NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 770: A Look at What’s Out There

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 770 is out, and we’ve posted an in-depth look. For those who’ve been won over by all the card offers and at its reasonable $400 price-point, you’re in luck: there’s plenty to go around. As expected, ASUS, EVGA, MSI, GIGABYTE, ZOTAC and GALAXY have all released their own take on the GTX 770. Let’s have a quick look, shall we?

It’s commonplace for EVGA to launch a handful of models for a given GPU, but with the GTX 770, things have been taken to a new level: there are TEN versions to choose from. Interestingly, not a single one comes equipped with NVIDIA’s reference cooler; rather, six feature the just-announced ACX cooling while the other four use a standard “blower” cooler.

EVGA’s GeForce GTX 770 w/ ACX Cooler

Unfortunately, pricing hasn’t been announced for all of the models, so it’s not clear what sort of premium the ACX cooler demands. Whether you’re looking for a reference-clocked part or an overclocked one though, EVGA’s got them. Of these 10 versions to choose from, five are equipped with 4GB GDDR5 (would be worth seeking out if you game at higher than 1080p resolution).

It’s worth noting that EVGA also offers one of the best overclocking tools on the planet, with Precision. At each launch of an NVIDIA GPU, the company always supplies the latest beta version of precision, so it’s apparently the green team’s own go-to tool.

Up next is ASUS, which is offering both a reference-clocked and overclocked model. Both feature the company’s successful DirectCU II cooler, which the company touts as being able to lower temperatures by up to 20% while operating 3x quieter (versus the reference cooler, we’d expect).

ASUS’ GeForce GTX 770 w/ DirectCU II Cooler

ASUS’ GPU also includes a DIGI+VRM design much like its motherboards, improving its power delivery. According to the company, this 10 phase design uses digital regulators to reduce power noise by 30% while enhancing power efficiency by 15%. This blend is designed to prolong the life of the card by about 2.5x over reference.

ASUS offers a robust overclocking software package, which it calls GPU Tweak. It has GPU-Z built-in, offers a real-time monitoring widget and keeps your card’s BIOS and drivers up-to-date.

At the moment, it appears that GIGABYTE is offering just one GTX 770 solution. That might sound a bit poor, but the upside is that it happens to feature a fantastic cooler and is also pre-overclocked.

GIGABYTE’s GeForce GTX 770 w/ WINDFORCE Cooler

With its tri-fan WINDFORCE cooler, GIGABYTE claims the card could suffer the punishment of 450W power throughput – so there’s no need to be afraid of overclocking this bad boy. Although… given the card comes equipped with a +91MHz clock boost out of the box, you might have to question if it’s even worth going much higher.

MSI is offering at least two models right at launch; one called TWIN FROZR Gaming, the other Lightning. These cards both feature a dual-fan design, and come equipped with MSI’s oft-touted Military Grade Components.

MSI’s GeForce GTX 770 w/ Lightning Cooler

With its cooler, MSI claims it reduces the temperature of the GTX 770 from 80°C to 68°C while at the same time reducing fan noise from 43 to 35 dBA. Its Lightning model is one of the fastest pre-OCed GTX 770s, with a 105MHz boost to the core.

As a huge sucker for orange, I always look forward to seeing ZOTAC’s latest offerings, and its GTX 770 line is no exception, as seen below. Just look at it… so pretty…

ZOTAC’s GeForce GTX 770 AMP! Edition

The company’s AMP! Edition matches MSI’s overclock of 1,150MHz on the core, and while no claims are explicitly made about sound and temperature reduction like the others, it’s assumed that this colorful cooler isn’t just designed to look good.

Helping to wrap things up is GALAXY, which is offering only one model at the current time. It’s a pre-overclocked model, sporting a 1,110MHz core. Like many others, it also features a dual-fan cooler, and one of the better-looking ones, I must admit. Not blingy at all… it’s kind of classy.

GALAXY’s GeForce GTX 770

If you’re planning to pick up a GTX 770, which of these beauts has won you over?