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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 1GB Review

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SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Just Cause 2 (DX10)

Just Cause 2 (DX10)


Just Cause 2 has quickly become known as one of the best-looking games on the market and while it doesn’t include DX11 support, it uses the full stable of DX10 features to deliver a truly awe-inspiring visual experience. For this benchmark we used the car chase scene directly following the Casino Assault level. This scene includes perfectly scripted events, some of the most GPU-strenuous effects and lasts a little less than four minutes. We chose to not use the in-game benchmarking tool due to its inaccuracy when it comes to depicting actual gameplay performance.


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1920 x 1200

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SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Lost Planet 2 (DX11)

Lost Planet 2 (DX11)


Lost Planet is a game that was originally released on consoles but in its port over to the PC, it gained some highly impressive DX11 features. For this benchmark, we forgo the two built-in tools and instead use a 2 minute gameplay sequence from the second level in the first chapter. The reason we use this level is because it makes use of three elements that are seen throughout the game world: jungles, water and open terrain.


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SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Metro 2033 (DX11)

Metro 2033 (DX11)


There has been a lot of buzz about Metro 2033 which has mostly centered on its amazing graphics coupled with absolutely brutal framerates on even the best GPUs on the market. For this test we use a walkthrough and combat scene from The Bridge level which starts at the beginning of the level and lasts for about 3 minutes of walking, running and combat. Famerates are measured with FRAPS and Advanced PhysX is turned off.


1680 x 1050

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SKYMTL

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12,840
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Unigine: Heaven v2.0 (DX11)

Unigine: Heaven v2.0 (DX11)


Unigine’s Heaven benchmark is currently the de-facto standard when it comes to simple, straightforward DX11 performance estimates. While it is considered a synthetic benchmark by many, it is important to remember that no less than four games based on this engine will be released within the next year or so. In this test we will be using a standard benchmark run with and without tessellation enabled at three resolutions,


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1920 x 1200

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SKYMTL

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Core Temperature & Acoustics / Power Consumption

Core Temperature


For all temperature testing, the cards were placed on an open test bench with a single 120mm 1200RPM fan placed ~8” away from the heatsink. The ambient temperature was kept at a constant 22°C (+/- 0.5°C). If the ambient temperatures rose above 23°C at any time throughout the test, all benchmarking was stopped. For this test we use the 3DMark Batch Size test at it highest triangle count with 4xAA and 16xAF enabled and looped it for one hour to determine the peak load temperature as measured by GPU-Z.

For Idle tests, we let the system idle at the Windows 7 desktop for 15 minutes and recorded the peak temperature.


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All three of these cards performed very well here with the Gigabyte card coming out on top by a slim margin. For whatever reason, the ASUS DirectCu II posted higher than expected temperatures at idle but its load numbes were beyond reproach.


Acoustical Testing


Yes, we have finally added decibel testing to our repertoire and this section will expand in future reviews. What you see below are the baseline idle dB(A) results attained for a relatively quiet open-case system (specs are in the Methodology section) sans GPU along with the attained results for each individual card in idle and load scenarios. The meter we use has been calibrated and is placed at seated ear-level exactly 12” away from the GPU’s fan. For the load scenarios, a loop of Unigine Heave 2.5 is used in order to generate a constant load on the GPU(s) over the course of 20 minutes. For Idle results, the average was taken over the course of 5 minutes.

The Average results you see are based on a log taken once every 30 seconds throughout the Load tests.


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Every one of these cards posted impressive numbers here as well which speaks volumes about their heatsinks and the engineering that went into them. Once again though, it is Gigabyte on top and ASUS not all that far behind. The MSI card may be trailing its two competitors but it still exhibits next to no audible noise.


System Power Consumption


For this test we hooked up our power supply to a UPM power meter that will log the power consumption of the whole system twice every second. In order to stress the GPU as much as possible we once again use the Batch Render test in 3DMark06 and let it run for 30 minutes to determine the peak power consumption while letting the card sit at a stable Windows desktop for 30 minutes to determine the peak idle power consumption. We have also included several other tests as well.

Please note that after extensive testing, we have found that simply plugging in a power meter to a wall outlet or UPS will NOT give you accurate power consumption numbers due to slight changes in the input voltage. Thus we use a Tripp-Lite 1800W line conditioner between the 120V outlet and the power meter.

