Gainwards’s GTX 650 Ti Golden Sample graphics card is factory overclocked, but since we are talking about a slight overclock, the dual fan custom cooler is the main selling point. The cooler looks like it should have no trouble keeping the temperatures and noise in check. We’re talking about a dual-slot cooler with a large heatsink and two heatpipes, with two powerful 7.5cm fans on top.

The GTX 650 Ti Boost GS’ cooling has huge air vents, which improve airflow through the heatsink. So, we’re talking about an open type approach, where fans are positioned over and blow directly at the heatsink, but this approach means that hot air will not be vented out of the chassis. Adequate airflow is necessary to ensure the best possible cooling, but it’s nothing that a few quality intake fans won’t effectively nullify.

Reference cooling employs a radial, blower style fan that pushes the air through the heatsink, dissipating heat from the GPU outside the case through slits in the bracket.

The card is about 20.5cm long while the reference card is about 24cm long. GTX 650 Ti Boost GS is powered via one 6-pin power cable.

The Hynix memory modules, designated H5GQ2H24AFR-R0C, are specified to run at 1500MHz (6000MHz GDDR5 effectively). Gainward’s GTX 650 Ti Boost Golden Sample packs a total of 2GB of GDDR5, in eight memory modules and the memory runs at 1527MHz (6108MHz effectively). Four of the modules are placed on the back. The 192-bit memory bus, coupled with 6108MHz GDDR5, ensures plenty of bandwidth for the GPU. This is the same memory we saw on the GTX 670 Phantom.

Nvidia limited the GTX 650 Ti Boost and GTX 660 to dual-card SLI, while faster cards in its lineup support triple SLI. This really isn’t an issue in this price segment. The standard GTX 650 Ti does not have an SLI connector or SLI support for that matter.

Video outs include two dual-link DVIs (only one is VGA capable), standard HDMI and standard DisplayPort connector. All four outputs can be used simultaneously.