GIGABYTE GTX 770 OC Windforce 3X Review

Our 3rd NVIDIA GTX 770 review comes courtesy of GIGABYTE. With a redesigned Windforce cooler and a factory overclock – what’s not to like?

Product on Review: GV-N770OC-2GD
Manufacturer and Sponsor: GIGABYTE
Street Price: £329.99

We’ve seen a couple of variants of the GTX 770 so far. The reference design with the TITAN-esque cooler running at reference speeds and a customed version with a factory overclock. Today, we take a look at the GIGABYTE version which also includes a factory overclock and a tweaked version of the excellent Windforce 3x cooler.

We are now very familiar with the Windforce cooler and know exactly how well it performs; having tested it on a couple of older NVIDIA graphics cards. However, the true potential of the cooling capabilities could never be realised because up until the advent of GPU BOOST 2.0, temperatures had little part to play except of course for keeping the GPU cool. Now however, the cooler a GPU runs, the more potential there is for the card to ‘boost’ its overclock, at least until the temperature threshold is reached. This should mean the card we have in our hands (with 450W of cooling power) should give us a mouthwatering boost clockspeed on the core which is actually already overclocked from the factory to a blistering 1137MHz (1189MHz BOOST) from a reference speed of 1046MHz (1085MHz BOOST). 100MHz+ for free? Yes please!

About GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE was founded in 1986, establishing our uncontested position in continuous technological innovation. By focusing on key technologies and achieving strict quality standards, GIGABYTE has been regarded as an innovative and trusted motherboard leader in the globe. To keep pace in a rapidly changing world, we have offered a comprehensive product line covering Motherboards, Graphics Cards, PC Components, PC Peripherals, Laptops, Slate Devices, Desktop PCs, Network Communications, Servers and Mobile Phones. We are dedicated to building up a full-range digital life, responding promptly and sonorously to consumer needs and desires.

Specification

Based on the same GK104 found on the GTX680, the GTX770 contains 1536 CUDA cores at a slightly higher clockspeed than the GTX680. The GTX770 comes in two varients, the 2GB and the 4GB version. For most the 2GB card will provide the best balance of power vs price however should you have a larger display, then the 4GB version may be worth opting for. Both versions feature a worlds first 7GBPs (GDDR5 effective)memory subsystem which is a significant boost over the GTX680. Comprising of the same 256-bit memory controller means the GTX770 has 224.3GB/sec memory bandwidth at it’s disposal.

Kepler Core
The GTX770 is equipped with a GK104 core is fabricated on the 28nm process with every component was designed with power efficiency in mind to ensure the GPU gave the best performance-per-watt possible.

While the 28nm manufacturing process holds the bulk of the power saving features, the way the new architecture works is also key to furthering Kepler’s power reduction. SMX, an evolution of the SM from Fermi is NVIDIA’s new streaming multiprocessor:

Each SMX runs at the graphics clock speed rather than 2x that speed as previously but because the GK104 has 1536 CUDA cores (8xSMX), over Fermi’s (GF110) 512 CUDA cores (16xSM), Kepler allows the GTX770 to operate at twice the performance per watt measurement compared to the GTX570.

The clock throughput of FMA2, SFU and texture operations have all been significantly increased and while some operations still retain the same speed as the GTX580, the GTX770’s much higher core clockspeed ensures a substantial increase for all GPU operations.

To feed the new SMX, each unit has four warp schedulers, each capable of firing off two instructions per warp, every clock. With a redesigned scheduling function, the GTX770 is a lot less complex and much more streamlined allowing the compiler to determine which instructions will be issued and can provide this information direct to the hardware block rather than going around the houses using Multi-port decode and a register scoreboard along with the dependency check before the information gets issued. This method is both quicker and more importantly, more power efficient.

Perhaps the biggest change from Fermi to Kepler was the omission of the old Shader Clock. The shader clock was getting tired as it was part of the old Tesla architecture which was implemented as an area optimisation. Because of the way Kepler executes instructions at a much more streamlined manner and at a higher clock rate, fewer copies of the execution unit need be made.

Another improvement over Fermi with the introduction of SMX is the redesigned Polymorph engine (2.0). The Polymorph engine takes card of the tessellation workload of the GTX770. The design of the Polymorph engine is to ensure that the tessellation we see on screen has little (as possible) impact on the rendering performance. What you may find bizarre though is that NVIDIA have cut the Polymorph engine count in half to 8 from Fermi’s 16 yet claim it is almost twice as quick. This is thanks to the improved core an memory clockpeed.

