GIGABYTE GTX670 Windforce x3 OC Review

👤by Richard Weatherstone Comments 📅05-01-13
Conclusion

With graphics cards becoming more power efficient, less of that power is given off as heat and thus a graphics card cooler you would think is less important than say 5 years ago. However with the advent of easy to use overclocking utilities, more and more people are squeezing every last ounce of power from their GPU's which in turn creates more heat and thus a graphics card cooling solution is as important now as it ever was, perhaps more so given the dramatic rise in price for high end units!

We have witnessed all versions of the Windforce cooling design on entry and flagship models and all have impressed us tremendously. There are some graphics cards that utilise triple slot cooling solutions to keep temperatures under control however this has the drawback that SLI capabilities are restricted due to space limitations. Not so with the Windforce x3 cooler which retains the dual slot design akin to the reference model. While the graphics card we reviewed today is much longer (some 12 inches in length) than the reference model, it is also 14c cooler which could mean the difference between an average overclock and a chart topping overclock.

With fantastic cooling abilities along with near silent operation it would be easy to forget that this card also comes with a huge 4GB of GDDR5 which is a key selling point of the graphics card. For the most part, 2GB of GDDR5 is all that is required and it would be rare that this figure would be saturated by today's gaming titles but with future hits such as Crysis 3 on the horizon, you would be foolish to believe that 2GB will be the sweet spot forever.



So to summarise, the GTX670 is powerful, cool and silent. These three elements should be high on your list of priorities but as with most things, price will ultimately be the deciding factor. Here is where matters continue to be well thought out because at £350 it is the cheapest 4GB varient of the GTX670 that we could find available. It is however priced some £70 above a 2GB reference model but when you consider you are getting an amazing custom cooler and extra future proofing thanks to the 4GB of GDDR5 then this card really makes a lot of sense for the astute buyer. For this reason, we have no hesitation in recommending the GIGABYTE GTX670 Windforce x3 OC our prestigious Gold award.

Pros:
+ Extremely Cool
+ Very Quiet
+ Great looking
+ 4GB of GDDR5
+ Factory Overclocked

Cons:
- Basic accessories




Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

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