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Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 Windforce 5X Super Overclock 2GB GDDR5 - Quintuple Cooling

By James Lu - 10 Sep 2012
Launch SRP: S$845

Conclusion

Conclusion

So does the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 Windforce 5X Super OC live up to its intimidating appearance, or is it all bark and no bite? While its performance scores were indeed higher than any other custom GTX 680 we have tested, they weren't significantly higher than its competitors, and we felt that it wasn't achieving its full potential based on its factory overclock settings. While Gigabyte has done an excellent job overclocking this model, the nature of Kepler-based graphics cards is such that simply ramping up core and memory clock speeds is not enough to achieve the best possible performance.

Due to the way Kepler-based cards handle GPU Boost, power consumption also factors into card performance. In this area, while the Gigabyte Super OC does indeed draw more power than its competitors, this failed to translate into a higher GPU Boost. Effectively, the lead it held in raw core clock speed was eroded by the better GPU boost scores the other cards were achieving. In the end, Gigabyte's raw basic performance still held the lead but we reckon that it could easily have managed even better results with a more elastic upper-end GPU boost clock.

Unfortunately, the massive cooler with its quintuple fan cooling system may have also hurt Gigabyte's scores due to its presumably high power requirements, leaving less overhead for GPU boost performance, which led to its lackluster performance scores. This may also be the reason why its overclocking potential was only slightly better than MSI's.

It's a beast alright, but due to the cooler's high power consumption, we feel that it wasn't able perform its best. Additionally, the unique design of the card would pose challenges to several systems and will only appeal to a niche user group.

Overall, if you're looking for the best single-GPU out there, the Gigabyte GTX 680 Windforce 5X Super OC must certainly be considered. Its huge size and quintuple fan design also gives it a unique and intimidating appearance for those that like to show off their rig. However, at S$845, it's quite a bit more expensive than other GTX 680 cards for a fairly insignificant performance gain. Its massive size and weight also rules out SLI configurations for most people, and extra care will need to be taken when installing it in your case. Truly, the Gigabyte GTX 680 Windforce 5X Super OC is a niche card and would perhaps be best tamed by those who've the patience and know-how to coax even more out of the card by BIOS modding or other unconventional tweaks.

If you're after pure performance and don't game at resolutions higher than 1920 x 1080 pixels, for as little as S$33 more than the Gigabyte GTX 680, we would recommend a pair of GeForce GTX 660 Ti in 2-way SLI configuration instead, which will provide you with much better performance.

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7.5
  • Performance 8
  • Features 7.5
  • Value 7
The Good
Fastest factory overclocked GTX 680 available
Unique quintuple cooling system
Decent temperature performance
The Bad
High power consumption
GPU Boost could be better
Very large and heavy
Expensive
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