Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclock Review

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Since their release, Gigabyte’s Super Overclock series has been making waves in the graphics card industry due to their sky-high clock speeds and excellent component selection which allows for some outrageous overclocking. So far, we have reviewed every card in this series from the GTX 275 SoC to the HD 5870 SoC and have yet to be disappointed. It should go without saying that we are used to these being high end cards that appeal to enthusiasts. However, Gigabyte is now moving their prestigious mark over into a market that is infinitely more affordable than their earlier Super Overclock branded products.

Instead of giving the $300 HD 5850 a cutting-edge makeover, Gigabyte has chosen to massage a bit more performance out of the $170 HD 5770 instead. The result is actually a bit mixed since with this particular SoC series card, we won’t be seeing any huge overclocks on the core or the memory. Rather, it looks like Gigabyte was actually a bit more restrained in their performance increases but they have still brought higher end components and a custom heatsink into the equation. This may sound like a bit of a head-scratcher but how are we to question any company that wants to bring more competition to a lower price point?

With competitors like the MSI HD 5770 Hawk and ASUS’ CuCore, Gigabyte is in tough but we have seen time and again that the Super Overclock series usually has something interesting in store for us. In this particular case, Gigabyte’s pricing is what stands out since the HD 5770 we are featuring in this review retails for a mere $20 more than many reference versions.

Gigabyte has always impressed us with their SoC cards and while the HD 5770 version may be the lowest-priced “enthusiast” oriented card of the series, it is still poised to make a splash onto the market.

 

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Gigabyte's GPU Gauntlet

Gigabyte's GPU Gauntlet

In the enthusiast and extreme overclocking community, hand-picking components which ensure the best possible overclock and durability are regular occurrences. World record holding overclockers can go through dozens of processors before they find the one that suits their needs. Graphics card manufacturers do the same thing when it comes to picking GPUs for their highly overclocked cards since they have to ensure the chips they use will run the specified clock frequencies. The rejected chips are usually used for reference-clocked products.

Gigabyte has taken things to the next level by running the cores through what they call the GPU Gauntlet before they are deemed acceptable for their Super Overclock cards. Due to the clock speeds these chips have to maintain, the binning process is really meant to find the diamonds in the rough. Here is how Gigabyte explains the way their binning system works:

Only the strongest processors survive the GPU Gauntlet.

First, our database analysis system evaluates the GPU core engine, shader engine, and
memory. If a processor doesn’t meet the pre-defined standard, it will not qualify for the Super
Overclock Series.

Then, our proprietary testing toolkit allows us to inspect and select the GPUs with the highest frequency. This program operates for 30 minutes and provides important data on the maximum overclocking ability compared to a stock GPU. Once the Super OC point has been determined, our engineers will boost the frequency to offer the highest factory default clock setting in the market.

Next, each Super Overclock Series GPU faces the Graphics benchmarks, Furmark and 3Dmark Vantage, to measure performance and stability under an intense graphics load. A GPU that passes this stage will perform at a lower temperature and fan speed compared to a standard GPU. By choosing the cream of the crop, we ensure rich rendering of intricate 3D scenes and realistic physical effects (water, gas, steam, fire, etc) for a lifelike gaming adventure.

Lastly, we test the power switching and stability. The GPUs with the best power efficiency and lowest power consumption are qualified for the Super Overclock Series. And we understand that premium graphics cards should not sound like a cement truck rolling down the freeway, so a large cooling fan provides for a quiet computing environment.

So the question remains…will your graphics card make it through the Gauntlet?

 

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Ultra Durable VGA Under the Microscope

Ultra Durable VGA Under the Microscope

Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable VGA has been used for quite a while now and it involves a number of high-quality component choices which are made to increase efficiency, decrease temperatures and even have a positive effect on the overclocking potential of a GPU. Having a Gigabyte UDV card means that you are guaranteed the best possible component choices rather than bargain-basement components that some manufacturers use to cut costs.

(From Gigabyte)

2 oz Copper PCB

2 oz copper PCB board doubles the copper inner layer of PCB board and provides unrivaled performance compared with traditional 1 oz PCB board.


Tier 1 Samsung and Hynix Memory

Ultra Durable VGA promises 1st tier Samsung/Hynix memory built with 100% fully testing.


Japanese Solid Capacity

Solid capacitors contain a solid organic polymer, while electrolytic capacitors use a common liquid electrolyte. Our cards use Japanese solid capacitors made by leading Japanese manufactures and offer better electronic conductivity for unrivaled performance.


Ferrite Core (Met ) Chokes

Ferrite core chokes are comprised of a compound of iron-oxide whose properties hold energymuch longer than common iron-core chokes at high frequency. They are able to store energy longer and prevent rapid energy loss at high frequency.


Low RDS (on) MOSFET

Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs are specially designed to produce lower switching resistance for faster electric current charging and discharging.

 

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Gigabyte HD 5770 SoC Specs / Packaging & Accessories

Gigabyte HD 5770 SoC Specifications

Amazingly, Gigabyte decided to keep the clock speeds on this card extremely conservative. This was completely unexpected since the Super Overclock namesake has always been attached to products that have at least reasonably good clock speeds. Back in the day of the GTX 275 SoC, we saw massive performance increases that were worthy of for the best this industry had to offer. Instead, what we see here is nothing more than what an standard “OC” edition usually receives since even the memory stays at stock clocks. I mean seriously, why even bother naming this thing “Super Overclock”? Marketing, that’s why.

