The EVGA GTX 770 SC 4GB Benchmarked

Conclusion

This has been quite an enjoyable exploration for us in evaluating our new EVGA GTX 770 SC. It did extraordinarily well performance-wise comparing it to the HD 7970 GHz edition where it brings good performance value at $459. When we overclocked our EVGA GTX 770 SC past the reference GTX 770 clocks, we saw it narrow the performance gap with the $650 reference GTX 780. We are totally impressed with this cool-running enthusiast card which is nearly able to go head to head against the GTX 780 in a couple of games.

We see good overclockability with reasonable quietness at stock voltage and fan profile even when the GTX 770 SC is overclocked beyond EVGA’s factory overclock, and it scales well in performance. It is quieter than the reference GTX 770 or even Titan – possibly quieter especially under load!

For its $459 price, overclocked it gives good bang for buck compared to the performance of the reference GTX 780 which is priced at $650, and it mostly beats up on even a GHz edition of the HD 7970. From our results, we can expect The EVGA GTX 770 SC to be a bit faster than most factory overclocked HD 7970 GHz editions. And for only ten dollars more than the reference version, the EVGA GTX 770 SC 2GB offers better performance than the reference GTX 770s while giving the gamer EVGA’s excellent support and warranty as well as a great community.  4GB over 2GB vRAM is well worth the $40 more for gaming at super-widescreen resolutions as we shall see in an upcoming evaluation.

Pros

• The EVGA GTX 770 SC provides excellent performance for a 4GB $459 card and it beats HD 7970 GHz Edition 2:1, winning twice as many games than it loses in our 30-game benchmark suite.
• Overclockability is decent beyond the factory overclock at stock voltage and fan profile; the card remains quiet and GPU Boost works as advertised.
• The cooling design is quiet and efficient; the card coupled with a well-ventilated case stay cool.
• Two or three of these cards can be used for SLI to increase performance far beyond a single card.  Advanced frame metering provides a smooth delivery of visuals.
• 3D Vision 2 and PhysX enhance gaming immersion and both are improved using the GTX 770 compared to the older GeForce series.
• 3-panel Surround plus an accessory display can now be driven off of a single GTX 770 by requiring a single passive adapter; HD 7970 generally requires two.
• New AA allows for high performance without jaggies in deferred shading lighting engines; TXAA solves the shimmering and crawling when the camera is in motion
• Adaptive VSync reduces stuttering while retaining the advantages of minimizing tearing.
• The EVGA GTX 770 SC 2GB is a great value for ten dollars more after $10 mail-in-rebate than the reference version; 4GB is certainly worth a “future proofing” premium of forty dollars if you use high resolutions. You get at least a 3 year warranty backed by 24/7 tech support and a great EVGA community.
• A Splinter Cell: Blacklist coupon is included for a free digital download.

Cons

• Aesthetics – especially compared with the reference version although some may prefer the look of the ACX cooler.  Not really a con, however, one needs a well-ventilated case for this type of cooler.

The Verdict:

• If you are buying a “sweet spot” upper-range video card right now that is perfect for 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 as well as being good performance bang for buck in a $420-460 card, the EVGA GTX 770 SC 2GB is a great choice for ten dollars more than the reference design.  Paying $40 more for 4GB of fast GDDR5 might be very useful for very high resolutions and we shall test this in an upcoming article. We feel EVGA’s GTX 770 Superclocked deserves ABT’s Editor’s Choice award since it destroys competing cards in its class and price range.

We do not know what the future will bring, but the EVGA GTX 770 SC brings great value and a good performer to the 28nm GeForce Kepler family. With great features like PhysX and the second generation of 3D Vision, you can be assured of immersive gaming by picking this card for 1920×1080 or higher resolution. If you currently game on an older generation video card such as a GTX 580 or older, you will do yourself a big favor by upgrading.

The competition is hot and AMD offers their own set of features including Eyefinity 2.0 with the lower-priced HD 7970s and overclocked GHz editions. We are interested to see if there will be any further downward adjustments in AMD’s pricing regarding the HD 7970 as they are rumored to be bringing out at least a partial refresh to their current lineup.

Stay tuned, there is a lot coming from us at ABT. You can expect more great reviews from Mario for our new mobile section; Erik has gaming news and some reviews up ahead also.  Expect a review of Genius notebook speakers this week. And don’t forget to check our Forums. ABT forum tech discussions are among the best to be found anywhere!