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Gainward GTX 780 Phantom GLH 3GB

Hi everyone! Recently I managed to get my hands on one of the new cards from our sponsors over at NVIDIA and Gainward, the GTX 780 Phantom GLH (Goes like Hell) 3gb. I have had a great time going through the in’s and out’s of the card along with tinkering with all the different settings. So I thought I would share my experience and give a bit of a review on the card!

Specifications:

Product Name : Gainward GeForce® GTX 780 Phantom "GLH"
Barcode : 426018336-2975
GPU : GeForce GTX 780
GPU Clockspeed : 1033 MHz (boost) / 980 MHz (base)
Memory : 3072MB GDDR5 (384 bits)
Memory Clockspeed : 3100 MHz (DDR6200)
Bandwidth : 297.6 GB/s
Ramdac : 400 MHz
Bus : PCI-Express 3.0 x 16
Cooling : 2.5 Slot Fan cooler
Video-Features : HDMI Connectivity : Dual DVI, DisplayPort
Product Size : 274mm x 112mm
Power Connector : 8-pin & 6-pin

*Data from the Gainward website. www.gainward.com


Features:

· Next-generation Kepler-architecture-based GPU
· Microsoft DirectX 11.1 API (feature level 11_0), Shader Model 5.0 support
· Microsoft DirectCompute and OpenCL Support
· NVIDIA GPU Boost 2.0
· NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync
· NVIDIA SHIELD™ gaming portable ready
· NVIDIA CUDA Technology
· NVIDIA PhysX Technology
· NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround Ready
· NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology
· NVIDIA SLI ready
· OpenGL 4.3 support
· PCI Express 3.0
· Two Dual-link DVI connectors
· One DisplayPort connector
· One HDMI connector (v1.4a)

*Features from the Gainward website www.gainward.com

Dual link DVI adapters at the ready

Overclocking

With the GeForce GTX 780 Phantom, the card comes into your hands with a factory overclock, so you cannot expect to see the most movement in clock speeds. However with that being said, the card has been shown to be capable of pushing the GPU about 130-135 MHz over its reference clocks, and the memory about 200-300 MHz over. This will provide a FPS boost when playing particularly taxing games, however the card out of the box is fast enough for anything coming out in the near future. While the factory overclock means that most of the hard work is already done for you, with the combination of Gainward features along with the new NVIDIA technology for the GTX 700 series this card really has amazing potential for the knowledgeable IT guru. What I find really fantastic is that these features are extremely simple to utilise and allow casual gamers to tinker as well. These features are NVIDIA’s GPU Boost 2.0, the Gainward EXPERTool utility with inbuilt EXPERTmode and the custom Gainward Phantom cooler.

NVIDIA GPU Boost 2.0

GPU boost 2.0 is NVIDIA’s new addition to the GTX 700 series of cards. Obviously as the name suggests it is an upgrade on the original GPU boost using data collected from the GTX680. It allows you to pre-set and monitor your card’s temperature by means of controlling the voltage. This is pretty awesome when using a watercooled PC as temperature no longer becomes a factor. As such you can simply crank up the voltage to maximum and get the full potential out of the card.

Gainward EXPERTool II tuning utility

Expert mode II gives you a full read out of the cards vitals. You can actively change the GPU overvoltage, Memory overvoltage and fanspeed along with tracking the current GPU temperature. It contains 6 different usermode settings allowing you to have specific set-ups for whatever your needs may be. Combined with NVIDIA’s GPU boost you have the potential to tinker to your hearts content.

The custom Phantom cooler

There are a couple of features within the custom Phantom Cooler from Gainward that really push this card to the limits. The custom Gainward hardware design has resulted in lower energy loss, a lower EMI level and higher stability under heavy load over the stock GTX780. Also the unique Gainward Phantom fans allow for greater heat regulation on the card allowing you to push beyond the usual NVIDIA limits and better utilise GPU Boost II. What really makes these custom fans awesome is the easy access panel. One of the issues I have always had with graphics cards is cleaning the fans. This access panel allows you to access and clean a single fan by simply removing a screw (does not require a screwdriver). This was an amazing add-on for me as I have rather large fingers and I struggle with small wires and trying not to damage the heatsink without specific cleaning tools. This panel allows me to access and clean key components without the possibility of voiding the warranty or damaging the card. This was such a smart and cool feature that I immediately loved! Unfortunately this comes at a price as the card is actually quite large. It takes well over 2 card slots. This is important to note if you plan on utilising SLI as you simply may not have the space for extra cards. I have a rather small case and there is definitely no room for a second card, so this is important to keep in mind.

