Just recently we have seen MSI really mix it up when it comes to graphics cards. We had a look at this GeForce GTX 260 from the company which came in under the new Lightning series. And under this same category we've recently seen the GeForce GTX 275 show up with it being the graphics card of choice at the recent MSI overclocking championships. Though while the Lightning series seems to be reserved for the NVIDIA cards, ATI models haven't been left without. The Radeon HD 4890 we are looking at sits in their new Cyclone series. Within this Cyclone series we've got three models, their standard model followed by an OC and SOC model. Altogether the have a full range available, ready for battle. - TweakTown

MSI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Cyclone OverClock Review

Having a look at the front of the box, we can see we've got a bit of a new design to go with these new series. Across the top of the box we have both the MSI and ATI logo. So moving down, the majority of the box is taken up by a picture of the cooler that MSI have chosen to use. While across the bottom of the box we have mention that the model is overclocked. Below that we have the SuperPipe logo which lets us know about the extra thick heatpipes the board uses. Next to that we have the military class logo and on the far right side we have the Radeon HD 4890 with some of the main features below that.

Looking at the card itself, you can see the cooler which we saw on the front of the box. So what's surprising though, is the size. Looking at it on the front of the box without the card in the picture, you're not sure how big it'll be. Once you have it in front of you with the board attached you notice the size. Sporting a 100mm fan with heatpipes around it, it is a pretty large cooler. On the topic of heatpipes, this card uses MSI's new SuperPipe. And these are thicker 8mm pipes which are 90% more effective when compared to standard heatpipes. We can see a bit of the PCB, but really thanks to the huge cooler there isn't a whole lot to look at.

Now, it is clear that companies are going to offer the Radeon HD 4890 for months to come, even though these Radeon HD 5800 series are just around the corner. Really, at the end if the chips are available you are better off selling them instead of having them just sit there. But due to this model being out for so long, no one wants to see a flurry of reference cooled and clocked graphics cards come to the market. And instead companies like MSI, HIS and Sapphire decided to really mix it up by offering new cooling solutions and overclocks. From the cooling point the Cyclone cooler that MSI use doesn't offer any better performance than others.

Now if anything, this size of it is more of a pain due to the fact it kills your ability to use CrossFire. What the cooler does offer though, is looks. And honestly, the cooler looks so mean and until you have it in front of you on the card you really don't realize the coolness of it. The military class specification for the card also seems to help keep power draw down in load situations. We have got a decent cooler, some good performance thanks to the overclocks and the military class marketing seems to actually be useful by dropping down the overall power load of the graphics card which is really something we out to be looking out for.

While the bundle might be a bit lacking, if you are just after an Radeon HD 4890 that performs well and looks good, the MSI offering is a good choice. If you want a bit more power it might be worth looking at their SOC offering that offers even higher clock speeds.