What should partners do, when GPU manufacturers haven't rolled out new products for a long time already? Right, they should invent new solutions based on the existing ones. Hence all these "Overclocked," "Turbo," "Super turbo," and the like. We won't be surprised to see "UltraMegaSuperOverclocked" or something of the kind. Today we are going to review a couple of such products: GTX 260 and 275 SuperOverclock from Gigabyte.

And we'll also take a look at the new RADEON HD 5870 card, which is provided by Gigabyte as it is - it's just a copy of the reference design without any modifications. While there is no need to examine it again, it will be very interesting to test it in a CrossFire configuration. Read on.

Card design

Gigabyte GV-N275SO (GeForce GTX 275 SuperOverclock) 1792MB
GPU: GeForce GTX 275 (GT200) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 713/1548 MHz (nominal -- 633/1400 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1250 (2500) MHz (nominal -- 1130 (2260) MHz) Memory bus width: 448bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 240 Texture processors: 80 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 32 Dimensions: 270x100x33 mm PCB color: blue RAMDACs/TDMS: in a separate NVIO chip Output connectors: 1xDVI (Dual-Link), 1xVGA, 1xHDMI VIVO: not available TV-out: not installed Multi-GPU operation: SLI (Hardware)
Gigabyte GV-N26SO (GeForce GTX 260 SuperOverclock) 896MB
GPU: GeForce GTX 260 (GT200) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 680/1512 MHz (nominal -- 575/1240 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1240 (2480) MHz (nominal -- 1000 (2000) MHz) Memory bus width: 448bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 216 Texture processors: 72 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 24 Dimensions: 270x100x33 mm PCB color: blue RAMDACs/TDMS: in a separate NVIO chip Output connectors: 1xDVI (Dual-Link), 1xVGA, 1xHDMI VIVO: not available TV-out: not installed Multi-GPU operation: SLI (Hardware)
Gigabyte GV-R587D5-1GD (RADEON HD 5870) 1024MB
GPU: RADEON HD 5870 (Cypress) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 850/850 MHz (nominal -- 850/850 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1200 (4800) MHz (nominal -- 1200 (4800) MHz) Memory bus width: 256bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 1600 Texture processors: 80 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 32 Dimensions: 285x100x33 mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), 1xDisplay Port, 1xHDMI VIVO: not available TV-out: not installed Multi-GPU operation: CrossFire (Hardware)

Gigabyte GV-N275SO (GeForce GTX 275 SuperOverclock) 1792MB
The graphics card has 1792 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM allocated in 14 Hynix memory chips on the front side of the PCB. These memory chips are designed for the maximum frequency of 1200 (2400) MHz.
Gigabyte GV-N26SO (GeForce GTX 260 SuperOverclock) 896MB
The graphics card has 896 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM allocated in 14 Hynix memory chips on the front side of the PCB. These memory chips are designed for the maximum frequency of 1200 (2400) MHz.
Gigabyte GV-R587D5-1GD (RADEON HD 5870) 1024MB
The graphics card has 1024 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM allocated in 8 Samsung memory chips on the front side of the PCB. These memory chips are designed for the maximum frequency of 1250 (5000) MHz.

Comparison with the reference design, front view
Gigabyte GV-R587D5-1GD (RADEON HD 5870) 1024MB	Reference card ATI RADEON HD 5870
Gigabyte GV-N26SO (GeForce GTX 260 SuperOverclock) 896MB	Reference card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275
Gigabyte GV-N275SO (GeForce GTX 275 SuperOverclock) 1792MB

Comparison with the reference design, back view
Gigabyte GV-R587D5-1GD (RADEON HD 5870) 1024MB	Reference card ATI RADEON HD 5870
Gigabyte GV-N26SO (GeForce GTX 260 SuperOverclock) 896MB	Reference card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275
Gigabyte GV-N275SO (GeForce GTX 275 SuperOverclock) 1792MB

All three cards apparently copy the reference to some degree. But GTX 260/275 cards are based on Gigabyte's PCBs, even though they come with the reference cooling system. And the 5870 card was simply bought from AMD and then labelled with the company's logo (good-looking design, by the way, very effective in combination with black and red cooling system of the reference card).

Both GTX 260/275 cards are based on the same design, differing only in frequencies and pared-down cores. So we should repeat that the GTX 260/275 has been overhauled, and now all 14 memory chips are installed on the front, thus eliminating the need for a metal plate on the back. This is not Gigabyte's idea, just an overhauled reference design for the GTX 260. However, this product features a number of improvements, primarily having to do with a new arrangement of on-board components, and significantly newer power-efficient elements to lower operating temperatures. Plus several improvements in the PCB itself. That's why it only looks like the reference design, it's actually been significantly improved.

All three cards offer HDMI connectors (these graphics cards support video/audio transfer to HDMI receivers). Besides, the 5870 card has a Display Port connector.

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)

As for HDTV, a review is available here.

All these cards require additional power supply, so each card is bundled with a molex to 6-pin. The 5870-based product requires an 8-pin power cable, so this card is also bundled with a corresponding adapter.

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