Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SO review - Introduction

GV-N580SO-15I from the Gigabyte Super Overclock Series

It's always pretty darn interesting when a graphics card manufacturer simply purchases the GPU from the ODM, and then starts building a new card around it. Not many names in the industry have that R&D capacity and design level behind them, and I'm not even mentioning turn-around time here.. Amongst them are ASUS, MSI and of course for today's product, Gigabyte.

Gigabyte peeked at the NVIDIA reference GeForce GTX 580, then took the GeForce GTX 580 GPU, and threw the rest away. They designed a new PCB loaded with features and overclocking potential, slapped some really cool memory on the card and topped off that GPU with the all new WindForce 3X cooler. The cooler design is Gigabytes first generation triple-fan solution. It features 3 quiet PWM fans, three copper heat pipes and a vapor chamber to strengthen the speed of heat dissipation.

The new cooler allows really high clocks with low volume levels AND keeps the card pretty darn cool. Then Gigabyte added stuff, like a very nice factory overclock, dual-BIOS, the Ultra Durable design strategy which includes durable components like Proadlizers, the 2 oz Copper PCB, top-tier gDDR5 Memory, Solid Capacitors, Ferrite Core, Metal Chokes and Low RDS MOSFETs, all good stuff.

In many ways the GeForce GTX 580 SO/SOC surprised us, including heat and noise levels, but also the overclocking potential. All in all impressive stuff, have a quick peek at the product and then lets dive into the review.