Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SOC Super Overclock 1536MB Graphics Card Review

Final ThoughtsStarting with the style and overall design, the card has definitely got a lot going for it and is surprisingly low-profile considering its mammoth power and performance. The cooler is something I’ve been a fan of (see what I did there?) for quite some time as it is stylish, offers low noise output and great thermal performance as you can see in the results on the last few pages. It’s quite a power hungry card, but that’s expected and is on par in terms of power draw with the 6970 but offers a lot more performance.

Performance wise, we don’t really need to say much as it is simply awesome. We were aware that it would rival the 6970 and assumed it would fall behind the 6990 but for the most part, it was on the same level or in some cases steaming ahead of the dual GPU monster from AMD. This shows the true potential behind this card and how well Nvidia and more importantly Gigabyte have developed it.

Obviously this all comes at a cost, and it’s not cheap in the slightest at a whopping $519.99 at Newegg/£426.70 at Scan it’s certainly going to break the bank, though the way we’ve looked at it, is that it’s cheaper than the Radeon 6990, uses less power and the most important thing, at least to me; it is QUIETER.

If you really are Mr Moneybags, you even have the ability to connect another couple of these in SLI, so watch this space as we will be looking at this card in SLI very soon.

A lot of consumers may complain that this card is complete overkill and most will be right but that’s the whole point of products like this and the 6990. You don’t need them but you want them and Gigabyte have definitely grabbed that market successfully.

I can’t say enough good things about this card, and at the same time, feel somewhat speechless as it has blown my expectations away and performed better than ever could have been hoped for. Gigabyte truly have made the fastest single GPU graphics card on the planet and we’re just thankful that we got to see it first hand. If you have the money and are looking at a GTX 580, I can’t recommend it enough, as you will NOT be disappointed in any shape or form.

Pros:

• Looks fantastic
• Performance is out of this world
• Reliable manufacturer
• Xtreme button caters for cold bug
• SLI functionality
• Different connectivity options
• Quiet and efficient
• World’s fastest single GPU graphics card
• Faster than a Radeon 6990 in the majority of tests
• Cheaper than a Radeon 6990

Cons:

• Some may consider it pricey