A review would not be complete without partaking in a bit of overclocking :) I was planning on using Chaintech's Graphics Overclocking System Utilty, but the application was not prepared for the interface overhaul NVIDIA's Release 55 ForceWare drivers had gone through. I ended up using the overclocking auto-detect feature in NVIDIA's ForceWare drivers, which set the GPU clock speed to 539MHz and memory clock speed to 1.02GHz. The speeds were adjusted to 530MHz and 1.02GHz respectively following a series of graphics artifact tests.
The additional performance realized by overclocking provided 2-3 additional frames per second. These results mirror the typical 10% increase in performance we find in most games.
CONCLUSION
Chaintech has done a commendable job with the Apogee version of their GeForceFX 5700 Ultra. The graphics card ships with a full-featured software bundle, which includes the full version of Commandos 3 and assorted titles from Intervideo. The cooling system is excellent with a copper base and fins that are cooled with transparent fans that run quiet and are illuminated with blue LEDs.
Chaintech USA
If you are looking to upgrade to a mid-range graphics card, then Chaintech's GeForceFX 5700 Ultra Apogee AA5700U should definitely be among your top considerations.
