Today we shall review three graphics cards from Zotac based on the high-end GF100 GPU. As you may know, Zotac is a subsidiary of PC Partner, a major Chinese manufacturer of electronics. Unlike another subsidiary—Sapphire—that only makes graphics cards based on AMD (ATI) GPUs, Zotac only produces cards with NVIDIA graphics processors.

Of the three cards we have today, only one—GeForce GTX 465—is a copy of the reference design. The other two are original solutions.

Design

Zotac GeForce GTX 480 AMP
GPU: GeForce GTX 480 (GF100) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 756/1512 MHz (the standard is 700/1400 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 950 (3800) MHz (the standard is 925 (3700) MHz) Bus: 384-bit Stream processors: 480 TMUs: 60 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 48 Size: 270x110x39 mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI mini Multi-GPU: SLI (hardware)
Zotac GeForce GTX 470 AMP
GPU: GeForce GTX 470 (GF100) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 656/1315 MHz (the standard is 607/1215 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 850 (3400) MHz (the standard is 840 (3360) MHz) Bus: 320-bit Stream processors: 448 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 40 Size: 260x110x39 mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI mini Multi-GPU: SLI (hardware)
Zotac GeForce GTX 465
GPU: GeForce GTX 465 (GF100) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 607/1215 MHz (the standard is 607/1215 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 800 (3200) MHz (the standard is 800 (3200) MHz) Bus: 256-bit Stream processors: 352 TMUs: 48 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 36 Size: 260x100x33 mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI mini Multi-GPU: SLI (hardware)

Zotac GeForce GTX 480 AMP
1536MB GDDR5 SDRAM in 12 Hynix chips on the front side of the PCB.
Zotac GeForce GTX 470 AMP
1280MB GDDR5 SDRAM in 10 Hynix chips on the front side of the PCB.
Zotac GeForce GTX 465
1024MB GDDR5 SDRAM in 8 Hynix chips on the front side of the PCB.

Comparison with the reference design, front view
Zotac GeForce GTX 480 AMP	Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480
Zotac GeForce GTX 470 AMP	Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
Zotac GeForce GTX 465	Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470

Comparison with the reference design, rear view
Zotac GeForce GTX 480 AMP	Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480
Zotac GeForce GTX 470 AMP	Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
Zotac GeForce GTX 465	Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470

As you can see, all three cards copy the reference design. The key distinguishing feature is cooling systems (to be examined a bit later).

As you may remember, GeForce GTX 285, the previous high-end solution, had 512-bit bus. Since the bus is 384-bit and since there's no NVIO unit now, the PCB is simpler and cheaper. On the other hand, the power supply is more powerful, because the graphics card consumes up to the extreme 300W. This is comparable to GeForce GTX 295, the old dual-GPU solution.

All graphics cards have supplemental power connectors: GeForce GTX 480 has 8-pin and 6-pin, GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 465 have two 6-pin ones.

Maximum resolutions and frequencies:

• 240 Hz maximum refresh rate
• 2048 x 1536 x 32bit @ 85Hz Max -- analog interface
• 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz Max -- digital interface (Dual-Link DVI/HDMI)

As for the HDTV support, a review is available here.

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