Our today's guest is the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified graphics cards, which was specially designed by EVGA and based on the third GF110 GPU. So far, we’ve had the GTX 580 and GTX 570 cards based on the GF110, but Nvidia wanted to compensate for the unwanted delays with the launch of GTX 560Ti 448 Cores. Another reason perhaps is the fact that the company had plenty of GF110s in stock, which didn’t qualify for GTX 580 and GTX 570 cards. Users, on the other hand, will be more interested in hearing that the new card is closing in on the GTX 570’s performance, while being about €30 cheaper.

We’re quite sure that gamers will like the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores as Nvidia allowed partners to utilize hardware similarities with the GTX 570 – namely, existing PCBs and coolers. Judging by the layout and cutout in the PCB, EVGA opted on the GTX 480’s PCB. 

Looking at the specs, we can say that the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores has about 7 percent slower compute/shading, geometry and texturing performance than the GTX 570. This is because the new card has one SM (Streaming multiprocessor) less, with 448 CUDA cores compared to the GTX 570’s 480.

The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores and the GTX 570 share the same number of ROPs (40), 320 bit memory interface and 1.25GB of GDDR5 memory. However, the 448 Cores’ memory bandwidth is lower than on the GTX 570 since its memory runs at 900, compared to the GTX 570’s 950MHz. Note that the standard GTX 560 Ti has 384 CUDA cores and 256 bit memory interface.

Reference GPU clocks on the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores are at 732MHz, just like the ones on GTX 570 cards. The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified comes overclocked and with excellent cooling.

Packaging

You will receive: Graphics card, Driver CD + Documentation, 1x PCIe Power Adapter (6-pin), 1x PCIe Power Adapter (8-pin), Analog VGA Adapter, miniHDMI Adapter.

When we first saw the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified, we were surprised by its size, since it is much bigger than the standard GTX 560 Ti. Although the card has GTX 560 Ti in its name, it has very little in common with the reference GTX 560 Ti and a lot in common with the GTX 570.

The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified is 26.7cm long, whereas most standard GTX 560 Ti cards are about 22.8cm long.

Note that EVGA also launched the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores FTW, which has a shorter PCB (22.8cm). Both cards run at identical speeds.

At a glance, one could easily mistake the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified with EVGA’s GTX 570 DS HD. However, looks can deceive and the GTX 570 has a different cooler, different PCB as well as different configuration of connectors on the I/O panel.

GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified


GTX-570-DS-HD

The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified has two DVIs and one mini HDMI. If you need the standard HDMI, EVGA didn’t forget you and included one in the box. You probably know by now that Nvidia’s architecture allows for using only two video outs at the same time. Just like on the rest of the GTX 500 series cards, you’l find HDMI 1.4a that allows for HD audio and Blu-ray 3D video.

The shroud has plenty of air outlets/inlets.

The fans push air downwards through the heatsink and the outlets allow hot air to exit the card quickly. Unfortunately, almost all the hot air ends up in the case which is why you’ll need adequate in-case cooling.

The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified is not overly hot during intensive operation. In fact, its thermals are lower than the reference GTX 570, despite the fact that its GPU runs at higher clocks. The PCB cutout helps with dissipation, although the GTX 480 used it to improve SLI cooling. The Classified’s cutout isn’t quite necessary though as the card has two fans and plenty of air inlets/outlets.

EVGA used one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector, which once again suggests that it’s the GTX 480’s PCB. Most Nvidia partners used two 6-pin power connectors for the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores, just like the reference GTX 570.

Both fans are connected to one 4-pin power connector, whereas the other cable on the picture below powers the LED lamp on EVGA’s logo on top of the card.

The heatsink is split in two parts connected by heatpipes.

The memory has no heatsink of its own and is cooled by fans only. EVGA uses 6 Phase PWM design for the GPU.

The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores has two SLI connectors and multi-GPU support (maximum of four graphics cards), but cannot be combined with standard GTX 560 Ti, GTX 570 or GTX 580 cards.

Testbed:

Motherboard: EVGA 4xSLI
CPU: Core i7 965 XE (Intel EIST and Vdrop enabled)
Memory: 6GB Corsair Dominator 12800 7-7-7-24
Harddisk:   OCZ Vertex 2 100 GB
Power Supply: CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 800W
Case: CoolerMaster HAF X
Fan Controler: Kaze Master Pro 5.25"
Operating System: Win7 64-bit
Nvidia 285.66_desktop_win7_winvista_64bit
AMD 11.11 CCC

3DMark 2011



Aliens vs Predator

Metro 2033

Crysis 2

Heaven

EVGA GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified is a factory overclocked graphics card. The GPU runs at 797MHz and the memory at 975MHz (3900MHz effectively). Note that the standard GTX 560 448 Cores card’s GPU runs at 732MHz and the memory at 900MHz (3800MHz effectively).

Provided you aren’t keen on messing with voltages, the maximum GPU overclock is at 845MHz.

After installing the latest MSI Afterburner, we played with GPU voltages. Afterburner shows that EVGA set standard voltage at 1063mV.

Afterburner allows for GPU voltages up to 1100mV. However, overclocking results didn’t drastically improve, not even after setting the voltage to the max.

We left the fans in auto mode, since speeding them up didn’t help achieve better GPU clocks. When running in auto mode, the fans are mostly quiet. We really barely noticed them but manually setting the rpm to 70% will make them too loud.

All in all, the coolers does a good job and temperatures aren’t high. The GTX 570’s GPU, on the other hand, can hit up to 85°C.

EVGA uses a PCB with one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. We’ve already said that the PCB is mostly that of the GTX 480, which is not half bad – namely, you’ll never experience power shortages. EVGA Classified is slightly faster than the GTX 570 and consumes almost the same.

The GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified is a special version of a special graphics card. Most of all, it is special for the fact that Nvidia will neither make many of them nor launch them all across the globe. According to Nvidia, the cards will only launch in USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Russia and Nordic countries. Unless the company decides otherwise, the GTX 560 Ti 448 ores will be available for a few months around the New Year, so if you want it – you better be quick.

Nidia did not launch the reference design of its graphics card, allowing its partners to play with it and tailor the card to their own needs. The GTX 560 Ti Cores is based on the GF110, unlike the standard GTX 560 Ti that’s based on the GF114. Thanks to hardware similarities, the GF110 can be used with existing GTX 570 designs or on PCBs used for GTX 480 cards, which is exactly what EVGA did. The upside is that the card has 6 phase PWM design as well as 6 pin and 8 pin connectors. This practically means that the card will definitely never lack power.

Thankfully, the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified’s cooler has nothing to do with the GTX 480’s, which was too loud for anyone’s taste. In fact, the Classified is moderately quiet, even when running under load.

EVGA’s advantage over the rest of the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores pack is the factory overclock, where the company upped GPU clocks from 732MHz to 797MH and the GDDR5 memory from 3800MHz to 3900MHz. We’ve seen that this factory overclock allows the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Classified to beat the GTX 570 in many tests.

The reference GTX 570 Ti 448 Cores is priced at about €250, whereas EVGA priced the Classified at €275. The most affordable GTX 570 goes for €270, which is why we’d advise you to wait at least a bit. Namely, prices haven’t been adjusted yet and EVGA’s web portal lists the Classified at $299.99 and the most affordable GTX 570 at $344.99.

If you happen to find the Classified priced lower than the GTX 570 then don’t waste time and buy it before they’re off the market. As far as performance goes, the card is really a great gaming card that no gamer would say no to.