Introduction
NVIDIA launched the GTX 980 mid-September this year, a GPU that is a considerable upgrade from the Kepler based GTX 780. We reviewed the reference GTX 980 and since then, we’ve grown pretty fond of the GPU. The GTX 980 blows away the competition, and does so while being the most efficient. With the launch of the GTX 980, we are now seeing overclocked third-party variants of the GPU.
The Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition
Today, we have with us is the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition. This card is advertised for overclocking to heights no other GTX 980 variant can reach. With that, it also has a host of other features no other vendors provide. Zotac has been releasing AMP! Edition GPUs often, this is the first time they have two variants in the AMP! Edition lineup, the Omega Edition and the Extreme Edition. This is only viable for the GTX 970 and GTX 980. The GTX 980 is based on the GM204 chipset. We spoke about the intricate features that this chipset brings forward, over here.
Here are the listed specifications of the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| GPU | Maxwell (GM204) |
| Manufacturing Process | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 5200000000 |
| GPU Clock Speed (Base Clock) | 1291 MHz |
| GPU clock (Clock Boost) | 1393 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1800 MHz |
| Memory type | GDDR5 |
| Memory size | 4096 MB |
| Memory Interface | 256 bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 230.4 GB / s |
| DirectX version | 12 |
| Shader Units | 2048 |
| Texture Units | 128 |
| ROPs | 32 |
| Pixel filling rate | 41.3 GPixel / s |
| SLI / Crossfire | SLI |
Looking the specifications of the GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition, we can see that this GPU is by default running at higher clocks than a stock GTX 980. The stock card uses a GPU clock of 1,126 / 1,216 MHz, while the AMP! Extreme Edition card uses 1,291 / 1,393 Mhz. That’s roughly about a 14% overclock from the stock speed. In the memory clock, the stock runs at 1,750 Mhz while the Zotac runs at 1,800 Mhz. This was confirmed by GPU-Z.
So a 14.5% boost from the stock GTX 980 is not bad. And the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition runs at these clocks at default. We’ll see how it overclocks from here, because we are pretty positive of the potential this card has.
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The Card
Unlike the single fan reference GTX 980 card, the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition uses a triple fan design. Mind you, these fans aren’t like the hefty aluminum fan on reference model, these are three plastic fans, sitting on top of the massive heatsink which spreads through the length of the card’s PCB, actually exceeding it by about 2 centimeters. The chassis of the three fans is made of carbon fiber.
The card requires two 8 pin PCIE power connectors, so be sure your PSU provides that. The GTX 980 is a beast of a card that requires ample power. Zotac has specified a TDP of 209 watts, which means that you can manage a single GTX 980 on a 550W power supply, possibly even 500W but that would be too close to the thin line.
The overall length of the card is 30 cm, meaning this GPU needs quite a bit of space to fit well. We fitted it in the Corsair Obsidian 740D and didn’t have any problems.
On the back side of the card, we see a fancy metal protective plating that adds stability to the card operation. This plating is textured like carbon fiber, for aesthetic purpose only. On the back, we also see the OC+ chip, which unlocks other nitpick settings to allow for better overclocking. Getting this to work requires connecting a micro-USB cable (included in the package) to your motherboard.
Looking at what ports the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition has, you get one DVI port, 3 DisplayPorts and one HDMI port. You also get two SLI ports, which allows for usage in 3 and 4 way SLI setups.
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Software
The Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition comes with a “dedicated overclocking chip” called OC+, that allows you to have deeper control over overclocking. To use this feature, you have to connect an additional USB cable from the GPU to the motherboard. Having reviewed so many GPUs, this was the first time I saw a feature like this.
The supplied DVD comes included with Zotac’s FireStorm tweaking utility. This is where I was let down, considering how impressed I was with the hardware. What I was expecting was the ability to access settings which aren’t accessible in the BIOS and monitor the finer details, I didn’t get anything.
The only monitoring I can do is of the GPU core and memory clocks. Even a free tool like GPU-Z does that for you. FireStorm also allows you to choose between pre-programmed overclocking profiles, QuickBoost and Gamer. Clicking on Gamer you get additional voltage control options. I did try increasing the VCore voltage from 1.21V to 1.212V, but it seems that FireStorm is broken here. What led me to this conclusion was when I cross checked the VCore in GPU-Z, it reported 1.21V.
