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Trick or Treat? EVGA to Launch Hybrid Graphics Card on Halloween

Paul Lilly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:45:04 -0500

Ghosts and goblins aren't the only things you'll see this Halloween. According to news and rumor site Fudzilla, EVGA and Nvidia have joined forces to launch a hybrid graphics card on October 31st.

It's mostly speculation at this point, but the card is rumored to combine GT200b and G92b GPUs onto a single PCB. Why the mix? The GT200b will be responsible for rendering all those pretty graphics while you're saving the universe, and the GT92b will flex its PhysX muscle.

Fudzilla says the hybrid card will most likely sport a GTX 275 and GTS 250, which would give the card 240 stream processors and 896MB of memory for rendering, and 128 stream processors and 512MB of memory for PhysX duties. Not a bad idea to combine the two on a single piece of hardware, albeit it could be somewhat risky this close to the launch of Fermi.

No word yet on price.

Image Credit: EVGA via Fudzilla

EVGA Killer Xeno Pro

Will Smith — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:30:49 -0500

Promising technology, but with too many problems to recommend it

When we reviewed the first Killer network card (Holiday 2006), we found that the meager performance gains it offered couldn’t justify its $250 price tag. Now Killer’s back with the new Xeno, a PCI Express design that costs $100 less than the original card, but it still doesn’t offer much benefit for the price.

The Killer’s big promise with the Xeno is that it will improve your ping in games by offloading network overhead from your CPU to a dedicated processor on the board. To test this claim, we set up two identical test beds in the Lab. Then we joined the same Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead servers and followed the same players in spectator mode while measuring the ping and frame rate on each system at identical intervals, using Fraps. In this test, we measured a fairly consistent ping difference of 5ms in favor of the Xeno, which is in line with what we measured in 2006.

This second-gen Killer network card features a PCI Express design and an onboard PowerPC processor.

The Killer NIC also promises advanced Quality of Service, which prioritizes time-sensitive gaming traffic over less-critical traffic. QoS should let you run bandwidth-intensive tasks, such as BitTorrent, at the same time you play games, without impacting your game. Because Killer runs QoS on the card, it lets you configure priority based on the name of each application’s executable. However, we didn’t experience any benefit from QoS when testing the Xeno. In our side-by-side tests, the Xeno actually suffered a fairly consistent 5ms ping disadvantage compared to the stock machine. We also tested the Xeno on our home broadband, with similar results.

When we experienced wimpy performance, we dug deeper into the Killer’s control panels, which led us to another problem. The Killer applet is very complex and poorly documented. For example, the first thing you should do when using the Killer is input your connection’s real-world upstream and downstream speeds. But, while the tool requests numbers in Kb/s, the web-based tool the app recommends reports in Mb/s. Not a problem for the technically savvy, but confusing for a neophyte. Furthermore, the app automatically defaults the bandwidth to typical DSL speeds, so if you don’t disable bandwidth control before you run the online speed test, you won’t know what your actual bandwidth is, and could inadvertently cap your own connection’s download speeds. If you have a passing knowledge of firewalls and general networking, you shouldn’t have a problem. But, neophytes beware.

We found some other problems. Installing the Xeno on our Windows XP 32-bit test bed caused problems with everything from Digsby to iTunes because the firewall blocked them by default. The BitTorrent client that runs on the card’s CPU couldn’t connect to any of the torrents we tried. We also tested the Xeno on 64-bit Vista and experienced similar problems.

While the Xeno did deliver a meager ping improvement, we still don’t think it adds enough to warrant its price tag.

EVGA Releases a Torrent of P55-Based Motherboards

Paul Lilly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:30:55 -0500

Holy smoke, somebody was ready for Intel to launch its socket 1156-based Core i5/i7 platform. EVGA, best known for its videocards but who has also churned out a handful of high-end motherboards, today announced not one, not two, but SEVEN P55-based mobos.

Taking up the flagship position is EVGA's P55 Classified 200. Sporting a sexy red and black color scheme, the P55 Classified is aimed at the "ultra enthusiast" and includes mounting holes for both LGA 775- and LGA 1156-based heatsinks. It also brings to the table a 10 phase digital PWM, Vdroop control, EVGA's E-LEET overclocking utility, onboard Clear CMOS, Power, and Reset buttons, 300 percent more socket gold (bling!), an onboard CPU temp monitor, lower inductance capacitors, and several other marketing bullets that will hit hardcore overclockers squarely between the eyes.

Way on the other side of the spectrum sits EVGA's P55 Micro LE, an entry-level board that still manages to pack a 6+1 phase PWM, Vdroop control, one-touch overclocking (EVGA Dummy OC), several dedicated read points to measure voltages with your voltmeter, and more.

Other boards -- specs of which you can check out here -- include the P55 Micro, P55 LE, P55 SLI, P55 FTW, and P55 FTW 200.

Oh, and don't quit your day job, EVGA: Click and cringe.

Image Credit: EVGA

EVGA Launches 4-Way SLI Motherboard

Paul Lilly — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:30:40 -0500

Running a pair of dual-GPU GTX 295 videocards gives gamers quad-SLI bragging rights, but if you're really serious about driving Crysis cranked up on your swank 30-inch display, EVGA's new 4-way motherboard might be just what you're looking for.

EVGA's X58 Classified 4-Way SLI board supports up to four videocards and coincides with the company's 4-way compatible GTX 285 Classified videocard. Currently the fastest single-GPU videocard on the planet, four GTX 285 cards should trump two GTX 295 cards in just about any situation.

