[staryoshi]

I got my hands on an EVGA GTX570 recently, and in typical staryoshi fashion I decided to cobble together a comparison between it and the GTX470. Enjoy, please feel free to ask any questions.

Introduction

nVidia released the GTX570, its latest entry in the GTX500 series, on December 7th to much fanfare. Intended to replace the GTX480 in terms of performance and the GTX470 in terms of the product stack, my comparison today will be between the GTX570 and its equivalently-positioned 400 series brother, the GTX470.

Specifications Overview

Below is a comparison between relevant specifications for the GTX470, GTX480, GTX570, and GTX580. Note the differences in stream processors, texture units, ROPs, clock speeds, frame buffer size, and memory bandwidth. Those are most of the relevant attributes regarding (stock) performance between the graphics cards. Also notice the changes in TDP and thermal thresholds. The 500 series is built to offer more performance per watt compared to their predecessors and run a bit cooler as well.

Test System Configuration
Phenom II X6 1090T @ 4.0Ghz (2.4Ghz NB, 2.0Ghz HT Link)
4GB G.Skill ECO DDR3-1600 7-8-7-24
Asus M4N98TD EVO 980a AM3 Motherboard
Mushkin IO 128GB SSD / Samsung F3 1TB HDD
Corsair HX850 Power Supply
Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced Case
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Drivers Used
GTX470 - ForceWare 260.99
GTX570 - ForceWare 263.09

GTX570 Photo Shoot
Please bear with the image quality. My digital camera is at least 5 years old and shows its age.

Box and Packaging
The content of this EVGA GTX570 model should not be surprising. In typical EVGA style they have included all of the basic accessories one would expect, plus a bonus or two.

The following is included in the retail packaging:
-GTX570 Graphics Card
-User Guide and Driver CD
-Two 2x Molex to PCIE power adapters
-DVI to VGA adapter
-Mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter (Some companies neglect this or include a stubby one. EVGA's elongated cable is much easier to work with)
-EVGA-Specific Bonus: Poster (Not my taste, but interesting) and an EVGA sticker

GTX570: The Card
If PC hardware can be so called, please allow me to dub this card "gorgeous." No nude PCB/GPU pictures this time around unfortunately, as I do not have ownership of a size 6 Torx screwdriver at this time (Although I have sizes 8 and 10).

GTX570 vs GTX470 - Physical Size
My GTX470 is not a reference model (MSI TwinFrozr II), but it uses a reference PCB. The reference GTX570 is an inch longer (10.5") than a reference GTX470 (9.5").

Bonus Pics: High Airflow Bracket
For those curious about the difference between EVGA's high airflow bracket and the stock bracket, here you go. It looks great, but its real-world effect is minimal at best.

GPU-Z Screenshots

GTX570 vs GTX470 Stock

GTX570 vs GTX470 Overclocked

Overclocking
GTX470 Overclock: 825/1650/1800Mhz (Core/Shader/Memory) @ 1.087v
GTX570 CFC (Clock-For Clock): 825/1650/1800Mhz
GTX570 Overclock: 900/1800/2000Mhz @1.100v

 

[staryoshi]

Benchmarking Data
Usually I include fairly extensive commentary, but I will let the graphs do most of the talking for me this time.

[email protected]
The 1298pt GPU3 work unit was used for testing. While work units change over time, it is still a useful comparison tool for gauging relative Folding capabilities.

Synthetic Benchmarks

3dMark Vantage
Futuremark has recently released their latest iteration of 3dMark, but Vantage is still a great tool for comparing relative performance between graphics cards. The results below are for the GPU score only.

3dMark 11
A copy of 3dMark 11 was included with the EVGA GTX570 (The purchase of any EVGA GTX500 series card will net you a standard copy of the benchmarking suite I believe). I'm still not 100% on this tool yet, but I have included it in my testing.

Stone Giant
This test was run at 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 at the high tessellation setting. The chart displays average FPS.

Heaven
Another gauge of tessellation capabilities, see images below for benchmark settings (Ran at 1680x1050 and 1920x1200) and results. The chart displays average FPS.

Game Benchmarks
My suite of games is less substantial than usual, but they should portray the relative strength of these cards well, as I have chosen taxing games that utilize a nice range of graphical features. Results were recorded at both 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 resolutions.

