{"id":24639,"date":"2011-03-15T13:04:46","date_gmt":"2011-03-15T13:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=24639"},"modified":"2011-03-15T13:04:46","modified_gmt":"2011-03-15T13:04:46","slug":"reintroducing-nvidias-titanium-sniper-the-evga-gtx-550-ti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/reintroducing-nvidias-titanium-sniper-the-evga-gtx-550-ti\/","title":{"rendered":"Reintroducing Nvidia&#8217;s Titanium Sniper, the EVGA GTX 550 Ti"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n                                 google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script> <script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> <\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Not long ago we reintroduced Nvidia&#8217;s &#8220;Tank&#8221;, the GTX 580\/570, as a much leaner, meaner and faster machine &#8211; all the while improving on the thermals, power draw and noise of the reference GTX 480\/470. Shortly thereafter, another brand-new lighter GPU, codenamed &#8220;The Hunter&#8221;, the GTX 560Ti  launched bringing with it all of the features of its big brother but at a lower price and with somewhat reduced performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Tank refers particularly to Nvidia&#8217;s flagship video cards which are equipped to handle any gaming situation at high resolution and with maximum details and with maximum filtering and anti-aliasing applied.\u00a0 The Hunter is equipped especially for 1920&#215;1200 gaming.\u00a0 And now we re-introduce the new refined, Sniper &#8211; rebuilt in the same way as the Tank and the Hunter &#8211; as the GTX 550 Ti and especially suited for 1680&#215;1050 gaming.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Sniper.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24645\" title=\"Sniper\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Sniper.jpg?resize=450%2C370\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Sniper.jpg?resize=450%2C370 450w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Sniper-300x246.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Tank and\u00a0 the Hunter are certainly not mainstream gaming and they are not the &#8220;sweet spot&#8221; for enthusiasts money-wise which is generally around $150.  But there is a new kid on the block, the new and refined &#8220;Sniper&#8221;, Ti.\u00a0 Last September, Nvidia introduced the first Sniper, GeForce GTS 450.  To describe the capabilities of the GTS 450 when talking with gamers, Nvidia drew an analogy between a Sniper class unit from an RTS\/RPG game.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Now Nvidia is introducing a new GeForce Sniper for gamers that\u2019s even more powerful, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti!  Yes, Ti stands for Titanium and it brings back fond memories of the old GeForce Ti series which offered excellent bang for buck back then.\u00a0 We also note that the &#8220;S&#8221; designation in the GTS 450 has been replaced by an &#8220;X&#8221; as in GTX 550 Ti; the Sniper joins the Hunter and the Tank all as GTXes &#8211; gaming GPUs primarily.\u00a0 Here is EVGA&#8217;s new overclocked GTX 560 Ti which will etail for the suggested price of $149.99.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24646\" title=\"EVGA-GTX-550-Ti\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti.jpg?resize=500%2C500\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti.jpg?resize=500%2C500 500w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Let us introduce Nvidia&#8217;s brand new reconfigured &#8220;Sniper&#8221;, the new GTX 550 Ti; the new GPU with much higher performance but evidently not set to replace GTX 460 which will continue to be made and sold.\u00a0 This new Sniper is priced around $150 which is in-line with the GTS 450 pricing at its launch and also built for 1680&#215;1050 gaming.  Ti is going to take direct aim at especially the HD 5770 as well as the HD 6850 which are etail-priced around $129 and $149 respectively; especially after mail-in-rebates for the HD 6850.\u00a0<em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=20306\">our original review of the GTS 450<\/a> last September, we saw it go toe-to-toe with the HD 5770.\u00a0\u00a0 And now we are looking forward to the nearly 30 percent improvement with the new GTX 560 Ti that Nvidia promises over the original Sniper, the GTS 450 &#8211; all for the same price as when the 450 originally launched!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Boardshot_GeForce_GTX_550_T.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24647\" title=\"Boardshot_GeForce_GTX_550_T\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Boardshot_GeForce_GTX_550_T.jpg?resize=450%2C364\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Boardshot_GeForce_GTX_550_T.jpg?resize=450%2C364 450w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Boardshot_GeForce_GTX_550_T-300x242.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> The reference version is above and its core is clocked at 900MHz.\u00a0 For the same suggested etail price of $150 we see the EVGA  GTX 550 Ti is overclocked to 951MHz &#8211; free performance!