With both a higher core clockspeed based on older (but still very fast) GK104 core and of course that blisteringly fast memory, the GTX770 looks set to replace not only the GTX670, but it’s bigger, but older brother, last years flagship graphics card, the GTX680.

GPU Boost 2.0

GPU Boost caused a bit of a stir when it was first introduced because it did away with the traditional ‘absolute’ method of dictating MHz. Rather it worked by overclocking the card by different means. To achieve an overclock using GPU Boost, one increased the MHz and Voltage as per usual however the card would then ‘Boost’ when placed under load. So rather than having a fixed clockpseed, the GPU adjusts the clockspeed depending on load, ensuring the power is there when you need it rather than it being full on all of the time, thus saving power consumption and heat production by having the card overclock dynamically.

GPU Boost 2.0 is an evolution of this idea. The techs at NVIDIA have determined that GPU power was unnecessarily limiting performance when GPU temperatures was low. Instead of boosting GPU performance based on a power target, it is now based upon temperature with this temperature threshold being 80 degrees Celsius.

Because the boosting is now determined by temperature, noise levels are also reduced as NVIDIA claim the GTX cards deliver a better acoustic profile.

So to summarise, overclocking the card using GPU boost 2.0 means adjusting the temperature threshold, for example from 80c to 85c. The GPU clockspeed will then gradually increase until it reaches this new temperature and will be dynamically adjusted on-the-fly to stay within this threshold. Because of this it is much more difficult to claim one GPU is faster than another without having both working under precisely the same operating conditions.

It therefore should go without saying (but we will say it anyway) that the colder your card runs, the faster it should theoretically operate as a colder card allows overvolting and thus even higher clockspeeds.

GPU Boost 2.0 also features overvoltage control. NVIDIA make no bones that enabling this function will damage the long term operability of the graphics card and as with AMD’s overdrive, you have to acknowledge this fact before you can unlock the cards voltage control. We applaud NVIDIA for this because they have acknowledged that enthusiasts, like us here at Vortez, like to push hardware to the max and without voltage control, the whole process becomes so much more uninteresting and much more difficult.

So, because GTX770’s boost clock and voltage level are now tied to the GPU’s temperature, the voltage can be dialled higher which in turn will allow the GPU to attain higher clockspeed values. Obviously, increasingly board voltage, as with most other products, will gradually degrade the GPU through electron migration causing a premature death of the GPU. Voltage support will be offered on a board partner by partner basis however, we would be extremely surprised if it wasn’t enabled in every GTX770’s VBIOS.

We will see how GPU Boost 2.0 performs in our overclocking section later in the review.

GeForce Experience

GeForce Experience is a new application from NVIDIA that optimizes your PC in two key ways. First, it maximizes your game performance and game compatibility by automatically downloading the latest GeForce Game Ready drivers. Second, GeForce Experience intelligently optimizes graphics settings for all your favorite games based on your hardware configuration.

Some enthusiasts will view (excuse the pun) altering settings to get the very best from a game one of the ‘fun’ elements of owning a powerful graphics card. Others just want to play their game of choice without the endless testing and benchmarking to determine what settings work best. Many don’t have the inclination or indeed the time to learn what effect each setting has upon the games visual elements.It soon becomes a bind when upon a new driver release those settings which were great before can be bettered (or lowered) for a better gaming experience. FXAA, TSAA, MMAA or simply AA. Low, medium, high, ultra texture settings along with overall visual settings can be all too confusing when configuring a games visuals and while it would be easy to just crank everything up to maximum and hoping for the best, this all too often results in choppy, unplayable gaming ruining the gaming experience.

NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience removes much of the guess work when configuring a game thereby giving users the means to jump straight into the game with the best optimised settings for there hardware.

This handy utility will also keep your GPU updated with the latest driver that can be set to automatically download, ready to be installed as soon as they are available and also it gives you access to the beta drivers.

How does it work?
GeForce experience requires an internet connection which, once connected to the NVIDIA Cloud datacenter will download optimal game settings that are tailored to your PC based upon CPU, GPU and monitor resolution.

Low end hardware will have the visuals reduced to improve framerates while high end hardware will inevitably have higher settings assigned. This is all done with a click of a button which ensures that the game not only looks great but perhaps more importantly, plays smoothly.

