Obviously PNY has been listening to consumer and reviewer feedback as unlike previous XLR8 models, that all used the same shipping container, the new PNY GeForce GTX 960 XLR8 OC Gaming uses a slightly different box. While it is the same size, it is much more eye catching and much, much easier to instantly know what model you are holding in your hand. To us this is a good thing, and a great upgrade.
Also upgrade is the internal protective case. Instead of a plastic case to hold the video card in, the GeForce GTX 960 XLR8 OC Gaming has taken a page from PNY’s more upscale ‘elite’ models and used high density foam. This adds very little weight but is eons better at absorbing blunt force trauma. This too is a good thing as we have had GPUs dropped… kicked… and generally abused by shipping companies in the past!
As you can see the accessories which accompany this model have not gotten a refresh like the box. Instead you will find basically the same list of accessories which ships with any previous PNY GeForce GTX 960 model: a single 6pin PCI-e adapter, a single digital to analog port adapter, a quick start guide, and a CD with the necessary drivers. Overall this covers all the bases nicely and we have little issues with PNY not including more than this.
If one wanted to crudely describe this new heatsink and fan design in just a few words to someone who has never seen it, you could say that PNY took their Elite OC design, ‘married’ it to a ‘Double D’ and this was the offspring of that consummation. We personally don’t like such crude analogies but it is actually very fitting. Put another way, the older heatsink and design was darn good, but as it was a recycle from the 7-series days so it was getting a little long in the tooth.
As to specifics the PNY GeForce GTX 960 XLR8 OC Gaming uses an extremely attractive and plastic top fascia. This fascia does give the unit a very aesthetically pleasing look when installed into a system; however, unlike the Elite OC that used a darkish gray fascia that was rounded and curved, this new model is much less busy in comparison. This lends the PNY GeForce GTX 960 XLR8 OC Gaming a much more elegant and sophisticated look. However, the combination of jet black with ‘worn’ red spray paint makes it clear that this model is not just meant to be looked at but is meant to push some serious pixels.
It just is unfortunate that PNY did not opt for a backplate for this model as this would have further increased the overall attractiveness of this design. Given the more budget orientated price of this model this is more than understandable – but it still is a missed opportunity as MSI was able to find room in their model’s budget for a backplate.
As stated in the introduction this model does come with a moderately heavy factory overclock that increases the NIVIDIA reference stock speed from 1,127MHz to 1,203MHz and the boost speed from 1,178 to 1,266MHz. Given the low TDP nature of the GM206 core two massive heatpipes and a large fin array not only keeps this GM206 nice and cool but will allow it to hit and stay at its boost speed longer than ever before.
To ensure that this is indeed the case the two large PNY branded fans push a massive amount of air. These fans do have integrated red LEDs that glow nicely in a case… and would go perfectly with LED equipped motherboard. Interestingly enough, and unlike the Elite OC, PNY has not felt the need to include the secondary metal under plate to keep the other components cool. Instead they have opted for a true secondary heatsink for the VRM. The overall surface area and cooling potential is probably the same but this does have one significant downside.
This downside is readily apparent when you remove the heatsink and take a look at the all custom PCB. As you can see the RAM modules are not covered; rather they rely upon passive airflow to ensure that they stay cool. This is not that concerning as these ICs are rated for very high temperatures and the majority of the waste air flowing through the cooling fin array will wash down and over them as such the missing secondary heat plate is not overly concerning.
Equally important is the fascia and fans do not overhang the PCB all that much like they do on the Elite OC model. Instead the PCB is nearly the full length of the fascia covering and is the full length of the two fans. This does spread the components out more and ensures that even more air from the fans actually flows over components instead of just off the end of the PCB.
Before moving on to the VRM we do feel it is worth pointing out that this new design is no taller than the older Elite OC design. As we have noted in the past a lot of newer models are significantly ‘taller’ than the PCIe slot standards and can be a bit of a nuisance to work with in smaller cases as they ‘overhang’ the PCIe slot tab that secured the board to the case. PNY did not feel the need to do this and instead simply made their design more effective instead of relying upon brute force. Brilliant stuff!
As you can see even though there is room for a 4-phase design, PNY has opted to only populate three of these channels. This is not all that unexpected as the GM206 is a very efficient core that does not need massive amounts of voltage to be boosted in to the stratosphere. Of course, more is always better but not once did we feel that this 3 phase all digital design limited our overclocking abilities.
To power this device PNY once again has opted for a single 6-pin PCIe connector. Unlike some other designs that really need a 8-pin a 960, even a factory overclocked model, really does not ‘need’ an 8-pin connector. In overclocking testing states the 6-pin did not limit things at all, but by the same token our power supply is rather heavy duty and more than capable of pushing much more than 75watts over the 6-pin connector. When overclocking any video card we do recommend a bigger power supply than what is recommended by NVIDIA.
The input selection of this card is rather interesting as it is not PNY’s reference GeForce GTX 960 selection. Instead of 1 HDMI, 1 DVI-D, and 3 DP ports; the XLR8 OC Gaming comes with the two DVI-D, and one (full-size) HDMI, as well as one (full-size) DP ports. This covers all the bases nicely and does so without needing adapters. Equally important due to the layout there is plenty of rear ventilation slits so some of hot air should still exhaust out the back of the case – even though this card makes use of a custom dual downdraft cooler instead of a reference blower design.
