Zotac GTX 580 AMP! Edition 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.

The new version of Furmark puts a considerable load on the GPU, and we get a maximum peak figure of 89c, with the fan spinning at 76%, around 3,200 rpm.

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.

The reference cooler isn't too bad, but it does take a fair amount of time for it to return the core to idle temperatures, around 30 seconds. We would expect this with a reference cooler however.

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