Zotac pimps Nvidia's latest GPU for some AMP-level performance
Like Microsoft has with Windows 10, Nvidia decided to leapfrog a series number and jump from the Kepler-based 700 cards to the new Maxwell powered 900 series.
At this time, they don't include any low-end cards, so the minimum specification ones are the GTX 960 cards that start at about £165, rising to more than £200.
The Zotac GeForce GTX 960 AMP! is a pre-tweaked design that costs only marginally more than a stock item, but comes with some highly desirable enhancements.
The first of these you notice unpacking the card is the very stylish and elegant dual fan 'IceStorm' cooler tech that Zotac has enclosed in a beautifully made 'ExoArmor' shroud.
In this context, looking good and working great are indeed the same thing, as the fans don't run continually even when you're in 3D mode. When using the 2D desktop, it's normal to see one or even both fans spin to a stop, before kicking back into action once you demand more video performance.
It doesn't take much testing to confirm that this card is substantially better than the GTX 760 it replaces. However, what I found most remarkable was how power efficient this card is, helping it stay cool and quiet even under some gaming duress.
On paper, there is plenty to rave about under this GPU bonnet. The Maxwell GM206 GPU core has nearly three billion transistors packed into a 228mm square, supporting 1,024 unified shaders, 32 ROPs and 64 TMUs. Wired to the GPU are 2GB of GDDR5 through a 128-bit bus, providing a healthy 112.2GB/S of bandwidth.
These levels are true for all GTX 960 cards, but the Zotac AMP! branded cards always deliver a notch above and beyond stock settings.
The GPU core dock is raised from 1127MHz to 1266MHz, and it will boost to 1329MHz more than 100MHz above the usual cap. That increases both pixel and texture fillrate by about 10%. Memory is stock speed at 1753MHz, giving a quad-pumped equivalent of over 7GHz for the GDDR5 memory.
I couldn't help be even more impressed by these specifications when I realised that the GTX 960 only requires a single six-pin PCI power line and a very modest 400W PSU.
Another strong point is the outputs, as it has five of them, of which you can choose four to simultaneously use. They include three full-size Display Port, HDMI and a DVI that you could easily subvert for D-sub VGA with an adapter.
After initially missing AMD's Eyefinity tricks, Nvidia is clearly now firing on all cylinders with its own multi-display technology. There is enough power in this GTX 960 to drive a game on triple screens, if you back the detail settings off a little. And the results can be spectacular especially on driving titles.
I should also mention that although it's inherent in modern Nvidia cards, this card is also PhysX and CUDA capable, along with all its Direct X 11.2 and OpenGL 4.4 powers. The only problem I ran into with this was that automated PhysX selection didn't appear to work on older titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The internet is full of benchmarks for these cards, so I restricted myself just to 3DMark for a comparison with other recent designs. On my Sabertooth X79 test rig I managed a Fire Strike score of 6900 and a Fire Strike Extreme of 3451. That's within 10% of GTX 780 levels and 25% better than AMD R9 270. As the latter typically costs £125, the GTX 960 is certainly worth the difference.
If there is a real blot on this finely crafted landscape, then it's the very competitively priced AMD R9 280 and 285 cards that you can now pick up for less than £150.
These cards are just a tiny bit quicker, though they're not nearly as power efficient, requiring dual six-pin power lines to operate.
The physical size, low power demands and high construction quality of the Zotac GeForce GTX 960 AMP! Edition makes it an excellent option for any gamer wanting to build a powerful rig without needing to deploy a huge case or PSU.
Compared with other brands shipping their tweaked GTX 960 designs, Zotac's is also very keenly priced, being cheaper than some stock rated designs.
Unless the cost is out of your budget range, this card offers great performance that only a couple of years ago would have cost you £275 or more. Mark Pickavance
A beautifully made card that most gamers will adore.
Specification
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 GPU (Maxwell GM206).
Cores: 1024 CUDA.
Engine Clock: base/1266 MHz boost/1329MHz.
Memory: 2GB DDR5 memory, 128-bit memory bus.
Memory clock: 7010MHz.
PCI Express 3.0 x16.
Connections: 3 x DisplayPort 1.2 (4k @ 60Hz), HDMI 2.0 (4k @ 60Hz), Dual-link DVI (2560x1600), quad simultaneous display capable.
Power: 400W PSU recommended, 120W max power consumption, single six-pin PCIe power line.
Size: 208mm x 111.15mm, dual slot width.