Far Cry 2
Using the included benchmarking tool, testing was conducted at the following settings, results follow. Far Cry 2 uses an intensive engine that utilizes DX10 features. It is a bit dated, but it still has benchmarking value.

Just Cause 2
Testing was performed with the settings pictured below, results follow. Just Cause 2 is exemplary of the leap that was DX10. In my opinion, it is one of the best looking games to date. It is also a blast to play!

Metro 2033
Steam had it on sale for $10, and I could not resist adding it to my benchmarking suite at that price. This game utilizes new DX11 features and tessellation. In my opinion, it is as much of a GPU-killer now as Crysis was when it released. Testing was conducted using the built-in benchmarking tool. Settings and results are pictured below.

*New* Relative Performance Charts
Game performance uses the 1920x1200 average frame rates only. Performance is expressed as the percentage gain or loss of the first card relative to the second card.

GTX 570 vs GTX 470
A one-sided matchup here. When both cards are running at stock clocks, the GTX 570 bests the GTX 470 by an average of 26.5% across the selected benchmarks.

GTX 570 vs GTX 470 OC
When overclocked, the GTX 470 is able to best a stock GTX 570 in most scenarios, giving it a slight 0.9% performance edge over the GTX 570. 3dMark Vantage favors the GTX 570, but game performance does not follow suit.

GTX 570 vs GTX 470 Clock-For-Clock

In clock-for-clock testing (running at 825Mhz core, 900Mhz memory) the GTX570 asserts itself and manages a 6.9% lead overall, again dominating the Vantage benchmark. The difference in actual game performance leaves a bit to be desired though.

GTX 570 Overclock vs GTX 470 Overclock

This comparison is between the two cards maximum stable overclock that I was able to achieve. I could have pushed memory clocks a bit higher, but further memory overclocking will most likely yield diminishing results at the expense of stability. The clocks used for the GTX 470 were 825Mhz core, 900Mhz memory. For the GTX 570, its clocks were 900Mhz core, 1000Mhz memory. The GTX570 manages a 16.7% average performance gain over the GTX470 at these clocks.

GTX 570 Overclock

The GTX 570 overclocks well and offers commendable scaling. The relative clock speed gains are less impressive than what I have seen with the GTX 470, but aftermarket cooling solutions and non-reference designs may open up new levels of performance for these cards. My final overclocked settings of 900Mhz core and 1000Mhz memory represent 23% core clock (from 732Mhz) and 11% memory clock (from 900Mhz) respective increases. The fruit of this overclock is a 17.9% average performance increase across this benchmarking suite, yielding solid performance scaling.

Conclusion

It is obvious that GF110 differentiates itself from GF100 by offering improved performance as well as power and thermal efficiency. If you're using graphics card from the GTX200, mainstream HD5000, or an older series the upgrade to a GTX500 series card is quite compelling. However, the plot thickens quite a bit when we consider consumers who are using a card from the GTX400 or high-end HD5000 series. The GTX500 series has made great strides, even compared to its immediate predecessors, but it really comes down to what you can justify from an expense standpoint. Going for about $350 USD, I would be hard-pressed to recommend that users upgrade from a GTX470 or GTX480 from a pure performance standpoint. Given its additional benefits (Reduced noise output and somewhat cooler temperatures) compared to the 400 series' reference designs, however, the upgrade becomes a bit more compelling.

If you're currently using a non-reference GTX470/480 model (or have complimented it with water or aftermarket cooling), I suggest overclocking it hard and riding it until the next generation of graphics cards comes around. Moving to the GTX500 series is an incremental upgrade rather than a jaw-dropping one in this situation, in my opinion.

The GTX570 is a fantastic card offering great value at its price point relative to other flagship options currently available. I highly recommend it to those in need of an upgrade.

 

[koven]

nice, looking forward to your thoughts, make sure to include some benchmarks w/ max OC on both!

 

[staryoshi]

Benchmarks have been added. I may add additional content at a later time, but for now this will have to do

 

[goldbranch]

Totally agree with OP, I don't think the performance gain going from 470 to 570 can justify the cost.
Great review anyway, +1.

 

[Jean-Luc]

AWESOME dude.. Awesome writeup...

 

[ErBall]

Very nicely done man.

