The legendary representative of the High-End market for video adapters - the GeForce GTX 570 from the company Nvidia - is not in vain awarded high awards and universal recognition. This is the only chip manufacturer, which in the circles of gamers received the title of "best graphics card of the decade." A detailed description, testing and reviews of the owners will reveal to the reader a secret that will help him in the future decide on the choice of video device for his own gaming computer.
Strange things in the video adapter market
According to the manufacturer, the modification of the GTX 570 was supposed to be the youngest model of the flagship of this series GeForce GTX 580, but, as they say, something went wrong. If you pay attention to the reviews of IT specialists in the gaming industry, the manufacturer Nvidia made a big mistake by building a lightweight video adapter on the same core that is used to create the flagship. Decreasing clock speeds, changing memory configurations and decreasing CUDA cores are not comparable with the high performance and low cost that the new product in the computer market received.
As a result, Nvidia created a problem for itself, because most users are not at all interested in comparing the new GeForce GTX 570 video adapter with a top-end device. Affordable price, high performance in games and decent potential for overclocking for the future are important for the buyer.
Chipset Specifications
Since the new product is the youngest model of the famous flagship GTX 580, it is easy to guess that the graphics core of the GTX 570 is identical - GF 110. So, the two video adapters have more in common than differences. So, for the new GeForce GTX 570 specifications look like this:
- the number of CUDA cores - 480 pieces (32 units less than the 580 model);
- accordingly, the number of streaming multiprocessors per unit has decreased, and is 15 pieces;
- texture units - 60 (versus 64 for the flagship);
- the frequency of the graphic core has decreased to 732 MHz (from 772 MHz), but, as the owners note in their reviews, catching up lost performance can be done with ordinary overclocking;
- a decrease in the memory frequency from 4000 MHz (1000 MHz to 4 threads) to 3800 MHz was noticed, but this is also estimated by many owners as a marketing move by the manufacturer;
- the amount of video memory is 1280 MB (instead of 1535 MB for the GeForce GTX 580) - the memory module was simply unsoldered;
- the memory bus began to skip 320 bits, instead of the standard for the flagship 384 bits;
- heat dissipation is 219 watts (for 580 models, this figure is 244 watts).
Frightening appearance
According to marketers of Nvidia, the video adapter was destined to become a kind of guide to the Matrix for gamers, but the appearance of the video card was perceived quite differently. Buyers for some reason remembered the GTX 280, a terrible-looking device, and in their reviews on the Internet, they called the video card a “gloomy crypt”. The same strange design of the gadget: a completely closed circuit board with a plastic black casing of the cooling system, with color dilution with thin green stripes. At the back of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 graphics card is a huge turbofan.
Naturally, as one would expect from a High-End class video adapter, the device during installation takes up two units and claims to have free space on the third unit for high-quality air intake. It will not be possible to find fault with the cooling system, since it copes well with maintaining the low temperature of the chipset.
Features of the cooling system
It is worth noting that the performance of video cards with the GF 110 graphics core directly depends on the proprietary cooling system. So, the manufacturer Nvidia introduced a new technology, which consists in the fact that between the printed circuit board and the radiator plate creates a tight space without air - vacuum. Such an innovation made it possible to more efficiently remove heat from heating elements. Therefore, it is very important that there are no mechanical defects on the board that can allow air to pass through.
Many owners of the original Nvidia video adapter managed to notice that the screws holding the heatsink system to the board were sealed. This is done for reasons of safety of the cooling system. Once a sealed connection is broken in the GeForce GTX 570, the user is unlikely to be able to restore the factory system. It is worth noting that there is no dust in a vacuum, and there is nothing to climb into.
The manufacturer also provided his device with a voltage monitoring system. The limit is set exactly to 12 V. Any jump in the power system will be aligned to the permissible voltage, or the video card will simply turn off. This is done in order to protect the device from incorrect operation of low-quality power supplies.
Start is given
The first video card to enter the world market was the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 570. The manufacturer introduced two video adapters to the public at once. The first device was more aimed at the lower segment of the High-End class, because the priority was its affordable price for all users. No modifications were made by the manufacturer, the changes affected only the appearance - the gloomy coloring of Nvidia was replaced by a very attractive sticker in the form of a huge green eye in the middle of the video adapter. Also, the cooler succumbed to the modification. As a result, the appearance of the video card clearly looked like the face of the Terminator.
But the second copy received in its name SuperOverclock for a reason. The manufacturer Gigabyte overclocked the graphic core to 845 MHz and raised the frequency of computing units to 1464 MHz. Naturally, the cooling system has undergone significant changes. A proprietary cooler with three huge fans was installed. The manufacturer also modified the printed circuit board:
- Hynix memory chips are installed, capable of operating at 1250 (5000) MHz. As the video card test shows, the potential of the chips is much greater (up to 1300 MHz without failures);
- the power system has been completely redesigned, with the replacement of capacitors with solid-state capacitors.