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24702\" title=\"EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-1.jpg?resize=410%2C259\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-1.jpg?resize=410%2C259 410w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGA-GTX-550-Ti-1-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nvidia released its long awaited GeForce GTX based on its brand new Fermi DX11 GF100 architecture back in April of this year, six months later than AMD&#8217;s own DX11 Cypress video cards. This new Fermi GPU \u2013 Graphics Processing Unit &#8211; a term originally originated by Nvidia is a continuation of their strategy since their G80 which launched over three year ago to create a General Purpose Processor \u2013 co-equal with the CPU \u2013 that also renders amazing graphics. The culmination of Nvidia&#8217;s efforts with their GF100 DX11 Fermi architecture was the GTX 480 with the caveat that it runs rather hot and the cooling solutions based on the reference design are rather noisy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Things changed very rapidly as Nvidia&#8217;s introduced a new refined GTX 400 series &#8216;Tank&#8217;, the Galaxy GTX 480 SuperOverclock on a mature process which we covered in t<a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=20800\">his review<\/a>. Shortly thereafter, enter the completely redesigned Nvidia Tank &#8211; at $499 suggested etail pricing and designed to be faster and more efficient than even the super-overclocked GTX 480s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We saw AMD introduce their new line up, HD 68&#215;0 series to replace HD 58&#215;0 series in our review <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=21598\">here<\/a>.  We found out that the &#8220;Barts&#8221; GPU it is based on is only a mid-range launch so far with the HD 6870 only slightly faster than the HD 5850; the best part is that it replaces it for less money. And about five weeks ago we saw AMD&#8217;s Cayman release in the form of HD 6970 and HD 6950.  Nvidia took aim at the HD 6970 with the GTX 570, and most recently the GTX 560 Ti took on the HD 6870 and the HD 6950 and today we see the GTX 550 TI aiming at the HD 5770 and HD 6850 &#8211; AMD&#8217;s bread and butter.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">You might also want to take a look at the original Fermi GF100 GTX 480 and quickly recap its new DX11 architecture and features of the original Fermi GF100 which we covered in our reviews of the GTX 480, published <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=16475\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here,<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=16997\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=17869\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/span>. Senior Editor BFG10K reviewed GTX 470 <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=17550\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=18180\">here <\/a>and Senior editor MrK covered GTX 465 <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=18715\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We also recently examined the performance of <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=20800\">Galaxy&#8217;s GTX 480 SuperOverclock<\/a> and we also reran GTX 480 against stock and overclocked versions of HD 5870, HD 6870 and HD 6850 <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=21598\">here<\/a> just a few weeks ago.  A recent <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=21778\">review<\/a> covered the GTX 580 a few months ago.  We also covered <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=22392\">GTX 570<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=22610\">launch of the HD 69&#215;0 series<\/a> against GTX 460.  And Senior Editor Leon Hyman covered GTX 460-768M vs. HD 5830 <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=23418\">here<\/a>.\u00a0  GTX 560 Ti&#8217; s launch was covered <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=23490\">here<\/a>.\u00a0 Now you are up to date.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Specifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The GeForce GTX 550 Ti was designed from the ground up to deliver exceptional tessellation performance, which is a key component of Microsoft&#8217;s DirectX 11 development platform for PC games. Tessellation allows game developers to take advantage of the GeForce GTX 550 GPU&#8217;s tessellation ability to increase the geometric complexity of models and characters to deliver far more realistic and visually rich gaming environments.<\/p>\n<p>You will soon see that although the clocks of Nvidia&#8217;s GTX 550 Ti are clocked higher than the reference GTS 450 version, Nvidia kept their headroom for the new GPU!  Because of that, EVGA was able to go much further than the reference core clock that Nvidia set for the GTX 550 Ti, while still remaining cool and quiet.  Here is the specification chart for the GTX 550 Ti at a glance.  Right away we notice the GTS 450&#8217;s clock is way up and now the new GPU supports the new HDMI 1.4a connector standard.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsRef.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24649\" title=\"SpecsRef\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsRef.jpg?resize=350%2C381\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsRef.jpg?resize=350%2C381 350w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsRef-275x300.jpg 275w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Now lets compare with the EVGA card<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsEVGA.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24650\" title=\"SpecsEVGA\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsEVGA.jpg?resize=350%2C304\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsEVGA.jpg?resize=350%2C304 350w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SpecsEVGA-300x260.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Needless to say, the new Fermi GF116 GTX 550 Ti brings a lot of features to the table that current Nvidia customers will appreciate, including improved CUDA&#8217;s PhysX, 2D and 3D Surround to drive up to 3 LCDs with GTX SLI and Tri-SLI, superb tessellation capabilities and a really fast GPU in comparison to their GT200 series and even their hot running GF100 series variants like GTX 465 and GTX 470 .