Gainward Phantom GTX570 Review
Conclusion
Published: 17th January 2011 | Source: Gainward | Price: TBC |
Conclusion
There are two distinct elements to the gauging Gainward GTX570.
Firstly we need to compare it to the reference nVidia card. In this respect there isn't a lot of difference in pure performance terms. Throughout our graphs they were very nip and tuck with neither gaining or losing much to the other. 2 or 3 frames-per-second here or there most definitely wont sway anybody either way.
Perhaps the big surprise was that the, admittedly mild, overclock Gainward supply the Phantom with doesn't really make much of a difference. However when the card was overclocked as well as we could force it, considering there is no standard method to increase the voltage to allow for higher overclocks, it generally responded much better than the reference design. Nothing earth-shattering, but consistently enough that you could make a case for it performing more impressively.
As you may have noticed though I did say 'standard' method of increasing the voltage. So keep a close eye in the video for some less standard ways of increasing the voltage to allow for the true potential of the GF110 to shine.
The second, and by far larger, thing to take into consideration is that cooler.
We adore it. Under the shroud it's very similar to many other tri-fan designs that have come through the OC3D offices. It is very quiet even when under heavy loading, far quieter than the already reasonably quiet reference design. But it's not about compromise as the temperatures are exceptional. When overclocked and under loading we didn't see the temperatures go above 64°C which is remarkable for a modern high-performance card. Doubly so when we consider the swathe of heat issues its predecessor suffered from.
However it's not just about temperatures and noise. Aesthetics play a part too with this being one of the sexiest cards we've ever seen. The black and gold motif would look beyond stunning if you were considering pairing it with the Gigabyte UD7 in a new LGA1155 based rig. Even if you weren't though this definitely lends an air of class to proceedings.
Perhaps the only disappointment we have is that the tremendous cooling potential of the Gainward GTX570 Phantom isn't really harnessed fully. This would have been the perfect opportunity to apply Gainwards considerable skill gleaned from their Golden Sample cards to produce an all-conquering model.
Despite that small gripe the performance is still fantastic and when you couple it to that innovative cooler it has to win our OC3D Silver award.
Thanks to Gainward for supplying the GTX570 Phantom for review. Discuss in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
nice review again Bryan
lolz|
Originally Posted by Zeals
Now that is one fine looking card, shame it takes up 3 PCI slots, so I don't think you'll be able to run it in 16x/16x SLI on the UD-7. |
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Originally Posted by adicool96
What does bryan mean by less standard ways of increasing the voltage? Does it work for the gtx580 |
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Originally Posted by tinytomlogan
Some cards dont have Voltage tweaks enabled in the back end bios of the cards, but there are ways around it. We dont normally touch these in reviews but both thought we would find out how far the card would go if we did. |
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Originally Posted by adicool96
How do you bypass that? Maybe you could make a guide or something? |
Anyway, good looking card but the performance is somewhat disappointing. I had higher hopes for the 570 considering its price.
Would make a tastey silent addition to the D14 i have on the way.
If this card ends up costing much more than the ref model then there is no point in buying it.. Your card will run cooler but will dump all the hot air in to your case. The card looks good, but when installed, all you can see through a window is the black edge and Gold Gainward name.
With no voltage tweakage allowed by the bios and no meaningful factory overclock this card seems a bit poo to me.
People go on about waiting for the non ref designs for cooler cards to allow a little more overclocking headroom but this doesn't offer anything like that and clocks less than the ref card for what I expect will be a price premium. It might be quieter, but my 570 runs as good as silent.. My PSU is louder.
Unimpressed.
Good review as always guys.. Just a shame Gainward didn't put a better version of the bios on the card with higher clocks and some voltage allowance.
Edit: Just finished watching the video.. I'll take some of that back as if you can edit it in the beta of Afterburner then that's just as easy as opening any other software to do it.
Out of curiosity, what was the max Afterburner allowed on the voltage? 1.1v?
Inquiring minds want to know......
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Originally Posted by timby
So it begs the question The GTX570 or the ATI 6970? Inquiring minds want to know...... |
http://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop/index.pl?origin=gbase17.5&prodID=B566551
unless this is a lie which it could be.
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Originally Posted by Delusion77
looks really nice |
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Originally Posted by timby
So it begs the question The GTX570 or the ATI 6970? Inquiring minds want to know...... |
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Originally Posted by Zeals
If you're going to go with two cards or more 6970, since it scales better. But for just a single card 570 all the way. |
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Originally Posted by murphy7801
You can also remove the price TBC http://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop/index.pl?origin=gbase17.5&prodID=B566551 unless this is a lie which it could be. |
You owe me a KB by the way.. ROFLMAO!|
Originally Posted by Bungral
Wouldn't necessarily trust them as they always seems to quote low to get the traffic through Google shopping searches then when you click check stock, they are 80% of the time out of stock. |
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Originally Posted by Bungral
Ahh fair enough.. £30 premium for the cooler which isn't bad I guess if it actually helped. |
3gb 580 version looks like a beast
On 100% fan speed, it sounds like an hair dryer
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Originally Posted by PurpleTrance
I have one of these. It's alright, unlocking voltages can be done with the new afterburner beta. 3gb 580 version looks like a beast |
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