GTX 560 ( SE ) Review: Mid Range Maddness
Today I would like to review the GTX 560 SE flavor of Nvidia's ever popular "fermi" GF114 lineup. This review is for those in the market for a solid mid range card as well for those just into computer tech and PC gaming in general. I originally posted this review up over at the anandtech forums because there is almost nothing as far as real reviews or articles about this card so I took it into my own hands to present to you a best representation of what I can offer as far as a solid review given my limited resources and formal training this is my first time so please go easy on me.
That being said lets get into the nitty gritty which is the specifications and performance numbers and games used to benchmark with. Please keep in mind that I do not have every game that was ever made or to be considered good benchmarking material however I will try my best with what I have and please if you have a game in mind that you would like benched that I did not test with here let me know cause I might own it.
So lets get to the GPU specs shall we -
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So as we can see above the GTX 560 SE is a cut down version of the GF114 GTX 560 non Ti or even more similar to the GF 104 GTX 460 SE and probable most important to realize is the cut down Shaders from the 336 on the regular GTX 560 down to 288 Shaders so lets move on to see how 48 less shaders and 192bit bus vs 256bit bus perform.
Test Setup:
Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 2ms 60hz 1680x1050 "Mid Range" resolution
Processor - AMD Phenom II x4 B55 @ 3.6Ghz
CPU Cooler - CM Hyper 212+
Motherboard - Msi 870 -G45
Memory - 4GB DDR3 single stick corsair @ 1333 nothing special
Hard Drive - A few old and slow WD and Segate 7200rpm
GPU - EVGA nvidia GeForce GTX 560 SE 1GB GDDR5
Power Supply - Cool Master RS 460
System Software And Drivers:
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Graphics Driver - 301.42 WHQL
NVIDIA Control Panel Settings - Default unless specified
Games tested & in game settings used:
Note the method used was to try and find the best balance of image quality and performance so highest in game settings were not always an option at this price point of $130 retail. However nice settings are always an option with this card with Ultra a viable option in many older titles and some new. Also note all games were tested at monitors native resolution of 1680x1050 60hz.
Benchmark Results:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat - In game settings were set to one notch below maximum and on DX10 instead of DX11 to maintain playable and smooth game play experience. The lowest frame rate I seen was about 33fps as captured below but game play was smooth and fluid furthermore if you desire 60fps solid with no drops that is also an option if you turn off some of the high end graphical settings but game will still look great.
Metro 2033 - This game surprised me and it still looks great one of the best IMO visually speaking even still today. That being said the lowest frame rate I seen in game using the settings below was 28fps just for a split second however I was not quick enough on the screen capture hot key LOL but the game ran anywhere between 30 - 60fps on these still great looking settings.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - This game ran surprisingly GREAT Bethesda must have fixed the game because it used to run like crap but now it runs at full 60fps everywhere except in towns where it infrequently drops to mid 40s fps. I also had 8x Supersampling on in the nvidia control panel just for this game because it can with no performance hit.
Far Cry® 2 - ran on great on Ultra settings albeit with some minor dips in frame rate when the action heated up otherwise a solid well optimized 60fps is seen throught the majority of the game. I cant wait for Far Cry 3.
Grand Theft Auto IV - ran quite well given the fact it is a very poor console port but still runs decent enough on high settings. Max Payne what ! I cant wait for GTA V ftw!
WoW - every setting on Ultra with shadows on High nets 60fps everywhere 55fps in Stormwind on peak server time enough said LOL.
Conclusion:
I recommend the EVGA GTX 560 SE to anyone looking for a solid performance on a budget with a monitor resolution of 1680x1050 it is a rock solid card with a grate price to performance ratio and for $130 retail you cannot go wrong. In SLI this card should perform like a GTX 580 albeit for much less money. Also remember that Radeon has some great performing mid range options as well including the 6850 and 7770. The max temperature that I have got this GPU up to is 71c and that was with the fan on auto @ 33% under max gaming load and it is near silent. The card when on the desktop idle has a fan speed of 25% and is dead silent and normally runs in the low 30c range. So I wish this information helps someone make a more educated choice if they are in the market for a new card because there are literally next to nothing for reviews on this card
Today I would like to review the GTX 560 SE flavor of Nvidia's ever popular "fermi" GF114 lineup. This review is for those in the market for a solid mid range card as well for those just into computer tech and PC gaming in general. I originally posted this review up over at the anandtech forums because there is almost nothing as far as real reviews or articles about this card so I took it into my own hands to present to you a best representation of what I can offer as far as a solid review given my limited resources and formal training this is my first time so please go easy on me.
