Galaxy GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB GC Video Card Overclocked

Another GTX 560 Ti comes in and we fire up the overclocking software, give it more voltage, and more clocks - Sounds like a good time!

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Galaxy
15 minutes & read time

Introduction and Package


Introduction

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Another day rolls in and another GTX 560 Ti arrives. With a pretty mean looking cooler on this one and a few lower clocked models already looked at, it's time to check out how overclocking goes on the new model.

The exact card we're looking at today is the Galaxy GTX 560 Ti 1GB GC Version. This isn't the first time we've seen the GC version and the chances are it won't be the last.

As we just mentioned, since we've already looked at a couple of GTX 560 Ti cards we thought it was time to overclock one and see what we could get out of the card. Since out of the box the Galaxy one we're looking at today didn't have the largest OC'd clock speeds, we thought it was a good chance for us to take it upon ourselves to see what the model was capable of.

Before we get into that and the overclock we received, we'll check out the package that Galaxy has got going on before taking a closer look at the card itself. Once that's done we'll look at the default specifications, what we overclocked it to and then of course we'll get into the good stuff; the performance of the card.


Package

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Galaxy GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB GC Video Card Overclocked 04


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On the front of the box you can see that this is the GC version and the main feature of it is the Twin Blade cooler. Inside the package we've got the normal array of paperwork along with the typical driver CD. In the cable department we've got two Dual-Molex to 6-Pin PCI-E power connectors, a single DVI to VGA connector and a mini HDMI to HDMI cable.

Card and Specifications


The Card

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Looking at the card, the stand-out feature of course is that cooler which sports two 90mm fans. Outside of that, though, the card looks like an absolute beast with the shroud design. This is a really good looking card that does a fantastic job of standing out from the pack, and to be completely honest that's important as we'll see a lot of own design GTX 560 Ti cards hit the market.

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Looking around the card, we continue to see those aggressive angles on the shroud as we find our two 6-Pin PCI-E power connectors at the back. Closer to the front we've got our single SLI connector and on the connectivity front we don't see anything out of the ordinary with a mini-HDMI port and two Dual-Link DVI ports.


Specifications

As we've mentioned a few times, out of the box a reference GTX 560 Ti will carry an 822MHz core clock, 1644MHz Shader clock and 4000MHz QDR memory clock on the 1GB of GDDR5. Galaxy has only bumped these clocks up slightly to 835MHz and 1670MHz on the Core and Shader, and have chosen to leave the memory alone.

Since this wasn't much of an overclock, we thought it was the perfect time to fire up Afterburner and we ended up with the clocks below.

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They're 970MHz on the core, 1940MHz on the Shader and 4500MHz QDR on the memory. This is a really nice overclock from the out-of-the-box speeds and should bring with them some strong performance gains.

Test System Setup and 3DMark 11


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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASRock, Kingston, Mittoni, Noctua and Corsair.

We'll be checking out the Galaxy GTX 560 Ti GC amongst a heap of other cards, but the few we really want to pay attention to is the MSI version of the 560 Ti to give us an idea of how much extra performance we get from the OC, while also looking at the AMD 6900 offerings which are here at both stock and overclocked.

Let's get started!


3DMark 11

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/
Buy It Here




3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC's gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

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Straight away we can see a really nice boost in performance when we overclock and we see the card is battling it out with the HD 6950.

3DMark Vantage




Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmarkvantage/
Buy It Here




3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware.

3DMark Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX10, the new graphics API from Microsoft.

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Vantage sees a really nice gain from the overclock and we can see that the card is right on the heels of the more expensive GTX 570.

Unigine Heaven Benchmark




Version and / or Patch Used: 2
Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com
Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//



New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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Heaven performance is strong and we can see the Galaxy card is battling it out with the overclocked HD 6950 here where it only trails slightly.

Benchmarks - Resident Evil 5


Resident Evil 5

Version and / or Patch Used: Demo Benchmark
Developer Homepage: www.residentevil.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.residentevil.com/




Resident Evil 5 is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on September 18. Resident Evil 5 revolves around Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar as they investigate a terrorist threat in Kijuju, a fictional town in Africa.

