Product Listing

Sparkle Calibre X580 - GTX 580 on Steroids

By Kenny Yeo - 29 Nov 2010

Conclusion

First to the Market

Given the higher clock speeds, we expected the Sparkle Calibre X580 to be faster than a reference GeForce GTX 580 and the card duly delivered. Sadly however, the increase in performance wasn’t really great and would probably go unnoticed by most people, because the Sparkle card was only about 1% to 4% quicker.

Still, with the help of its massive cooler, the Sparkle Calibre X580 managed much improved operating temperatures - 69 degrees Celsius under load is a considerable improvement over a reference card’s 80 degrees Celsius.

The lower operating temperatures also helped it achieve a higher overclocking state compared to a reference card. After disabling the GeForce GTX 580’s auto throttling safety mechanism that prevents the chip from overheating, we managed to attain a maximum overclocking state, giving us 15035 3DMarks - a healthy improvement of 10%.

However, do note that while the massive cooler does help the card run cooler, it comes at the expense of an additional expansion slot, which makes SLI configurations largely impossible unless you have a motherboard with widely spaced PCIe slots. Needless to say, this makes the Sparkle card more suitable for those who have no intention to upgrade to an SLI configuration.

A decent GeForce GTX 580 for those who have no intention to go down the SLI route.

Pricing wise, the Sparkle Calibre X580 comes in at around US$579 a good US$50 or so more than most other reference cards. While this might seem extravagant, remember that an aftermarket cooler like the one employed by Sparkle on their Calibre X580 card costs about US$65, so in a way, the Sparkle Calibre X580 is reasonably priced, especially if you are looking for an extreme aftermarket cooling solution.

In all, the Sparkle Calibre X580 is a decent take considering it's the first non-reference GeForce GTX 580 card to hit the market. Although the card is not much quicker than a reference one, cooling has been significantly improved nonetheless, so if you don't mind the space that it takes up, it's a decent choice for prospective GTX 580 buyers.

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8.5
  • Performance 9
  • Features 8.5
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Effective cooler
Impressive overclocking
The Bad
Could do with higher clock speeds
Takes up three expansion slots
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