Pick up a GTX660 GC and get close to its value in online currency

Subject: Graphics Cards | February 12, 2013 - 05:33 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: galaxy, GTX 660 GC, factory overclocked, nvidia

For those unable or unwilling to spend over $200 on a GPU, the non-Ti Galaxy GTX 660 GC comes with a nice factory overclock of 6GHz on its 2GB of RAM and a core of 1006MHz with a boost of 1074MHz as well as a custom dual fan cooler. You are not going to be maxing out Crysis 3 with it, at this level of power perhaps online gaming is the way to go in which case NVIDIA's new bundle of in game currency might make a lot of sense for you. [H]ard|OCP tested it against the similarly priced HD7850 as well as the slightly more expensive HD7870. In the tests the 660 GC beat the HD7850 by enough that it is not really worth your consideration and traded wins with the slightly more expensive HD7870. In this particular case it might be the bundle that decides you, do you want in game currency or free full games?

"GALAXY has a factory overclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 complete with a custom cooler. Today, we have it on our test bench to run against an AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition and an AMD Radeon HD 7850 to see which is the go-to card at the $200 price point now in the latest games with the latest drivers."

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Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

Woah! AMD overclocked the Matrix

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 22, 2012 - 03:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, Matrix HD 7970 Platinum, amd, factory overclocked

The ASUS Matrix HD 7970 Platinum is an impressive card, physically as well as the performance it offers. It is a triple slot card measuring 11.25" long and 5.5" deep, so you might want to measure the space you have before thinking of purchasing one, it also weighs in at over 3lbs (1.4kg) which you should also keep in mind. While it is factory overclocked to 1050MHz on the GPU and memory of 6.6GHz, if you plan on leaving those numbers untouched you are missing out on the real reason to pick up this particular HD 7970. When [H]ard|OCP put the 20-phase Super Alloy Power technology and chokes to the test they hit 1310MHz on the GPU and pushed the memory to 7GHz, far beyond what any other HD 7970 they've reviewed could manage. That overclock was definitely noticeable when they benchmarked the card, which helped it win a Gold Award as the best HD 7970 they've seen ... even if it is hard to find for purchase.

"ASUS is launching its highest-end ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum video card today, poised to give you the best experience possible out of a Radeon HD 7970. This highly customized video card is geared directly towards the hardware enthusiast. Come see the highest overclock we've ever achieved on a 7970 GHz Edition based video card."

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Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

A quiet card with a lot of spirit, the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Windforce OC

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 7, 2012 - 04:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gigabyte, GTX 660 Windforce OC, factory overclocked, gtx 660

Gigabyte's Windforce cooler has become popular thanks to its efficient performance and low noise, which makes it perfect for a card like the GTX 660 which you would expect to find in a small enclosure. Gigabyte gave a little more power to this non-Ti GTX 660 however, with a base clock of 1033MHz, boosting to 1098MHz and GDDR5 at 6GHz which Guru of 3D managed to increase when they tried overclocking the card and ended up with many benchmarks equalling or surpassing a GTX 660 Ti. At $230 the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Windforce OC is not a bad choice for a system that needs to be quiet and won't be used to play the newest games at high settings,

"We review one more Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 it is the Windforce OC model The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Windforce OC comes with a dual-slot Windforce cooler that is incredibly silent yet manages to keep the card at very cool temps, and it's even factory overclocked for you. Have a peek as this card should be somewhere at the top of you list. Combined with Ulra Durable component selection you may expect something long-lasting and well performing."

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Graphics Cards

Source: Guru of 3D

Gigabyte Launches Three New Factory Overclocked Kepler GPUs

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 4, 2012 - 04:42 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: nvidia, kepler, gtx 680, gtx 670, gtx 660 Ti, gigabyte, factory overclocked

Gigabyte is launching three new factory overclocked graphics cards featuring a Kepler GPU, custom PCB, and custom cooler. The factory overclocks are notable, but will cost you. Specifically, the company is producing versions of the GTX 660 Ti, GTX 670, and GTX 680.

The Gigabyte GV-N680OC-4GD takes the GTX 680 GPU, places it on a custom PCB, and pairs it with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. It features two 6-pin PCI-E power connectors, and Gigabyte’s Windforce X3 450W custom cooler using a triangular fin design that allegedly increases cooling potential. While the GDDR5 memory clockspeeds have not been increased over the reference clocks, the GPU core and boost clockspeeds have been pushed to 1071 MHz and 1137 MHz respectively. The following chart shows the differences in clockspeed and memory over the reference design.

