punx223
06-02-2011, 04:27 AM
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A1.jpg
Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti Super Overclock
Here is Gigabytes top end “Super Overclock” variant of the Nvidia GTX 560 Ti (GV-N560SO-1GI)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A2.jpg
At first look you will notice right away that this is not just a overclocked reference Nvidia GTX 560 Ti Graphics card.
Here are just a few of the highlights that make this card special compared to the other overclocked models out there.
Windforce Cooling Technology
Ultra Durable VGA quality components
GPU Gauntlet sorting selection process
These features will be described in more detail below.
Here are some of the things I like when looking at this card:
Dual Fan cooler where fans are tilted so that even if cards are installed next to each other there will be an open gap between the fans to allow better airflow.
Seperate VREG cooler to keep the card cool when pushing the limits
This board has many great features, but there is something I would like to see.
PCB color, While the cards are awesome I would love to see a black PCB to match the color of their boards. Just me nit picking again but would be a nice addition.
Anyone who has ever used a GTX 560 Ti card knows that hitting 1000 MHz GPU is pretty tough with a reference card. This is why Gigabyte built this card from the ground up to just blow you away.
Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti Super Overclock Specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A3.jpg
Test configuration
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
CPU: Core I7 2600K (All tests run at stock CPU Frequency to ensure comparable results)
Memory: Kingston DDR3 1600 Mhz Cas7 2x2gb
Hdd: WD Velociraptor 300GB & 120GB SATA III/6G SSD
Graphics card: Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC
CPU cooling: Thermaltake Frio OCK
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W
Features
GPU Gauntlet sorting
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A4.jpg
Gigabyte’s GPU Gauntlet sorting is Gigabyte’s way of cherry picking the GPU’s with the best power efficiency, lowest power consumption and best overclock potential to carry the Super Overclock name.
Ultra Durable VGA Components
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A5.jpg
Ultra durable GPU is Gigabytes high quality guarantee that you get all of the following and more.
High quality ultra durable 2oz PCB
All solid State Japanese Capacitors
Tier 1 Samsung and Hynix memory
Ferrite Core (Metal) Chokes
Low RDS (on) Mosfet
This all comes out to net such benefits as
GPU temperatures from 5-10% reduction
10-30% higher overclocking potential
10-30% less power switching loss
Windforce cooling Technology
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A6.jpg
Windforce Cooling technology is gigabytes new non reference multi-fan cooling solutions for its higher end graphics models. They carry such features as
Angled Fans to allow for better air space for more efficient cooling
All Copper Heatpipe design
Angled Fin arrays to allow for less turbulence
Low Noise PWM Fans
Getting started overclocking
Here I started using the Gigabyte OC Guru program to tune and overclock the card. This card is already at 1000 MHz GPU core. So this is already highly overclocked over what the GPU is spec’d at the factory (822 MHz) and being such a high clock im not sure if and how much the card will clock past this point.
Now the overclocker in me pushes me to strap pots to these things to see how far they can go, but being that I am basing this on something that can be easily reproducible for everyone gamers and the like I will keep this an air only test.
Here are some screenshots of what is possible with the OC Guru software
Here is the main OC guru Screen
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A7.jpg
Here is the OC Guru screen tailored for Gaming
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A8.jpg
And lastly we have the OC Guru screen made for the energy conscious or Green as they so aptly named it
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A9.jpg
1015 Core/4610 Memory is the max clock we could achieve with stability. Stability is determined by runs of gaming benchmark loops, vantage, and 30 min of atitool
When looking at the modest overclock over the Super Overclock spec many may say that is not a very good overclock but when you consider the stock spec for the GTX 560 Ti is 822 Core/4008 Memory. You quickly realize this card is capable of an overclock of 193 Core/602 Memory all running on air. This is actually quite impressive.
Some will comment that other tests such as furmark or other synthetic loads should be used. Honestly I have seen many cases where those programs can cause component overloads and premature failure due to the fact that it is pushing well past a realistic and truly obtainable load in real life.
Benchmark testing
These tests will show how the system handles the Graphical benchmarks at stock (Nvidia reference) then Gigabyte Super overclocked specs, and anything above that we can get.
First up is 3dmark vantage, This will tell us how much affect that the GPU frequency has on FPS performance.
Here is the Nvidia reference speed run on 3dmark vantage
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B1.jpg
And here is the run with the gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B2.jpg
Here is the run with the maximum overclock I could achieve with Gigabytes OC Guru tuning utility.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B3.jpg
Here is all of the different runs summed up
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B4.jpg
Gaming overclock testing
The games used are Crysis and Metro 2033. I used these games on Previous reviews and tend to stress the system and graphics bus pretty well. Metro 2033 is a very heavy load for the GPU and PCI-E Bus as set on max settings renders the game with much lower frame rates so we will see how the GPU clock frequency helps in these tests as well.
