Zotac GeForce GTX560 AMP! Edition Review

The Zotac GTX560 AMP! Edition is a remarkable mid range card and we were pleasantly surprised to achieve such positive results across a variety of synthetic tests and game engines. Zotac supply the card in a highly overclocked state which ensures a very impressive gaming experience with even demanding Direct X 11 engines. The card was quite often faster than the HD6950, and when it wasn't, it was very closely matched.

The presentation of the Zotac card is first class and we love the bright orange fans, which contrast effectively against the black cooling surround. The cooler is generally audible, but not intrusive, even when gaming for extended periods of time. Power consumption is also respectable, especially when factoring in the high levels of performance, however it still falls short of AMD's efficiency results in the same sector.

It might seem as if Zotac are supplying the card with clock speeds ‘close to the limit' but we achieved another 50mhz from the GPU, hitting 1ghz. Obviously, every card will deliver a slightly different result, but it is certainly an indication that there is substantial headroom from Nvidia's core design.

Compared to the GTX460, it is certainly a noticeable improvement, which is exactly what Nvidia needed to achieve. It makes for a solid, reliable and high performance replacement which will satisfy the Nvidia fan base.

Negatively, this card can run a little hotter than we would have initially hoped, hitting 83c in the more intensive gaming titles. These figures aren't an indication of long term problems, but we had hoped that such an impressive cooler design might have maintained the card in the mid 70c zone. Clearly Zotac have balanced the card to maintain respectable noise levels, as the fans never spin above 61 percent. It is worth pointing out that the user could create a custom profile to reduce temperatures, if additional noise wasn't a concern.

I have to say, that I really liked this product and when asked about the price, Zotac informed me that it would cost £169.99. If this is accurate then this card is right at the top of its respective class and certainly very good value when compared against the AMD counterparts in this sector. When we factor in that Zotac are also including the fantastic Assassins Creed: Brotherhood for free, then it seems a no brainer to us.

Pros:

• Very competitive price point for such a modified card design
• Quiet when idle
• Modest power consumption when idle
• Direct X 11 support
• Class leading performance

Cons:

• can get a little noisy when pushed hard
• Still limited to two active screens

KitGuru says: Nvidia have reasserted themselves in the mid range. This Zotac card is one of the best value for money solutions right now.

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