Gainward GeForce GTX 570 1280MB Goes Like Hell Video Card

Introduction and Package

Introduction

VIEW GALLERY - 33 IMAGES

With the GTX 580 launch being extremely rough for us, there was no way the GTX 570 launch could be any rougher. Still, it wasn't easy with the card shipping to us at the last minute and me having to personally pick it up from the courier depot nothing short of 15 hours ago so that I could get this review to you.

Still, everything went to some form of plan in the end and at least I'm able to bring you the GTX 570 review the second the NDA lifts; even if it does have to share the lime light a little with 3DMark 11. I'm not sure if it was done on purpose by one of the companies or what, but you would assume that they both can't be that happy; you'd think we'd have a little bit of space between the two launches. Really, though, it doesn't matter now.

What does matter is that we're looking at the GTX 570 here; the replacement to the GTX 470 which really hasn't existed for a bit now. Over the past few months it's been all about two models from NVIDIA; the GTX 480 which was the fastest single GPU card on the market, and the GTX 460. The latter could beat a GTX 480 when it was paired up with a second card. It costs less and supported surround vision. It was a killer card and SLI was a killer combination that just yielded massive performance. The GTX 460 was one of the first cards to bring real value to the SLI market.

Gainward has been able to step straight out of the box at launch, though, with the GTX 570 and bring us a Goes Like Hell edition straight away. The GLH series has lived true to its name over the recent launches and we've got our fingers crossed that it holds some truth here, too. Before we cover the performance, though, let's take a look at the package Gainward has put together while also taking the time to have a closer look at the card itself.


The Package







Checking out the package, you're not going to see anything that you haven't seen before. Looking at the front of the box, though, you can see we're dealing with a Goes Like Hell edition card which is always a good thing. The only thing that might look a bit different is the power connector. This particular one is a dual 6-Pin PCI-E to 8-Pin PCI-E connector.

Card and Specifications

The Card



Looking at the cooler, you can see the dual fan design that Gainward has opted for. This isn't the first time we've seen this design with it being present on previous GLH cards. The reference card will carry with it the same design as the GTX 580, which means it should carry with it the same noise levels. It will be interesting to see how the GLH fan goes against the GTX 580 and its fan.





Like the GTX 580, the GTX 570 GLH carries with it a single 6-Pin and 8-Pin PCI-E connector. It has to be said, though, that the reference design carries with it two 6-Pin PCI-E connectors. For most it won't be too big a deal, but it's something that's worth noting. On the SLI front we've got the same two SLI connectors which will support up to a maximum of three cards, like the GTX 470 did.



On the connectivity front we've got two Dual-Link DVI connectors along with a single HDMI and DisplayPort connector. This is again a shift from the reference design which carries two Dual-Link DVI connectors and a mini-HDMI port. This isn't the first time we've seen Gainward offer us a little more value, though, when it comes to connectors.


Specifications

For a second it could be hard to mistake the GTX 570 for a GTX 480 due to some very similar numbers. The biggest number you'll see between the two cards is the Shader count which comes in at 480 on both cards.

Across the board the clocks are slightly up on the GTX 570 when compared to the GTX 480; we've got 732MHz on the core and 1464MHz on the Shader which is compared to 701MHz and 1401MHz.

The memory clock is also up to 3800MHz QDR verses 3696MHz QDR; the main difference here, though, is that the GTX 570 carries with it only 1280MB of GDDR5 instead of 1536MB. What that means is our memory bus comes in slightly lower than the GTX 480 at 320-bit instead of 384 bit. 320-bit is the same number that we saw on the GTX 470; this is really the only similarity between the GTX 570 and GTX 470, though.



Of course, we're not dealing with just any ole' GTX 570 here, we're dealing with a Goes Like Hell Edition from Gainward which means more POWAH!

