EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB SuperClocked Video Card Overclocked

With the GeForce GTX TITAN on hand from EVGA, we finally get to see what the model is all about when overclocking is thrown into the mix.

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Introduction

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Yesterday we finally got the chance to check out the GTX TITAN in the form of the EVGA GTX TITAN 6GB SuperClocked video card. While the $1,000+ price tag might be a little hard for some people to swallow, we can't deny the performance that the model outputs, especially when you consider the fact we're dealing with a single GPU product.

While the model has been out for a little while now, it was only recently that we got a chance to look at it, so for that reason, there's going to be a couple of articles that focus on it. Outside of the standalone review we did yesterday, we'll today be looking at the same video card overclocked by ourselves to see just what kind of performance we're able to get out of this high-end beasty GPU.

Once we're done with this article today, we have been fortunate enough to receive a second GTX TITAN, and intend to not only test the SLI capabilities, but then take the time to see what we're able to do with SLI overclocking.

All this high-end 3D performance goodness then gets topped of the with impending release of the new dual GPU behemoth coming from AMD in the form of the Radeon HD 7990. Of course there's not a whole lot we can say about that model at the moment due to NDA restrictions, but everything will come to light soon enough.

Because we've already looked at the EVGA GTX TITAN 6GB SuperClocked in detail, we won't be covering the card again. If you want to take a closer look at it we recommend that you head over to the original review, which is linked above. Instead we'll move from here into a quick look at our testbed. We'll also take the time to cover the cards that will be in our graphs today before we finally look at just how we went with overclocking before getting stuck into the performance side of things.

Benchmarks - Test System Setup

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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASUS and Corsair.

The setups in our graphs today are identical to what we saw yesterday when we looked at the EVGA GTX TITAN 6GB SuperClocked at its factory clock speeds. That means alongside that card running at its stock out of the box OC and the overclock we've got today, we've also got the reference GTX 650 Ti Boost in SLI, along with the Gainward version overclocked to over 1100MHz in SLI as well.

On the AMD side we've got the XFX HD 7790 in CrossFire while we've also got the PowerColor HD 7950 overclocked to over 1100MHz on the core and the AMD HD 7970 GHz Edition running at stock speeds.

Quickly, though, before we get into the performance we want to cover how we went with overclocking. As you can below the out of the box clocks on the EVGA GTX TITAN 6GB SuperClocked is 876MHz on the core which run at up to 928MHz via boost while the 6GB of GDDR5 comes in at 6008MHz QDR.

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Taking a look above you can see that we managed to push the core up to 975MHz which via Boost comes in at 1027MHz.We've also managed to boost the memory clock slightly up to 6224MHz QDR. As always, what's going to bring the biggest boost is the core clock speed, and we'll see in just a moment what these clocks bring to us in terms of added gaming performance.

The FPS Numbers Explained

When we benchmark our video cards and look at the graphs, we aim to get to a certain level of FPS which we consider playable. While many may argue that the human eye can't see over 24 FPS or 30 FPS, any true gamer will tell you that as we climb higher in Frames Per Seconds (FPS), the overall gameplay feels smoother. There are three numbers we're looking out for when it comes to our benchmarks.

30 FPS - It's the minimum number we aim for when it comes to games. If you're not dropping below 30 FPS during games, you're going to have a nice and smooth gaming experience. The ideal situation is that even in a heavy fire fight, the minimum stays above 30 FPS making sure that you can continue to aim easily or turn the corner with no dramas.

60 FPS - It's the average we look for when we don't have a minimum coming at us. If we're getting an average of 60 FPS, we should have a minimum of 30 FPS or better and as mentioned above, it means we've got some smooth game play happening.