	Reference GTX 680	Gigabyte N680OC-4GD
GPU Core	1006 MHz	1071 MHz
GPU Boost	1058 MHz	1137 MHz
GDDR5 Amount	2 GB	4 GB
GDDR5 Speed	6 Gbps	6 Gbps
Price	$500	$800 (rumored)

The GTX 680 is not the only card to get a custom makeover by Gigabyte, however. The GV-N670OC-4GD is a custom GTX 670. With this card, Gigabyte has set the base clockspeed at 980 MHz – the boost clockspeed of reference cards – and the boost clockspeed at 1058 MHz. Gigabyte has also doubled down on the GDDR5 memory by packing 4GB onto the custom PCB. The memory clockspeed remains the same 6 Gbps as reference cards, however.

This card uses the same Windforce X3 cooler as the cust GTX 680, and as a result has a triple slot design that looks identical to the N680OC-4GD. If you look just above the PCI-E connector though, you can see tell them apart by the product name.

	Reference GTX 670	Gigabyte N670OC-4GD
GPU Core	915 MHz	980 MHz
GPU Boost	980 MHz	1058 MHz
GDDR5 Amount	2 GB	4 GB
GDDR5 Speed	6 Gbps	6 Gbps
Price	$400	$550 (rumored)

Finally, we have the GV-N66TOC-3GD which overclocks the GTX 660 Ti GPU to the max. Factory clockspeeds are set at 1032 MHz base and 1111 MHz boost. Memory also sees a small bump from 2GB reference to 3GB. On the other hand, the memory is not overclocked and remains at the reference 6 Gbps clockspeed. This card also has a triple fan Windforce cooler, however this version is not the triple slot design found on the GTX 670 and GTX 680s SKUs – only dual slot.

	Reference GTX 660 Ti	Gigabyte N66TOC-3GD
GPU Core	915 MHz	1032 MHz
GPU Boost	980 MHz	1111 MHz
GDDR5 Amount	2 GB	3 GB
GDDR5 Speed	6 Gbps	6 Gbps
Price	$300	$415 (rumored)

All three of the Gigabyte GPUs feature two DVI, one full-size HDMI, and one full-size DisplayPort connector for video outputs.

All three factory overclocked graphics cards feature respectable GPU overclocks, and it appears that Gigabyte has provided ample cooling for each GPU. The triple slot, triple fan version on the N670OC-4GD and N680OC-4GD in particular seem to offer headroom above even what Gigabyte has clocked these out of the box. Curiously though, Gigabyte is continuing the trend of not touching the memory clockspeed of Kepler cards. It may be that the RAM chips are already at their max on the reference design, or there could be some behind the scenes talk with NVIDIA not waning Add In Board partners to touch the memory Unfortunately, all I have at this point is speculation, but it is a rather curious omission on such high end cards. That point becomes clearer when price is taken into consideration. Videocardz claims to have the pricing information for the three video cards, and the custom cards are going to cost you a large premium over reference cards. The rumored prices can be found in the charts above compared against the reference pricing, but the basic run down is that the GV-N66TOC-3GD will cost $415, the GV-N670OC-4GD will cost $550, and the GV-N680OC-4GD will cost (an astounding) $800.

I’m hoping that the rumored prices are in error and will be adjusted once the cards are available. These are neat cards that look to have plenty of cooling, but I’m still trying to figure out just what these cards have to offer to justify the huge jump over reference pricing. And, no, the superfluous gold plated HDMI connectors do not count. [For example, the 4GB Galaxy GTX 670 we recently reviewed was only $70 over reference while the Gigabyte card is rumored to be $150!]

The Gigabyte N66TOC-3GD factory overclocked GPU.

You can find links to the Gigabyte product pages in the charts above. If you have not already, please check out our GTX 660 Ti, GTX 670, and GTX 680 graphics card reviews for the full scoop on the various Kepler iterations. And if you are considering the Gigabyte N680OC-4GD, you should probably check out the dual GPU GTX 690 review as well (heh).

Source: Videocardz

ASUS Launches the GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II Lineup

Subject: Graphics Cards | September 13, 2012 - 05:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: nvidia, msi, kepler, gtx 660, gk106, geforce, evga, factory overclocked

As those of you who have already read the post below this one know, ASUS decided to create a DirectCU II model for their GTX 660, with the famous heatpipe bearing heatsink. They have overclocked the GPU already and the card comes with tools to allow you to push it even further if you take the time to get to know your card and what it can manage. Check the full press release below.

Fremont, CA (September 13, 2012) - ASUS is excited to release the ASUS GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II series featuring the Standard, OC and TOP editions. Utilizing the latest 28nm NVIDIA Kepler graphics architecture, the OC and TOP cards deliver a factory-overclock while all three cards feature ASUS exclusive DirectCU thermal design and GPU Tweak tuning software to deliver a quieter, cooler, faster, and more immersive gameplay experience. The ASUS GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II series set a new benchmark for exceptional performance and power efficiency in a highly affordable graphics card. The ASUS GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II is perfect for gamers looking to upgrade from last-generation graphics technology while retaining ASUS’ class-leading cooling and acoustic performance.