Gigabyte Performance
As the owners note in their reviews, the manufacturer took a rather interesting step to its customers - when upgrading the power supply system, it concluded on two memory chips. If you buy and install two 128 MB chips, the Gigabyte video card will increase from 1280 to 1536 MB, as well as the bus width up to 320 bits. And as amateurs say “work with a soldering iron”, the circuit is working, but it requires skill and caution.
The second feature after refinement was the possibility of acceleration with less heat. The graphics core steadily accelerates to 920 MHz, while the cooling system works without any tears. However, after finalizing the power system, to start the video card, you need to supply power through the 8-pin and 6-pin connectors (Nvidia had 6 + 6).
Gigabyte’s Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 product has a proprietary utility for overclocking the device, which can bypass the temperature monitoring system of the graphic core, which means that there will be no automatic resets during overheating, and the user can achieve grandiose overclocking results (at your own risk and risk).
Many-faced dragon
MSI hurried to get two video cards on the same chipset. The manufacturer also decided to take an inexpensive segment and compete in performance for leadership with expensive devices. An affordable price MSI GeForce GTX 570 is presented, as well as an inexpensive version of Gigabyte, with a standard Nvidia cooling system. The gloomy coloring of the manufacturer was replaced by a strange color sticker, on top of which a huge white inscription flaunts indicating the manufacturer and model of the chip. A rather strange solution was nevertheless liked by economical users.
But on the second instance of the video card they worked pretty well, because the proprietary MSI Twin Frozr III cooling system is installed only on decent video adapters. The manufacturer provided the PCB with a backup BIOS, apparently hinting to extremals that overclocking can be done without fear of burning the device. The power system was changed slightly, but all the power chips were nevertheless placed on the back of the board - during testing this affected uniform heat dissipation. A video card test shows that heating the power components does not increase the temperature near the graphics core.
In the dry residue
The MSI GeForce GTX 570 graphics card is considered the most energy-efficient among competitors. A proprietary innovation in the form of a controller, which, in the absence of load, resets the graphics core clock frequencies to 270 MHz, is clearly appealing to economical users. However, judging by the reviews of the owners, this is still not a laptop where you need to save battery power, so this move is viewed negatively by many users.
Factory overclocking by the MSI manufacturer is rather strange - 770 MHz in the graphics core looks poor. However, in the tests, the graphics adapter shows good performance at 920 MHz for the core and 4500 MHz for memory, however, above this value, the video card cooling system starts to publish a terrible hum of fans - an obvious overheat. As it turned out, the whole problem lies behind Samsung memory chips, which are not designed for such loads. Experts say that this video adapter is not suitable for fans of overclocking, but for fans of games in silence, the MSI Twin Frozr III cooling system will create maximum comfort.
Conqueror of hearts
Who would have thought that the Taiwanese manufacturer of consumer goods, ASUS, would take such a step and make a mega-interesting offer to all lovers of productive games and lovers of quality overclocking - overlockers! Firstly, like other manufacturers, ASUS introduced the market an inexpensive solution without any modifications with the original cooling system from Nvidia - this, apparently, is a new tradition from all suppliers.
But the second novelty will clearly interest the potential buyer. After all, the Asus GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II video card claims to be 3 units in the case - such a three-story monster. The appearance of the device alone is respectable. In the reviews posted in the media, the owners note that the Nvidia product has been completely modified - this is a completely new video card based on the 570 GTX graphics core.
ASUS introduces
In the GeForce GTX 570 video adapter, the manufacturer’s technology has completely replaced the power system:
- chokes with ferrite cores are installed, as well as solid-state and tantalum capacitors ;
- refitted board power for the 7 + 1 phase circuit (6-pin and 8-pin connectors);
- PWM controller Super Hybrid Engine installed;
- memory chips were replaced by new high-tech from Samsung, with an access time of 0.4 nanoseconds.
Such significant changes had a great effect on the overclocking potential of the video card: 950 MHz in the graphics core and 5000 MHz in memory are considered to be a weighty argument for all future owners.
The user should not doubt the cooling system, because the manufacturer did not make it so dimensional for the sake of beauty. An aluminum substrate is installed at the bottom of the printed circuit board and attracts a massive aluminum heatsink to the graphics core and memory chips, which is penetrated through with copper tubes, which are reduced to the core of the platform in contact with the graphics core. An aluminum casing with two huge fans is installed on top. The design is very heavy, apparently, that's why the manufacturer made a video card for mounting in three slots.
