EVGA Intros GeForce GTX 275 FTW Edition

Pushing up the ante, EVGA introduced the GeForce GTX 275 FTW Edition (model 896-P3-1173-AR). FTW means “for the win”, in gamer jargon. The company has been using the “FTW” label for peak-performance variants of graphics cards and motherboards. In the case of graphics cards, it comes with the highest factory-overclocked parameters available in its lineup.

Featuring the default design of the rest of the cards in its series, the GeForce GTX 275 FTW comes with clock speeds of 713/1512/2520 MHz (core/shader/memory), against the reference speeds of 633/1404/2268 MHz. The card features 240 stream processors, and 896 MB of memory across a 448-bit wide GDDR3 interface. The card is listed on the company store for US $299.99, a $50 premium over the base-model.

Source: techpowerup

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EVGA Announces the EVGA GeForce GTX 275

Brea, California and Munich, Germany – April 2, 2009 —
EVGA, the leading-edge 3D processor graphics cards and motherboard manufacturer, announces the EVGA GeForce GTX 275, offering first rate graphics, physics, and GPU computing performance. The EVGA GeForce GTX 275 appeals to today’s value conscious gamers who desire a powerful GPU and support for both, enhanced 3D image quality and an extended range of 3D special effects that guarantee the best gaming experience for current and upcoming titles. The powerful 3D processor features the NVIDIA GeForce 275 GPU with a complete set of 240 processor cores plus super fast 0.8ns DDR3 memory. Also, EVGA is offering both 896MB and 1792MB versions ensuring you get enough memory to handle the highest of resolutions and texture quality.

A graphics card that does just graphics isn’t enough anymore, the EVGA GTX 275 with NVIDIA CUDA technology delivers Graphics Plus. Go beyond traditional graphics with Graphics Plus and experience Stereoscopic 3D gaming, video processing for transcoding HD videos in minutes to your portable video player, and lightning-fast image processing using Adobe CS4. Products will be available soon through EVGA’s network of leading E-tailers, Retailers, System Integrators, OEM System Manufacturers and Distributors.

Click here for more information on the EVGA GTX 275

The EVGA Difference

Known for offering value and performance, as well as top notch customer service, EVGA is recognized through customer loyalty and the highest levels in customer satisfaction. In addition to the expanded product lines, consumers and channel partners will also benefit from increased sales and technical support programs:

• The EVGA Limited Lifetime Warranty – available for all retail EVGA Graphics Cards.
• EVGA proprietary Advanced RMA (EAR) service – for allowing customers get a replacement card before sending the defective product back to EVGA.
• 24/7 Phone Technical Support – to assure users that courteous and friendly assistance will always be available at anytime of the day or night.
• Step-Up™ Program – for the ability to trade up existing EVGA products for newer technology.
• Community Message Boards -full of thousands of knowledgeable, friendly and satisfied EVGA customers.
• EVGA MODS RIGS – show off your rig, win cash prizes.
• EVGA Gaming – EVGA game servers open 24/7 featuring the latest games.

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EVGA Releases GeForce GTX 295 Red Edition

Performance

NVIDIA GTX 295
576 MHz GPU
480 Processing Cores
400 MHz RAMDAC
Memory
1792 MB, 896 bit DDR3
1998 MHz (effective)
223.8 GB/s Memory Bandwidth
Interface
PCI-E 2.0 16x
DVI-I, DVI-I, HDMI
SLI Capable
Resolution & Refresh
240Hz Max Refresh Rate
2048×1536 Max Analog
2560×1600 Max Digital

Key Features

Other Features

Digital Vibrance Control™ (DVC) Technology

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EVGA SLI Enhancement Patch

Enable SLI in the latest games – NOW!

Check this page often for any updates or support for the latest games and demos!

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EVGA GeForce GTX 285 1GB SSC Edition Review

Nvidia has had a tough time as of late with their GTX 200-series being thoroughly beaten in the price / performance area by the HD 4870 512MB and 1GB cards. What followed were drastic price reductions and the release of the GTX 260 with 216 SPs which contributed to allow the GTX 200-series to compete on a level footing with the best ATI had to offer. Meanwhile, the HD 4870 X2 was released and Nvidia didn’t have an answer to that monster until just last week when they officially unveiled their GTX 295 card. As we saw in the review, Nvidia has finally wrested the performance crown out of ATI’s hands and is on a track to success with a full lineup of 55nm cards.

We all know that one of the major limiting factors of the initial G200 products was the fact that they were built on a 65nm manufacturing process which essentially made their production costs high (hence the prices we saw at launch) and contributed to massive amounts of heat being generated by the core. The GTX 285 on the other hand is the next evolution of the G200 architecture and uses the newer 55nm manufacturing process which should hopefully allow for higher clocks, lower power consumption and decreased heat. However, not all is certain since as we saw with the GTX 260 216 55nm card, power consumption wasn’t affected much and the overclocking was identical to 65nm cards. That being said, as we will come to see the GTX 285 is a different beast altogether.