Packaging and Accessories

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Much like all other SoC series cards, this one is afforded some special packaging which is predominantly black with a large Super Overclock logo. There is also some mention of the admittedly paltry performance gain which the 50Mhz core speed bump will give you.

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The inner box offers a good amount of protection for the card itself with a healthy dose of foam while the accessories are pushed into a small compartment to prevent them from rolling around the interior.

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Even though this is what we could consider to be premium product, the accessories included are minimal at best. All that you get in addition to the driver CD (which also includes the SoC Tuner software) and quick start guide is a Crossfire connector, Molex to 6-pin adaptor and DVI to VGA dongle.

 

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A Closer Look at the HD 5770 Super Overclock

A Closer Look at the HD 5770 Super Overclock

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All of the recent Super Overclock cards sport custom heatsinks and the HD 5770 version isn’t any different. Otherwise, Gigabyte has kept the reference length of 8 ¼” even though the PCB itself is a custom affair with upgraded components.

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The heatsink is a basic affair but it looks to be overkill for the cool-running core of the HD 5770. It consists of a quartet of copper heatpipes which move heat away from the core towards the numerous aluminum cooling fins. A large, quiet-running 80mm tops off the assembly. Unfortunately, with this setup very little of the heat produced by the core will be exhausted outside of your chassis but this shouldn’t cause too much of a concern since there won’t be much heat to begin with.

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The ever so slightly increased clock speeds of the Super Overclock in addition to the amazingly frugal design of the HD 5770 itself don’t necessitate a second PCI-E power connector. Nonetheless, Gigabyte did end up going for a highly customized PCB with all solid capacitors and the usual blue coloration.

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Gigabyte has decided to keep the backplate identical to the reference design with a pair of DVI outputs as well as single connectors for DisplayPort and HDMI.

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As we mentioned in the first paragraph in this section, the length of the HD 5770 SoC is the exact same as a reference card. This means it will fit into literally every case that accepts ATX or M-ATX motherboards.

 

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Test System & Setup

Test System & Setup

Processor: Intel Core i7 920(ES) @ 4.0Ghz (Turbo Mode Enabled)
Memory: Corsair 3x2GB Dominator DDR3 1600Mhz
Motherboard: Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Cooling: CoolIT Boreas mTEC + Scythe Fan Controller (Off for Power Consuption tests)
Disk Drive: Pioneer DVD Writer
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Power Supply: Corsair HX1000W
Monitor: Samsung 305T 30” widescreen LCD
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate N x64 SP1


Graphics Cards:
Gigabyte HD 5770 SoC
Gigabyte HD 5770 (Reference)
NVIDIA GTX 460 1GB (Reference)
GIGABYTE GTX 460 768MB (Stock)
ASUS GTX 465 1GB (Reference)
XFX HD 5830 1GB
XFX HD 5750 1GB


Drivers:

NVIDIA 258.96
ATI 10.6 WHQL


Applications Used:

Aliens Versus Predator
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
DiRT 2
Far Cry 2
Just Cause 2
Metro 2033
Unigine: Heaven


*Notes:

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR BENCHMARKING PROCESS PLEASE SEE THIS ARTICLE

- All games tested have been patched to their latest version

- The OS has had all the latest hotfixes and updates installed

- All scores you see are the averages after 3 benchmark runs

All game-specific methodologies are explained above the graphs for each game

All IQ settings were adjusted in-game

 

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Aliens Versus Predator (DX11)

Aliens Versus Predator (DX11)

When benchmarking Aliens Versus Predator, we played through the whole game in order to find a section which represents a “worst case” scenario. We finally decided to include “The Refinery” level which includes a large open space and several visual features that really tax a GPU. For this run-through, we start from within the first tunnel, make our way over the bridge on the right (blowing up several propane tanks in the process), head back over the bridge and finally climb the tower until the first run-in with an Alien. In total, the time spent is about four minutes per run. Framerates are recorded with FRAPS.


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BattleField: Bad Company 2 (DX11)

BattleField: Bad Company 2 (DX11)

To benchmark BF: BC2 we used a five minute stretch of gameplay starting from the second checkpoint (after the helicopter takes off) of the second single player mission up until your battle with the tank commences. Framerates are recorded with FRAPS.


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DiRT 2 (DX11)

DiRT 2 (DX11)

Being one of the newest games on the market, DiRT 2 cuts an imposing figure in terms of image quality and effects fidelity. We find that to benchmark this game the in-game tool is by far the best option. However, due to small variances from one race to another, three benchmark runs are done instead of the normal two. It should also be mentioned that the demo version of the game was NOT used since after careful testing, the performance of the demo is not representative of the final product. DX11 was forced through the game’s config file. In addition, you will see that these scores do not line up with our older benchmarks at all. This is due to the fact that a patch was recently rolled out for the game which included performance optimizations in addition to new graphics options.

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Far Cry 2 (DX10)

Far Cry 2 (DX10)

Even though Far Cry 2 has its own built-in benchmarking tool with some flythroughs and “action scenes”, we decided to record our own timedemo consisting of about 5 minutes of game time. It involves everything from run-and-gun fights to fire effects. The built-in benchmarking too was then set up to replay the timedemo and record framerates


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