Gigabyte GTX580 Super Overclock Review

Test Setup

As is always the case with our graphics card reviews we’re using our X58 setup and the very latest game patches and system drivers.

Gigabyte GTX580 Super Over Clock
ForceWare 285.38 beta
Intel Core-i7 950 @ 4GHz
Gigabyte G1 Assassin
Corsair AX1200W
6GB Mushkin Redline
Noctua NH-D14
Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Overclocking

The SOC comes with Gigabytes OC Guru which makes overclocking an absolute breeze, thanks to a combination of  the robust software (which reminds us of the equally great MSI Afterburner) and the monster GPU that beats at the heart of the GTX580 SOC.

For those of you who place a lot of importance on big numbers, yes we managed to overclock the core to 1016 MHz. Just past the magical 1GHz barrier. It wasn’t wholly stable in just a couple of our tests, but we always stick to an overclock that works in everything and so we backed it off to 988MHz to run our tests.  

   

Temperatures were well under control and although the card is slightly louder when idle than a reference card, largely in part to having three fans moving as opposed to one, when under load the quality of the heatsink and fan arrangement means that it’s a fair bit quieter than a reference design despite the monster clock speeds. Power and quiet. An intoxicating combination.

If you are an avid Folder, there is no question that this card can churn out the big numbers.