Testing Procedure
Methods
The test the performance of video cards at eTeknix we run a variety of tests at four different resolutions, where supported and appropriate, across a suite of games and benchmarks. We run each of these benchmarks three times to take an average and use the latest WHQL-certified video card drivers from AMD and Nvidia to test with – namely Catalyst 13.4 and Nvidia Forceware 320.49.
To attain noise levels we hold a decibel meter approximately 3 inches away from the card after running Furmark for five minutes. To achieve idle noise we allow the system to stay idle at the desktop for 5 minutes before taking a noise reading.
To achieve temperatures we take the maximum temperature of the GPU core during Furmark load as recorded by CPUID HW Monitor. To achieve idle temperatures we take the minimum recorded GPU core temperature in CPUID HW Monitor after desktop-idling for 5 minutes. We use delta temperatures (actual temperature – ambient temperature) and we always use default PWM fan profiles.
To measure power consumption we take the maximum stable power consumption at idle on the desktop over a 5 minute period, and for load we take the maximum stable power consumption during Furmark load. Like with acoustic measurements we do not read off the maximum stable power consumption value until after 5 minutes to give the system enough time to stabilise at its power envelope.
Test System:
- Motherboard – Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79 LGA 2011 (chipset fan disabled)
- Processor – Intel Core i7 3960X at stock clock speeds of 3.3GHz with Turbo Mode disabled.
- RAM – 16GB (2 X 8GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 1866MHz at 9-10-9-27
- CPU Cooler – Corsair H100i with Quiet Fan Profile
- Power Supply – Corsair HX1050W
- Main Storage Drive – Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD over SATA III interface
- Chassis – Lian Li T60 Test Bench
- Displays – Dell U2711 Ultra Sharp for 2560 by 1440 and we use the LG IPS 234 & LG IPS 224 with the Dell U2711 Ultra Sharp to run 5760 by 1080.
- Operating System – Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
We would like to thank Asus, Corsair, Kingston, Lian Li and all our other partners who supplied us with test equipment and hardware. Their generosity makes our testing possible and without them we wouldn’t be able to produce the reviews we do, so thank you!
Games Used
- Aliens Vs Predator
- Dirt Showdown
- Hitman: Absolution
- Metro Last Light
- Sleeping Dogs
- Bioshock Infinite
- Tomb Raider
Resolutions Used (where possible)
- 1680 x 1050
- 1920 x 1080
- 2560 x 1440
- 5760 x 1080
Hardware Used
- Plug “killawatt” style electricty usage meter
- Benetech GM1351 decibel meter
Software Used
- 3DMark 11
- 3DMark 2013
- CPUID HWMonitor
- Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
- Furmark 1.10.5
I have the same video card, but not even with the AC onits imposible for me to reach those low temp you have shown us ! Are you sure you did not test the video card in a freezer next to some porkchops?
temperatures are deltas (actual – ambient). That means 53.9 is not actual temp. The actual temp is 53.9 + your room temperature which in our cases was about 24 so about 78 degrees celsius.
Then please write it down in the review 🙂
78°c with the default profile or with a modified one? On auto or 100% ? Please specify that to in your review. Thank you
It clearly states at the top of the graph that delta temperatures are used. We always use automatic fan profiles.
No offense but this review looks like a lot of bs
You are entitled to that opinion if you so wish. You don’t give any substance as to why it is “bs” so it’s not a particular useful comment.
Nice card was thinking about getting one of these until I got screwed by Scans RMA services…
how did you get screwed?
I own one of these, honestly the best card i ever had, its overclocking capabilities are great too. i really recommend it for gamers that want to play the latest games maxed out in full hd 🙂
How about that. We have one of these awaiting testing (not sure about clock speeds, GPU-Z will reveal all). I really like MSI’s graphics cards and the Twin Frozr cooler. Once testing is done, I’ll pull it apart, replace the thermal grease with decent stuff and bolt it in my rig.
Usually I run a more aggressive fan profile for improved cooling using MSI Afterburner with it being barely audible under normal usage & ramping up much higher under load. The extra din from the fans doesn’t worry me one bit because when gaming, my ears are firmly ensconced in my Roccat Kave’s and I can’t hear them at all.
It’s either that or I’ll just stick with my Gigabyte GTX 770 WindForce 3X OC which I’m more than happy with. I only run my games on my personal rig at 1980 X 1080 anyway. I know the card is overkill but hey… I didn’t have to buy it. 🙂
Interesting. Now i can’t decide between this Twinfrozr and the Gainward Phantom… My major worry with the phantom is that it’s big, and i’m on a m-atx board, with a PCI soundcard installed, scared of having it overheat… Any idea?
Gainward card will not overheat it has amazing cooling. Space on the other hand might be an issue, it’s effectively 2.5 PCI slots. What board do you have?
Thank you for the response. I have an asus Maximus IV gene-z. (not the B3 revision, so i just don’t have the pci-e 3.0, i’m aware the card will bottleneck).
Well providing your sound card will fit in the last PCIe 4X lane (which it should as most sound cards are PCIe 1X or 4X) then yes you can get either card. If you get the Phantom you may be limited by what you can put in the second PCIe 16X lane, e.g nothing that is thick will be able to fit. No PCIe 2.0 will not bottleneck you so honestly don’t worry about that, you’d need SLI 770s to even notice a difference between PCIe 2.0 and 3.0 speeds. I think either card is a great choice, the MSI one is slightly cheaper but clocked lower (so performs worse), the Gainward one is slightly more expensive but clocked higher (so performs better). As far as I am aware the MSI GTX 770 also has a slightly longer warranty, 3 years vs 2 years. Both run super quiet and really cool (neither will overheat even in a poorly ventilated case). From my experience overclocking on the Gainward card might be slightly better. Hope this helps you make a decision.
Got it, thank you for clearing all of this out! I haven’t decided yet, but since either will be a god choice, and there’s less than 10 bucks difference at my place… I’ll see which weights more between the clock and oc potential (phantom) vs warranty, lower noise (even slightly) and size (msi). Best regards!
Hey there! Just to tell you that thanks to your advice, i picked the Phantom, since i found a shop where it was cheaper and at same waranty (Digitec, switzerland). And since i’m not a big oc-er, it won’t push it often to the higher temps neither. Ma machin is on a roll 😀 Thanks again for your help!
Glad to hear, hope it serves you well for many years to come. If you’re not sure if the OC is stable be sure to use a stability test like Unigine Heaven, OCCT or even 3DMark Vantage/11 – there is no point in using Furmark as most cards are programmed to down-clock in Furmark. I didn’t personally review the GTX 770 Phantom, but our review shows that you should be able to get it to about 1200-1250MHz on the core and 1900-2000MHz on the memory
http://www.eteknix.com/gainward-geforce-gtx-770-phantom-oc-2gb-graphics-card-review/16/
Thanks for the advice, I will do it. Best wishes for your future!