120 FPS - The new number that we've been hunting down over recent months. If you're the owner of a 120 Hz monitor, to get the most out of it you want to get around the 120 FPS mark. Moving from 60 FPS / 60 Hz to 120 FPS / 120 Hz brings with it a certain fluidity that can't really be explained, but instead has to be experienced. Of course, if you're buying a 120 Hz monitor to take advantage of 3D, an average of 120 FPS in our benchmark means that in 3D you will have an average of 60 FPS, which again means you should expect some smooth gameplay.

Why are some graphs incomplete?

Adding new game benchmarks is a long, tedious and time consuming task as every video card has to be re-tested in those new benchmarks. Because of that reason we have always just evaluated our benchmark line up every six months. To stay up to date and current with the latest benchmarks and games available, we've changed our approach to adding new benchmarks.

Our benchmark line up will progress and be updated as newer more intensive games with benchmarks comes to light. While this will mean that initially you may only see a single video card in those particular graphs, as the weeks go on and we test more and more video cards, the results will grow quickly. This will help keep our benchmark line up as up to date as possible as we introduce and remove games on a constant basis.

Benchmarks - 3DMark 11

3DMark 11

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/

Buy It Here

3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC's gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

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Starting off with 3DMark 11 you can see the overclock really brings a strong performance boost to the table in both presets. The GTX TITAN had already separated itself from the other setups, but overclocking just pushes it further away from the completion.

Benchmarks - Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Version and / or Patch Used: 3

Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com

Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//

New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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Heaven also shows some great gains with the overclock and you can see again the overclock just help separate the GTX TITAN even further away from the pack.

Benchmarks - Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.sega.com/?t=EnglishUSA

Product Homepage: http://www.pso2.com/us/html/index.html

Play Phantasy Star Online 2 and experience revolutionary combat in an action-driven, free-to-play multiplayer online RPG from SEGA. Take a journey into an immersive sci-fi fantasy narrative and explore mysterious worlds to unravel their secrets. Join fellow adventurers and fight against the legions of darkness to banish them from the galaxy.

Score explanation: Less than 2000: Please adjust your game settings because the processing load is quite heavy.

2000 through 5000: The game runs fine at the setting, if you have room, you can adjust some settings.

5001+: The game works wonderfully at this setting.

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PSO2 performance was already extremely strong, but you can see we're well over double of the next closest video card here when we throw overclocking into the mix.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1

Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/

Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game, "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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Lost Planet 2 continues the strong gains and at the highest resolution you can see the EVGA card really is separated from the other offerings, especially the AMD ones.

Benchmarks - Just Cause 2

Just Cause 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Dark Tower

Developer Homepage: http://www.eidos.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.justcause.com/

Just Cause 2 employs the Avalanche Engine 2.0, an updated version of the engine used in Just Cause. The game is set on the other side of the world from the original Just Cause, on the fictional island of Panau in Southeast Asia. Panau has varied terrain, from desert to alpine to rainforest. Rico Rodriguez returns as the protagonist, aiming to overthrow the evil dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay and confront his former mentor, Tom Sheldon.

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You can see above that overclocking brings our 2560 x 1600 performance into the 100 FPS region while all our other setups here come in at under 100 FPS. Nonetheless, we're still seeing fantastic performance.

Benchmarks - F1 2012

F1 2012

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com

In F1 2012 players will feel the unparalleled thrill of becoming a FORMULA ONE driver with a host of new features, wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements and extensive competitive and co-operative multiplayer components. F1 2012 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including the debut of the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX at Austin, Texas and the return of Germany's famous Hockenheim circuit to the calendar.

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You can see that F1 2012 hits a wall around that mid 150 FPS mark and overclocking means we hit that wall at all resolutions here as well.

Benchmarks - Metro 2033

Metro 2033

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.4a-games.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.thqnordic.com/

Metro 2033 is an action-oriented video game with a combination of survival horror and first-person shooter elements. The game is based on the novel Metro 2033 by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. It was developed by 4A Games in Ukraine and released in March 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360.[3] In March 2006, 4A Games announced a partnership with Glukhovsky to collaborate on the game.[4] The game was announced at the 2009 Games Convention in Leipzig;[5] a first trailer came along with the announcement.[6] A sequel was announced, currently titled Metro: Last Light.

