Select Page 1 - Introduction 2 - Test Setup 3 - Overclocking 4 - Battlefield 3 Single Player 5 - Battlefield 3 Multiplayer 6 - Batman: Arkham City 7 - Max Payne 3 8 - The Witcher 2 9 - Additional Apples-to-Apples 10 - Power and Temperature 11 - Conclusion

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 670 OC Video Card Review GIGABYTE has a new custom cooled and factory overclocked version of the GeForce GTX 670 known as the GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD. We examine how well GIGABYTE's Windforce 3X cooling technology allows us to overclock this next generation video card. We will compare it to a Radeon HD 7950 and a reference GeForce GTX 670.

Introduction

GIGABYTE is a hardware manufacturer and one of the most respected PC component builders in the business today. The company was established in 1986 in Taipei, Taiwan, and is best known for its motherboards. GIGABYTE has a vast product line, including motherboards, graphics cards, notebooks, LCDs, mobile devices, tablet computers, computer cases, and many other PC peripherals.

On our test bench today is the GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 670 (GV-N670OC-2GD) video card.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670

NVIDIA released its new GeForce GTX 670, code-named "Kepler" on May 10th, 2012. The Kepler "GK104" architecture is much like its Fermi predecessor. The GeForce GTX 670 has 7 SMX clusters which each have 192 CUDA cores inside and a control logic which has a reduced size. The GPU is built using 28nm technology. The GeForce GTX 670 is also built on a much smaller PCB than we have grown accustomed to.

The GeForce GTX 670 itself is comprised of 3.54 billion transistors packed into 1344 CUDA cores with a default clock speed of 915MHz. The GeForce GTX 670 also has a boost clock which it will increase to during graphically demanding applications and guarantees at least 980MHz. There are a total of 8 geometry units and 112 texture units, along with 32 ROPs. This video card also uses the new PolyMorph 2.0 Engine which NVIDIA claims has 4x the tessellation performance of the Radeon HD 7970.

The GeForce GTX 670 is designed to be paired with 2GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, running at 1502MHz for a 6.0Gbps data rate and a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 192.2GB per second. The typical board power is 170W which will work with the advanced diagnostics to create more efficient and lower overall power consumption. A standard GeForce GTX 670 only requires two 6-pin PCI-E connectors. It can support up to 4 displays on a single video card, with one Dual Link DVI-I connector, one Dual Link DVI-D connector, one HDMI connector and one DisplayPort connector.

GIGABYTE GTX 670 OC

The GIGABYTE GTX 670 OC is one of GIGABYTE’s overclocked video cards in the GeForce GTX 600 series lineup. It includes GIGABYTE’s Windforce 3X cooling solution and a factory overclock. NVIDIA’s reference GTX 670 platform has the base GPU clock speed set to 915MHz on the core, while GIGABYTE starts their offering out at 980MHz.

GIGABYTE loaded this custom video card up with its Ultra Durable VGA components. These include first tier Samsung and Hynix memories, high quality capacitors, ferrite chokes, and MOSFETs. Together these components combine for several benefits for the video card. GPU temperatures will be lower, it will provide for better overclocking ability, and will improve power efficiency which can increase performance.

GIGABYTE's most unique feature on this video card is its custom cooling system, the "Windforce 3X." The Windforce 3X cooling system has a few key features. It starts on the GPU where the most heat is produced. In contact with the GPU are three 8mm copper heat pipes which spread through the heatsink directly over the GPU and to two other elevated heatsinks. The heatsink directly contacting the GPU has another feature called "Triangle Cool." The three copper pipes run through this triangle shaped heatsink. This angle on the heatsink helps direct airflow from the fans towards the top and bottom of the video card, instead of blowing directly on to the PCB.

These heatsinks are built with very thin fins, which allow heat to come off the copper heat pipes and spread across the surface of each fin. The heat is removed from the fins by the Windforce 3X's, three quiet PWM fans. These are set on a small, alternating inclines that helps reduce air turbulence and reduce noise.

You can currently get this video card at Newegg for $399.99 with free shipping, which makes it tied for the least expensive GTX 670’s available today.

GIGABYTE GTX 670 Pictures

The GIGABYTE GTX 670 is packaged in a black box that features a large blue eye. The front of the box highlights the use of the Windforce cooling system used on the card, the amount of ram offered and the fact that it is an OC Version of the card. On the back of the box, GIGABYTE goes into further detail about the Windforce cooling system and the card’s ability to use PCI Express 3.0. Inside the box, GIGABYTE included a quick start guide, a driver CD, a PCI-e 6-pin power adapter and a PCI-e 8-pin power adapter.

The front of the GIGABYTE GTX 670 features a glossy black plastic cover that serves to house the 3 fans and cover the heatsink. Although it is thin and light weight, it feels extremely durable and does not have any issue handling pressure in our experience. You can see underneath the black cover that the heatsink spans the entire length of the video card and extends slightly past the PCB.

While the design of the Windforce 3X cooling solution appears to be solid, its one fatal flaw is that the heat generated is not exhausted out of the case, which makes it far more important to have a well-designed case with plenty for airflow.

On the I/O panel there are four ports. These include one DP port, two DVI-D connectors, and one HDMI connector. The power connectors are on top of the video card and require one 6-pin PCI-e and one 8-pin PCI- power connection. The video card’s measurements are 11 inches in Length, 1.7 inches Wide, and 5.4 inches in Height.