Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Review
Conclusion
It would seem that ZOTAC have taken all the stops out when designing and putting the GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition card together. Out of the box the card is equipped to handle HD gaming without ever really breaking a sweat. Cranking the resolution (when possible) to a higher 3840×1080 still didn’t seem to cause the card much in the way of problems.
Whilst my attempts at overclocking the card beyond the pre-sets didn’t fare that well, ZOTAC I feel, can be forgiven. The ZOTAC GTX 980 AMP! Extreme comes with a mammoth overclock right out of the box, which can be boosted even further to one of three levels with a simple click, if you want get even more performance. All the while the cooling system rarely ever sparks into life. All of these are impressive feats.
Now the looks of the GTX980 AMP! Extreme are going to be a bit Marmite to some. I can say that I wasn’t really a fan of the ‘Carbon’ on the shroud and rear backplate, however I really liked the pulsing lights that were a part of the system. In a dark system the ‘Carbon’ wasn’t as noticeable and I got to enjoy the LEDs a bit more.
Performance overall was brilliant and really what you are paying for, as the bundle isn’t really the best, and It would have been nice to see a few more adapters in the box to convert one of the Display Port connectors. Whilst looking around I found that the ZOTAC GTX980 AMP! Extreme Edition was one of the most expensive GTX980 cards currently available at around £529.99 (Overclockers.co.uk) but whilst looking, it became clear that the ZOTAC GTX980 AMP! Extreme Edition also has one of the highest out of the box overclocks and is also one of the only cards to come with a 5 year manufacturer guarantee (when registered).
In the end, if you are wanting the best out of the box with some nice style choices, even with its cost, the ZOTAC is the best card that has come through the door here at DavePlays.co.uk and one that I don’t think will be surpassed for a while here.
It seems a bit mad as well, that I am going to give another Gold award so soon after my first but despite its flaws the ZOTAC GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition is quite simply a cracking card.