Testing of the settings are done by NVIDIA themselves who benchmark the game, set a framerate target to ensure smooth gameplay then adjust the settings to ensure both framerate and smooth gameplay are optimised.

In our own tests, the utility worked well and is great for those who want to jump straight into the game with the minimal of fuss and furore of adjusting GPU settings.

Our one complaint is that the supported games list requires expanding. While most of the popular games are supported, many, especially some older but very popular titles are not.

Packaging & Accessories

The outer packaging is strikingly similar to previous GIGABYTE designs seen with the 6XX series of graphics cards. Not that that’s a bad thing as we find the ‘eye’ design appealing and it is certainly a mighty step in the right direction when you consider some of the GIGABYTE designs of old which had a variety of futuristic space stations which rather than looking futuristic, cheapened the product packaging somewhat.

The card we have today is a 2GB version, notified by the 2048MB GDDR5 text found beneath the OC version and above the GTX770 tab which unlike competitor branding is metallic green rather than plain lime green – nice.

The rear of the package goes into a mass of details regarding the redesigned Windforce cooler which GIGABYTE claim is capable of dissipating up to 450W of heat. The main features of the card are also printed beneath in multiple languages.

Removing the sleeve we find a plain Matt black box which contains the GPU and accessories. Rather than simply throw the accessories atop of the GPU like some manufacturers, GIGABYTE have included a separate box which is very welcome and adds to the appeal of the product packaging.

First Look

The first thing that struck us was that GIGABYTE have changed the materials of the fan shroud. Gone is the shiny black plastic, which felt very fragile. This has since been replaced by an aluminium frame which is much more sturdy and appealing.

The three fans retain their smoked black appearance and contrast well with the surrounding shroud while still allowing the users to see the cleanliness of the heatsink below.

Another welcome change is the PCB colouration. Gone is the electric blue circuit board which we have been complaining about for years. Black is the only colour we want for a graphics card power circuit board please. Black goes with everything regardless of your colour scheme. Sadly it has a silky sheen to it rather than being Matt but we will forgive GIGABYTE for this oversight as moving to a black PCB is a big enough change for a company which is synonymous with blue PCB’s save for the SuperOverClock (SOC) editions.

The profile of the card is quite anonymous really. We would have liked to have seen the Windforce emblem be printed along the side rather than on ‘top’ where it will not be seen in an your average ATX style case. That said we do like the cutouts of the shroud which allow hot air to be vented. Sadly, the fan adapters are white which makes them stand out and while the cabling is taped securely to the underneath of the shroud, we would have preferred not to see them at all.

The input/output area features the usual plethora of DVI-D, DVI-I, HDMI 1.4A and DisplayPort. The backplate also has a vent but for all intents and purposes this will not serve any purpose as the fins of the heatsink are perpendicular to this vent so any hot air will be circulated into the PC case and exhausted by the case fans.

GIGABYTE recommed a 600W PS to power this card. GIGABYTE supply both twin MOLEX to 8pin and twin MOLEX to 6pin adapters should your PSU not have these PCIe power cables which are also required to power the GPU.

As with the reference design, the Windforce OC GTX770 also has twin SLI tabs allowing the addition of multiple GPUs from the same family for SLI gaming.

Overall we love the look of the GIGABYTE GTX770 Windforce 3x OC. There are however a few small details that require correcting as pointed out above. None of this of course affects the functionality of the card but speaking from a purely aesthetic stance, ‘the Devil is in the details’.

Closer Look

Removal of the huge cooler was a cinch with only 7 screws (four spring loaded) holding the heatsink to the PCB.

As you can see, along with the GPU both the memory and VRM areas are actively cooled. Contact with the core was perfect and the paste was well applied so you should have no requirement to remove the heatsink until it is time to clean.

The GPU core is treated to direct CU cooling where 6 heatpipes sprout from this copper base to dissipate heat along the aluminium finned heatsink array. This is perhaps the most efficient method of cooling and the pictures perhaps do not do justice to what is a very good, efficient cooling design.

The PCB design is excellent with the VRM area siuated very close to the powerports which helps to eliminate noise. A wall of inductors and solid state capacitors shield the 2GB of GDDR5 which in turns frames the GK104 core.

