Reviews - ZOTAC GeForce GTX 480 AMP! - Fermi done properly

[HEXUS]

Throwing away the reference cooling, ZOTAC goes back to the GTX 480 drawing board.

Read more.

[borandi]

The same problem as all the other fancy coolers. I want the air OUT OF THE CASE. Not blowing around the case.

[ehhhhhhh]

The same problem as all the other fancy coolers. I want the air OUT OF THE CASE. Not blowing around the case.

I thought the same, but it is (surprisingly) incorrect. these coolers are perfect (more efficient than the standard exhaust style coolers) and don't affect the other temps, of course, good airflow in the case is essential.

[cameronlite]

I agree. The majority of gaming cases have numerous fans at the top and back of the case. Wouldnt it make sense to have the fan on the OTHER side of the board so it blew the air up and out of the case?

[CK_1985]

Interesting review, thanks Hexus. I'm amazed that a change of cooler is able to have such a big effect on this card - it looks an altogether much more viable alternative to the 5870 than the stock card (although the price may be too high by the sound of it).

Does make you wonder why the NV stock cooler is so bad though - they could have saved themselves from a significant chunk of the bad press they'd been getting if they'd released a card that was fairly hot but quiet, rather than very hot and very loud!

[HW_90]

Does make you wonder why the NV stock cooler is so bad though - they could have saved themselves from a significant chunk of the bad press they'd been getting if they'd released a card that was fairly hot but quiet, rather than very hot and very loud!

yes but then they'd have a three slot single GPU cooler which at the time would have given them bad press

[Zhaoman]

yes but then they'd have a three slot single GPU cooler which at the time would have given them bad press

People would've taken the mick even more had they done this. Remember that 5800 Ultra with 3 fans? What was it the dust blower or something.

[sadbuttrue]

Why don't hexus reviews note the perceived noise level at idle?

[Tarinder]

Because, in this case, the noise level of the GPU fan is lower than the level of the other fans in the system.

Most GPUs' fans make very little noise when truly idling, by the way.

[Brewster0101]

Nvida and ATI need to both look at their reference coolers. If a third party can come up with these good ideas why can't the actually GPU makers. Imagine if Nvidia had launched the 480 with this cooler in the first place. It would have had a much better PR run.

[semo]

Nvida and ATI need to both look at their reference coolers. If a third party can come up with these good ideas why can't the actually GPU makers. Imagine if Nvidia had launched the 480 with this cooler in the first place. It would have had a much better PR run.

The reference coolers do their job and in ATI's case it has a lot of headroom (designed to cool 300W cards). Their focus is mainstream market and having the hot exhaust come out at the rear of the case is very important for someone who might be upgrading their dell system. Also the reference designs are simpler since they only have one fan. These after market coolers are not better but different

[kalniel]

Nvida and ATI need to both look at their reference coolers. If a third party can come up with these good ideas why can't the actually GPU makers. Imagine if Nvidia had launched the 480 with this cooler in the first place. It would have had a much better PR run.

There are standards that define how large cards should be, especially their width and height - on the other-hand the PCI-E standard allows for much longer cards than you'd expect. So the OEM coolers tend to be constrained by these things, especially for those destined to the channel.

[Brewster0101]

These after market coolers are not better but different

Different by lowering temps and noise levels, I would call this better.

[semo]

Different by lowering temps and noise levels, I would call this better.

well of course some characteristics will be better but this point is moot when you are looking at the cooling solution as a whole. Does the reviewer state their set up? What if you fit one of those cards in a compact case? Let's say that hypothetically, because of the restricted airflow, the card ends up heating up the case interior which in turn bumps up your CPU and HDD temps more than a reference card. Is this design now better (still hypothetically speaking)? SLI would also be a problem with a 3 slot card.

I assume that the test was performed on an open air system and the fact that the fans do not exhaust the hot air doesn't really matter. This design is better if you assume that the card will be bought by enthusiasts who have big cases with good airflow. GPU makers can't make that assumption for their millions of customers so they go with a different cooling solution.

[kalniel]

I assume that the test was performed on an open air system and the fact that the fans do not exhaust the hot air doesn't really matter.

Or, you could read the review and discover they tested using an Obsidian 700D with the side panels on. No assumptions needed (except perhaps for our assumption that you'd have read the review before discussing it )

[semo]

My reasoning is still sound considering that the 700D is a large case with good airflow. I read through the intro and setup sections and then looked at the numbers so I missed the the system setup because I didn't read the conclusion.

The fact that reference cards are more suitable for the mainstream because they draw cool air from the case intake and route it to the case exhaust. If you use multi GPU configuration then your cool air intake won't be obstructed. Also you case temps will stay lower (negligible in good cases, disastrous in your "average case").