All that design decadence comes at the cost of case real estate and you'll need a chassis that supports the XL-ATX form factor. Measuring 13.5 inches by 10.3 inches, EVGA warns you'll need a case with 9 or more expansion slots, or handy modding skills.

The 4-way board is available for pre-order now for $450 direct from EVGA.

Image Credit: EVGA

EVGA GeForce 9800 GT

Michael Brown — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:33:00 -0500

What's in a name?

Nvidia’s GeForce 9800 GT is really just a rebadged GeForce 8800 GT, which makes it the only card in our roundup based on a previous-generation GPU architecture: Nvidia’s 65nm G92. Despite its age, however, the G92 helped EVGA’s GeForce 9800 GT best PowerColor’s Radeon HD 4830—at least in terms of gaming performance.

EVGA runs the 9800 GT’s core at 600MHz, but takes full advantage of its 112 shader processors’ capacity for operating at much higher frequencies: 1,500MHz in this implementation. The card has a 256-bit memory interface to a full gigabyte of GDDR3 memory running at 900MHz.

EVGA's GeForce 9800 GT fails to meet our minimum gaming performance requirements; it's not an ideal solution for home-theater applications, either.

The 9800 GT’s gaming benchmark performance edge, however, was limited to single-digit percentages. As with PowerColor’s Radeon HD 4830, EVGA’s card fell short of delivering what we consider to be the minimum acceptable frame rate (60fps) with Far Cry 2 and Crysis on a 22-inch display.

So we can’t recommend this card from a gamer’s perspective. Is it any better for home-theater applications? Barely. It’s relatively quiet, but not every HTPC enclosure will accommodate its nine-inch length. And while it does have a S/PDIF input, so you can add digital audio to the signals being output to its DVI ports (provided there’s a S/PDIF header on your motherboard), EVGA doesn’t include the DVI-to-HDMI adapter needed to transmit both audio and video over a single cable.

<< Back to the Penny Wise Videocard Index

PowerColor Radeon HD 4830

PowerColor Radeon HD 4850

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216

HIS IceQ 4+ Radeon HD 4870

EVGA GeForce GTX 275

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216

Michael Brown — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:32:00 -0500

OK, now we're getting somewhere

This card is based on Nvidia's most current GPU architecture, the GT200. Priced at $200, it's the least expensive model we tested that's capable of running Crysis at 60-plus frames per second.

If you shop for a GeForce GTX 260 card, make sure you're comparing apples to apples: Core 216 models like the one you see here are manufactured using a 55nm process, and are outfitted with 216 shader processors. Conversely, cards based on the original 65nm GTX 260 GPU remain on the market but possess only 192 processors. Both versions have a 448-bit interface to 896MB of GDDR3 memory.

Buyer beware: There are two versions of the GeForce GTX 260. The original model has 192 shader processors, while the Core 216 has—you guessed it—216.

EVGA overclocks the core in this particular model to 626MHz (up from a stock 576MHz) and gooses its memory to 1,053MHz (Nvidia reference designs run at 999MHz). The shader clock runs at 1,350MHz (up from a stock 1,242MHz).

The GTX 260 Core 216 has two six-pin power sockets, and you'll need at least 500-watt power supply to run it. EVGA provides Molex adapters if your PSU isn't outfitted with the appropriate cables. The company also provides a DVI-to-HDMI adapter and the S/PDIF cable needed to pipe audio from your motherboard to the videocard.

This card served up Crysis at 64.9fps and Call of Duty 4 at an even more impressive 103.2fps. Oddly enough, it achieved only 58.7fps in Far Cry 2—but that's close enough for the guys we swing with.

<< Back to the Penny Wise Videocard Index

PowerColor Radeon HD 4830

PowerColor Radeon HD 4850

EVGA GeForce 9800 GT

HIS IceQ 4+ Radeon HD 4870

EVGA GeForce GTX 275

EVGA Announces Dual Monitor System

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:26:58 -0500

EVGA has unveiled a dual display LCD called EVGA InterView. Its two displays, which have a 17-inch screen size and boast a resolution of 1440 x 900 each, can be turned 180 degrees on a horizontal axis so to face opposite directions. The image orientation is adjusted automatically when the monitor is flipped.

Each display has a contrast ratio of 500:1, a brightness of 200 nits and a pixel pitch of 0.255mm x 0.255mm. InterView’s response time is claimed to be 8ms. The two displays share a 1.3MP webcam, three USB ports and a DMS connection. The EVGA InterView carries a price tag of $649.

Image Credit: EVGA

EVGA Launches X58 SLI Micro Motherboard

Paul Lilly — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:35:33 -0500

EVGA set out to prove it's not the size of the motherboard that matters, but how you use it. And with the release of the X58 SLI Micro, you can use any speed grade Core i7 processor you want along with a pair of Nvidia graphics cards all in a micro-ATX package.

In addition to 2-way SLI support, the new mobo also crams 6 DDR3 memory slots (supporting up to 12GB of triple channel DDR3-1600MHz+) and 6 SATA II 3GB/s ports onto the mATX board. Other features include 100-percent solid state capacitors, VDroop control, an onboard temperature monitor, support for up 12 USB ports, a single LAN port, a passive heatsink for cooling the chipset, RAID 0/1/0+1/5 and JBOD support, and 8-channel onboard audio, all decked out in a red and black color theme.

The board is available now for $200.

Image Credit: EVGA