The VRM area is crammed full of MOSFETs, inductors and solid state capacitors. 8 power phases are reserved for the GPU core with a further 2+2 arrangement for PWM and memory.

The memory hails from Samsung and carries the product code of K4G203255FD FC28. We know this is some seriously fast memory if past tests are anything to go by.

A rehashed GTX680 core (GK104) it may be but as we have seen with the reference design, the enhanced speed gives it a good advantage over the GTX680. Couple this with a decent factory overclock and the GIGABYTE GTX770 Windforce 3x OC will be a force to be reckoned with.

Test Setup & Methodology

How we test graphics cards

Testing a graphics card is an extremely lengthy process. We sometimes see reviews where a graphic card has been tested using out of date equipment, out of date games and out of date drivers. While the latter can be excused due to the sheer amount of driver updates making a thorough review impossible we will however notify the reader when we have used a different driver to the normal for example a pre-release driver. For the most part however we will always use the same hardware and where possible the same drivers unless a newer driver rectifies an issue we have encountered or significantly improves performance to such an extent that continuing with an outdated driver is not feasible.

Frame Time Analysis
We have also seen the emergence of frame time analysis. We covered this in a separate article here: GPU Reviews: Why Frame Time Analysis is important so we won’t go into the reasoning again but to summarise, our testing comprises both FPS testing and perhaps arguably more importantly, frame time analysis. We also look at overall performance by equating averages across the games and finally before concluding our review we take a look at value for money.

HardwareWith the latest Intel chipset release we decided to update our ageing X58 setup to the new X79 chipset. Not only that but we will be using the flagship Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor clocked to 4.5GHz to ensure we have no CPU bottlenecks. With 16GB of ram on board there should be minimal paging so the benchmarks we run today will hopefully give a true reflection of the graphics card’s performance.

High End Graphics cards on test:

GIGABYTE GTX770 WINDFORCE 3X OC 2GB GDDR5
(Forceware 320.49)
ZOTAC GTX760 2GB GDDR5(Forceware 320.39)
NVIDIA GTX760 2GB GDDR5(Forceware 320.39)
]NVIDIA GTX760 2GB GDDR5 SLI(Forceware 320.39)
SAPPHIRE DUAL-X HD7950 3GB GDDR5 (Catalyst 13.6 beta)
CLUB 3D HD7970 royalAce 3GB GDDR5 (Catalyst 13.6 beta)
GAINWARD PHANTOM GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 (Forceware 320.18)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 (Forceware 320.18)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 3GB GDDR5 (Forceware 320.18)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 4GB GDDR5 (Forceware 314.22)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB GDDR5 (Forceware 314.22)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN SLI 12GB(2x6GB) GDDR5 (Forceware 314.22)
NVIDIA GTX680 2GB GDDR5 (Forceware 314.22)
AMD HD7970 3GB GDDR5 (AMD CAT 13.3 beta)

Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 Pro
CPU: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition @ 4.5GHz
RAM – 16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance (Red) DDR3 @ 1866MHz 9-10-9-27
Power Supply – Thortech Thunderbolt Plus 1200W
Hard Drive – Kingston HyperX 240GB
Cooler – Corsair H100

Benchmarks
If you are a regular reader of our reviews you will know we like to test the latest hardware with the latest games and benchmarks on the market. Here are the games we have chosen:

Battlefield 3
Crysis 3
Far Cry 3
BioShock Infinite
DiRT: Showdown
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

We also take into consideration the benchmarkers out there so have included 3 of the more popular synthetic benchmarks available:

Unigine: Valley
Unigine: Heaven 4
Futuremark 3DMark Firestrike

Let’s see how today’s graphics card performed…

Temperature, Acoustics and Power Consumption

Power Consumption

To test for power consumption we use the included iPower Meter found with our Thortech PSU. As system load figures obviously differ from idle it is extremely difficult to get an accurate figure of system draw and then simply take this figure away from the overall amount because each game will generate varying levels of CPU and hard drive activity. Dynamic power adjustments which fluctuate in game will also affect accurate power figures thus rendering any such power consumption calculations redundant at worst and approximate at best.

We will therefore take our system readings averaged over a benchmark run of Tessmark (100% load) and after 20 minutes of being idle in Windows 7. These can then be used as a comparison to other graphics cards to determine how much more or less power you can expect a GPU to consume.

