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The Lightning will have a maximum power design of roughly 275 Watts, but they are made to overclock as well so MSI will extending the power limitation a little bit with the help of AfterBurner. You will also see two 150W 8-pin PEG connectors and one 6-pin PEG connector, yes three (!) power connectors. Then another 75 to 150 Watts is delivered though the PCI slot and thus motherboard. This should be plenty for a decent overclocking session. Why so much power leads you ask ? This board has been designed the pro-overclockers as well. LN2 modes are available and sub-zero cooling and overclocking requires heaps of power. For the avid end-user that will keep original cooling we agree, it is a bit overkill.

Also included are small connectors which you can use to monitor voltage with a digital multi-meter. Up-to the previous release there was a GPU Reactor at the backside, this is now a thing of the past it seems. The reactor hosted a battery of tantalum capacitors that are used to filter and stabilize GPU voltage. The GPU reactor typically functioned as a power supply module which, when installed on the back of the GPU, overall as noted in our reviews .. it really didn't make much difference. So MSI scrapped that from the product. 

Up-to the previous release there was a GPU Reactor at the backside, this is now a thing of the past it seems. The reactor hosted a battery of tantalum capacitors that are used to filter and stabilize GPU voltage. The GPU reactor typically functioned as a power supply module which, when installed on the back of the GPU, overall as noted in our reviews .. it really didn't make much difference. So MSI scrapped that from the product. Furthermore the 290X Lightning is armed with MSI Military Class IV components, so you'll spot some interesting things like nickel plated capacitors, Hi-c CAPs, Copper MOS and coated solid state chokes. Really, these are not your average components right there. This is all used to ensure longevity and better tweakability.