So basically on new egg the evga gtx 580 is 40 bucks less than the msi twin frozr II card. Now i know that the custom cooler is significantly better, but is it worth the 40 dollars?
That is up to you. I noticed a big difference on my 6950 vs the temps of the stock cards. Mine never goes over 63c while heavily overclocked and overvolted. Reference designs were getting into the 90s for some people.
Ive had the same experience as Salvage,I had a stock reference XFX 6950 and now got a Twin Frozr 3...the Twin Frozr is much more quiet and runs cooler.