Other than the 55nm core, what makes a GTX 285 different from a GTX 280? Basically, they are the same card but the GTX 285 carries with it higher clocks much like the 9800 GTX+ did when compared to the vanilla 9800 GTX. Pricing will also be a deciding factor for many since at this point we are seeing a new low in GTX 280 pricing with some cards retailing for significantly less than $400 CAD. Considering that our sources tell us that the GTX 285 will be around $500 CAD before rebates, the GTX 285 could initially receive slow sales. It should also be noted that this is just below the price range where the HD 4870 X2 is currently sitting.

For this particular review, EVGA has sent us their GTX 285 SSC card which in typical fashion has overclocks for the shaders, core and memory. You will also get access to EVGA’s excellent customer service, Lifetime Warranty and Step Up programs. From what we hear, stock of this particular EVGA card should be very good and we have already come to know EVGA for having some of the lowest prices on the market today. All of these things should contribute to make the EVGA GTX 285 SSC Edition one of the most popular cards of this generation.

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EVGA GTX 295 1792MB GDDR3 Video Card Review

I know that there are many of you are thinking right now: “what, another new graphics card from Nvidia?” yup, you got it guys, Nvidia is on a mission to recapture the performance crown from the HD 4870 X2 and they aren’t being subtle about it. Their latest stab at the ultra high end is called the GTX 295 and it is packing enough heat to put ATI’s frontrunner in its place. Yes, this may be a bit “been there, done that” for those of you who read our preview of the GTX 295 a few weeks ago but make no mistake about it; this is a review with a ton of games, higher IQ settings and yes, even those power consumption numbers we were asked to show after the preview. This is where the rubber meets the road folks since we are expecting a finished product here without the quirkiness found in the beta drivers used for the preview. In this vein we should mention right away that the drivers we are using for this review should be available at launch from the Nvidia website.

So, what is this card all about? Basically, it consists of a pair of 55nm GTX 260 cards joined by and SLI connector which have been massaged to provide a little extra performance through additional texture filter units and stream processors. These two cores are each paired up with 896MB of GDDR3 memory for a total of 1792MB which puts it slightly below the 2GB of lightning-fast GDDR5 found on the HD 4870 X2 but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue performance-wise. However, in the preview we saw the telltale signs of framebuffer limitation in some rare cases so it will be interesting to see if this becomes more pronounced as we bump up the AA and IQ settings in the later tests.

Pricing here in Canada seems to have been set and while the GTX 295 was supposed to retail for around the same price as the HD 4870 X2 and it has indeed hit that point squarely on the head. One thing is for sure: with Nvidia promising their new wunderkind will outperform ATI’s dual GPU monster, equal pricing is definitely a breath of fresh air. Trust me, I have seen companies quote a price for a preview only to see that price balloon as distributors and retailers inflate their cut of the cake. So, now that we have seen actual pricing here in Canada, Nvidia’s original number have borne true.

In this particular review we will be looking at the EVGA GTX 295 which will be available at launch in good quantities throughout the country. Usually we get an overclocked version of their cards at launch but this time it is a stock clocker as we have been told that there won’t be any overclocked cards from any manufacturer at launch. This probably has something to do with the temperatures seen on the cores but more on that a bit later in the review. One way or another, as usual you should feel confident in looking at this EVGA card since they have some of the best customer service around, have a Lifetime Warranty on all of their cards and also offer their famous Step Up program. We should also mention that from personal experience we have usually found EVGA graphics cards to be among the least expensive at most retailers which is always something to remember in these tough times.

Speaking of tough times, it may seem odd that Nvidia is releasing a near-$600 ($500 for our friends south of the border) at a time when phrases like “credit crunch” and “slowing economy” are all the rage. I am sure Nvidia has their reasons but let’s be honest, laying claim to the top spot in the GPU power race has massive PR advantages even if the product doesn’t sell like hotcakes.

Anyways, enough rambling. On to the review!!!

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EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 55nm Superclocked Edition Video Card Review

By now we all know that Nvidia is trying to transition their graphics cards to the 55nm manufacturing process. The transition began with the 9800 GTX+ and has made its way into a few hand-picked 9800 GT models which have yet to find their way to retail. Many of us have been waiting for the shrunken-down cores to eventually trickle down into the newer cards; namely the GTX 200 series. Let’s be honest here for a second; the GTX 280 and 260 cards are power sucking monsters which are not only expensive for Nvidia to produce but also don’t fit very well with the environmentally friendly aspect of today’s marketplace. Efficiency both energy-wise and production-wise is the name of the game these days and with ATI already having 55nm parts on the shelves for the better part of a year now, it was high time Nvidia made the transition as well. The consumers and their bottom line demanded it.

