Everything + Kitchen Sink
Written: Feb 11 '06 (Updated Apr 22 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Factory overclock, Copper HSF, tech support, forum, lifetime warrantee, Step-Up program
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: The 7800GT is currently the best price/performance ratio for the enthusiest who is willing to part with $300. eVGA makes it even less painful than that!
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| nad_masters's Full Review: eVGA GeForce 7800GT CO PCI-E Graphic Card |
Before the late debut of the much-needed 7800GS for AGP, the only cards at the $300 price range for the AGP owner was either the ATI 850XT PE or nVidia's 6800 Ultra. Even so, they were a little more than $300. That really jerked my chains, since at the same price, you can get a much faster 7800GT or 1800XT series on the PCIe platform. It was what prompted me to find a buyer for my current i875 Pentium 4 setup, and get into a PCIe platform.
There was no debate. ATI did not have anything comparable at the $300 mark performance-wise, and so it was decided that the nVidia 7800GT series was the best bet. But from which manufacturer?
I actually didn't do much research. I remember reading that eVGA has a lifetime warrantee, and that itself sealed the deal. Well, that, and the prices were about the same as the others. Oh, and the fact that for around the same price, they come factory overlcocked relatively significantly.
At Newegg, they were going for $319 at the time (it is now $314 as of writing) with a $4.99 UPS ground shipping (it is now $5.59 as of writing). Their user comments and reviews help narrow it down to eVGA, but this particular model was attractive since it was overclocked. This particular product model was the eVGA 256-P2-N517-AX Geforce 7800GT CO 256 MB PCIe.
nVidia specs their 7800GT to run at 400MHz, while the memory should be clocked at 1000 MHz. Most manufacturers overclock their products to compete. You will find cores of 425, 430, 445, or even 450 MHz, while clocks varies at 1000, 1050, and 1070 MHz. A few has gone as high as 1200 MHz (but with a slower core). But this eVGA card takes the cake at 470/1100 MHz! This card also comes with a heftier heat sink made of copper (which the CO in the model name stands for). Otherwise, the design of the heat sink and fan is true to nVidia's reference design.
eVGA bundles Quake 4 as part of a limited time promotion. Funny thing was that you were supposed to be able to send away for a Call of Duty 2 game as well, but instead, I received another Quake 4 DVD. I now have 2 Quake 4 DVDs with 2 legit CD keys. No Call of Duty 2, however.
So in the virtual cart it goes...
In the Box
eVGA Geforce 7800GT CO PCIe card
Manual
Driver CD with demos, apps, etc.
S-Video/Composite/Component Input/Output dongle
2x standard Molex power connector to PCIe power connector converter
S-Video cable
2x DVI to VGA converters
Quake 4 DVD
Installation
Installing a PCIe card is much the same as a PCI or AGP card. If you have installed any of the newer power-hungry video cards, you are no stranger to the extra power connector they require to stay alive and active. However, unlike the older cards, this card requires the new PCIe power connector that is available only on SLI-approved power supplies. The converter that is included is not recommended for an SLI setup, but just fine for a single card solution. This is because it will require 2 standard Molex connectors to power the sucker! Preferably each from a different 12v line. This eats up the precious and limited available Molex connectors for hard and optical drives.
Even for a single card setup, I highly recommend a PSU that at least has one PCIe power connector (these don't have to be SLI-certified).
Other than that, this card only takes up 1 slot, and is ready to roll!
Issues
There aren't any real issues per se. Just some concerns. First off, if you are looking to build a quiet PC, this card is not for you. The fan is stuck on high even if you are just at your Desktop. It is much louder than all of my case and CPU fans combined! I eventually decided to buy an nV Silencer HSF to replace the stock copper HSF, which is a pity, as the new HSF setup is a dual-slot design. At least this design is much better, as it sucks air out from the inside out, while the stock HSF just recycles the inside air. It is now also so quiet that my other fans can finally be heard.
Unlike other cards, the BIOS on this model is set to run at 470 MHz no matter if you are in 2D or 3D mode. eVGA did this because they believe it allows the card to be more stable in their overclocked state. This also means the fan is forced to run at its maximum speed all the time.
Using the latest Forceware drivers (81.98) and Coolbits 2.0, you can turn down the core at 2D mode, but the fan would still stay stuck at maximum, since it was hard-coded into the firmware. Some enthusiast already hacked the firmware and created a new 2D mode profile that lowers the core AND slows the fan down. Unfortunately, I found this out after I purchased the nV Silencer Arctic Cooler HSF, so I decided not to chance testing it.
The other minor issue I have is when the GPU is being utilized, you can hear a faint high-speed clicking or buzzing noise coming from the card itself. Some people say it's louder than others, while some can't even hear it. eVGA will RMA the card for those users.
Let’s get on with the tests!
Test System:
DFI nF4 LanpartyUT SLI-DR Expert
AMD Athlon x2 3800+ (OCed to 2.5 GHz)
2 GB G.SKILL HZ DDR500 CL3 (2x 1GB)
eVGA 7800GT CO 256 MB n517 PCIe
2x Western Digital 34GB Raptor in RAID0
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 300GB ATA
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Benchmarks
First setting I tested for was the default testing, as anyone can duplicate this test. However, with a card like this, we want some of the features that helps create a quality image turned on. In fact, everything is turned on to the max, and the only variable was the resolution.