As you can see above in the GPU-Z screen shot, our core has been bumped up to 800MHz; this has in turn bumped the Shader clock to 1600MHz. It wouldn't be a GLH Edition card, though, if the memory wasn't also bumped up and you can see that Gainward has pushed that to 4000MHz QDR.

These are some really impressive numbers and it will be interesting to see not just how this card compares to the new GTX 580, but also how it fairs against the older GTX 480 as while the memory bus is a little lower, the clocks are a good chunk higher now that Gainward has attacked them.

Test System Setup and 3DMark Vantage

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

We've got a few cards in our lineup today and the main ones would be the GTX 580, GTX 480 and HD 6870. We've also got some Crossfire and SLI action included to give us a good idea of exactly where the card sits.

Let's get started!


3DMark Vantage

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmarkvantage/
Buy It Here




3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware.

3DMark Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX10, the new graphics API from Microsoft.



Compared to the other NVIDIA models in our graphs we can see that the card sits a little behind the GTX 580 / GTX 460 SLI setup, but a good chunk ahead of the GTX 480. No doubt that's thanks to the big OC Gainward is offering us on the card.

Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Version and / or Patch Used: 2
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.



While AMD has indeed improved its tessellation performance, you can see the GTX 570 GLH offers similar performance under Heaven as two HD 6850s in Crossfire. At least we're beginning to see some games take advantage of the technology now which makes it a bit more of a talking point.

Benchmarks - Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 5

Version and / or Patch Used: Demo Benchmark
Developer Homepage: www.residentevil.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.residentevil.com/




Resident Evil 5 is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on September 18. Resident Evil 5 revolves around Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar as they investigate a terrorist threat in Kijuju, a fictional town in Africa.



Across the board we can see a lot of the setups perform quite similar to each other with the HD 6870 being the only one that sits back a bit. Either way, we do see very good numbers at all resolutions under something a little older like Resident Evil 5.

Benchmarks - Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/UK/default.aspx
Product Homepage: http://www.hawxgame.com/





Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X is an arcade-style flight simulator video game developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and iPhone OS.

The fundamental gameplay mechanics are similar to those of other console-based flight series. Players take on enemies with over 50 aircraft available. Each mission is at real world locations in environments created with commercial satellite data. A cockpit, first person, and third person view are selectable. The third person view gives the player an external view of both their plane and the target.

Set above the skies of a near-future world, increasingly dependent on private military companies with elite mercenaries who have a relaxed view on the law. As these non-governmental organizations gain power, global conflict erupts with one powerful PMC attacking the United States.



H.A.W.X. gives us some good numbers and you can see some nice performance gains when compared to the GTX 480. You actually see the bottom three cards here line up against each other with not a whole lot differing between them.

Benchmarks - Mafia II

Mafia II

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.2kczech.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.mafia2game.com/
Buy It Here




Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games. The game is set from 1943 to 1951 in Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State"), a fictional city based on San Francisco and New York City, with influences from Chicago and Detroit. The game features a completely open-ended game map of 10 square miles. No restrictions are included from the start of the game. There are around 50 vehicles in the game, as well as licensed music from the era.



Mafia II sees some strong performance, but the most important number is that 2560 x 1600 one. This is due to the fact that the GTX 570 GLH is breaking that 60 FPS barrier we love to see. 60 FPS tends to mean the game is going to be playable, which is exactly what you want from your video card.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
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."



Again you're seeing that strong tessellation performance from the NVIDIA offerings which shows that this overclocked GTX 570 is able to pump out some great numbers offering us playable FPS at 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050. Like every other card here, it falls below that 60 FPS we aim for at 2560 x 1600.

NVIDIA continue to push their tessellation performance, though, and you can see at 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1060, the playable resolutions, the GTX 570 GLH performs similar to the HD 6870 Crossfire setup.

Benchmarks - Aliens vs. Predator

Aliens vs. Predator

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/
Product Homepage: http://www.sega.com/games/aliens-vs-predator/




Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game is based on the Alien vs. Predator franchise, a combination of the characters and creatures of the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline.

