Index
Review: Beast 2 with a 101MHz factory overclock
Point of View / TGT launched its first GTX 580 Beast back in December and its 855MHz GPU earned it the title of the fastest GTX 580 around at the time. However, since other partners have jumped aboard and pushed the GPUs to about 850MHz, the PoV/TGT teams decided to squeeze some more juice out of the card.
Below you see GTX 580 Beast 2 and the GPUz that confirms it’s clocked at 873MHz.
GTX 580 Beast 2 is based on GF110, Nvidia’s fastest GPU. GTX 580 is the high-end successor to the Fermi based GTX 480. GF110’s three billion transistors aren’t easily cooled at 873MHz, prompting PoV/TGT to use AquagraFX water block. Good thing about AquagraFX however is that it’s a slim-line block, i.e. only 9mm thick. This means that Beast 2 is a single slot card.
The card is 10.5 inches (267 mm) long, same as the reference card.
As far as video outs go, we have here the classic Nvidia design, i.e. two dual-link DVIs and mini-HDMI out. Note that only two video outs can be used simultaneously. Nvidia included an HDMI sound device within the GPU, so there is no need for connecting the card to your motherboard’s/soundcard’s SPDIF out to get audio and video via HDMI.
Unlike the initially launched GTX 580 Beast, new Beast 2 is single slot.
The water block is pure quality and, as you can see, it carries TGT branding. “The aquagraFX for GTX 580 has been specifically designed for graphics cards according to reference design of the chip manufacturer. The aquagraFX for GTX 580 effectively cools the RAM, voltage regulators and GPU of your graphics card. The base part of the water-block ismanufactured from pure copper for outstanding performance and durability.“
We found instructions for mounting the water block on reference GTX 580s on Aqua Computer’s web portal, and here’s what they say:“Apply a thin layer of thermal compound to the GPU and the RAM modules. These components are marked red in the figure. The thermal compound must not be electrically conductive! Cut fitting pieces from the thermally conductive pad supplied with theaquagraFX and place them on top of the voltage regulators as indicated by green rectangles.”
AquagraFX water block for GTX 570/580 can be considered an advanced version of AquagraFX blocks on GTX 470/480 cards. TGT is not the one to skimp on clocks and the company will surely put Aqua Computers’ experience to good use, especially when it comes to dual GPU GTX 590 cards.
Another special feature is the Delrin connection terminal which offers the possibility of fitting connection from both sides of the waterblock. The connection thread is G1/4" in size.
Point of View / TGT sent us Eheim’s water pump with a single fan radiator, although it’s 5cm thick in order to cool the card effectively.
As you can see, the entire package is safe inside a large cardboard box. Unfortunately, Point of View/TGT didn’t bundle any games.
Motherboard: EVGA 4xSLI
CPU: Core i7 965 XE (Intel EIST and Vdrop enabled)
Memory: 6GB Corsair Dominator 12800 7-7-7-24
Harddisk: OCZ Vertex 2 100 GB
Power Supply: CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 800W
Case: CoolerMaster HAF X
Fan Controler: Kaze Master Pro 5.25"
Operating System: Win7 64-bit
Nvidia 266.66_desktop_win7_winvista_64bit
AMD 11.2 CCC
3DMark 2011
Aliens vs Predator
Metro 2033
Unigine Heaven
TessMark
Temperatures
GTX 580 Beast 2 card runs 101MHz faster than reference GPUs, but we measured quite good thermals. Operating temperature was up to 64°C. Perhaps you expected lower GPU thermals but you should know that we used a single fan radiator with room temperature at 25°C.
Overclocking
We didn’t manage to break 1GHz for the GPU but we played games for about half an hour at 970MHz. 
Running at 873MHz, Point of View/TGT’s GTX 580 Beast 2 is the fastest single GPU card around. In fact, the factory overclock pushed the card by another 101MHz, which earned the card some extra performance.
In case you’ve been skipping pages, we’ll remind you that Beast 2 is the new and faster iteration of GTX 580 Beast. Point of View / TGT launched its GTX 580 Beast back in December and its 855MHz GPU earned it the title of the fastest GTX 580 around at the time. However, since other partners have jumped aboard and pushed the GPUs to about 850MHz, the PoV/TGT teams decided to squeeze some more juice out of the card.
GTX 580 Beast 2 is intended for special group of enthusiasts, although we believe they’ll too sit down once they hear that the card goes for €700.
The only difference with the original Beast and its successor are higher operating clocks. Both cards use tried and true AquagraFX water block that keeps the temperatures in check.
GTX 580 Beast 2 performance speaks for itself really and you won’t find a faster single-GPU product on the market. Having said that, the pricing may need further adjustments but the card encompasses two of our favorite things – silence and raw power. The card will surely be a faithful and silent servant and we’d recommend it to those enthusiasts that will settle for nothing but the best.
