Gigabyte & MSI GeForce GTX 560 Launch Review - PAGE 1

When Nvidia launched the GTX 560 Ti we assumed it would only be a matter of time before a non-TI model hit the market. Well, it turns out we didn’t have to wait long because as of today Nvidia has officially launched their latest mid-range graphics card, the GTX 560. In terms of market positioning the GTX 560 fits between the GTX 460 and GTX 560 Ti in both price and performance. This places card in a sweet spot for mid-range gamers looking for excellent HD 1080p performance, while not spending an arm and a leg.

When looking over the specifications of the GTX 560 you can see that it is essentially a GTX 460 with faster clock speeds. Of course the GPU has undergone the same transistor level optimizations as other cards in the 500-series, which serve to reduce leakage and improve the boards' overall efficiency, but other than that it has similar specifications to that of the GTX 460. This is due to the GTX 560 using the same GF-114 GPU found on the GTX 560 Ti, but with one Graphics Processing Cluster (GPC) disabled the 560 has a total of 336 CUDA cores, down from the GTX 560 Ti's 384.

In this review we are going to be looking at two GTX 560 graphics cards from some of the biggest names in the business; MSI and Gigabyte. Both of these companies were generous enough to send us samples of their custom designed cards which feature dual fan heatsinks and increased clock speeds. The faster clocks will further increase the overall performance in comparison to the GTX 460 and potentially make this card a real bargain in the $200 graphics market.

Join us as we examine Nvidia's latest "Hunter Class" GTX 560 graphics card