Superior Design and Software for the Best Gaming Experience ASUS equips the GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II series with 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked up to 6108MHz. The TOP edition features a blistering GPU core boost clock of 1137MHz, 104MHz faster than reference designs while the OC edition arrives with a factory-set GPU core boost speed of 1085MHz. Exclusive ASUS DIGI+ VRM digital power delivery and user-friendly GPU Tweak tuning software allows all cards to easily overclock beyond factory-set speeds offering enhanced performance in your favorite game or compute intensive application.

The ASUS GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II series feature exclusive DirectCU technology. The custom designed cooler uses direct contact copper heatpipes for faster heat transduction and up to 20% lower normal operating temperatures than reference designs. The optimized fans are able operate at lower speeds providing a much quieter gaming or computing environment. For enhanced stability, energy efficiency, and overclocking margins the cards feature DIGI+ VRM digital power deliver plus a class-leading six-phase Super Alloy Power design for the capacitors, chokes, and MOSFETs meant to extend product lifespan and durability while operating noise-free even under heavy workloads.

ASUS once again includes the award winning GPU Tweak tuning suite in the box. Overclocking-inclined enthusiasts or gamers can boost clock speeds, set power targets, and configure fan operating parameters and policies; all this and more is accessible in the user-friendly interface. GPU Tweak offers built-in safe guards to ensure all modifications are safe, maintaining optimal stability and card reliability.

Source: ASUS

Titanium Power from MSI; the shiniest of the GTX 660s?

Subject: Graphics Cards | September 6, 2012 - 07:01 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: msi, gtx 660 Ti, GK104, factory overclocked, Twin Frozr, 660 Ti Power Edition OC

MSI's GTX 660 Ti Power Edition OC will set you back $300, the same price as most other GTX 660 Ti cards, however that is where the similarity stops. This card sports the famous Twin Frozr IV cooling system, Military Class III components, Triple Overvoltage with Afterburner support and is overclocked above the reference design. If you like the sounds of the card so far does knowing that [H]ard|OCP managed to push the card frequencies farther past the factory overclock than the factory overclock was above the reference design?

"MSI is offering a custom cooled and factory overclocked rendition on the recently released NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti. We examine how well MSI's Twin Frozr IV cooling technology allows us to overclock this new generation video card. We will compare it to a Radeon HD 7950, an overclocked Radeon HD 7870, and a GeForce GTX 670."

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Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

How fast can Lightning go? Testing out the LN2 BIOS on the MSI GTX680

Subject: Graphics Cards | August 3, 2012 - 05:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: MSI GTX680 Lightning, LN2 BIOS, factory overclocked, gtx 680, MSI Afterburner, overvolting

[H]ard|OCP recently tested the highly overclocked MSI GTX 680 Lightning, but because of the new release of the MSI Afterburner 2.2.3 tool they decided to retest to see if the new Afterburner will raise the ceiling on their maximum overclock. This new version allows voltage control of the GPU, the memory, and the PLL which ought to help push the card to higher frequencies. That did certainly turn out to be the case as they saw noticeable increases to all of the clocks on the card and more importantly translated into improvements in game play. When they used the LN2 BIOS the improvements were even more impressive. Remember that volt modding will shorten the lifespan of the card, but what a life it will have while it survives.

"Today we are revisiting the MSI GeForce GTX 680 Lightning video card. with its long-promised GPU and RAM voltage tweaking Afterburner software. We test both the stock BIOS and "LN2 BIOS" to find the best possible gaming experience the Lightning has to offer, and determine if the performance justifies the price."

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Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

ASUS adds a GTX 670 to it's DirectCU II TOP lineup

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 28, 2012 - 05:45 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, DirectCU II, gtx 670, factory overclocked

ASUS' family of DirectCU II TOP have made a good name for themselves with enthusiasts, coming from the factory with impressive overclocks and a quiet and efficient custom cooler. There is a new member of this family, the GTX670 which comes with a default clock of 1059MHz and a boost clock of 1137MHz though the memory remains unchanged at 6GHz. These cards have more than just a custom cooler, the capacitors and switches are significantly better than the ones found on other cards which gives the card a longer lifespan as well as giving it serious overclocking headroom which you can see in action in [H]ard|OCP's review. At $430 it does cost a bit more than the stock version, but not prohibitively so.

"ASUS has delivered the fastest GeForce GTX 670 on the market in the ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP video card. The monster overclock and the improved cooling system are sure to provide the performance we yearn for. We will be testing it in the recently released Max Payne 3 against a GeForce GTX 680 and Radeon HD 7950."

