by tweaking the voltage. Now let’s get on with our benchmarks starting with the synthetic stuff.





Synthetic Benchmark Suites

Synthetic benchmarks give us a good idea of how things should play out once we get to real world testing. We use a number of tests that emphasize DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11 and OpenGL performance. On deck are Futuremark’s 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11 followed by Unigine’s new Heaven 2.5 Demo. We round things off with a look at OpenGL performance in Cinebench 11.5.

3DMark Vantage (DX10)

Just for fun because benchmarks are fun, we ran both the Performance and Extreme presets. In this test we see that the GTX 550 Ti GPU does indeed make short work of the GTS 450 and is just below the GTX 460 768MB. What was surprising though was as the settings and resolution get cranked in the Extreme test, the GTX 550 Ti starts to encroach on the more expensive HD 6850.

3DMark 11 (DX11)

Futuremarks latest DX11 benchmark puts the GTX 550 Ti back in its place between the GTX 460 768MB and the GTS 450. But look at the massive increase in performance when overclocked. With MSI’s voltage adjustments, the card could very well be put within striking distance of the GTX 460 768MB in this benchmark.

Unigine Heaven 2.5 Demo

Unigine’s Heaven 2.5 Demo is one of few benchmark suites that can be viewed for both its beauty and its numbers. The HD 6850 maintains OpenGL superiority here and the overall lead. The overclocked N550GTX-Ti is right on top of the GTX 460 768MB for all tests except for Open GL. It appears that the number of CUDA Cores matter less than clock speed.

nVidia PhysX Benchmarks

Next we’ll have a look at the new GPU’s PhysX performance compared to its closest siblings. We’ll be using two games: Batman Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition and Mafia II.

Batman Arkham Asylum – Game of the Year Edition (DX9)

Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition really likes the overclocked core of the N550GTX-Ti at 1050MHz. It overcomes the lower number of CUDA cores over the GTX 460 768MB quite easily. Lower clock speeds and a narrower memory bus hold the GTS 450 back and PhysX just cripples the HD 6850.

Mafia II (DX9)

Mafia II allows us to show off the performance hit with PhysX enabled and disabled. Omitting the HD 6850, we can see that there is basically a halving of frame rate with it enabled. But it’s encouraging to see the N550GTX-Ti hold up so well with PhysX enabled, sustaining a playable frame rate.

Now that we’ve covered the nVidia PhysX side of the equation, let’s look at how the group copes with straight DX9 titles.





DirectX 9 Benchmarks

For our DirectX 9 benchmarks, we selected Street Fighter IV for its endless hours of fun and Final Fantasy XIV because it’s a fairly new game and people have to play monthly to play it. So if the hardware can’t handle it, then that can really suck. We used the official benchmarks for both to assess performance.

Street Fighter IV (DX9)

For throwing fireballs at the highest possible settings in this game, any of these cards would fit the bill. But what’s most interesting is how much better the GTX 550 Ti does it over the more expensive Radeon HD 6850.

Final Fantasy XIV (DX9)

Coupled with a monthly subscription fee, a cost effective GPU upgraded is definitely nice to have. The GTX 550 Ti isn’t the card for this game unfortunately. With an option that’s cheaper than it (GTX 460 768MB) and one that’s only a few dollars away (HD 6850), if you are going to invest in playing in this particular game, it makes sense to purchase the card that really fits.

DirectX 10 Benchmarks

The space for DirectX 10 games has been fairly small unfortunately. As a result, we’ll be selecting two games: Just Cause 2 which represents the first person style shooter genre and World In Conflict to cover off RTS style games.

Just Cause 2 (DX10)

It’s pretty clear that if you want to play this game well, you are not buying an nVidia card. Without PhysX to give an advantage, the HD 6850 walks away from the field. Having said that, the GTX 550 Ti overclocked to 1050MHz responds well and matches the performance of the GTX 460 768MB in our tests.

World in Conflict (DX10)

World in Conflict is a fairly brutal benchmark where sometimes, when things get crowded on the screen, frame rates just fall to the floor. Having said that, the GTX 550 Ti gives us playable frame rates whether overclocked or stock. However, for my money, I’d still pick a GTX 460 768MB or an HD 6850 (assuming I don’t play any PhysX games or Final Fantasy XIV).

DirectX 11 Benchmarks

Rounding the corner, we run into DirectX 11 which seems to be where all the development dollars are heading. We check out three games: Metro 2033 which has basically become our new Crysis thanks to its brutal nature towards GPUs, Lost Planet 2 with its mix of FPS style game play and these massively unrealistic bosses that make the game a whole lot of fun, and then we come back to earth and hang out  in the atmosphere in HAWX 2.

