The Card
Every so often, we get a hold of a piece of hardware that looks good, regardless of how it performs. Of course, there are always times when the performance doesn't quite live up to the looks, but this is not one of them. If we were going to recommend a card solely going on looks alone, we'd choose this one. It just looks good, period. Originally, the card was going to be released with a green heat sink, but apparently, EVGA changed their mind at the last minute and made it the black monster instead. We approve of their choice, as it makes the overall appearance of the card a little more dramatic. Don't worry; if you think black is too boring of a color, EVGA will soon be offering this card in three other colors: silver, rose, and green.
We know that with a graphics card - or any computer part for that matter - many serious enthusiasts could care less on how it looks. What really matters is how well it does the job that it was made to do. It's easy to get excited about a piece of hardware that looks as good as it performs. While the EVGA e-GeForce 7800GTX KO may not be the perfect answer to form versus function, we think that it comes pretty close.
Warranty is something that we have not touched on much in the past. We think that this plays a role in card value, especially given EVGA's new policy. We mentioned in the last article that as of June 22, EVGA is offering a lifetime warranty for all of its cards. BFG also offers a warranty, but apparently, EVGA's is different in that it covers any damage to the card as long as it's not physical. So, for instance, if the EVGA card is damaged by trying to overclock it too high, or if lightning fries it because it was not protected by a surge protector, EVGA will replace it free of charge while BFG will not. MSI's warranty is only good for three years, with basically the same conditions as BFG. Depending on the user, three years may be longer than the "lifetime" of the card, but covering all but physical damage is a definite win for EVGA. Aside from power surge, overclock and heat damage, they'll even cover a failed video BIOS flash (we asked). You can find more information about each manufacturer's warranty policy at their respective websites.
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rqle - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
I actually enjoy editors views on different issue, doesnt really bother me if it left or right or if i agree or disagree. It seems to make the website more of a discussion and community base site then a boring TECH newspapers. Same way i enjoy Anand blog, his views and how he sees things makes this site a whole lot friendlier . I'll admit, he does avoid certain 'heated' issue or doesnt want to be bother with them and i respect that. If plain tech info is all i want, i would be reading the manufacture website and graphs which get quite boring. Ill have to admit i do think the added heatsink(workable or not) and warranty does make it worth while. Probably going to end up disagreeing with Kyle, to me doesnt make him less of a person. I actually thinks it neat that he does express issue like this big or small.RaistlinZ - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
How can you say buying this card is not in your best interest? For those that want BF2 it's a decent buy, and the performance speaks for itself.These would make a good choice if you plan on running in SLI since you're GUARANTEED that you'll get 490core/1300mem out of the box.
SpaceRanger - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
You're paying extra and NOT getting BF2... This card sells for 60 bucks more, and all you get is a metal box around an old heatsink design, and no BF2..SpaceRanger - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
Ohh. Sorry.. unless you have an extra $112 to burn, get the KO BF2 bundle;..BF2 costs 112 bucks?? I doubt it..
DerekWilson - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
You forgot to count the premium they charge for the highest clock speed we've tested yet. Out of the box this is the fastest 7800 GTX we've seen. XFX has a card clocked similarly which we will be testing soon.The EVGA KO with BF2 is now listed as http://labs.anandtech.com/search.php?q=evga+7800">$599 on our pricing engine. The 450/1.2 clocked EVGA with BF2 comes in at $529 making the overclock a $70 cost. Of course $540 could get yout the KO without BF2 now which is only $40 more than the 450/1.2 EVGA.
It's amazing how much prices can change in a day.
Anyway, RAM sinks on the back and a heatsink on the back of the GPU really do seem to make a difference in our overclock tests even if the HSF solution isn't revolutionary as a whole. At least EVGA is doing something different. And as someone who is constantly swapping cards, the fact that the entire pcb is protected is quite an advantage.
In the end it's up to the buyer. But our numbers show the performance advantages (both out of the box and in overclocking). Take it or leave it.
bob661 - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
You can get it at Monarch for $560 and on ZZF for $579. So I don't understand the price issue here.
DerekWilson - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
you're looking at the wrong product ... you can't find the KO with BF2 for less than 600 ... if you want the KO without BF2 its available for as low as 540 ... Those are the prices at Monarch. ZipZoomFly is more expensive ... I don't know what's up with your price info, but make sure you are looking at the KO version.SpaceRanger - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
http://www.hardocp.com/newsarchives.html?news=QXVn...">Link to HardOCP's calling out against EVGA.. It's down a bit in the news archive but its there.SignalPST - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
Does the EVGA e-GeForce 7800GTX KO come with Dual-Link DVI ports?DerekWilson - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
As we've said before, we haven't found a 7800 GTX card without a dual-link DVI chip.We'll keep you guys posted if we find one without this feature.