Power, Temperature and Noise
As we know, the overclocked 700-series cards do carry one particular proviso: they're noticeably less efficient than the reference design. With more voltage running through its veins, the WindForce 3X pushes system-wide power consumption close to 300 watts under load.
Now how about that triple-fan cooler? Well, mixed results. The WindForce 3X is clearly doing a good job, but it isn't a great deal better than reference and it isn't quite as efficient as EVGA's new ACX.
And as was the case with the GTX 770 WindForce 3X, Gigabyte's fan-speed profile is arguably more aggressive than it needs to be. The fans ramp up to 2,700rpm when gaming, despite core temperature keeping comfortably below the usual 80ºC target. As a consequence, it isn't as quiet as competing solutions.
