Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti Review: GF114 Rises, GF100 Rides Off

Benchmark Results: World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm

After my World of Warcraft: Cataclysm performance story, I started getting more feedback on including World of Warcraft in our regular graphics card reviews, so here it is. Also, I wanted to do some follow-up work on multi-card scaling, since that wasn’t working as intended when the game launched. I’ll go into more depth on that in the following page.

As far as standard single-card performance goes, the results here align pretty closely with what we saw in that prior Cataclysm-oriented piece. The difference is that we’re running the game as it ships—in DirectX 9 mode (rather than with the experimental DX11 code path, which improves performance further). As in that piece, though, Nvidia’s cards do really well—the GeForce GTX 570 and 560 Ti take the top two spots across the board.

AMD’s Radeon HD 6950 trades blows with the GeForce GTX 470 in third place, and the rest of the field falls in below those two cards. It’s worth noting that if you’re rocking a Radeon HD 5870, it climbs to fourth-place at 2560x1600, just under the Radeon HD 6950. Again, the value of Cypress is still very apparent.

I went ahead and added Radeon HD 4870 X2 numbers here as well, for anyone with an older DirectX 10-class board. As you can see, the old flagship is still capable of running with the big boys, even at 2560x1600 at Ultra quality. And—oh, I guess that gives away the big news about multi-card scaling, doesn’t it? At any rate, the 4870 X2 does have a bit of a problem at Ultra quality using AMD’s latest beta driver…

That's supposed to be water...
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
  • reprotected
    Some areas could be improved, but this is still pretty decent. Just lower the price 50 dollars please Nvidia and I will buy 10 of them. :)
    Reply
  • Wow, it's not as powerful as I expected with that kind of energy use.
    Reply
  • liemfukliang
    Please don't let me go away from Tomshardware because the disapearing of Print View Mode. If there is an official anounce about that please give me the link. In Indonesia internet is so slow and expensive. That way the print mode is so much help. I open an article, klik print view page. I go watching TV, eat, drink cofee, etc. About 10 - 20 minutes later the acticle is completed. I just save as mht for feature need (personal use). Lastly I read it.
    Btw TomGUIDE still have this print page view. Why only in Tomshardware the button is missing?
    Sorry for my OOT.
    Reply
  • geekapproved
    Either way, my conclusion on the GTX 560 Ti doesn't change. It still doesn't present me with the overwhelming urge to upgrade. AMD's cards simply look better in comparison, based on their performance.

    FAIL
    Reply
  • hardcore_gamer
    6950 is really better than a GTX560Ti, and consumes less power.Gigabyte's 1Ghz card is interesting.If it has the performance of a 6950 at $269, AMD'll be forced to reduce the price (again)
    Reply
  • anacandor
    I'd love to see some more benchies on that Gigabyte card like noise and temps, for only $20 more it seems like a steal!
    Reply
  • amazing2
    liemfukliangPlease don't let me go away from Tomshardware because the disapearing of Print View Mode. If there is an official anounce about that please give me the link. In Indonesia internet is so slow and expensive. That way the print mode is so much help. I open an article, klik print view page. I go watching TV, eat, drink cofee, etc. About 10 - 20 minutes later the acticle is completed. I just save as mht for feature need (personal use). Lastly I read it.Btw TomGUIDE still have this print page view. Why only in Tomshardware the button is missing?Sorry for my OOT.
    Here you go:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/review_print.php?p1=2845

    :)
    Reply
  • James296
    I waited to see what this card was going to be like but it feels more like a rebranded GTX 460/470 as far as performance so I'm just going to skip the GTX 560 "Ti" and go for the GTX 570
    Reply
  • cknobman
    GeekApprovedFAIL
    Bigger FAIL
    Reply
  • hixbot
    So can the 6950 1GB be unlocked to a 6970? If not, I'm not sure it has the value the author mentioned, not when compared to the 2GB 6950 which comes with the free upgrade.
    Reply