For a card carrying 3 fans and a GK104, the GIGABYTE card didn’t consume as much power as we expected. The power consumption was near identical to the similar card from Gainward.

Temperature

To test temperatures we measured idle temperatures after booting windows, letting all applications finish loading and ran a few benchmarks. Once the benchmarks were complete we left the card to reach a cooling plateau where we then took the idle temperatures. For the load tests, we would normally run Furmark for 20 minutes, taking the absolute maximum temperature attained however we found that this throttled the card and resulted in spurious results. So we set Heaven running continuously for 20 minutes and used this as a temperature result as the card did not throttle with this application.

Testing the temperature of the new range of NVIDIA graphics cards is difficult in that each card has a temperature threshold, once that threshold is reached, the card will adjust the BOOST speed to ensure the temperatures go no further. So while the GIGABYTE card matches both other GTX770s on test, the boost speeds will likely be very different.

Acoustics

The cooler was virtually silent throughout our testing at both idle and load speeds. The fans only became audible (but not intrusively so) when the fan profile was raised above 70% which in all likelihood you are unlikely to witness save for the hottest of days.

Let’s see how the card performs in our suite of benchmarks…

Futuremark 3DMark Fire Strike (Synthetic)

Fire Strike is the new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is Futuremark’s most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today.

Unigine: Heaven 4 (Synthetic)

Heaven Benchmark with its current version 4.0 is a GPU-intensive benchmark that hammers graphics cards to the limits. This powerful tool can be effectively used to determine the stability of a GPU under extremely stressful conditions, as well as check the cooling system’s potential under maximum heat output. It provides completely unbiased results and generates true in-game rendering workloads across all platforms.

Unigine: Valley (Synthetic)

Valley Benchmark is a new GPU stress-testing tool from the developers of the very popular and highly acclaimed Heaven Benchmark. The forest-covered valley surrounded by vast mountains amazes with its scale from a bird’s-eye view and is extremely detailed down to every leaf and flower petal. This non-synthetic benchmark powered by the state-of-the art UNIGINE Engine showcases a comprehensive set of cutting-edge graphics technologies with a dynamic environment and fully interactive modes available to the end user.

Battlefield 3 (FPS)

Battlefield 3 leaps ahead of its time with the power of Frostbite™ 2, the next installment of DICE’s cutting-edge game engine. This state-of-the-art technology is the foundation on which Battlefield 3 is built, delivering enhanced visual quality, a grand sense of scale, massive destruction, dynamic audio and incredibly lifelike character animations. As bullets whiz by, walls crumble, and explosions throw you to the ground, the battlefield feels more alive and interactive than ever before. In Battlefield 3, players step into the role of the elite U.S. Marines where they will experience heart-pounding missions across diverse locations including Paris, Tehran and New York.

Average and minimum frames per second were measured using Fraps during the parking lot scene on Operation Sword Breaker. High and Ultra presets were loaded at both resolutions.

Crysis 3 (FPS)

Crysis 3 from Electronic Arts is the fourth instalment of the Crysis franchise and sequel to Crysis 2. It uses the CryEngine 3 gaming engine which is perhaps the most advanced gaming engine to date and therefore the most demanding. The meme ‘Can it run Crysis’ has never been so apparent…

Far Cry 3 (FPS)

Far Cry 3 is a tropical survival shooter video game from Ubisoft Montreal and Massive studios. It’s open world design has similar traits to it’s forbear Far Cry 2 but it does it all so much better. With stunning visuals and settings to bring a PC to it’s knee’s, this game is so much more than the ‘just another console port’ it was reported to be.

BioShock Infinite (FPS)

Set in 1912 during the growth of American exceptionalism, BioShock Infinite is a thrid person shooter developed by Irrational games and published by 2K Games. It is the third instalment of the BioShock franchise. the game utilises the Unreal Engine 3, modifying it with their own lighting engine to present a visually stunning experience like no other.

DiRT: Showdown (FPS)

DiRT Showdown is the new arcade racing game from the team that brought you the award-winning DiRT series, uncaged in 2012. Pick up and play controls combine with electrifying events, frenzied crowds and stunning graphics to deliver high octane, dive in and drive thrills from event one.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (FPS)

Skyrim is not a direct successor to the very popular Oblivion. Instead it takes place 200 years after the events of Oblivion. The non-linear playing that made the Elder Scrolls such a popular series does however make a return along with the beautiful scenery the encompasses the world of Skyrim.