Overlocker Favorite
It's no secret that most overclockers prefer Zotac products. The manufacturer has traditionally released two modifications of its devices for this chip. Only, unlike competitors, he acted in a very unexpected way. The low-cost Zotac GeForce GTX 570 solution went on sale with a manufacturer’s standard cooler, which is installed on all budget-class devices. Apparently, in the Zotac laboratories, they considered that the Nvidia turbofan could freeze the video card.
But the modification of the 570 GTX AMP with all its appearance is very similar to the original product. The same turbocharged cooler in the back of the board and a huge protective casing on top of the radiator. Not without a change in the power system. It was slightly modified, but this did not affect the appearance, when compared with the Nvidia board. The manufacturer made a factory overclock: 780 MHz for the core and 1000 MHz for memory. As a result, as the owners note in their reviews, there can be no talk of any overclocking potential. A rather strange approach from the market leader Zotac to its customers.
In pursuit of noiselessness
But the device Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 570, reviews of which are largely positive, was very pleased with the innovative cooling system. It works almost silently, because water cooling is responsible for cooling the graphics core and memory chips. It is worth noting that the manufacturer Inno3D is known to customers for its budget class: decent performance and low price - this is the prerogative of the company. And here is a High-End-class device, also with water cooling!
It bribes primarily the appearance and size of the video card - the device occupies only one slot, and you can install the video adapter in any system unit, without fear that the hard drive basket will be locked. It's funny that the manufacturer installed the water pump on the video card, and brought the water block with the air cooler out through communicating tubes half a meter out. At the Inno3D factory, the device was overclocked to the core up to 780 MHz, however, as noted by users, the performance of the graphics accelerator can be easily raised to 860 MHz. Moreover, in tests, when compared with competitors, there can be no talk of any measurements of noise. Great approach to the buyer.
How to sit on two chairs?
The notorious Gainward brand also pleased its fans with two devices. A proprietary cooling system from a well-known manufacturer always had the highest ratings when testing with competitors, so the company's designers did not trust such an issue to the Nvidia plant and created two video adapters using their own cooling systems.
The first product - GeForce GTX 570 1280Mb - has a standard cooler, which is typical for the manufacturer to install on all devices of top models. A large aluminum radiator, copper tubes and a contact pad and two huge fans - there is nothing to surprise fans with, the standard is. The proprietary Expert Tool utility supplied in the kit easily accelerates the graphics core to 850 MHz, showing excellent stability and performance in all tests.
The second instance of the GTX 570 Phantom is aimed at the market for silent devices. Three small coolers, which are installed between aluminum radiators, are responsible for this. Their task is to lightly blow the plates. In fact, this is an ordinary passive cooling system, which for reliability has an influx of cold air in the form of three coolers. Overclocking is in full order: 850 MHz is far from the limit, and the temperature of the graphics core depends on the correct cooling system in the computer itself.
Market leader
The Palit GeForce GTX 570 product will be more interesting to ordinary users, because its uniqueness is that the manufacturer, having installed a powerful cooling system, endowed the video card with decent factory overclocking. The graphics core in normal mode operates at a frequency of 800 MHz. Overclocking can be done up to 900 MHz, but it will be fixed in the BIOS of the video card, and the device will lose the manufacturer’s warranty. This is an interesting step by Palit.
As for the cooling system, it was borrowed from the Gainward video card (a well-known fact - one plant presents two brands). Accordingly, with the removal of heat from the memory chips and the graphics core, this device has a complete order. But the fans on the device are installed quite noisy, obviously of their own design, so when overclocking the device, the owner should be ready for a loud hum in the system unit.
Double rate
Any testing on the performance of video cards does not do without an EVGA representative. It is worth noting that the manufacturer has always tried to get around its competitors by introducing technologies that others cannot boast of. EVGA managed to impress its fans with the GTX 570 graphics card. To improve the work with graphics, video and 3D technologies, the device has 2560 MB of memory on board. There is something to think about not for game lovers, but for office workers and creative people who have to work with video editors - there is hardly a video filter that can take up 2.5 GB of video memory.
Naturally, with the overclocking potential, the news is worse. The manufacturer did not change the specifications of the video card, leaving the standard settings for Nvidia, but still replaced the cooling system. , 800 (85-90 ). .
Finally
It is worth noting that on the GeForce GTX 570 chipset, the reviews are more positive, because for a device in the price category 400 y. e. Acceleration rates are quite attractive. Many owners note that the GF 110 graphics core is capable of much, the main thing is to provide decent cooling not only with the help of a powerful cooler, but also inside the case of a personal computer.
A potential buyer will find in the market the device he needs, according to the requirements. Need a silent device? Gainward Phantom or Inno3D iChill provide silence in the room during games. Good overclocking potential - Gigabyte, ASUS or Palit. Even for creativity there is a video card, the benefit in EVGA laboratories worried about this.