Review: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3X

Conclusion

There hasn't been an influx of new GPU architectures at Computex this year, with Nvidia instead choosing to flesh out the GTX 700-series range with a card that's essentially a revised and improved variant of last year's GTX 680.

From a reference-design perspective, what makes the GTX 770 genuinely lustworthy is Nvidia's impressive Titan cooler. This gives add-in-card partners a problem of sorts: how do you differentiate with custom designs that are fundamentally better than reference?

Knowing that the default card looks fantastic, cools well, keeps quiet and expels hot air from within the chassis, it's proving difficult for aftermarket coolers to improve on all fronts. Not wanting to stray from what's historically a winning formula, Gigabyte's WindForce cooler uses a familiar three-fan design and delivers reference-beating temperatures under load.

Coupled with a mild overclock and competitive pricing, the WindForce 3X is another fast and well-made GTX 770 that's worthy of consideration. If there's a caveat, it's that Gigabyte has been a driving force in the graphics market for some time, and given the financial muscle available to the company's engineers, we were hoping for something genuinely better than the competition.

The Good

Faster than reference
Keeps very cool under load
Competitive pricing

The Bad

Memory isn't overclocked
No bundled games

HEXUS Awards

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3X

HEXUS Where2Buy

The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3X graphics card is available to purchase from Scan Computers*, Ebuyer, Dabs and Novatech.

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