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Gigabyte expands its Xtreme Gaming series with five new cards

By Koh Wanzi - on 11 Nov 2015, 7:27pm

Gigabyte expands its Xtreme Gaming series with five new cards

Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan X Xtreme Gaming. (Image Source: Gigabyte)

We really liked the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 Xtreme Gaming card when we reviewed it back in September, and now Gigabyte’s back with five more. This time, Gigabyte is extending the Xtreme Gaming treatment all the way to the top of NVIDIA’s line-up, comprising the GeForce GTX 970, 980, 980 Ti and Titan X.

But wait, you say, that’s four cards. That’s because Gigabyte is releasing two versions of the GeForce GTX 980 Ti – one regular air-cooled one and another with a closed loop liquid-cooling system, dubbed WaterForce.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti Xtreme Gaming Waterforce Edition. (Image Source: Gigabyte)

It features a full-coverage cooling block that covers the GPU, VRAM, and MOSFETs and comes with a 120mm fan and low-noise cooling pump. The cooling shroud is an elegant black-and-silver piece with the Xtreme Gaming badge displayed in the middle. Not the most attractive design we’ve seen, but an unoffensive one that should work well with most builds.

The other cards are regular air-cooled affairs with all the features of Gigabyte’s Xtreme Gaming series. All of them sport triple-fan coolers, and the GeForce GTX 980 Ti and Titan X Xtreme Gaming utilize an alternate spinning fan design, where the middle fan spins in the opposite direction as the other two. This supposedly helps to optimize air flow and provides a heat dissipation capacity of up to 700 watts. In theory, this might also help gamers achieve higher overclocks and reduce thermal throttling.

Gigabyte says that its Xtreme Gaming cards have been designed to provide excellent performance and durability, which is why it has included features like a solid metal backplate and an aerospace-grade PCB conformal coating. This coating protects against harsh conditions like high humidity and extreme temperatures. And if you use water or LN2 cooling, the coating will reportedly help reduce the chance of damaging your card should there be a leakage.

All the cards come with a metal backplate. This is a look at the one on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti Xtreme Gaming. (Image Source: Gigabyte)

With the exception of the GeForce GTX Titan X, all the cards are also equipped with a smart power LED indicator next to the power connector. In the event of a power abnormality, the indicator will start to flash, so you know when to shut down your system.

In addition, both versions of the GeForce GTX 980 Ti come with a separate BIOS for LN2 overclocking, and an extra 6-pin PCIe power connector to achieve more extreme overclocks.

Finally, the cards are manufactured with a fully automated manufacturing process, which sounds similar to what ASUS does with its Auto-Extreme technology. According to Gigabyte, this removes sharp edges from solder connectors and pins and creates a smoother PCB surface, which should make life easier for PC modders.

We'll update on local price and availability when we know more.

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