Test methodology
Hardware
| Graphics cards | CoolIT GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | ZOTAC GeForce GTX 470 1,280MB | Inno3D GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB | BFG GeForce GTX 285 1,024MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 TOXIC 4,096MB | HIS Radeon HD 5970 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 TOXIC 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £565 | £415 | £300 | £425 | £275 | £750 (estimated) | £550 | £360 (estimated) | £325 | £230 | |
| Shader model | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | |
| Stream processors | 480 | 480 | 448 | 480 | 240 | 3,200 | 3,200 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1440 | |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 700 (815 OC) | 700 | 607 | 576 | 648 | 900 | 725 | 925 | 850 | 725 | |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 1,401 (1,630 OC) | 1,401 | 1,215 | 1,242 | 1,474 | 900 | 725 | 925 | 850 | 725 | |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 3,698 (4,300 OC) | 3,698 | 3,348 | 2,016 | 2,484 | 4,800 | 4,000 | 5,000 | 4,800 | 4,000 | |
| Memory bus width (bits) | 384 | 384 | 320 | 448 x 2 | 512 | 256 x 2 | 256 x 2 | 256 | 256 | 256 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (3.20GHz, 8MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1366 - Turbo Boost on) | ||||||||||
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | ||||||||||
| Motherboard BIOS | 0703 | ||||||||||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.1.1.1025 | ||||||||||
| Memory | 6GB Corsair DDR3-1,067 CL7 | ||||||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 7-7-7-20 1T @ DDR3-1,066 | ||||||||||
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | ||||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | ||||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Corsair Nova V128 SSD | ||||||||||
| Graphics driver | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.13 | ForceWare 197.13 | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | ||||||||||
Software
| Benchmarks | Unigine Heaven 2.0 benchmark Battlefield: Bad Company 2 v523648 - FRAPS-recorded benchmark Crysis Warhead v1.1.1.711 - train map - enthusiast quality DiRT 2 v1.1, London map - ultra quality Far Cry 2 v1.03 - very high quality Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X v1.2, internal benchmark: DX10/10.1 - high quality Power-draw Temperatures Real-world noise Overclocking HEXUS.bang4buck and HEXUS.bang4watt |
|---|
Notes
Benchmarks were conducted at 2,560x1,600, where applicable, with decent degrees of image quality. We've tested with the latest drivers available from both AMD and NVIDIA.
We want to see what impact the overclocking headroom from a water-cooled GeForce GTX 480 can have, and compare the CoolIT OMNI-cooled card with a stock GTX 480 and a selection of other high-end alternatives.
In addition to framerate performance, we'll also be focusing on the cooler's other key features by reporting on temperatures and noise.