Following the storyline of the campaign modes comes the multiplayer aspect of the game. In this Multiplayer section of the game, players face off in various different gametypes in various different ways.



We continue to see some great performance from the GTX 570 and playable numbers in these really intensive games at 1920 x 1200 and below. The overclock that Gainward are offering us out of the box, though, sees the card doesn't sit all that far behind the more expensive GTX 580, which for consumers is great news.

Benchmarks - Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Elezen (Male)
Developer Homepage: http://www.square-enix.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/




Final Fantasy XIV, also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series. The game is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and is developed and published by Square Enix. The game takes place in a land called Hydaelyn, mainly in a region named Eorzea, which will have a contemporaneously aesthetic blend of science fiction and classic fantasy elements.

The battle and job systems will be different from the one previously used in Final Fantasy XI, which utilized experience points and level-based progression. Final Fantasy XIV is being designed to utilize a skill-based progression[15] system similar to that of Final Fantasy II. Character races will resemble and allow players to create avatars similar to ones in Final Fantasy XI. Group play has been de-emphasized, and now solo and group play have been balanced. Weapon use will alter "character development".

Note: Final Fantasy XIV gives us a score and not a normal FPS rating, our understanding is that anything around 2000 points or above is considered playable.



Due to Crossfire not working in windowed mode and FF XIV running in windowed mode, we see the NVIDIA cards really perform strong under this test. We again see that compared to the GTX 480, though, the GLH edition offers some serious performance.

Benchmarks - Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter IV

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.streetfighter.com/




While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. A new system called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attack" for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.

All the characters and environments in Street Fighter IV are rendered as 3D models with polygons, similar to the Street Fighter EX sub-series Capcom produced with Arika. However, there are a couple of key differences. Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, opted for non-photorealistic rendering to give them a hand-drawn look, with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.



Street Fighter IV offers some great performance which doesn't come as a surprise. On a whole, though, the GTX 570 performance isn't much of a surprise here sitting up with the top setups.

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.



There are really no surprises under Far Cry 2 with strong performance across the board.

Benchmarks - Batman Arkham Asylum

Batman Arkham Asylum

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/





Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.

Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series.



Our GTX 580 numbers under Batman AA were a little whacked; we'll be testing them again. Either way, you're going to get some strong performance under Batman AA with either 500 series card.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF

High Quality AA and AF

Our high quality tests let us separate the men from the boys and the ladies from the girls. If the cards weren't struggling before they will start to now.









AA performance doesn't hold any surprises with the GTX 570 GLH performing stronger than the GTX 480 by a good chunk most of the time. The clocks that Gainward offer us, though, put the card only slightly behind the GTX 580 which is really impressive.

Benchmarks - PhysX Tests

PhysX Tests

Here we're able to find out when PhysX is turned on in games that support it what kind of frame rates we're able to get. We always set PhysX to the highest possible in game settings while also keeping detail at its highest.





Batman AA for the most part does well handling PhysX at all resolutions; Mafia II on the other hand isn't as kind and while we can scrape into that 60 FPS average we want to see at 1680 x 1050, above that the numbers are too low.

Temperature Test

Temperature Tests



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.



That dual fan cooler does a good job with the GTX 570; you can see temps are at a good level when compared to a lot of other high end cards.

Sound Test

Sound Tests



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).



Those low temps do come at the cost of a little bit of noise at load, but it's not too bad. Idle noise is fantastic, though.

Power Consumption Tests

Using our new 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.



Power draw is a little high on the GTX 570 GLH and we think that's because of the decision to go for a 6 Pin / 8 Pin setup. Similar to MSI and the dual 8 Pin setup on the GTX 580. Still, the number isn't anything you'd be worried about, but it will be nice to see what a reference GTX 570 offers.

Total Performance Rating (TPR)

Total Performance Rating

The TPR graph is a combination of all our benchmarks in which NVIDIA and ATI are on an even playing field.

