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MSI GTX 560 Twin Frozr II OC |
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Synthetic Benchmarks, Heat & Noise, Conclusions
Synthetic Benchmarks:
Benchmark: 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11
Score: GPU/Graphics Score Only - Higher is Better.
Download Link: here.
Benchmark: Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Score: Average Frames per Second (FPS) - Higher is Better.
Download Link: here.
Noise and Temperature Results:
Noise measurements were taken with a digital sound meter approximately 3cm away from the video card fans, reducing the ability of other components such as the CPU or PSU fans to interfere with the final results. Software used for stressing was 3DMark Vantage, looped until the sound level was stable and stopped rising.
Temperature readings were taken at an ambient temperature of approximately 22 degrees Celsius, on a open test bench with the fan set to auto. Load and idle temperatures were monitored by MSI's Afterburner utility. Software used for stressing was 3DMark Vantage, looped until the temperature was stable and stopped rising.
Conclusions:
We are glad to see NVIDIA working to fill pricing holes in their range of 500-series video cards, and for them striving to reach more accessible price points for gamers. As mentioned at the start of the review, NVIDIA are aiming to hit the $199USD mark which is a good $40USD less than existing GTX 560 Ti models (and $50 less than launch), but as for how much of a difference we will see on Australian shores is yet to be seen, nevertheless, the performance, overclockabilty and lower price point will definitely appeal to a lot of gamers and we hope to see some competitive pricing and interesting designs between manufacturers.
So what was MSI able to achieve with their GTX 560 variant? Well, we really could not be happier with the final product, and to say we were impressed with the cooling and acoustic performance of the Twin Frozr II solution would be an understatement. Not only did it keep the card cool while overclocking, but you could barely notice the fans working while benchmarking; put it in a desktop case or HTPC and I doubt you'd even be able to make out it was running.
Overclocking the card was also a walk in the park, with some minor voltage adjustments we reached a scorching core clock of 1000 MHz and had the memory running at 2300 MHz (4600 MHz effective) with still some headroom left for tweaking. During overclocking the video card didn't have any trouble keeping itself cool, and displayed plenty of untapped potential for those users willing to push the voltage higher than we did in today's article. And while we have yet to test other manufacturer's designs, we have a lot of confidence in this card as it ticks all the boxes a non-reference design should, and exceeded our expectations from the get-go. MSI's GTX 560 Twin Frozr II OC is set to be available in stores in the next couple of weeks, and comes with a 3-year warranty.
Feel free to comment on this review in this thread.
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