Benchmark: Temperature
We're deep into our review and we're only now seeing a graph that shows a big difference between the two custom-cooled and factory-overclocked cards.
When it comes to cooling the Pitcairn XT core, Gigabyte's three-fan WindForce cooler is simply outstanding - it reduces under-load temperature by a massive 21 per cent when compared to AMD's reference design.
PowerColor's PCS+, meanwhile, is surprisingly average in this benchmark. The card does feature overclocks on both core and memory, but we were still surprised to see it running 10 per cent warmer than a standard HD 7870. But the temps tell only half the story...