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The power consumption for the reference-clocked card was extremely good considering the clock speeds which the GTX 560 sports over the GTX 460. Unfortunately, these numbers are with the excellent Gigbayte heatsink so expect slightly higher results if the card you buy features higher temperatures.

The ASUS and MSI cards are right around where we would expect them to be considering their clock speeds. The ASUS itself consumes almost as much as the GTX 560 Ti due to its 925Mhz core clock and slightly higher voltage range.
 
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SKYMTL

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Overclocking Results

Overclocking Results


When NVIDIA’s GF104 was released, it was generally considered to be extremely friendly towards overclocking and most of the GTX 460 cards base upon it could easily see a 100Mhz or higher overhead on their cores. The GF114 which graces the GTX 560 has already proven itself to be a capable overclocker so our expectations were understandably high for the cut down core in this new card.

These expectations were met and then some. Every one of these cards hit and then exceeded the 900Mhz mark (the ASUS card is pre-overclocked at 925Mhz at a voltage of 1.025V) but the MSI and Gigabyte cards both hit a wall around 925Mhz. Even the DirectCu TOP couldn’t break the 1Ghz barrier without some additional voltage being applied.

Since ASUS and MSI bundle overclocking software with their cards, we used SmartDoctor and AfterBurner to push the core voltage to 1.075V for some additional headroom. This was the maximum VCore we could apply before temperatures rose above our tolerances. Nonetheless, some impressive results were achieved (and note that every one of these overclocks was tested for stability over the course of 24 hours)


ASUS GTX 560 DirectCu TOP (1.075V)

Core Speed: 1069Mhz
Memory Speed: 4540Mhz (QDR)


Gigabyte GTX 560 OC (Stock 1.00V)

Core Speed: 928Mhz
Memory Speed: 4324Mhz (QDR)


MSI GTX 560 Twin Frozr OC (1.075V)

Core Speed: 1050Mhz
Memory Speed: 4404Mhz (QDR)


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SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Conclusion

Conclusion


With the graphics card market becoming increasingly cluttered, finding a comfortable spot for a new product to settle into has become increasingly difficult. The GTX 550 Ti that was released a few months ago came up short of its intended goal while the GTX 560 Ti proved to be a great product for its intended audience. The GTX 560’s results are a bit less clear cut though.

NVIDIA seems to have hit all the high points by improving upon the GTX 460 in every way possible. Anyone doubting the GPU market’s price / performance ratio isn’t moving forward fast enough need not look any further than the GTX 560. In barely 10 months we have seen the GTX 460 1GB -which launched at $230- surpassed by the $199 GTX 560. The difference isn’t insignificant either; the new GF114-based card offers a nearly 20% improvement in framerates over the previous generation without a noticeable increase in power consumption.

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With pre-overclocked GTX 560s being the norm right from launch day, it was interesting to see what board partners had in store for us. Gigabyte’s card is well priced while boasting impressive cooling and acoustical attributes. It doesn't cost a dime more than the reference version either. The MSI Twin Frozr II OC offers a perfect mix of increased framerates and the always excellent Twin Frozr heatsink while only costing $10 more than a bone stock card.

The ASUS DirectCu II TOP meanwhile is the real king of the litter. At lower resolutions its performance can occasionally outstrip that of a GTX 560 Ti or even an HD 6950 1GB while featuring some headroom left for overclocking. These capabilities do come at a price though: 10% price premium over many other cards and a significant power consumption increase. Nonetheless, like its competitors the TOP is an impressive card for its price and there will surely be many like it from other board partners.

There’s an obvious reason why NVIDIA is pushing the overclocked versions of the GTX 560 though: the $199 reference card can’t convincingly beat a HD 6870. Granted, there supposedly won’t be many reference clocked products available but that poses a bit of an issue since a HD 6870 can easily be found for under $199. Even certain GTX 560 Ti and HD 6950 1GB cards have been regularly hitting the $220 mark.

So where does this leave the GTX 560? For the time being, right where NVIDIA needs it to be. This card plugged a hole in their lineup and offers good performance in a package that’s efficient and quiet. In some ways the GTX 560 may be the victim of overly aggressive rebate programs for the GTX 560 Ti and HD 6950 but we still feel it is a worthy successor to the GTX 460.



 
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