The TPR number is a combination of:

3DMark Vantage, Heaven Benchmark V2, Resident Evil 5, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., Mafia 2 (PhysX Off), Lost Planet 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Final Fantasy XIV, Street Fighter IV, Far Cry 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum (PhysX Off) and our four High Quality tests which include Mafia 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter IV and Far Cry 2.

All of the benchmark results achieved are then combined into a single number. As this graph will grow over time and cards won't be re-tested, next to each model you'll find the driver version that was used when the card was benchmarked.



Performance is strong and the great OC that Gainward are offering puts the card a good chunk faster than the GTX 480.

Total Value Rating (TVR)

Total Value Rating

The TVR graph is the TPR score divided by the price of the video card. The price of the video card is based on the list price of the model on Newegg.com. In the event the card isn't listed, it will be based on the U.S. $ MSRP given to us by the manufacturer.

In the event we can't source a price from either, the product will not receive a TVR rating. As with our TPR graph, the amount of video cards on the list will grow over time and the price of the model won't change from what it was when first reviewed. For this reason the U.S. $ price that the card is based off will be included next to the name of the model.

In the event you want to find the TVR rating yourself based on the current price, all you have to do is simply divide the TPR number by the list price.

TVR numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number; 100.3 will be 100; 100.8 will be 101 and 100.5 will be rounded down to 100.



Fortunately value is significantly more attractive than the GTX 580 and a lot of other higher end cards with the GTX 570 GLH sitting in line with the pre overclocked HD 6870 from HIS.

Final Thoughts

It's a little hard to know exactly how the GTX 570 sits when the first one we look at carries with it such an impressive overclock, but the general thought process seems to be that it's slightly faster than the stock GTX 480, yet carries with it all the benefits that the GTX 580 does like quieter cooling, better power draw and less heat.

The temperature we're getting on our GTX 570 here is good, but we're not sure if it's good because the cooler is doing all the hard work, the core just runs cooler, or a combination of both. Either way, the most important thing is that the card does indeed run cooler.

The fan that Gainward uses seems to be helping, though, and while it's a little louder when up and running, it's whisper quiet at idle and when we see louder at load it's not at the level the original GTX 400 series were at, which is exactly what we want to see out of the model.

The important thing for the GTX 570 is going to be price and availability. The reference card is going to set you back $349 USD which is a lot more attractive than the GTX 580. The version we've looked at today, Gainward said should be around the $369 USD mark which is even more impressive considering the performance boost we have over the GTX 480 and considering how it compares to the GTX 580 in some tests.

Stock has shipped to companies, and that's coming from a few partners, so it seems that if you want a more budget friendly video card for the holidays you shouldn't run into too much trouble. We won't really be 100% sure, though, on how stock is for another week or two, and by that time we'll be almost on top of Christmas.

In the time AMD has announced the HD 6900 series till today, NVIDIA has managed to update its flagship line-up. While not everyone might agree with the way they've done it and the way they've chosen to jump to the 500 series name, in the end it doesn't really matter for the simple reason being that it's happened. With the tight allocation on the GTX 580 and Christmas coming at us hard and fast, there's a good chance people are going to begin not to risk missing out on a card for their time off and could end up picking up an NVIDIA offering; be it the GTX 580 or the more wallet friendly GTX 570.

Of course, if you want to venture a little past that $349 USD mark, get some more connectivity, a dual fan cooling solution and a really impressive overclock, the Gainward GLH Edition is one that should grab your attention.

The big question is, though, do we see what AMD has to offer? One side of your brain says yes because it's only a week away; the other side says that in a weeks' time we're going to be a week closer to Christmas, making getting a card even harder, so you should get something now. At least now you can see what the GTX 570 has to offer; and if it offers you the performance you want or need at the money you're willing to spend, then the chances are it's going to be a good pick up.

It'll be indeed very interesting to see what NVIDIA offer us in the new year. It's really been a good 18 months plus since we've had a video card war like the one we're seeing transition right in front of us.