<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/perfInc450.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24651\" title=\"perfInc450\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/perfInc450.jpg?resize=500%2C213\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/perfInc450.jpg?resize=500%2C213 500w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/perfInc450-300x127.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The GTX 550 has improved performance on a clock-per-clock basis that increase efficiency in many cases over the GTS 450.  Besides that, Nvidia has increased the clock frequencies and the SMs are all operating more efficiently. We can expect that the GTX 460 and the GTX 550 Ti will perform similarly to each other and the newer GPU will be about 28% faster than the GTS 450 which launched for the same $150.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We also see the GTX 550 TI launch with 1GB of vRAM instead of the expected 768MB due to being engineered to use mixed density GDDR5 memory for the first time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/MixDensityVram.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24652\" title=\"MixDensityVram\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/MixDensityVram.jpg?resize=450%2C266\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/MixDensityVram.jpg?resize=450%2C266 450w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/MixDensityVram-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Beauty is more than skin deep<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The GTS 450 was completely re-engineered at the transistor level into the GF116 GTX 550 Ti.  Through a complete Fermi redesign on a mature process on TSMC&#8217;s 40 nm, the GTX 550 GPU achieves higher clockspeed than the GTS 450 with significantly more performance per watt and with fewer transistors.\u00a0 Only one additional 6-pin PCIe connector (which may be supplied by molex adapters) is required.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Featuresrequirements.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24655\" title=\"Features&amp;requirements\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Featuresrequirements.jpg?resize=500%2C269\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Featuresrequirements.jpg?resize=500%2C269 500w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Featuresrequirements-300x161.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Should you SLI your GTX 560 Ti?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">SLI is supported by GTX 550 Ti and there is improved scaling.  There are also recently more compelling reasons besides increased performance to consider GTX 550 Ti SLI which includes being able to experience Nvidia&#8217;s multi-display 2D\/3D Surround.\u00a0 It is an advantage to keep open the options of adding a second GTX 550 later on.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>New Power Monitoring Hardware &#8211; or no more Furmark!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong> <\/strong>Nvidia has added a power draw limitation system to their card beginning with the GTX 580 and also with the GTX 570 and GTX 560 Ti. When either Furmark or OCCT are detected, sensors measure the incoming current and voltage to calculate the total power draw. If the power draw exceeds a certain predetermined limit, the GTX 560 Ti will automatically downclock to avoid damage to hardware components.  After the power draw drops back to safe limits, the GPU returns to normal clocks much the same as with thermal management.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/PowerMgmt1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22528\" title=\"PowerMgmt\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/PowerMgmt1.jpg?resize=300%2C158\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/PowerMgmt1.jpg?resize=300%2C158 300w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/PowerMgmt1.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because of this, we will no longer use Furmark for showing power draw and will return to using games to illustrate real world situations.  Currently, this power management only switches on when Furmark or OCCT are detected and it should not limit overclocking unless Nvidia extends this management to regular PC games.  Evidently this works by having the GeForce driver detect the program and treat it as a virus.  In the case of the GTX 580 and the GTX 570, this power limiting  circuitry implementation is mandatory by Nvidia&#8217;s parners. Like the case of the GTX 560 Ti, Nvidia allowed  their partners to choose to include it &#8211; or not &#8211; with the GTX 550 Ti.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">The EVGA GTX 550 Ti<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Let&#8217;s look at what EVGA offers us over the reference and other partner versions\u00a0 with their GTX 550-Ti:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>Free version of 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition included.<\/strong> Users can redeem their code when the product is registered on EVGA.com. This is a $19.99 value. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/articles\/00594\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/articles\/00594\/', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/articles\/00594\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.evga.com\/articles\/00594\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>Overclocked out of the box<\/strong> \u2013 This card offers a performance increase out of the box, attached is the product spec sheet which includes the details on clockspeeds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>Special Edition EVGA Precision <\/strong>\u2013 We created a special look of our popular software specifically for the EVGA GTX 550 Ti. This utility allows overclocking, monitoring and fanspeed adjustments. It is located on the DVD that ships with your card. