Gigabyte GTX 260 Super Overclock

It might seem silly to post a GTX 260 review this late in the game, and it would be if this were any other GTX 260. But what sets Gigabyte's latest iteration apart from the competition is an aggressive overclock that makes this the fastest-clocked GTX 260 in the galaxy. Just how fast is it? While Nvidia's reference design calls for a 576MHz core and 1998MHz memory, Gigabyte goosed the GPU to 680MHz and supercharged the memory to 2500MHz. That's enough to edge out EVGA's SSC Edition by 5MHz on the core and almost 200MHz on the memory, and leave most other GTX 260 models barely visible in the rear view mirror.

In addition to raw performance, Gigabyte says its 'Super Overlcock' nomenclature ensures cherry picked components for a more efficient and reliable videocard. We call this the binning process (Gigabyte calls it the GPU Gauntlet), and the more care and attention that gets put into plucking the best parts, the higher the price tag. In this case, the GTX 260 streets for $200, which puts it in between higher clocked GTX 260s and the least expensive GTX 275 videocards.

Specifications

Gigabyte claims its Super Overclock GTX 260 outpaces standard clocked GTX 275 cards by 3 percent, and a quick look at the spec sheet shows that it certainly outguns its slightly bigger brother. The GTX 275 still holds a shader advantage, but runs slower across the board.