NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Review | 118 Data compared

The Tom’s Hardware review evaluates five overclocked GeForce GTX 560 graphics cards from Asus, ECS, Galaxy, MSI, and Zotac to determine which vendor offers the best overall package in the $200 price range. While the initial goal was to isolate the efficiency of individual cooling solutions, the article instead provides a comprehensive comparison of factory overclocks, software bundles, and hardware features. The cards tested vary significantly in performance, with Zotac’s AMP! Edition pushing the core clock to a high of 950 MHz, whereas the Galaxy MDT remains closest to reference speeds at 830 MHz. The pros of these cards include highly effective custom cooling solutions like MSI’s Twin Frozr II and Asus’s DirectCU II, which improve thermal management over reference designs, and unique features such as Galaxy’s support for up to four displays. Additionally, several models offer added value through bundled games like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. On the cons side, the review notes that some cards, such as the ECS and Zotac models, lack GPU voltage adjustment support in standard software like MSI Afterburner, limiting their manual overclocking potential. Furthermore,...

The ASUS GeForce GTX 560 TOP DirectCU II is a heavily modified, non-reference card featuring a significant 925 MHz factory overclock on the 40nm GF114 architecture, enabling performance that rivals the higher-end GTX 560 Ti. Key strengths include the exceptionally quiet and effective DirectCU II thermal solution—keeping load temperatures around 70°C—and, while memory overclocking is poor, the core still reaches 975 MHz. Conversely, the card is held back by limited memory overclocking potential, low power efficiency compared to the 560 Ti, and a maximum of only two active displays. Furthermore, the $220 launch price presents a value challenge, placing it only $10 below the superior, fully-fledged GTX 560 Ti.

The ECS GeForce GTX 560, as reviewed by Guru3D, is a solid, reference-based mid-range card utilizing the GF114 GPU with 336 CUDA cores and 1GB GDDR5, offering great value for DirectX 11 gaming at 1920x1200. Key advantages include its extremely quiet operation, excellent value, and significant overclocking potential, with the core reaching up to 980 MHz. Conversely, the card's 150W-170W TDP is considered high, and the reference cooler allows for higher load temperatures. Furthermore, the lack of a custom PCB or factory overclock makes it a standard, no-frills option, and SLI is necessary for 3D Vision Surround support.