Zotac GTX 580 AMP²! Review

The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 25c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this.

Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic.

Sometimes people email me to ask why I make such a big deal out of custom coolers in our reviews. This page is a prime example of how much difference a modified third party cooler can make. 29c colder under load than the reference design, yes, its not a misprint. The fans only spin up to 930 rpm which explains the fantastic noise emission results on the previous page.

Return to ambient is a feature we have recently added to our reviews … we measure the time it takes for a solution to return to idle temperatures, immediately after full load. The faster the time, the better the cooler – for example a Noctua NH D14 cooler will return an Intel processor to idle temperatures much faster than a reference cooler. This is a good indication of how quickly a heatsink can dissipate heat.

Nvidia's reference cooler has no chance of competing. It takes half the time for the AMP²! to return to idle and at this stage the ordinary AMP! is still hovering around 57c.

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