Has anyone else noticed that we have been seeing a large number of GTX 200-series card on sale as of late? The reason for this is that Nvidia is trying to get rid of their 65nm cores and starting immediately, we should see 55nm GTX 260 cards make their way to retailers. Just remember, distinguishing a 55nm card from a 65nm one can be a daunting task since we have heard that some board partners will not be advertising the new core on their packaging or PR materials. Even the name hasn’t changed; this is still the GTX 260. The lack of a name change is due to a number of reasons but first and foremost among them is that the 55nm cores will not offer any performance increases over the older cores. Granted, all 55nm GTX 260 cards will feature 216 shaders but other than that, this is still the same card we have come to know and love.

While I can promise you that in the future we will see quite a few new products from Nvidia with 55nm cores, today we will be looking at a simple respin of the GTX 260. You may remember that a few months ago we took a look at the EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition card and found it to be excellent competition for the HD 4870 cards. Once again before Christmas, this same card performed extremely well in our Games of Christmas ’08 article. Why are we talking about the Core 216 Superclocked? Well, the first EVGA card out of the paddock with the 55nm core just happens to be the GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition sporting the exact same specs as the card we have been running for the past few months. While it may be a bit counter-intuitive to review a card which is nearly a mirror image of a previous one, this particular example should hopefully provide some pleasant surprises in terms of heat production and power consumption. To this end we will be seriously beefing up those two sections of the review while the comments to the general gaming benchmark results have been cut out.

As usual, EVGA offers their Lifetime Warranty and Trade Up program with the GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition but they also bundle in a full version of Far Cry 2 for a bit of added value. Pricing for this card hasn’t quite settled yet and as thus is actually slightly higher than other 216 shader GTX 260s. Is this added cost worth it? We are about to find out.

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EVGA 9800 GTX+ 512MB Video Card Review

We have all had our pockets first picked by rising gas prices, then have received a swift kick in the balls by gutted investments and finally getting a slap to the face by the rising prices of damn near everything. This beatdown has led nearly every industry to the realization that the average consumer either can’t or just doesn’t want to afford the best of the best anymore. We see this playing out quite well in the computer component industry with falling prices and more value-oriented products. Gone are the days of the $800 GPU; they have been replaced by efficient, lower-cost products which appeal to a broader market while still achieving performance numbers to be proud of.

Manufacturers like Nvidia and ATI have perfectly seeded this changed market with a plethora of graphics cards which won’t put you out of your rent money since they focus on a “bang for buck” factor everyone seems to be happy with. Let’s be honest, the $150 to $250 price range is the place to be right now as evidenced by the massive number of products all clustered within a mere $100 price bracket. ATI has their new HD 4830 and HD 4850 while Nvidia has the 9600 GT, 9800 GT and 9800 GTX+. Most of these cards have been reviewed by Hardware Canucks but there has always been one notable absentee: the 9800 GTX+.

Even though I am sure many of you know exactly what the 9800 GTX+ is all about (seeing that it was released months ago), I am going to bore you with a quick glossing over of its background. Basically, Nvidia had an excellent card on the market with the 9800 GTX until ATI released their HD 4850 and rained all over the parade. An answer was needed and the boys in green wanted to show that they too could release a 55nm chip (remember, the 9800 GTX used the 65nm manufacturing process). While power consumption and heat production are not supposed to go down significantly when making the jump from 65nm to 55nm, the change allowed the newly minted 9800 GTX ”+” to be clocked higher than the outgoing 9800 GTX. This meant better competition against the HD 4850 while keeping cost increases to a minimum by sticking with a tried and true architecture. The new Plus version of the 9800 GTX has been a hit ever since.

In this case we will be looking at EVGA’s stock clocked 9800 GTX+ which carries with it a price of around $200, putting it into direct competition with the HD 4850. If the price isn’t enough to get your attention, EVGA’s Lifetime Warranty and Trade Up program are sure to sway you in their direction since at this time there are no ATI board partners which offer either service on a consistent basis. But for some of us, performance is everything so it will be interesting to see how this card stacks up.

Fortunately for us, the current financial situation makes the GTX+ prime pickings for a huge swath of consumers either looking to upgrade their system or build a whole new setup. Coupled with the latest drivers from both Nvidia and ATI, we can now show you exactly how the competitors perform against each other using up to date software. Let’s check it out.

