Based on the Fermi third-generation Streaming Multiprocessor architecture, the GeForce GTX 480 boasts 480 CUDA cores, twice the shader power of the GT200 architecture used by the GeForce GTX 280. Not only has the number of cores doubled, but so have the number of ROP units with 48 total. 8x MSAA performance has been optimized through enhanced ROP compression and texture units are also said to have been redesigned for improved efficiency and better real-world performance. In total, there are 60 of them.

Conclusion:

The Inno3D GTX480 iChill Black Series graphics card is a beast overclocker will be rewarded because of the water cooling. Out of the box it's 3% faster than a reference card. When OCed you'll find performance gains of 10 up to 20%. There was a lack of voltage adjustments and overclocking software support. The Inno3D GTX480 iChill Black Series is just a reference card with a water- block slapped on, the Inno3D GTX480 iChill pricing will probably app. $150 over the price of a GTX 480 standard card, which can be considered a hefty additional charge to pay.

Benchmarks:

3Dmark Vantage, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Metro 2033, Batman Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty, Company of Heroes, Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, Resident Evil 5, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, World in Conflict Soviet Assault, Wolfenstein, Power Consumption & Temperatures.

Compared to:

MSI R5870 Lightning (1GB) 1000/5400MHz, Radeon HD 5870 (1GB) Crossfire, Radeon HD 5970 (2GB), Radeon HD 5870 (1GB), Radeon HD 5850 (1GB), Radeon HD 4890 (1GB), Radeon HD 4870 X2 (2GB), Inno3D GTX 480 i-Chill Black Series (1536MB) 850/4040MHz, Inno3D GTX 480 i-Chill Black Series (1536MB) 720/3800MHz, GeForce GTX 480 (1536MB), GeForce GTX 295 (1792MB), GeForce GTX 285 (1GB)

Test Setup:

• CPU: Core i7 965 EE
• RAM: 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800
• Motherboard: Asus P6T
• PSU: OCZ GameXStream (700 watt)