Reviewed by Barry Little - January 26, 2007

Manufacturer: EVGA

Model: 768-P2-N31

Price: $619.99 at Directron.com

The lifespan of contemporary video cards for gaming barely last six months before the “next-big-thing” comes along, making them obsolete. “Revolutionary” has become the most over-used word in marketing-speak for cards that offer little more than incremental improvements in performance and visual quality over the previous model.

That changed when NVIDIA introduced the GeForce 8800 last November—a GPU more advanced and powerful than anything else before it. The GeForce 8800 not only promises unprecedented performance and visual fidelity in DirectX 10 games under Windows Vista—but does the same for existing titles under Windows XP and DirectX 9—as you’ll see with the subject of today’s review: the EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX!

There were all kinds of rumors and speculation floating around on the Internet—as there always is with any new technology—about NVIDIA’s flagship GeForce 8800 GTX before it made its debut on November 8, 2006. Everything from the amount of heat it would produce, to its size and power consumption, were on forums and blogs all over the web. Most of it was wild speculation. Some of it was close to the truth.

When the card was finally unveiled, even the most jaded and cynical editors, journalists and enthusiasts were impressed. Redesigned from the ground-up to tap into powerful, new features of DirectX 10 while pushing the boundaries of performance in current DirectX 9 games to levels that were previously unheard of, the GeForce 8800 GTX was the first video card in a long time that truly could be called revolutionary in every sense of the word. According to NVIDIA in their GeForce 8800 Architecture Overview:

“All GeForce 8800–based GPUs are designed for Extreme High Definition gaming (XHD), where games can be played at high widescreen resolutions up to 2560×1600. XHD has over seven times the picture clarity of native 1080i HD televisions and double the picture clarity of the 1080p HD format. XHD widescreen resolution allows users to see more of their PC games, enhance their video editing, and even add useful extra screen real estate to applications such as Google Earth. The dual-link DVI outputs on GeForce 8800 GTX boards enable XHD gaming up to 2560×1600 resolution with very playable frame rates. SLI configurations allow dialing up eye-candy to new levels of details never seen in the past, all with playable frame rates.”

Even more impressive, was that in an industry full of “paper launches” and “vaporware,” the top-of-the-line GeForce 8800 GTX and the more mainstream GeForce 8800 GTS were actually available at retail and online stores on launch day. Not surprisingly, EVGA—a Premier Partner of NVIDIA, was among the first companies shipping the new cards.

About EVGA

Founded in 1999, EVGA has grown exponentially in the channel, serving the system builder, distribution and retail markets with products that offer the highest in quality and customer satisfaction, thereby making the computing experience transparent to the hardware in the box. EVGA only offers visual processing products based on NVIDIA chipsets and has recently expanded its product line to include motherboards.

EVGA is recognized through customer loyalty and the highest levels in customer satisfaction. We continuously work to make sure that each purchase results in a customer for life! This is part of the EVGA Difference - known for offering value and performance, as well as top-notch customer service.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies.

The Company creates innovative, industry-changing products for computing, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. The NVIDIA^® graphics processing unit (GPU) and media and communications processor (MCP) brands include NVIDIA GeForce^®, NVIDIA GoForce^®, NVIDIA Quadro^®, and NVIDIA nForce^®. These product families are transforming visually-rich applications such as video games, film production, broadcasting, industrial design, space exploration, and medical imaging.

Additionally, NVIDIA invents and delivers industry-shaping technologies, including NVIDIA SLI™ technology, a revolutionary approach to scalability and increased performance; and NVIDIA PureVideo™ high-definition video technology.

The Package

As one of NVIDIA’s Premier Partners, EVGA redesigned their familiar blue and gold packaging to reflect that relationship, with the launch of their GeForce 8800 cards. The dark grey lower portion of the box has EVGA’s famous “E” logo tiled in the background in a slightly lighter gray. A narrow NVIDIA green stripe separates it from the white upper portion of the box, with “e-GeForce” and “GTX” in matching green letters. The card’s specifications and included accessories are listed on back of the box, while a small window displays the back of the card inside with its serial number sticker. An identical label is beneath it on the box, along with a cautionary message to check them both to make sure that they match. This is done to insure that you’re getting a genuine EVGA product, and that it’s the right one. After all, mistakes can be made when products are returned, inspected and repackaged, and unfortunately, software is not the only computer product that is “bootlegged.” Overall, the box has a clean, professional look that would easily stand out on any store shelf among competing products with gaudier designs.

Opening the box, you’ll see on the flap that EVGA encourages you to contact them 24/7 via their toll-free number if you have any problems with the card, rather than return it to its place of purchase. The e-GeForce 8800 GTX is sealed in an antistatic bag and protected by a foam “inner box,” while the included accessory cables are in a box next to it. EVGA once used a plastic clamshell with shallow compartments on top for the discs and accessory cables. Although the current arrangement probably isn’t quite as durable as the old clamshell, it’s sufficient to protect the card from all but the most excessive shipping abuse. The other advantage is that you don’t have to forcefully pry the card free as you did with the old plastic clamshell. In addition, the discs and accessory cables are kept neater inside.