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Getting into some games, we see a nice boost in performance and you can see the card sits between the lower clocked GTX 560 Ti and the reference clocked GTX 570.

Benchmarks - Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/UK/default.aspx
Product Homepage: http://www.hawxgame.com/




Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 is an arcade-style flight action game developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft. The game is the sequel to Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., released in 2009.

The game begins with Colonel David Crenshaw participating in a routine patrol mission in the Middle East. After halting an insurgent attack, a volley of missiles is fired at the Air Force base that Crenshaw was stationed at, with one of the missiles disabling Crenshaw's aircraft, resulting Crenshaw being in enemy captivity. A joint strike force composed of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and a Ghost Recon squad executes an operation to rescue Crenshaw. In Scotland, Royal Navy Pilot Colin Munro encounters an unidentified passenger aircraft that explodes from an on-board bomb when undergoing training exercise. In Russia, an air force squadron led by Colonel Denisov and Captain Dmitri Sokov engages separatist aircraft but is ordered to retreat from the region after numerous Russian military installations have been attacked.

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Under H.A.W.X. 2 we see some strong performance and again the card easily sits between the GTX 560 Ti and GTX 570. Unlike RE5, though, we see it leans a lot closer towards the more expensive GTX 570.

Benchmarks - Mafia II


Mafia II

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.2kczech.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.mafia2game.com/
Buy It Here




Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games. The game is set from 1943 to 1951 in Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State"), a fictional city based on San Francisco and New York City, with influences from Chicago and Detroit. The game features a completely open-ended game map of 10 square miles. No restrictions are included from the start of the game. There are around 50 vehicles in the game, as well as licensed music from the era.

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Firing up Mafia II, we can see the strong performance trends continue. We again see that the card manages to sit right under the more expensive GTX 570. This is one of the main reasons we're seeing such good value from the model.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2


Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/




Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game, "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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While we're still under that 60 FPS mark at 1920 x 1200 and 2560 x 1600, the extra performance boost at 1680 x 1050 to move a good chunk away from that 60 FPS average is really appreciated.

Benchmarks - Aliens vs. Predator


Aliens vs. Predator

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/
Product Homepage: http://www.sega.com/games/aliens-vs-predator/




Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game is based on the Alien vs. Predator franchise, a combination of the characters and creatures of the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline.

Following the storyline of the campaign modes comes the multiplayer aspect of the game. In this Multiplayer section of the game, players face off in various different gametypes in various different ways.

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Much like LP2, we see we're below 60 FPS at those higher resolutions. The increase in speed, though, helps give us a nice little boost at lower resolution and move away from that 60 FPS score which is just achieved on the lower clocked card.

Benchmarks - Street Fighter IV


Street Fighter IV

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.streetfighter.com/




While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. A new system called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attack" for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.

All the characters and environments in Street Fighter IV are rendered as 3D models with polygons, similar to the Street Fighter EX sub-series Capcom produced with Arika. However, there are a couple of key differences. Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, opted for non-photorealistic rendering to give them a hand-drawn look, with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.

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Across the board we see strong performance from SF4 and there are really no surprises there when it comes to overall performance.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2


Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01
Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/
Buy It Here




The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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Under Far Cry 2 we see some fantastic performance increases that help boost performance above the GTX 570 in some areas.

Benchmarks - Batman Arkham Asylum


Batman Arkham Asylum

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/





Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.

Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series.

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We again see those strong performance gains, but more importantly we see that the card manages to offer us slightly more performance than the reference GTX 570 when at these clocks.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF


High Quality AA and AF

Our high quality tests let us separate the men from the boys and the ladies from the girls. If the cards weren't struggling before they will start to now.

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Galaxy GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB GC Video Card Overclocked 32


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While we do see some nice gains when we crank up the detail, unfortunately the clocks aren't enough to lift some of those below playable numbers to playable. Saying that, we're not far off under Mafia II which is impressive.