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At all resolutions we've got some great performance and at the highest you can see we're breaking into the 80 FPS realm for some truly fantastic numbers under what is still a very intensive game.

Benchmarks - Dirt Showdown

Dirt Showdown

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/dirtshowdown/360/

DiRT Showdown is the new arcade racing game from the team that brought you the award-winning DiRT series, uncaged in 2012. Pick up and play controls combine with electrifying events, frenzied crowds and stunning graphics to deliver high octane, dive in and drive thrills from event one.

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Dirt Showdown performance increases are strong and you can see the overclock takes us out of the 60 FPS range and into the 80 FPS area, hence making sure we've got some excellent game play.

Benchmarks - Nexuiz

Nexuiz

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.alientrap.org/

Product Homepage: http://www.nexuiz.com/

Nexuiz is an Arena First Person shooter coming soon to consoles. Nexuiz is fast paced with extremely competitive game play. IllFonic brings Alientrap Software's Nexuiz to next-gen gaming consoles around the world while staying true to the game play refined over the years through development. IllFonic introduces a new Victorian influenced art style that is simultaneously futuristic and sophisticated. Nexuiz for consoles is powered by CryENGINE 3.

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Nexuiz really loves to make use of the overclock and you can see we've got a nice gain at 1920 x 1200 that brings us just a single FPS shy of that 60 FPS number we want.

It's nice to start seeing some decent numbers out of Nexuiz - it only took a $1,000 video card to do it.

Benchmarks - Sniper Elite V2

Sniper Elite V2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/

Product Homepage: http://sniperelitev2.com/us/age.html

Sniper Elite V2 features detailed sniping simulation with advanced ballistics, taking into account gravity, wind, velocity, bullet penetration, aim stability and more. Guaranteed to provide players with the most realistic simulation of military sharpshooting yet available.

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Sniper Elite V2 performance is strong and you can see a bit of a performance gain. Across the board, though, you can see it's not really needed with already very strong numbers being seen.

Benchmarks - Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://eu.square-enix.com/en

Product Homepage: http://www.sleepingdogs.net/

The core gameplay of Sleeping Dogs consists of giving the player an open world environment in which to move around freely. Sleeping Dogs is played as an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective action-adventure game with role-playing elements. The player controls Wei Shen, a Chinese-American police officer, as he goes undercover to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization. On foot, the player character has the ability to walk, run, jump, climb over obstacles and swim, as well as use weapons and martial arts in combat. Players also drive a variety of vehicles including cars, boats, and motorcycles.

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At 1920 x 1200 and 2560 x 1600 we can see a bit of movement under Sleeping Dogs, but it's obvious that we're starting to hit a wall at around the 145 FPS mark under this game.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01

Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long

Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/

Buy It Here

The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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Far Cry 2 sees a little bit of movement across the board, but you can see for the most part we're hitting a wall in the minimum and average department at 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050.

Benchmarks - Hitman Absolution

Hitman Absolution

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.ioi.dk/

Product Homepage: http://hitman.com/

Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth entry in the Hitman game series, and runs on IO Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. Before release, the developers stated that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise. The game was released on 20 November 2012, which is in the 47th week of the year (in reference to the protagonist, Agent 47).

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We continue to see this wall hit under Hitman for NVIDIA video cards where the minimum is around the mid 50 FPS mark and the average is around the 70 FPS mark.

If you're on a 120Hz monitor, you'd be a little disappointed with the max, as you'd prefer to see around the 120 FPS mark for fluid gameplay. If you're on a 60Hz monitor, though, like most people, then these are some great numbers indeed.