First up is Crysis at reference Nvidia clocks:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B5.jpg
Next up is Crysis at Gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B6.jpg
And lastly we have what we could accomplish with more overclocking
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B7.jpg
Here you can see a representation of how the card handles the games in varying levels of overclock
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B8.jpg
Next test is Metro 2033, this game is very heavy load for the GPU and should also show the performance improvements.
First up is the Nvidia reference spec run:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B9.jpg
Next up is the run at the Gigabyte Super overclock specs.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C1.jpg
Here is with the extra overclock we were able to achieve
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C2.jpg
Here you see how the performance breaks down
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C3.jpg
SLI Benchmark Testing
I was lucky enough to get my hands on 2 of these and am putting them into the Z68 to see just how well they scale, what clocks can be achieved and most importantly what kind of performance can be achieved.
First up is 3dmark vantage, This will tell us how much affect that the GPU frequency has on FPS performance.
Here is the Nvidia reference speed run on 3dmark vantage
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C4.jpg
And here is the run with the Gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C5.jpg
Here is the run with the maximum overclock I could achieve with Gigabytes OC Guru tuning utility.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C6.jpg
Here is the Vantage SLI performance across the clock range
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C7.jpg
Gaming SLI testing
First up is Crysis at reference Nvidia clocks:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C8.jpg
Next up is Crysis at Gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C9.jpg
And lastly we have what we could accomplish with more overclocking
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D1.jpg
Here you can see the performance in SLI testing across the clock range
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D2.jpg
Next test is Metro 2033
First up is the Nvidia reference spec run:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D3.jpg
Next up is the run at the Gigabyte Super overclock specs.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D4.jpg
Here is with the extra overclock we were able to achieve
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D5.jpg
Here you see how the SLI performance breaks down
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D6.jpg
Conclusion and final thoughts
This board is amazing just at its stock speeds. The word stock does not really do justice to the 1000MHz clock that is guaranteed and warranted to run. This also speaks volumes to their GPU gauntlet testing claim that they find the very maximum you can achieve and place it there as the card literally was a step away from its peak clock when coming from the box. This is not just another slap on a sticker and flash a overclocked bios card this thing means business.
It pains me to not strap a pot to this thing and see what it can do cold but for all of the people buying these to run these for more than benchmarks but actual gaming is what this review is focused on.
Pros:
Very high frequency out of the box
Top quality components and 2oz Copper PCB
Dual fan Windforce cooler ensures optimal temps and surprisingly quiet operation
Included OC Guru software is easy to use and works well
Cons:
PCB Color could be better as a black pcb would better match the new gigabyte motherboard line
Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti Super Overclock
Here is Gigabytes top end “Super Overclock” variant of the Nvidia GTX 560 Ti (GV-N560SO-1GI)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A2.jpg
At first look you will notice right away that this is not just a overclocked reference Nvidia GTX 560 Ti Graphics card.
Here are just a few of the highlights that make this card special compared to the other overclocked models out there.
Windforce Cooling Technology
Ultra Durable VGA quality components
GPU Gauntlet sorting selection process
These features will be described in more detail below.
Here are some of the things I like when looking at this card:
Dual Fan cooler where fans are tilted so that even if cards are installed next to each other there will be an open gap between the fans to allow better airflow.
Seperate VREG cooler to keep the card cool when pushing the limits
This board has many great features, but there is something I would like to see.
PCB color, While the cards are awesome I would love to see a black PCB to match the color of their boards. Just me nit picking again but would be a nice addition.
Anyone who has ever used a GTX 560 Ti card knows that hitting 1000 MHz GPU is pretty tough with a reference card. This is why Gigabyte built this card from the ground up to just blow you away.
Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti Super Overclock Specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A3.jpg
Test configuration
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
CPU: Core I7 2600K (All tests run at stock CPU Frequency to ensure comparable results)
Memory: Kingston DDR3 1600 Mhz Cas7 2x2gb
Hdd: WD Velociraptor 300GB & 120GB SATA III/6G SSD
Graphics card: Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC
CPU cooling: Thermaltake Frio OCK
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W
Features
GPU Gauntlet sorting
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A4.jpg
Gigabyte’s GPU Gauntlet sorting is Gigabyte’s way of cherry picking the GPU’s with the best power efficiency, lowest power consumption and best overclock potential to carry the Super Overclock name.
Ultra Durable VGA Components
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A5.jpg
Ultra durable GPU is Gigabytes high quality guarantee that you get all of the following and more.
High quality ultra durable 2oz PCB
All solid State Japanese Capacitors
Tier 1 Samsung and Hynix memory
Ferrite Core (Metal) Chokes
Low RDS (on) Mosfet
This all comes out to net such benefits as
GPU temperatures from 5-10% reduction
10-30% higher overclocking potential
10-30% less power switching loss
Windforce cooling Technology
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A6.jpg
Windforce Cooling technology is gigabytes new non reference multi-fan cooling solutions for its higher end graphics models. They carry such features as
Angled Fans to allow for better air space for more efficient cooling
All Copper Heatpipe design
Angled Fin arrays to allow for less turbulence
Low Noise PWM Fans
Getting started overclocking
Here I started using the Gigabyte OC Guru program to tune and overclock the card. This card is already at 1000 MHz GPU core. So this is already highly overclocked over what the GPU is spec’d at the factory (822 MHz) and being such a high clock im not sure if and how much the card will clock past this point.
