Final Thoughts and Conclusion
After all the testing, we are left with one simple conclusion. That conclusion is that the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 260 AMP! Edition performs extremely well compared to its big brother, the GTX 280. Its posted numbers are higher then most stock clocked GTX 260 cards, and comes close to matching the performance of the GTX 280 in a couple tests that we ran. It’s definitely a decent card at a price that is a little easier to swallow than the premium charged by its bigger brother.
Still the card isn’t without its caveats. The biggest one is the question one asks themselves when purchasing such a card; is having the manufacturer perform the overclock worth the price premium? In most cases it is, as overclocking done by one self is never guaranteed to work at a certain speed, and may void your warranty or fry your card in one swoop. However, most cards can and will do these speeds without blinking given the quality of the silicon these days. However, most people are content with paying the “overclock tax” and having a guaranteed experience out of the box.
In the end we have a decently priced video card with a decent performance profile. It may not quite be in budget card territory, but the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 260 AMP! Edition is definitely hard to ignore. The only thing holding it back is that it’s not the best card. Still it performs very well, and for that it deserves much praise from us. Not to mention, ZOTAC just recently increased their warranty to a full 5 years so if you keep your card that long, it’s nice to know the company has your back.
Pros
- High performance for mid-range card
- Decent price
- Complete retail package
- Factory overclocked and covered under warrany
- Five Year Warranty
Cons
- Price premium for factory overclock
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
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