Hardware Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2048MB Phantom Review

The GTX 560 Ti is a mid range card, the fact that it has the same amount of memory as a high end card doesn't change that.
Due to it being a mid range card it makes perfect sense to test it at a mid range resolution.

For resolutions above 1920x1080 you don't want a GTX560 Ti, regardless if it has 64KB or 2GB of memory.

 

You're completely missing the point. Regardless if it has a 560 chip in it, or a 520, the ONLY reason that you'd have 2GB on a card is to handle higher resolution frame buffers and/or multiple monitors at higher rez.

You don't need a 2GB card for 1920x1080, much less a 1GB card. You *could* use the extra GB for texture cache, but frankly, systems are fast enough that most engines stream that data off of disc instead (see Rage/Unreal 3/Crytek, etc.), so most use the extra memory for things like extra back-buffers, higher levels of AA, all to deal with handling higher resolution displays.

Not testing a 2GB card with higher resolutions is akin to not testing a car setup for rally racing on a dirt track just because it has a 4-banger in it...

and as for other comments regarding having to go retest 16 cards each time?

Really?

You go and retest EVERY card for EVERY test EVERY time? Unless the drivers specifically state they've added optimization for a particular game in the driver change-log, the respective changes dont' generally amount to much for older games. In fact, it's been proven (gah, can't find the site that showed it), that newer drivers are commonly SLOWER for older cards, than previous revisions. Resulting really in skewed data over time...

Gah.

 

I only said it doesn't make sense to test low end / mid range gpus at high res, I did not say it makes sense to build a Videocard with a GTX560 Ti Gpu and 2GB memory.
Its the same BS from the Card Manufacturers as usual, they slap on more Ram for marketing purposes but there is just no practical use for it on those particular Cards, if you want a more extreme example, HIS does a 2GB Radeon 6450...

On a Gpu that is fast enough to actually produce playable framerates in the latest Games at high quality settings, like for example a GTX 580 it can make sense to increase the amount of memory and of course such Cards should then also be tested at the highest res / quality settings possible.

 

You're absolutely correct, that it's all marketing hyperbole, and I agree with you. However, the point here is that Bit-Tech should be SHOWING that as part of the test. The ONLY reason you need 2GB is for the higher-rez. The problem is, because they stopped at 1920x1080, there's no way to SHOW that the 2GB is effectively useless on a knee-capped card like this as a single card solution.

Given what they've shown so far, one could make the obviously incorrect conclusion that "Hey, this card comes with 2GB and it's as fast as the other 1GB cards, so it must be better!!". Then go an purchase the superfluous 2GB.

No, it won't hurt anything, but it'd be pointless, and if it cost a bit more than any other card, it'd be kind of a waste.

Not to mention, there's also the fact that 2 of these 560's with 2GB in an SLI setup actually works pretty well for the higher-rez. Even though they may not actually TEST the SLI setup, it can be easily extrapolated from the individual card tests if they bothered to test at appropriate resolutions (2560x1440, 2560x1600, etc.). As a single card the frame rates would be too low, but in a SLI setup, they would add at an approximate 85% scale, and one could make the determination that this would work.

Unfortunately, they didn't. So, now we'll have to wait. Which is where the disappointment creeps in with their testing regimen. They so laser focus on the mid-range aspects of this card that they fail to realize that it's actually useful in OTHER situations (multi-monitor setups for one, in addition to SLI setups, CUDA work, etc.).

Sigh. This site originally was based around modders, with a focus on finding creative ways to use components to their utmost.

Since the buyout, it's just turned into another PC Mag review site. No thinking outside the box anymore...

 

I want one, :drool:.

The Phontom models look so..

 

Call me old fashioned but I thought DIRT 2 was a DX10 game,not DX11.

My EVGA GTX 580 with a core i7 920@3.8 does not come anywhere near them fps@1920x1080 in DIRT 3

So has somebody dropped a blob?...... DIRT 2 or DIRT 3 with the wrong fps?

 

why do all these reviews make it look like that extra ram is there for more fps instead of smoother game play at higher settings ?

 

Proof??

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18344290

 

What colour is the PCB? Looks black in the bit-tech photos but all of the unboxing's on YouTube and retailer websites show it as red.

 

never saw ram make that much difference in raw fps numbers on any site until I read this.... ????

 

A VGA port? get out here... I mean COME-ON

 

a lot of people still use them. and there have been times then only way to get a monitor up was to use the VGA port.

 

I have 2 of these cards in sli, one is in the 16x pci-e and the other in the 8x pci-e, because they are thicker then standard sli cards you cannot not put them both in 16x pci-e slots ( what a let down)
i play battlefield 3 with all settings turned up and i can get these cards to jump from idle temp of around 25-30 degrees, when in game 60-70 degrees under that load these cards all though they perform the stock heatsink can not keep them cool its struggles to last 2 games before the temp crashes the game,

 

Did you manage to find a mobo that has slots to support these both in 16x? I have the same problem - they are that big they render most of the expansion slots on my asus rampage ii extreme unusable. Only board i've found that i might be able to use is a rampage iv extreme, otherwise i have to replace the cards!