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Testing Methadology
We test a graphics card by calculating its average frames per second and 99th percentile frame time. The later is the time it takes the GPU to render a frame. This gives us a deeper insight into how smooth a game runs.
Test System:
- Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.32 Ghz
- BenQ XL2420T 1920 x 1080
- ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3
- ADATA XPG 8 GB DDR 3 RAM
- Seasonic 950W PSU
- BenQ XL2420T 1920×1080 monitor
- Windows 8 64-bit
- HyperX Fury 240GB SSD
NVIDIA Driver Version: 344.75
3DMark FireStrike
3Dmark is an artificial Benchmarking tool whose Firestrike Test is very thorough on DirectX 11 cards powering high-end PCs. The full test run for Firestrike includes 2 GPU only tests, a CPU dependent Physics Test and a Combined Graphics and Physics Test. The Tool is also useful for stress testing a GPU when run on loop.
Given that the same test on the reference GTX 980 gave a score or 8704, the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition gives a score about 30% higher than the reference. This jump is commendable.
Far Cry 4
The most recent AAA release, Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4. This is one of the most graphics intensive games out there.
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider introduced us to a new Lara with fabled TressFX hair that behaves a lot more realistically than the pre-rendered mop we were used to.
Crysis 3
CryEngine 3 was built to push the PC Hardware to its limits with Crysis 3 and deliver Maximum Eye Candy. We used the highest possible settings for the purpose of our test. The test run consisted of a section of the first mission for 120s as the game surprisingly offers no benchmark tool.
Bioshock: Infinite
The Unreal Engine 3 powered Bioshock: Infinite really pushed the boundaries of visual effects achievable with the ageing engine. It comes with a built in benchmark mode which runs for a lower time period than the standard 120s we used in other tests.
Metro: Last Light
The general pattern observed from these game benchmarks is true to where the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition is supposed to be at i.e. roughly 8-15% better than the reference GTX 980. We see the 980s really excel in Crysis 3, since the game is heavily GPU dependent. With that, both the 980s edge out the R9 290 in almost every benchmark by a considerable margin, both in average FPS and in 99th percentile frame time.
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Power Consumption
Our load tests were performed while running Far Cry 4, in order to represent a more realistic load pattern.
The Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition requires roughly 5-6% of additional power than the reference GTX 980. The GTX 980 chipset in general is very efficient in terms of power consumption. Both the GTX 980 chipsets are strides more efficient than the R9 290, giving better frames per second and drawing lesser power.
GPU Temperatures
The triple fan layout in the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition does its job by staying below 70 degrees, yet it is still not as efficient as the single aluminum cooler in the reference GTX 980. Both the 980s run cooler than the top end cards in the GTX 7xx series and the Radeon R9 290. The GTX 980 is really an incredible upgrade from the GTX 780.
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Conclusion
To say the least, the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition is the fastest single GPU we have ever tested, but the story of this GPU runs deeper. There are a host of things that this GPU gets right, and some incredibly wrong.
The construction of this GPU is excellent. Metal fans would have been much better than plastic fans. The length of the extended cooler can cause a problem in mid-size cabinets. The glossy carbon fibre back is cheesy but we couldn’t complain, it looks good.
OC+, a feature which Zotac has never really explained, maintains the same status i.e. we don’t really know what it does. Zotac’s FireStorm utility is broken in many places, some critical spots like how it handles VCORE voltages, which only works in the GUI and doesn’t do its intended job. We verified this by cross checking the voltages in GPU-Z, they never matched.
Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition is clocked about 15% higher than the reference GTX 980, on paper. The base clock of 1,291Mhz is considerably higher than 1,126Mhz, the base clock in the reference models. In real world usage, this translates to a performance bump anywhere between 8 – 15%. So if you’re gaming on a 1920 x 1080 resolution monitor, the Zotac GPU would be an overkill. Only recommended for 4K configurations where this slight bump might you an extra edge.
Also, upon registering a brand new Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition, you get any one of the games for free: Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed: Unity or The Crew.
Should you buy the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition? Priced at roughly INR 54,000, this GPU is a tad expensive than the reference model, which costs INR 48,000. The reference model cools better, although the Zotac overclocks slightly better. But is it worth the price difference? Only if you’re gaming on 4K.