A closer look at how the fan slots work on the custom Gainward Phantom cooler

GeForce Experience

GeForce Experience has been around for a while now. It comes stock standard with all NVIDIA cards past the GT 300 generation and is an easy download from the NVIDIA website. GeForce experience really is fantastic. It keeps track of drivers and allows for quick optimisation of games. Aside from simple gaming performance GeForce experience allows you to configure the LED effects on your gaming rig and also contains the very powerful streaming program ShadowPlay.

ShadowPlay

There was a new update to ShadowPlay recently that I just want to touch on quickly. For those of you who don’t know what ShadowPlay is, it’s basically an inbuilt streaming application for graphics cards that is currently in the beta stage. Streaming has completely changed gaming. The ability to watch any game at any time from any part of the world has opened up an entirely new market. With ShadowPlay now connecting directly to twitch.tv there is no need for additional stream capture cards or even programs. You simply stream straight from your graphics card to twitch. The real bonus of this is that you no longer have to cap your framerates allowing you to provide the highest quality stream possible without any noteable performance issues. This is extremely exciting for me as someone who has streamed regularly and struggled with performance based issues. If you are a streamer, this is a huge advantage that NVIDIA cards have to offer. For more information on Shadowplay you can check out the article written by Team Exile 5's Battlefield 4 division here http://www.team-exile5.org/J25/news/...dowplay-review

NVIDIA’s new anti-aliasing: FXAA and TXAA

Launched with the new “Kepler” generation of GPU’s (GTX 680 onwards) Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing or FXAA applies a post processing step that reduces the visibility of aliasing (jagged edges). While any kind of anti-aliasing has negative performance effects NVIDIA’s FXAA offers a substantial performance increase over basic anti-aliasing. Temporal Anti-Aliasing or TXAA aims to reduce the shimmering affect created by movement. Combined with FXAA this offers a far clearer imagine as opposed to standard AA. The downside though is the increased load on the GPU, but with the Gainward’s GTX 780 Phantom GLH beastly performance it can handle both forms of AA without a problem.

Unboxed and ready to go!

Benchmarking

While these features are nice and all, the real reason people buy graphics card is for well, graphics. In this area the Gainward GTX 780 Phantom GLH seriously delivers. The main benchmark card currently on the market is NVIDIA's GTX Titan 6GB which has astounding potential in an overclocked SLI setup. Benchmarking will be run with comparisons to the stock GTX Titan and the stock NVIDIA GTX 780 Card on the latest games.

Benchmarking tests were performed using the following hardware

CPU Intel i7 3770k
Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-VPro
RAM 16GB 1333MHz G.Skill
Solid State Drive Kingston 240GB
Hard Drive Western Digital 1TB Green
Monitor Dual Acer 23’ 1080p
CPU Cooler CoolerMaster V8 Air Cooler
Case CoolerMaster HAF 932
PSU ThermalTake EVO Blue 750W

BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite is widely regarded as one of the best games of 2013. Whilst traversing the airborne city of Columbia you want your game to run both smoothly and look as pretty as can be. As seen in the below benchmarking stats, the game runs beautifully at 1920x1080 at ultra graphics settings. It outperforms both the stock GTX 780 and the mighty 6GB Titan.

*Higher FPS is better

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 is a open-world first person shooter game. As you would expect, the Gainward NVIDIA GTX 780 GLH runs at consistently high frame rates allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the jungle isles. The stats below are average FPS taken whilst running the game on ultra settings at 1920x1080. This game is one where the card shines, showing considerable performance improvements over both the stock NVIDIA GTX 780 and the GTX Titan.

*Higher FPS is better

Conclusion

As clearly shown in the benchmarking the Gainward GTX 780 Phantom GLH is a serious step up from the stock GTX 780 card from NVIDIA. The fact that it competes with the GTX Titan is really awesome when you consider price. Currently a GTX 780 Phantom GLH retails for around $650 AU while the GTX Titan 6gb will set you back well over $1000 AU. In this regard the GTX 780 Phantom GLH is designed purely for gaming, with a cost to match. If you are considering a graphics card upgrade or are even starting a new build I would highly recommend the GTX 780 Phantom GLH. The combination of the custom Gainward build along with the amazing array of support programs from NVIDIA really makes this card something special. The fact that it will run everything in the foreseeable future on max settings with ease is just the icing on the cake.