GIGABYTE Unveils GeForce GTX 680 With 4 GB Memory
NVIDIA’s 28 nm Kepler GK104-based GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards with 4 GB of onboard video memory have been noticeably absent from GIGABYTE – until now. GIGABYTE recently unveiled their custom-designed card with the model name GV-N680OC-4GD which comes factory overclocked and sports their high-end WINDFORCE 3X 450W cooler, the newest addition to the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series.
GIGABYTE have not only included an extra 2 GB of memory on this card but, as the OC in the model name designates, upped the clock speeds up from the stock 1,006 MHz base and 1,058 MHz Boost speeds to 1,071 MHz and 1,137 MHz respectively. The video memory interfaces with the GPU via a 256-bit bus and stays at the reference speed of 1,502 MHz (6,008 MHz GDDR5 effective).
The over-sized WINDFORCE 3X cooler means that the card takes three slots, but the trio of quiet PWM-controlled fans, two 8 mm heatpipes and a 140×86 mm vapor chamber offer up to 450 watts of cooling power. Due to the size of the fans and the large cooling capacity of the heatsink, the fans can spin at a fairly low speed, and GIGABYTE claims that the card’s noise-level can stay below 30 dB during a FurMark run.
As a member of the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series, the card features a 2 oz copper PCB which uses a copper inner layer twice that of most graphics cards, the use of Japanese solid capacitors, Ferrite Core (Metal) Chokes which can hold power for up to twice the amount of time tradition iron-core chokes, and Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs which have lower switching resistance.
Video output is taken care of by one each of the following connectors: Dual-link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort. Pricing and retail availability have not yet been released.
