certain parts of the game or
benchmark, the Xtreme Gaming
kept the clock speed constant
leading to overall higher benchmark
figures than what would otherwise
be possible by merely clocking the
G1 model to the same frequency.
Again we are dealing with the
fastest GPU on the market already
so the performance is already great
and if farther pushed into greatness
by the huge overclock out the box.
That alone wouldn’t be enough
though and certainly would not
encourage potential buyers to
purchase this card over the slightly
cheaper G1.Gaming model. What
makes this a far more compelling
alternative is the build quality.
The WindForce cooler for one has
been enhanced further outfitting it
with a central fan that spins in the
opposite direction to the others on
either side under low loads. Not only
does this help clear out dust build
up but it does make for an eerily
quiet GPU cooler even when playing
moderately taxing games. When all
three fans are spinning under some
heavy load, of course they all rotate
in the same direction and they can
be loud when set to 100%. You will
rarely, if ever though experience
such noise levels as in all the testing
done, the fans hardly reached
the 50% mark. Impressive by any
measure and certainly superior to
what the G1.Gaming was offering.
Moreover, the Xtreme Gaming card
looks incredible. Easily the most
aesthetically pleasing model out of
GIGABYTE by far. The RGB lighting
against the white/silver heatsink
accents works brilliantly and the full
colour control one has over the fans
has a lot to do with this. The lighting
is fully programmable via OC GURU
II, however an individual with the
right programming knowledge may
exercise even more control over
these RGB LEDs and configure a
more precise pattern and colouring
scheme should they desire. It is
difficult to put into words just how
compelling the lighting is on this
card and how in general this is a
magnificent looking graphics card.
Paired again with the all black back
plate and the hefty heatsink-fan
complex, the Xtreme Gaming is built
for performance, cool temperatures
and aesthetics. In all disciplines
it does very well with load
Issue 37 | 2016 The OverClocker 37