The bundle with EVGA’s e-GeForce 8800 GTX isn’t as extensive as the ones provided by other NVIDIA partners. If you don’t like or want a lot of trinkets, games, and the usual collection of “value-added shovelware,” you’ll probably appreciate EVGA’s more spartan approach.

As with most hardware, the drivers on the enclosed CD for the e-GeForce 8800 GTX are not the latest, nor are they WHQL-certified. In fact, EVGA tells you so right on the disc and recommends that you download the latest ones from their website at www.evga.com/8800driver.

EVGA also bundles their ResChanger 2005 Utility, along with Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader. Trial versions of Ulead’s DVD MovieFactory 3 and Snap Stream’s Beyond Media software are also on the disc. A copy Dark Messiah Might and Magic is thrown in on a separate DVD to show off on your new video card. An HDTV cable, S-Video cable, 2 DVI to VGA connectors and 6-pin PCI-E to Molex power cables, and a set of EVGA stickers along with a User’s Guide, round out the accessory package.

The Card

When you hold EVGA’s e-GeForce 8800 GTX in your hand for the first time, from the wicked, stealth-black finish to its weight and length, you know that this is one major kick-ass product that means business. Based on NVIDIA’s reference design, at 4.376 inches high and 10.5 inches long, the 8800 GTX is huge. In fact, its length could prevent you from installing it in your case. The card extends an inch over the front edge of an ATX form factor motherboard when installed, so you should carefully measure your case inside to make sure that the e-GeForce 8800 GTX will fit before breaking out the plastic.

Like all of NVIDIA’s flagship video cards of late, EVGA’s e-GeForce 8800 GTX is equipped with a double-wide cooler that will take up the expansion slot next to it when installed. The cooler’s large, quiet fan pushes heat from the card out the back of the case through the vented expansion slot bracket.

Peer through the cooler’s see-through smoke gray casing, and you’ll see the massive aluminum and copper heatsink assembly—which accounts for the card’s hefty weight. A set of heat pipes underneath assists in the cooling chores. One benefit of this design is that the card’s RAM, VRMs and other chips on the PCB are kept cool as well.

Out back are two Dual-link DVI-I ports and a video port for the included cables. Gamers who are also movie buffs will appreciate NVIDIA’s PureVideo HD Technology The advanced hardware decoders and video processors can render H.264 and other HD formats in 720p, 1080i and 1080p with visual quality and color fidelity that rivals some HD TV sets. GeForce 8800 cards are also fully HDCP-capable, and will allow you to watch Blu-ray or HD DVD movies at native resolutions on your PC—provided it has a supported, HDCP-ready LCD monitor.

The card also has two SLI bridge connectors. It’s been speculated that the extra connector might be used in the near future for chaining multiple 8800-series cards together for SLI and physics processing in games (which the GTX and GTS both have the capability of doing—another first for NVIDIA). When Vista launches in the next few days, physics support will not be included in DirectX 10—at least not right away. NVIDIA is reportedly keeping mum on what they have planned for that second bridge connector. So at this point, it’s anyone’s guess when, or what it will be used for.

Aside from its sheer size, what is most likely to grab your attention about the e-GeForce 8800 GTX are the two—yes two 6-pin PCI Express power connectors mounted on the top front edge of the card. Why? The G80 GPU that is the “brains” of the card crams a mind-blowing 681 million transistors into its 90nm die! That’s more than the 582 million transistors currently taking up residence inside Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad-Core Processor, and twice the amount in a GeForce 7800 GTX with 302 million transistors built with a larger 110nm manufacturing process—which was considered “excessive” back in that card’s heyday.

Thanks to all those transistors, a single e-GeForce 8800 GTX draws a whopping 165 watts of power. NVIDIA recommends at least a 450 watt power supply with a minimum of 30 amps on the +12v rail—and I emphasize again, that's just for a single card. The dual six-pin connectors are necessary due to the power distribution requirements of the current PCI Express standard. The standard calls for no more than 75 watts going through the card’s edge connector, and no more than 75 watts for each six-pin PCI-E connector.” Recommended Minimum Requirements” notwithstanding, you will most likely need a power supply a bit more substantial than 450 watts to power the card and any other installed components in your rig. A more practical and safe minimum would be a 650W unit—preferably one from NVIDIA’s Certified Power Supply List over at SLI Zone. Want to run a pair of 8800 GTX cards in SLI? Then you’d better have at least an 850W unit—or ideally, a 1-Kilowatt power supply to be safe—and to give you some headroom for any future upgrades.