Benchmarks - Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.nixxes.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.tombraider.com/us/base/agegate?refer=184&

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure platform video game. Published by Square Enix, Tomb Raider is the fifth title developed by Crystal Dynamics in the Tomb Raider franchise. As the first entry in a new Tomb Raider continuity, the game is a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character Lara Croft. Tomb Raider was released on 5 March 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows to universal critical acclaim.

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Tomb Raider sees some fantastic gains across the board and you can see we've got excellent FPS at all resolutions. The GTX TITAN when overclocked performs exceptionally well here.

Benchmarks - BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://irrationalgames.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.bioshockinfinite.com

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter video game and the third installment in the BioShock series. Previously known as "Project Icarus", it is being developed by Irrational Games and was released worldwide on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms on March 26, 2013. BioShock Infinite is not part of the storyline of previous BioShock games but features similar gameplay concepts and themes.

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Strong gains are continued to be seen and the most appreciated one comes in at 2560 x 1600 where you see our average move from 63 FPS to a really strong 70 FPS, ensuring a solid gaming experience.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF

High Quality AA and AF

While we test all our games with maximum in-game settings, turning on Anti-Aliasing (AA) and Antistrophic Filtering (AF) helps take the intensity of our testing to another level.

Here we see video cards go from playable FPS to an unplayable FPS and the real power houses continue to help break that 60 FPS mark we always aim for to provide a smooth gaming experience.

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Far Cry 2 performance when overclocked doesn't really change. You can see that at stock and overclocked the numbers are similar.

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Looking above you can see again that overclock come in extremely handy as we move from a 56 FPS average at 2560 x 1600 to a solid 61 FPS when overclocked. This is exactly what we love to see when overclocking.

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Just Cause 2 performance out of the box was already strong, but you can see the overclock just helps improve those numbers even further.

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Again we can see that overclocking has bought with it under 60 FPS performance to over 60 FPS performance. In this case it's at 1920 x 1200 as we move from 56 FPS to 63 FPS. 2560 x 1600 also sees an increase, but our number continue to be too low at this resolution.

Temperature Test

The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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The extra voltage and increase in clocks speeds has really done little to the temperature.

You can see idle is pretty much the same with it actually being a single degree lower. Load on the other hand comes just a single degree higher at 82c.

Sound Test

Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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Overclocking also does little in terms of adding extra noise.

We do go from around the 59dB mark to 61dB. It's really not a change you would notice, though.

Power Consumption Test

Using our PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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Power draw jumps to a little over 500 Watt. This shouldn't be an issue, though, as anyone purchasing a $1,000 video card should already own or at least be buying at the same time a decent quality power supply.

Final Thoughts

One could argue that with the amount of power that's already on offer from the GTX TITAN that there's little point overclocking it. You can see today, though, at times we're able to move from under 60 FPS to over 60 FPS with the overclock, which for us is a move from unplayable to playable.

You can also see at times we move out of the 60's and into the 70's just helping make sure we have some more breathing room for solid gameplay. The other important number to remember is that 120 FPS region. If you're on a 120Hz display, you of course want to be as close to the 120 FPS number as possible. That means that moving from 100 FPS to 120 FPS is a clear improvement, which is going to make sure that your gameplay is as smooth as possible on these monitors.

While one could also argue the biggest hurdle for the GTX TITAN is the price, it seems getting a hold of one is more of an issue as back orders are continuing to be filled on a weekly basis, as more and more stock arrives.

The GTX TITAN does a fantastic job of putting the AMD HD 7970 GHz Edition to shame as it clearly separates itself from AMD's current top high-end choice. Of course there's also a big price difference between the two models with two HD 7970 GHz Edition video cards being an option for someone who is looking to spend around $1,000.

The simple fact continues that not everyone wants a dual GPU option and plenty of people with fat wallets still have the ability to purchase a single GPU video card with a $1,000 price tag. For those people, NVIDIA has the GTX TITAN. For everyone else who wants to spend that kind of money, you're going to have to be looking down the path of dual GPU video cards.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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