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/precision\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/precision\/', 'www.evga.com\/precision\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">www.evga.com\/precision\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>EVGA OC Scanner <\/strong>\u2013 EVGA OC Scanner is fully supported by the EVGA GTX 550 Ti. This utility allows you to benchmark, monitor and stress test your EVGA card. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/ocscanner\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/ocscanner\/', 'www.evga.com\/ocscanner\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">www.evga.com\/ocscanner\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>Voltage Tuning with EVGA ELEET <\/strong>\u2013 EVGA ELEET allows voltage tuning on a wide range of EVGA cards, including the GTX 550 Ti. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/eleet\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/eleet\/', 'www.evga.com\/eleet\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">www.evga.com\/eleet\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>EVGA Customer Support<\/strong> \u2013 EVGA\u2019s acclaimed customer support can be contacted by support ticket, email, and phone. For more information, please visit\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/support\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/support\/', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/support\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.evga.com\/support\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>EVGA Community<\/strong> \u2013 Active game servers, thriving forums, integrated chat and social networks allow users to ask questions or get help wherever they feel the most comfortable. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/community\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/community\/', 'www.evga.com\/community\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">www.evga.com\/community\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>EVGA Warranty<\/strong> \u2013 EVGA offers a variety of warranties to fit your needs, including our exclusive 10 year Extended Warranty. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/warranty\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/warranty\/', 'www.evga.com\/warranty\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">www.evga.com\/warranty\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>EVGA Advanced RMA Program<\/strong> \u2013 EVGA offers this service to help reduce the downtime of a customer\u2019s system by shipping a replacement product first and lets our valued customer deal with the EVGA directly for quick and efficient service. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/ear\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/ear\/', 'www.evga.com\/ear\/']);\" target=\"_blank\">www.evga.com\/ear\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The EVGA GTX 550 Ti is factory overclocked with a Dual BIOS which can be a card-saver if a flash goes bad. EVGA included their Precision overclocking software on the driver CD or as a download on their site; you can even raise the voltage.\u00a0 This is a tool that we have often used with great results.\u00a0 With a great warranty and advanced RMA&#8217;s optional, EVGA offers great service!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGAadvantage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24653\" title=\"EVGAadvantage\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGAadvantage.jpg?resize=525%2C144\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGAadvantage.jpg?resize=525%2C144 525w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/EVGAadvantage-300x82.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Warranty is superb.\u00a0 Notice that you have 3 years that can be extended by registering,<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/warranty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24654\" title=\"warranty\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/warranty.jpg?resize=450%2C76\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/warranty.jpg?resize=450%2C76 450w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/warranty-300x50.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p>This is the point where we usually show you our test system and head for benchmarking.\u00a0 Sadly, our review sample was lost by UPS and another one is on the way from EVGA.\u00a0 We should be able to bring you the benchmarks and our conclusion about Nvidia&#8217;s Sniper and EVGA&#8217;s overclocked GTX 550 Ti later this week.\u00a0 Stay tuned, there is a lot coming from us at ABT.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Poppin<\/p>\n<p>ABT Senior Editor<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 60px;\">\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not long ago we reintroduced Nvidia&#8217;s &#8220;Tank&#8221;, the GTX 580\/570, as a much leaner, meaner and faster machine &#8211; all the while improving on the thermals, power draw and noise of the reference GTX&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,4454,6,7],"tags":[589,4571,2398,4572,121,4573],"class_list":["post-24639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-mini-reviews","category-news","category-technology","tag-evga","tag-gtx-550-ti","tag-hd-5770","tag-hd-6750","tag-nvidia","tag-the-sniper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}