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Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

Sapphire's Dual X cooler makes this HD7970 special

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 20, 2012 - 07:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sapphire, dual x 7970m, factory overclocked

The Sapphire HD 7970 OC Edition sports two profiles, on set to defaults and one with a mild overclock of 1GHz on the GPU and effective memory of 5.8GHz but it really is the cooler which makes this card special. The dual fans and extensive heatsinks allow for quieter and cooler operation than the reference design which can be more important to some than a huge overclock and since it is cooler you have a better chance of getting a higher manual overclock if you are so inclined. Overclockers Club were very impressed with the card and even more impressed by Sapphire's decision to include an Active DisplayPort adapter.

"The Dual X cooler is really the bonus to this particular card; it is the real feature that sets it apart from not only other 7970s but also other high-end cards. Under full load it shows off its true colors as one of the best cooled cards on the market while remaining quiet (in a relative manner). With the fans at full it can dissipate quite a bit of heat away from the card to keep it cool and ready for more. It might dump a little more heat to the case at idle and run slightly "hotter" at idle, but it is much better than a constant vacuum cleaner noise coming from your case."

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Graphics Cards

Source: Overclockers Club

Galaxy's GTX 670 GC can compete with a stock GTX 680

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 12, 2012 - 04:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: galaxy, gtx 670 gc, factory overclocked

Galaxy went all out on the GTX 670 GC, using a full length custom PCB which allowed them to overclock the card by almost 100MHz right out of the box. The base clock is 1006MHz as opposed to 915MHz and is higher than the stock boost speed of 980MHz, the GC's boost pushes all the way to 1085MHz. Memory size remains unchanged at 2GB and 6GHz effective, but are shrouded in the custom cooler Gigabyte designed which allowed [H]ard|OCP to push the memory to 6.46GHz once overclocked. In the tests the card could compete with the slightly more expensive GTX680 which makes this card one of the fastest cards you can get.

"GALAXY's new GeForce GTX 670 GC features a dual fan setup on a custom built PCB. GALAXY also tuned 670 GC with a strong 1006MHz overclock. We see how this compares to other video cards in its price range including a Radeon HD 7950 and GeForce GTX 580. Then we put the GALAXY GeForce GTX 670 head to head with a GeForce GTX 680."

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Source: [H]ard|OCP

Subject: Graphics Cards | February 12, 2013 - 05:33 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: galaxy, GTX 660 GC, factory overclocked, nvidia

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 22, 2012 - 03:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: asus, Matrix HD 7970 Platinum, amd, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 7, 2012 - 04:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: gigabyte, GTX 660 Windforce OC, factory overclocked, gtx 660

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 4, 2012 - 04:42 PM | Tim Verry Tagged: nvidia, kepler, gtx 680, gtx 670, gtx 660 Ti, gigabyte, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | September 13, 2012 - 05:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: nvidia, msi, kepler, gtx 660, gk106, geforce, evga, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | September 6, 2012 - 07:01 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: msi, gtx 660 Ti, GK104, factory overclocked, Twin Frozr, 660 Ti Power Edition OC

Subject: Graphics Cards | August 3, 2012 - 05:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: MSI GTX680 Lightning, LN2 BIOS, factory overclocked, gtx 680, MSI Afterburner, overvolting

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 28, 2012 - 05:45 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: asus, DirectCU II, gtx 670, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 20, 2012 - 07:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: sapphire, dual x 7970m, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 12, 2012 - 04:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: galaxy, gtx 670 gc, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | February 12, 2013 - 05:33 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: galaxy, GTX 660 GC, factory overclocked, nvidia

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 22, 2012 - 03:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, Matrix HD 7970 Platinum, amd, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 7, 2012 - 04:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gigabyte, GTX 660 Windforce OC, factory overclocked, gtx 660

Subject: Graphics Cards | October 4, 2012 - 04:42 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: nvidia, kepler, gtx 680, gtx 670, gtx 660 Ti, gigabyte, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | September 13, 2012 - 05:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: nvidia, msi, kepler, gtx 660, gk106, geforce, evga, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | September 6, 2012 - 07:01 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: msi, gtx 660 Ti, GK104, factory overclocked, Twin Frozr, 660 Ti Power Edition OC

Subject: Graphics Cards | August 3, 2012 - 05:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: MSI GTX680 Lightning, LN2 BIOS, factory overclocked, gtx 680, MSI Afterburner, overvolting

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 28, 2012 - 05:45 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, DirectCU II, gtx 670, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 20, 2012 - 07:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sapphire, dual x 7970m, factory overclocked

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 12, 2012 - 04:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: galaxy, gtx 670 gc, factory overclocked