That being said lets get into the nitty gritty which is the specifications and performance numbers and games used to benchmark with. Please keep in mind that I do not have every game that was ever made or to be considered good benchmarking material however I will try my best with what I have and please if you have a game in mind that you would like benched that I did not test with here let me know cause I might own it.
So lets get to the GPU specs shall we -
So as we can see above the GTX 560 SE is a cut down version of the GF114 GTX 560 non Ti or even more similar to the GF 104 GTX 460 SE and probable most important to realize is the cut down Shaders from the 336 on the regular GTX 560 down to 288 Shaders so lets move on to see how 48 less shaders and 192bit bus vs 256bit bus perform.
Test Setup:
Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 2ms 60hz 1680x1050 "Mid Range" resolution
Processor - AMD Phenom II x4 B55 @ 3.6Ghz
CPU Cooler - CM Hyper 212+
Motherboard - Msi 870 -G45
Memory - 4GB DDR3 single stick corsair @ 1333 nothing special
Hard Drive - A few old and slow WD and Segate 7200rpm
GPU - EVGA nvidia GeForce GTX 560 SE 1GB GDDR5
Power Supply - Cool Master RS 460
System Software And Drivers:
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Graphics Driver - 301.42 WHQL
NVIDIA Control Panel Settings - Default unless specified
Games tested & in game settings used:
Note the method used was to try and find the best balance of image quality and performance so highest in game settings were not always an option at this price point of $130 retail. However nice settings are always an option with this card with Ultra a viable option in many older titles and some new. Also note all games were tested at monitors native resolution of 1680x1050 60hz.
Benchmark Results:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat - In game settings were set to one notch below maximum and on DX10 instead of DX11 to maintain playable and smooth game play experience. The lowest frame rate I seen was about 33fps as captured below but game play was smooth and fluid furthermore if you desire 60fps solid with no drops that is also an option if you turn off some of the high end graphical settings but game will still look great.
Metro 2033 - This game surprised me and it still looks great one of the best IMO visually speaking even still today. That being said the lowest frame rate I seen in game using the settings below was 28fps just for a split second however I was not quick enough on the screen capture hot key LOL but the game ran anywhere between 30 - 60fps on these still great looking settings.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - This game ran surprisingly GREAT Bethesda must have fixed the game because it used to run like crap but now it runs at full 60fps everywhere except in towns where it infrequently drops to mid 40s fps. I also had 8x Supersampling on in the nvidia control panel just for this game because it can with no performance hit.
Far Cry® 2 - ran on great on Ultra settings albeit with some minor dips in frame rate when the action heated up otherwise a solid well optimized 60fps is seen throught the majority of the game. I cant wait for Far Cry 3.
Grand Theft Auto IV - ran quite well given the fact it is a very poor console port but still runs decent enough on high settings. Max Payne what ! I cant wait for GTA V ftw!
WoW - every setting on Ultra with shadows on High nets 60fps everywhere 55fps in Stormwind on peak server time enough said LOL.
Conclusion:
I recommend the EVGA GTX 560 SE to anyone looking for a solid performance on a budget with a monitor resolution of 1680x1050 it is a rock solid card with a grate price to performance ratio and for $130 retail you cannot go wrong. In SLI this card should perform like a GTX 580 albeit for much less money. Also remember that Radeon has some great performing mid range options as well including the 6850 and 7770. The max temperature that I have got this GPU up to is 71c and that was with the fan on auto @ 33% under max gaming load and it is near silent. The card when on the desktop idle has a fan speed of 25% and is dead silent and normally runs in the low 30c range. So I wish this information helps someone make a more educated choice if they are in the market for a new card because there are literally next to nothing for reviews on this card
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