Four Overclocked GeForce GTX 580 Cards, Rounded Up
Table of contents
- 1. Different Is Good
- 2. Gigabyte GV-N580SO-15I Super Overclock
- 3. MSI N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC
- 4. Calibre X580 Captain
- 5. Zotac GeForce GTX 580 AMP²! Edition
Today we put four factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 580 cards to the test: Gigabyte’s GeForce GTX 580 Super Overclock, MSI’s N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC, Calibre’s X580 Captain, and Zotac’s GeForce GTX 580 AMP²! Edition. Which one is worth its premium price?
Nvidia's GeForce GTX 580 is currently the fastest graphics card based on a single GPU. If you want more performance than what it can do, you need to look at a dual-GPU board or a pair of cards in CrossFire or SLI (and if you don't know what the card is capable of, check out GeForce GTX 580 And GF110: The Way Nvidia Meant It To Be Played).
As we've come to expect, there are board partners who deviate from the company's specification in one way or another in the interest of differentiation. Some employ overclocks straight from the factory, others implement custom cooling solutions, and nearly all try to offer unique features to set their products apart from the pack.
Today we're rounding up four premium GeForce GTX 580s, all of which arrive overclocked, and comparing them to a reference GeForce GTX 580. Our contenders include Gigabyte’s GeForce GTX 580 Super Overclock, MSI’s N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC, Calibre's X580 Captain, and Zotac’s GeForce GTX 580 AMP²! Edition.
| Reference GeForce GTX 580 | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 Super Overclock | MSI N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC | Calibre X580 Captain | Zotac GeForce GTX 580 AMP²! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics Clock | 772 MHz | 855 MHz | 800 MHz | 822 MHz | 815 MHz |
| Shader Clock | 1544 MHz | 1710 MHz | 1600 MHz | 1644 MHz | 1630 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1002 MHz | 1025 MHz | 1024 MHz | 1008 MHz | 1025 MHz |
| GDDR5 Memory | 1536 MB | 1536 MB | 1536 MB | 1536 MB (3072 MB version expected soon) | 3072 MB |
| Cooler | Reference | Windforce 3x | Twin Frozr II | Reference | Zalman VF3000 |
| Size | 11" x 5" x 1.8" | 11.4" x 5.7" x 1.8" | 11" x 5.2" x 1.8" | 11" x 5" x 1.8" | 11" x 5.3" x 2.5" |
| Connectors | 2 x DL-DVI, 1 x mini-HDMI | 2 x DL-DVI, 1 x mini-HDMI | 2 x DL-DVI, 1 x mini-HDMI | 2 x DL-DVI, 3x MiniDP | 2 x DL-DVI, 1 x mini-HDMI |
| Form Factor | Dual-slot | Dual-slot | Dual-slot | Dual-slot | Triple-Slot |
| Price | $480 (Newegg) | $535 (Newegg) | $499 (Newegg) | $649 MSRP (1536 MB version) | $549 (Newegg) |
As mentioned, all of these cards sport factory overclocks of varying degrees. But there are some unique features in the bunch, too. Let’s take a closer look at each unique spin on Nvidia’s design.
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- EVGA Releases GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked for Batman
- GeForce GTX 580M SLI Vs. Radeon HD 6990M CrossFire
- Tom's Hardware: Zotac GeForce GTX 580 Amp2! Edition and Zalman 1000 W PSU Giveaway
- GeForce GTX 580 And GF110: The Way Nvidia Meant It To Be Played
- The GeForce GTX 580: 772MHz, 512 CUDA, 1.5GB
- Zotac Launches its Overclocked GeForce GTX Titan
- On The Bench: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 470 Super Overclock
Great article. Some ASUS boards would be nice on a next round up. And also that MARS card, with two GTX 580 in one board.
+1 to include a ASUS DCII card.
reason for MSI's faster performance : faster memory?
The Zotac AMP card looks like it was designed with 1939 Germany in mind.
What I don't understand is why you did not use the MSI lighting Extreme with an 832 core clock it would be a better contender in your shoot out here than the twin razor since your using the Zotac 3GB version. Does not really make since when you think of overclocked GTX 580 to leave that card out.
Two GTX570s cost only $580. It is a way better option than an overclocked GTX580 imo.
more memory is very handy for gpu based renderer like Mentalray's iray of Chaos group vray RT and it may be better chose over many nvidia quadro card.
Conclusion: A high-end overclocked gpu is a waste of money.
+2 for the ASUS DC cards, they should have had one of those models in the line-up.
though there is a triple slot 580 from ASUS that should also be included.
with all the talk on how the 590 is the 'flagship' card or the 'meat and potatoes',
it's the 580 that really brings home the bacon..
Nice review..
what do they do with the sample cards after this?
what do they do with the sample cards after this?
Giv'em to little old lady's for the coming winter !
they return them. Anyone else want to see a sparkle 590 vs 6870 in triple screen performance
er 580 not 590
well would need 6970 x2 card but even then would be cheaper
Nice article. Maybe you'll get to play with PNY's new GTX 580 soon. Apparently they copied the corsair H50 idea and applied it to a GTX 580. Yep, a closed loop water-cooling setup on a 580. They boast some impressive overclocks. I wouldn't know where to mount the damned thing as I already have a H50. They also have another model that includes a block for the CPU as well. I'd hate to cool a cpu and a gpu with a single 120mm radiator, but that's what they offer. :S
zotac looks wicked as always. i'll buy that for the looks alone, the performance/price balance makes it a hell lot sweeter
zotac looks wicked as always. i'll buy that for the looks alone, the performance/price balance makes it a hell lot sweeter
I wish Asus ROG 580 wasn't 3 slots =/
With a 3 slot video card, does that pretty much rule out 3-way sli?
I wish Asus ROG 580 wasn't 3 slots =/
With a 3 slot video card, does that pretty much rule out 3-way sli?
man that's gonna be hard...
I do not think that it can be done, not even on this board..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188092
so I say it does rule 3-way out, FOR NOW..
Poor Sparkle. They have the loudest cooler with the lowest power draw.