The first graphics card they had on display was the Super Overclocked edition of the GTX470. With a stock clock speed of 700/3348MHz, it is being marketed as the fastest GTX470 in the world, 12% better than standard cards. Looking at other manufacturers’ offerings, I don’t doubt that for a second. It’s no mystery that Nvidia’s GF100 core runs very hot. It may be the most powerful GPU to date but even on release, it was plagued with thermal issues and consequently reference design coolers were loud to compensate for the high temperatures. Further injury was the core’s high power consumption. Gigabyte have realised that those negative points made people deviate away from Nvidia’s high end Fermi cards and have thus tried to resolve the issue.

Specifications

•NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 SOC Edition •Overclock: Core/Mem clock: 700/ 3348 MHz •GIGABYTE WINDFORCETM 3X Cooling Design •12 Power Phase •GPU GauntletTM Sorting Technology •Ultra Durable VGA+ High Quality Components •Voltage Read Point •OC Guru-graphics card smart tuner •12% performance better than generic GTX 470!! •18% temperature lower than generic GTX 470!! •17% power consumption lower than generic GTX 470!! •Microsoft DirectX 11 and OpenGL 3.2 support •Support NVIDIA PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision, and Pure Video HD Technology

Gigabyte Windforce 3X


The GV-N470SO-13I
Their method of resolving the problem includes better use of components, a more efficient design, cherry picked cores and a superior cooler. The most notable feature on first look is the tri-fan cooler design dubbed Windforce 3X. As you can guess, the ‘3X’ is representative of the three 80mm ultra-quiet PWM fans on board.


The Windforce 3X cooler
The metal shroud also has an angular profile that angles the two side fans to face outwards. The picture depicts this more clearly. The design is meant to improve airflow by reducing turbulence. Another key advantage is that the profile of the aluminium heatsink can be raised on the sides for greater dissipation surface area. The base uses a Vapour Chamber for more efficient heat transfer and this is further enhances by the 3 copper heat pipes. The fins are also inclined and can be found in three different orientations: parallel inclined, mirroring inclined and 3D inclined, the latter being the design used on the SOC GTX470.


Demonstration
Here’s a demonstration of what users can expect:


And another of the cooler in action (They were certainly keen in showing us videos of it multiple times):


The result is not only 3x the airflow performance of the single fanned reference cooler but 18% cooler operation. Thankfully this is not at the expense of noise. Gigabyte were quick to point at that their fans were much quieter than the reference fan for a given speed. Whilst the stock fan operates between 34.8-46 dB from 2000-3000RPM, the Windforce fans operate between 22-38 dB at the same speed.

Ultra Durable VGA+

Ultra Durable is a term we have come accustomed to seeing on many Gigabyte products. This time, the feature has made its way to their graphics card range. The concept encompasses their usage of high quality components to increase performance at no detriment to longevity and reliability. As such, we can expect to see the customary 2oz copper PCB which lowers impedance by 50% compared to traditional manufacturing processes, thereby improving energy efficiency and durability. More specific to the graphics card, it uses Tier 1 Samsung memory chips that have undergone testing prior to installation. Other additions to look out for are the Ferrite Chokes and Low RDS (on) MOSFET that form part of the 12 phase PWM power circuitry. There all contribute to a much more overclockable graphics card.


GTX470 VS GTX480
When I looked at the GA-X58A-UD3R motherboard, I briefly touched on the Dynamic Power Phase implementation in order to reduce power consumption. The SOC graphics cards boast an impressive 12 phase PWM design but often the card will be idling and thus waste power. To alleviate the problem, the card will smartly switch off phases based on usage. Whilst idling in 2D mode, only 2 phases will be active, increasing to 6 active phases in 3D. During intense gaming sessions or benchmarking, all 12 phases will be active to handle smooth power delivery.


NEC Proadlizers
Another nifty addition is the exclusive use of proadlizers. Traditionally, high end parts use Japanese solid capacitors as a mark of superior electronic conductivity but Gigabyte have instead gone for the flat capacitors to ensure even more stable power delivery. The striking design resembles ICs rather than normal capacitors and those particular ones have been manufactured by NEC. Gigabyte claim that one proadlizer is enough but for good measure, they have included 5 pieces on their GTX470. The capacitors provide current capacity of up to 5000microFarads and extremely low ESL/ESR for super overclocking ability. Low noise ensures stable power delivery without voltage spikes that

The Ultra Durable VGA+ design lowers power consumption by 17% compared to the reference card (226W VS 272W), quite an achievement given the criticism GF100 received on release.