 

[Seann]

Nice comparison. By the way, you mistyped the drivers you used on the GTX 570, you wrote 263.99 when it's 263.09.

 

[staryoshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seann;11743041
Nice comparison. By the way, you mistyped the drivers you used on the GTX 570, you wrote 263.99 when it's 263.09.

Thanks. Also nice catch, I fixed it

It's troublesome to proof read when I'm posting a comment because I'm boxed in, lol.

I may add the relative performance charts I mentioned in the other post before Christmas depending on how much interest the thread garners.

 

[SavannahMick]

I wish I had seen this comparison sooner I have regretted not waiting for 570 and buying 470 for less than $250. But now not so much the 570 is a better card ,also the 470 is good card just a little slower not enough unless you use multiple monitors to spend the extra cash. Anyway great job!

 

[staryoshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SavannahMick;11744696
I wish I had seen this comparison sooner I have regretted not waiting for 570 and buying 470 for less than $250. But now not so much the 570 is a better card ,also the 470 is good card just a little slower not enough unless you use multiple monitors to spend the extra cash. Anyway great job!

I thought to myself, "What games actually benefit significantly at 1920x1200 moving from my GTX470 to the GTX570 or GTX470 SLI?"

I made a list of games I own that would:
Metro 2033
Crysis
Just Cause 2
Bad Company 2 (Although the 470 already pulls great frame rates)

That was about as far as I got. I've already beaten JC2, I never play Crysis, and Metro 2033 is getting lame, so I now feel like, aside from running synthetic benchmarks, that the GTX470 will handle all of my needs at 1920x1200 for quite a while

When I move to a tri-monitor setup I'll upgrade.

This is one of the best climates for graphics card purchases that I can remember. When you can get a GTX460 768MB for sub $150, you know that life's good

The gist of my point is that if you have to "settle" for a GTX460, GTX465, or GTX470, you should be a happy camper

 

[wermad]

Excellent! I know now what my upgrade path will be

 

[Ruckol1]

Nice!

BTW, Got your 860 to 4.2ghz @ 1.39, now that the weather is freezing here (canada), my temps are much more manageable. I'm going to keep pushing!

 

[mtbiker033]

Very nice review!! +1!

 

[lightsout]

Very nice review +rep.

Still asking myself if its worth the $114 to step up to a 570.

So whats the performance increase? About 10% maybe?

 

[-iceblade^]

yay!

been waiting for this one - thanks for the review

.

 

[Horsemama1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SavannahMick;11744696
I wish I had seen this comparison sooner I have regretted not waiting for 570 and buying 470 for less than $250. But now not so much the 570 is a better card ,also the 470 is good card just a little slower not enough unless you use multiple monitors to spend the extra cash. Anyway great job!

The 570 is meant to replace the 480. It''s not comparable at all to the 470, except for the 70 in the name. The 560 will be the 470 replacement, and I doubt it's going to be much better then your 470.

This should be a comparison between the 480 and 570, not the 470. Completely different price/performance brackets.

 

[staryoshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horsemama1956;11745172
The 570 is meant to replace the 480. It''s not comparable at all to the 470, except for the 70 in the name. The 560 will be the 470 replacement, and I doubt it's going to be much better then your 470.

This should be a comparison between the 480 and 570, not the 470. Completely different price/performance brackets.

They have the same place in their individual families. Many GTX470 owners are considering the upgrade as well. The GTX570 is inheriting the "sidekick" role of the GTX470, I think it's a very relevant comparison. The GTX570 may have performance similar to that of the GTX480, but it is not its direct successor. That title belongs to the GTX580.

Plus, I'm not made of money, I can't buy them all

 

[Name Change]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horsemama1956;11745172
The 570 is meant to replace the 480. It''s not comparable at all to the 470, except for the 70 in the name. The 560 will be the 470 replacement, and I doubt it's going to be much better then your 470.

This should be a comparison between the 480 and 570, not the 470. Completely different price/performance brackets.

The 570 is ment to replace the 470 as is the 580 to replace the 480..

Great comparison mate, happy i got 470 for $220 cad..

 

[Mikecdm]

Nice review and looks like you put some effort in all the testing. I just got my 570 today. All I've done is ran vantage and immediately noticed that it scores a lot better than the 470 I replaced. Stock clocks on the 570 beats my overclocked 470 score.