Benchmarks - PhysX Tests


PhysX Tests

Here we're able to find out when PhysX is turned on in games that support it what kind of frame rates we're able to get. We always set PhysX to the highest possible in game settings while also keeping detail at its highest.

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PhysX paints the same picture we've seen all along with this model; Batman AA sees playable numbers, while unfortunately Mafia II numbers are too low.

Temperature Test


Temperature Tests



The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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With extra voltage running through the card it comes as no surprise that it runs a little warmer than the other GTX 560s we've looked at. Remember, though, this is because we've bumped the clocks and the voltage of the card up which in turn is going to put more pressure on the cooler.

Sound Test


Sound Tests



Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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I think one of the main reasons the card runs a bit warmer is because the cooler continues to be so quiet, even when we overclock the card. People wanting to keep noise levels down will no doubt appreciate this.

Power Consumption Tests






Using our new PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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Power draw doesn't really hold any surprises with the card sucking down a little more juice due to the fact that we run more voltage through it.

Total Performance Rating (TPR)


Total Performance Rating

The TPR graph is a combination of all our benchmarks in which NVIDIA and AMD are on an even playing field.

The TPR number is a combination of:

3DMark 11, Heaven Benchmark V2, Resident Evil 5, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.2, Mafia 2 (PhysX Off), Lost Planet 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter IV, Far Cry 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum (PhysX Off) and our four High Quality tests which include Mafia 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter IV and Far Cry 2.

All of the benchmark results achieved are then combined into a single number. As this graph will grow over time and cards won't be re-tested, next to each model you'll find the driver version that was used when the card was benchmarked.

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We can see that overall performance just sits a little below the SOC version of the GTX 560 Ti we looked at and a good chunk ahead of the HD 6950 2GB which really isn't even its competition as it carriers that higher price tag.

Total Value Rating (TVR)


Total Value Rating

The TVR graph is the TPR score divided by the price of the video card. The price of the video card is based on the list price of the model on Newegg.com. In the event the card isn't listed, it will be based on the U.S. $ MSRP given to us by the manufacturer.

In the event we can't source a price from either, the product will not receive a TVR rating. As with our TPR graph, the amount of video cards on the list will grow over time and the price of the model won't change from what it was when first reviewed. For this reason the U.S. $ price that the card is based off will be included next to the name of the model.

In the event you want to find the TVR rating yourself based on the current price, all you have to do is simply divide the TPR number by the list price.

TVR numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number; 100.3 will be 100; 100.8 will be 101 and 100.5 will be rounded down to 100.

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Thanks to the card carrying the MSRP price of $249 US and handling our OC with no dramas at all, we see that when overclocked the card represents fantastic value; more than anything else.

Final Thoughts




The Galaxy GTX 560 Ti GC is another great incarnation of the GTX 560 and probably one of the best looking ones due to that aggressive nature of the shroud and those two mean looking 90mm fans that sit on top of the card.

Overclocking was a breeze and adding the extra voltage didn't cause any issues at all. While the card of course ran a little warmer, it continued to be nice and quiet which for most is a trade off they would prefer - A few more degrees to keep the decibels nice and low.

The thing is, though, it's one thing to have a card that's good value and another to have a good valued card you would want to use and will feel comfortable with knowing that it's going to give you the performance you need. At 1920 x 1200 we can see for the most part this card won't have an issue with a lot of games and may need a small detail adjustment in some of the more intensive ones.

At 1680 x 1050 the card runs like an absolute champion and AA shouldn't be an issue as we see at 1920 x 1200 in Mafia II, AA performance is right on the edge. Drop back to a slightly lower resolution and you're going to have numbers that anyone would be happy with.

If you can pick up a card like this one which carries the same MSRP as a reference designed card from NVIDIA and then proceed to crank the core up to around the 950MHz mark and the memory to around the 4400MHz QDR, you're going to have one of, if not the best valued card on the market.

NVIDIA has done a good job with this model and the fact that they've let their partners go crazy from launch day means it's a whole lot more exciting than what some of the competition has to offer.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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