Metro 2033 (DX11)

This game is massively brutal. So much so that none of our under $200 GPUs can handle it without pushing settings down quite a bit. However, the GTX 550 Ti comes out on top both overclocked and stock. The increased core clock really helps this GPU along in this game. Hopefully the next generation of 1GHz and higher sub $200 cards will finally be able to play it.

Lost Planet 2 (DX11)

This game is fun, but weird. If you love fighting huge honking mutated bug looking monsters then you’ll love this game. Unfortunately, you won’t be doing it with the GTX 550 Ti as it cannot maintain playable frame rates through either of our tests. This definitely favours the number of processors onboard over clock speed and you can save quite a bit by going with it’s older brother, the GTX 460 768MB if you play this game.

HAWX 2 (DX11)

For all the flight sim fans out there, the GTX 550 Ti comes back scrapping and posts our second best tests behind the less expensive GTX 460 768MB. It really is too bad that the GTX 460 768MB is so much cheaper in the real world that it makes the GTX 550 Ti fight so much harder than it should.





And One More Thing – Adobe Premiere Pro CS5

We introduced this benchmark in our original look at the GTX 460 768MB and carried it with us to the GTS 450 GPU review. The reason why we’ve done this is because of the new rendering engine inside Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 called the Mercury Playback Engine.

The list of supported GPUs is very small and only a handful of cards plus nVidia’s workstation Quadro line are supported. With a small hack, you can unlock hardware acceleration on most 1GB or higher nVidia GPUs. The best part is that Adobe does not plan to disable this hack and wants to see what the community does with it. Here’s what we found out about the GTX 550 Ti and the Mercury Playback Engine today.

The GTX 550 Ti has clearly shown that it is the next card to own if you are a video editor using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 on a PC. After looking at the results of this test, it does seem pretty clear that the near GHz core clock of the GTX 550 Ti really makes a difference to a lot of apps. More so than the number of CUDA cores onboard.

GPU Temperatures

The Cyclone II isn’t a pretty cooler, but it does do a much better job than its predecessor, besting it by as much as 7C under load. The HD 6850 is like a fireball topping out at 80C and idling at over 47C. One wonders how much better it would do with a Cyclone II attached.

Noise Levels

The new Cyclone II cooler is quieter than the Cyclone I strapped to the GTX 460 768MB by a bit at idle, but when it comes time to kick it up for performance, the opposite is true. However, given the cooling performance observed above, it’s definitely a reasonable trade off and in all honesty, it’s not a cooler you will here over the drone of the rest of your components.

Power Consumption

nVidia really worked hard to bring this card into a power envelope that would make it a logical upgrade for many users that bought those pre-built boxes from any number of manufacturers. With a minimum power supply requirement of only 400 Watts, there shouldn’t be any need to upgrade to power this card. It has a reasonable peak power of 258Watts with our system setup and is only bested by the HD 6850 which requires two PCI-E 6 pin connectors while the N550GTX-Ti only needs one.

Final Thoughts

I’m going to keep this short because the test results speak for themselves. This card would be very easy to recommend if there were no GTX 460 768MB cards out there. For gaming, the GTX 550 Ti’s slightly older brother is a far better buy at around $15 US less. You must also consider that if you play games that favour AMD GPUs, the HD 6850 is only a few dollars more at retail. Having said that, if your system has an older PSU or one that is slightly underpowered, you might have to buy a new one to run the GTX 460 768MB while you could squeak by with the GTX 550 Ti. It’s a reasonable way to upgrade a budget pre-built box with a weaker PSU when the money is tight. And if you are seeking a sub $200 GPU that speeds up your rendering performance in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, then there is no doubt this is the card for you.

As far as MSI’s contribution goes, the N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GB5 OC Edition really is a great card on its own. At $154.99 US you get good cooling, the awesome Afterburner software, and a 3 year North American warranty. The military class components onboard toughen it up and make it last too and you might even get some free games with a lot of the current offers out there. But, it’s really too bad that the GTX 460 768MB is still in the pipeline and this GPU isn’t cheaper. But on balance, I can confidently recommend it if you are a buyer fits into the N550GTX-Ti’s many strengths.

Pros

  • Great GPU upgrade for pre-built systems with weak PSUs
  • Respectable 3D Gaming Performance
  • The best value Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 GPU to date (Under $200)
  • Excellent cooling via Cyclone II GPU Cooler

Cons

  • Betrayed by its better performing (and cheaper) GTX 460 768MB brother (for overall 3D Gaming)

Overall Rating: 8.0 / 10.0


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MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GB5 OC Video Card – Photo Gallery





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