MSI GeForce GTX 480 Lightning review - Product Gallery

Connectivity wise we see two dual-link DVI connectors supporting all high-resolution monitors and all the way to the left you can see a mini HDMI connector. Mini HDMI was chosen to be able to position the connector at the lower half, so that the top half can exhaust hot air. A special HDMI cable is included for you. Make sure the chassis has plenty of room as the graphics card has quite a familiar size; the card is 30 CM long ;)

Here we can see the backside; a massive protective plate is installed. We like that, it has better heat transfer and PCB stability, it's much sturdier this way. Overall, a clean looking PCB colored black, with some extra's alright.

You can spot “Proadlizer” (Prompt, Broadband, Stabilizer) capacitors which offer ultra-high capacitance ratings and have flat surfaces that can be more easily cooled.

The card also features over-voltage controls for the GPU, memory, and PLL, voltage check-points, voltage switches for instant voltage changes, and “CopperMOS” MOSFETS, which apparently offer better cooling performance.

See the three white connectors, use the supplied cabling and connect your multi-meter to it .. you can now measure voltages on GPU, Memory and AUX. Very handy for the extreme and processional overclockers who like to monitor the voltages on the card. Here we are tapping the memory, which is at its default 1.59 Volts.

The card has 16 power phases; each has a LED representing the activated phases. I know you can discuss functionality here as it is a little gimmicky, but granted it does look nice inside the PC alright.