The shroud is attached to a metal bracket that is screwed onto the PCB so to remove the whole thing, it is necessary to undo the torx screws at the back of the card and the spring loaded screws that secures the heatsink itself. Below the metal bracket, we can see that thermal pads have been used to provide a better surface for heat transfer from the memory modules and the power circuitry. It is also possible to remove the shroud from the metal bracket to reveal the heatsink and fan.

The PCB uses the same layout as the GTX580 but lacks some of the components, most notably two less memory modules, chokes and capacitors at the end of the card. Another difference is the substitution of an 8 pin power connector for a 6 pin one.


The GF110 core is a monster of a chip, with a 520mm squared die size packing over 3 billion transistors. If anything, the integrated heat spreader is indicative of the core underneath, creating a large enough surface area for maximum heat dissipation. The cut down GPU found on the GTX570 has the model name GF110-275-A1 compared to the GF110-375-A1 name on the GTX580.


There are a total of 10 128MB memory modules for 1.25GB of on-board GDDR5 memory. The modules have been sourced from Samsung and carry the model name K4G10325FE-HC05. These are rated at 0.5ns for a rated speed of 4Gbps. The memory on the Inno3D GTX570 comes clocked at 4004MHz from the default 3800MHz, the limit of what they are rated at.


The GTX570 boasts a 4 phase power design as indicated by the removal of two chokes and the associated PWM circuitry. The memory is still supported by a two phase design. Furthermore, two capacitors have been removed from the corner of the PCB. Thermal pads have been employed to provide additional cooling to the power circuitry. The design may not seem as robust as the GTX580’s but it highlights the efficiency of the GPU.


The CHiL CHL 8266 voltage controller enabled voltage control and monitoring, making it an excellent addition for overclockers. Voltage tweaking is supported by third party applications such as MSI Afterburner.


One of the ways Nvidia have attempted to tackle the heat generated by the core is a vapour chamber cooler. The copper heat plate contains liquid in the base (the raised middle portion of the plate that is in contact with the GPU). The liquid evaporates and absorbs further latent heat through its phase transition to vapour. The vapour rises and condenses on the outside upper part of the heat plate releasing heat which is then transmitted to the overlying fin array. The condenser fluid circulates around the outside of the heat plate. This type of cooler was first used by Nvidia on the GTX580, who have traditionally opted for heat pipe based heatsinks. The advantage of the vapour chamber is the larger surface area of the heat plate for greater heat transfer. The main difference is the deeper copper heat plate at the base to ensure better transfer of heat.

Heat that is transferred to the heat sink across the fins is dissipated by airflow from the fan towards the exhaust port on the rear. The design is very efficient but it is yet to be seen how practical it is in real life applications.