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EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 (216 SP) Superclocked Edition Review

I am sure that for many of you the title of this review comes as a bit of a shock since you were not expecting a revised GTX 260 for the next little while at least. Some people say that competition speeds development but in this case ATI’s introduction of their new 4800-series has prompted a lightning-quick response from Nvidia. Not only have they drastically cut the price of their GTX 280 and GTX 260 cards but it seems like they are now allowing manufacturers to release “upgraded” versions of the GTX 260. This card will be meant to shore up the GTX 260’s performance against ATI’s HD 4870 in the short term with an extra 24 Stream Processors to give it a helping hand.

Beginning today you will start seeing new GTX 260s emerge bearing some unique names but please remember that there will be plenty of regular cards at etailers. To give you some examples, all EVGA cards with the extra shaders will be using the “Core 216” name, BFG’s will be called the Max Core and Palit’s will have the SP216 moniker. Confused yet? This is what happens when a company (be it Nvidia, ATI, Intel or whomever else) uses existing technology and makes minor revisions to it instead of releasing a brand new technology so while it is confusing and somewhat frustrating, it is par for the course. Even though at first we wanted to call Nvidia out for adding yet another oddly named card to an already loaded lineup, in the end it is the customer who benefits so who are we to question anything when that happens? Lower prices suits us just fine thank you very much.

Speaking of pricing, preliminary information given to us shows that the stock GTX 260 with 216 shaders will retail for around $279 which is actually below the suggested retail price for the “old” GTX 260 and that of the ATI HD 4870. Expect prices of the older non-216 SP cards to dip slightly below the $260 mark which will make it an amazing value versus the HD 4870. We have said it once and we will say it again: competition is good.

Now that we have covered a bit of the background, let’s focus a bit on the product being reviewed today: the EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition. Even though its name is a mouthful, this card carries with it all the usual reasons to buy EVGA which includes a lifetime warranty and access to their Trade-Up Program. Since it is a pre-overclocked card it also carries with it a slightly increased price over a stock GTX 260 216 at $299. All things considered, this is the same price as some HD 4870 cards are still going for so it should be very interesting if the overclocked core and the extra Stream Processors are able to give it an edge.

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GeForce 9800 GT Video Card Roundup (EVGA, Gigabyte, ASUS & Palit)

Usually, when a new graphics card is released it is impossible to ignore all the reviews and flurry of forum posts that are kicked up in its wake. There are however those odd times when a card sneaks itself into the market without nary whimper from the usual sources and the things literally start showing up at retailers without rhyme or reason. This generation of Nvidia cards has seen several almost-silent releases with the 8800GS and 9600GSO which had reviews here and there but not much was made of their appearance. Today we will be looking at another card which has popped up in at retailers without the usually marching bands and fireworks: the 9800 GT.

Knowing many of you who read these reviews, we think it is safe to say that the release of the 9800 GT has gone largely unnoticed by the majority of tech-savvy consumers. It will without a doubt add even more confusion to the already-crowded Nvidia lineup but it also represents (in some cases) a minor evolution of the now-legendary 8800 GT. Truth be told, many of the G92 cores on the 9800 GT cards on the market have initially been 65nm but supposedly as time passes, there will be some 55nm products released as well. The interesting thing about these cards is that while their reference design is identical to that of the 8800GT 512MB, many of Nvidia’s board partners have decided to go with a non-reference approach straight off the line. This will differentiate them from the 8800 GT cards they are replacing while giving some value-added features along the way. However, as you will see along the way in this review, the 9800GT product range has already become the Wild West with some board partners using “unlocked” cores while others are using standard cores. If you are scratching you head now, wait till you read a bit further.

The raison-d’être of the 9800 GT is a bit of a mystery considering it is being offered in two distinct flavors of core architecture: 55nm and 65nm. With the recent deep price cuts to the 8800 GT cards, it is safe to say that the 9800 GT has come into being to try to liquidate yet more 65nm GPU cores so Nvidia can fully move their lineup to the more efficient and higher profit margin 55nm manufacturing process. Unfortunately, as mentioned there is an overlap with the 9800 GT cards since some hold the older 65nm core while others may use 55nm core, but how will consumers know which one they are getting? The long and short of it is that in many cases they won’t. After talking to a number of manufacturers, some don’t even plan on labeling the 55nm cards as such but hopefully that will change.

Since there have not been many reviews of this card which will eventually replace the 8800GT, we have decided to take a fundamentally different approach this time around and get enough samples to do a full-fledged roundup. A number of companies were more than happy to step up to the plate so today we will present you with cards from Gigabyte, ASUS, Palit and EVGA. While all of these board partners have fundamentally different policies and warranties, they usually all release a reference version and eventually move on to either overclocked or non-reference designs. What makes this roundup a bit different is that NOT ONE of these cards is the same; some have custom PCBs, others are overclocked and one has the underpinnings of an 8800GTS 512MB. So, I guess you could say that this will be one interesting review.

While we could talk and talk about what is new about these cards, let’s save that for another section and get on with this.

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