Average and minimum frames per second were measured using Fraps during the drop down passage to Riverwood. V-sync was disabled to allow fluctuating (higher the 60) FPS for these runs. It is however recommended that v-sync is left enabled during normal gameplay due to the games dynamics.

Value For Money

We make a simple calculation for this set of results. For each game we add all of the resulting FPS totals together and then divide by the four sets to give us an overall performance figure. While the figures alone do not give you an accurate picture of how the card will perform in any given scenario, they do tell you, when averaged, which GPU is the more capable across all of the benchmarks and settings tested.

Gaming Experience (Frame Time Analysis)

Here we take a look at both average (black) and 99th Percentile (coloured) response times of the graphics cards. It is highly unlikely a user will notice any micro stutter (also incorrectly referred to as lag but the effect can be interpreted to be similar) at anything below 30ms but every gamers perception differs.

Comment

The graphs above may appear very daunting however, what you want to see is a smooth line (not fuzzy) with very few peaks and troughs. While you are unlikely to notice peaks and troughs below 30ms, any peak above 30ms may be seen as a stutter during gameplay. This will however depend greatly on your own perceptions. Multi card setups are more likely to show frame lag due to the nature of cross communicating to render frames.

Average and 99th Percentile response times (Frame Time Analysis)

Overclocking (GPU BOOST 2.0)

For overclocking our NVIDIA cards we will be using EVGA’s Precision too (ver 4.0) as this gives us all of the options we require.

Above is a screenshot of GPU-Z showing the reference speeds and reference boost clocks. As you can see, the card comes with a healthy factory overclock with the core running at 1137MHz resulting in a boost speed of 1189MHz. Strangely, GIGABYTE opted not to give the memory any overclock which we found odd given that we know the memory can run much faster than reference speeds.

Above is a screenshot of the actual overclock we achieved via Precision. With both power and temperature target sliders maxxed we hit a wall at around +76MHz on the core so we reduced this by 5MHz to ensure rock solid stability. It would bench at around the +100MHz point but sadly this overclock was far from stable. Still, breaking the 1.3GHz speed was very satisfying indeed.

As expected the memory overclocked freely and allowed a mammoth 400MHz boost.

After settling on our stable clockspeed which was verified by multiple runs of Unigine Heaven and 3DMark along with various gaming sessions we benchmarked the overclock again and compared it to stock results with Unigine Heaven 4.0 to evaluate the benefits of overclocking the GPU.

Conclusion

As we have stated throughout this review, we are big fans (excuse the pun) of the Windforce design. This design refresh certainly enhances an already appealing product. If we were being picky, we would like to see the profile of the card (Side view) improved or at the very least, hide the fan cabling which is unsightly. Were the Windforce tab folded over, this would make matters much better but then some of the exhaust airflow would be impeded. To be fair to GIGABYTE though, these are only very minor problems of what aesthetically is a very good card.

Performance wise, we have little to complain about. It did everything we expected of a card of this caliber and price point. Comparing it against the reference design; while we also love the looks of the GeForce TITAN cooler, we would opt for the GIGABYTE Windforce design simply because it cools better which after all, is the most important factor here.

A competitor of GIGABYTE that we also tested previous to this review did overclock a little further but reasoning this out, it falls to the luck of the silicon draw and not as a result of the cooling capability of either card. That competitor also saw fit to have an even faster factory overclock, albeit by 13MHz. GIGABYTE could have scored bonus points simply by adding a factory overclock to the memory which as we have shown has massive headroom. Sadly though this isn’t the case so while the OC moniker is found on the box, this only applies to the GPU core.

What surprised us most about this card was not the cooling, the overclocking or the blistering performance. It was the price. At the time of review it was among the cheapest GTX 770 available. When you consider with the Windforce 3x OC you are getting a (very good) custom cooler, a factory overclock on the care and the backing of a GPU giant with excellent customer support and RMA turnaround, the overall package of the GIGABYTE GTX770 Windforce 3x OC offers good value for money compared to the competition.

To summarise

The GIGABYTE GTX770 Windforce 3x OC offers excellent performance at a very competitive price point. If you are in the market for reasonably priced, high end hardware, this graphics card should be high up on your shopping list.

Pros
+ Good Value
+ Great Performance
+ Quiet
+ Excellent packaging

Cons
– No memory overclock
– Exposed fan cabling