Now the overclocker in me pushes me to strap pots to these things to see how far they can go, but being that I am basing this on something that can be easily reproducible for everyone gamers and the like I will keep this an air only test.
Here are some screenshots of what is possible with the OC Guru software
Here is the main OC guru Screen
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A7.jpg
Here is the OC Guru screen tailored for Gaming
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A8.jpg
And lastly we have the OC Guru screen made for the energy conscious or Green as they so aptly named it
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/A9.jpg
1015 Core/4610 Memory is the max clock we could achieve with stability. Stability is determined by runs of gaming benchmark loops, vantage, and 30 min of atitool
When looking at the modest overclock over the Super Overclock spec many may say that is not a very good overclock but when you consider the stock spec for the GTX 560 Ti is 822 Core/4008 Memory. You quickly realize this card is capable of an overclock of 193 Core/602 Memory all running on air. This is actually quite impressive.
Some will comment that other tests such as furmark or other synthetic loads should be used. Honestly I have seen many cases where those programs can cause component overloads and premature failure due to the fact that it is pushing well past a realistic and truly obtainable load in real life.
Benchmark testing
These tests will show how the system handles the Graphical benchmarks at stock (Nvidia reference) then Gigabyte Super overclocked specs, and anything above that we can get.
First up is 3dmark vantage, This will tell us how much affect that the GPU frequency has on FPS performance.
Here is the Nvidia reference speed run on 3dmark vantage
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B1.jpg
And here is the run with the gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B2.jpg
Here is the run with the maximum overclock I could achieve with Gigabytes OC Guru tuning utility.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B3.jpg
Here is all of the different runs summed up
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B4.jpg
Gaming overclock testing
The games used are Crysis and Metro 2033. I used these games on Previous reviews and tend to stress the system and graphics bus pretty well. Metro 2033 is a very heavy load for the GPU and PCI-E Bus as set on max settings renders the game with much lower frame rates so we will see how the GPU clock frequency helps in these tests as well.
First up is Crysis at reference Nvidia clocks:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B5.jpg
Next up is Crysis at Gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B6.jpg
And lastly we have what we could accomplish with more overclocking
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B7.jpg
Here you can see a representation of how the card handles the games in varying levels of overclock
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B8.jpg
Next test is Metro 2033, this game is very heavy load for the GPU and should also show the performance improvements.
First up is the Nvidia reference spec run:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/B9.jpg
Next up is the run at the Gigabyte Super overclock specs.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C1.jpg
Here is with the extra overclock we were able to achieve
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C2.jpg
Here you see how the performance breaks down
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C3.jpg
SLI Benchmark Testing
I was lucky enough to get my hands on 2 of these and am putting them into the Z68 to see just how well they scale, what clocks can be achieved and most importantly what kind of performance can be achieved.
First up is 3dmark vantage, This will tell us how much affect that the GPU frequency has on FPS performance.
Here is the Nvidia reference speed run on 3dmark vantage
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C4.jpg
And here is the run with the Gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C5.jpg
Here is the run with the maximum overclock I could achieve with Gigabytes OC Guru tuning utility.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C6.jpg
Here is the Vantage SLI performance across the clock range
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C7.jpg
Gaming SLI testing
First up is Crysis at reference Nvidia clocks:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C8.jpg
Next up is Crysis at Gigabyte Super overclock specs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/C9.jpg
And lastly we have what we could accomplish with more overclocking
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D1.jpg
Here you can see the performance in SLI testing across the clock range
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D2.jpg
Next test is Metro 2033
First up is the Nvidia reference spec run:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D3.jpg
Next up is the run at the Gigabyte Super overclock specs.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D4.jpg
Here is with the extra overclock we were able to achieve
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D5.jpg
Here you see how the SLI performance breaks down
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/punx223/GV-N560SO-1GI/D6.jpg
Conclusion and final thoughts
This board is amazing just at its stock speeds. The word stock does not really do justice to the 1000MHz clock that is guaranteed and warranted to run. This also speaks volumes to their GPU gauntlet testing claim that they find the very maximum you can achieve and place it there as the card literally was a step away from its peak clock when coming from the box. This is not just another slap on a sticker and flash a overclocked bios card this thing means business.
It pains me to not strap a pot to this thing and see what it can do cold but for all of the people buying these to run these for more than benchmarks but actual gaming is what this review is focused on.
Pros:
Very high frequency out of the box
Top quality components and 2oz Copper PCB
Dual fan Windforce cooler ensures optimal temps and surprisingly quiet operation
Included OC Guru software is easy to use and works well
Cons:
PCB Color could be better as a black pcb would better match the new gigabyte motherboard line