I tested 3 popular resolutions: 1024x768, 1280x1024, and 1600x1200. Though the first two are more popular. 1024x768 gives a decent image while giving the best performance. However, with more and more 17" and 19" LCD owners, a native resolution of 1280x1024 needs to be tested. And for those who may have a high resolution 19" or 20" LCD, 1600x1200 native resolution should be tested as well. Coincidently (not!), I own the Samsung Syncmaster 204B 20.1" monitor that has a native resolution that high, which is why I ended up testing it.
Unfortunately, I haven't researched a way to test actual games that I own (Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2). They will be added at a future date. A test of F.E.A.R. running its own built-in performance test will also be posted here when I get around to it. However, Futuremark 3DMark03 and 3DMark05 should be sufficient to judge the performance of the eVGA 7800GT CO for now.
As you can see, the "stock" core is at 470 MHz, while the memory is at 1100 MHz effective (550 MHz actual clock). I managed a stable and artifact-free overclock of 491 MHz for the core and 1150 MHz effective (575 MHz actual clock) for the memory. Both stock and OCed results are recorded for your scrutiny.
3DMark 03 (stock 470/1100)/(OC 491/1150)
Default Settings
Resolution: 1024x768
Anti-Aliasing: None
Texture Filtering: Optimal 4x
3DMark: 16308/16935
Game 1 (Wings of Fury): 403.4/405.6
Game 2 (Battle of Proxycon): 129.3/135.8
Game 3 (Troll's Lair): 107.6/112.5
Game 4 (Mother Nature): 90.7/94.4
Resolution: 1024x768
Anti-Aliasing: 4 sample AA
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x
3DMark: 10330/10748
Game 1 (Wings of Fury): 302.9/310.8
Game 2 (Battle of Proxycon): 65.9/69.3
Game 3 (Troll's Lair): 58.9/61.3
Game 4 (Mother Nature): 75.1/78.3
Resolution: 1280x1024
Anti-Aliasing: 4 sample AA
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x
3DMark: 7835/8164
Game 1 (Wings of Fury): 242.8/247.6
Game 2 (Battle of Proxycon): 46.3/48.9
Game 3 (Troll's Lair): 42.2/44.1
Game 4 (Mother Nature): 61.1/63.9
Resolution: 1600x120
Anti-Aliasing: 4 sample AA
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x
3DMark: 6029/6312
Game 1 (Wings of Fury): 185.0/192.2
Game 2 (Battle of Proxycon): 34.6/36.4
Game 3 (Troll's Lair): 31.5/33.0
Game 4 (Mother Nature): 49.5/51.9
3DMark 05 (stock 470/1100)/(OC 491/1150)
Default Settings
Resolution: 1024x768
Anti-Aliasing: None
Texture Filtering: Optimal 4x
3DMark: 7671/8023
Game 1 (Return to Proxycon): 33.8/35.5
Game 2 (Firefly Forest): 22.8/3.8
Game 3 (Canyon Flight): 37.5/39.2
Resolution: 1024x768
Anti-Aliasing: 4 sample AA
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x
3DMark: 6493/6787
Game 1 (Return to Proxycon): 29.1/30.4
Game 2 (Firefly Forest): 18.7/19.6
Game 3 (Canyon Flight): 32.2/33.6
Resolution: 1280x1024
Anti-Aliasing: 4 sample AA
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x
3DMark: 5375/5622
Game 1 (Return to Proxycon): 24.1/25.2
Game 2 (Firefly Forest): 15.4/16.1
Game 3 (Canyon Flight): 26.8/28.0
Resolution: 1600x1200
Anti-Aliasing: 4 sample AA
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x
3DMark: 4490/4692
Game 1 (Return to Proxycon): 20.3/21.0
Game 2 (Firefly Forest): 12.7/13.3
Game 3 (Canyon Flight): 22.5/23.8
Results
As you can see, overclocking it by that much doesn't seem to give a huge increase in performance, but it is definitely measurable. Heat output did not differ much from this mild overclock, so I recommend squeezing as much performance out of your card as you possibly can.
3DMark05 is so far into the future that even a relatively high end card such as the 7800GT still cannot break into the 60fps range on any of the games. What's amazing yet is that Futuremark already came out with 3DMark06!
I don't have any cards to benchmark against, so feel free to take these scores and compare with others.
eVGA as a Company
By far the best part of the card is being backed by eVGA. As long as the card is not physically damaged, eVGA covers the card for its lifetime. Also, they have a great tech support team that is online, and can be reached via their forums. Speaking of which, the forums is a great community of help from other users as well.
eVGA also have special promotions, contests, and even incentives. For example, if you register your card, you can use their "Step-Up" program to upgrade your card to something better painlessly. Within 90 days of the invoice date, if you wish to upgrade, eVGA will credit you the amount you paid for your current card (if it's higher than MSRP, you get the MSRP price), and you just pay the difference for the upgraded card!
Also, monthly contests gives people a chance to win eVGA products as well - such as their motherboards and video cards. They also once had a "giveaway" promotion. If you register your video card, you are automatically entered. A random winner will be paid whatever it cost them to purchase that particular video card!
In addition, if you are active in their forums, you may get "Blue Ribbon Posts" if you are very helpful to a user in need, or if you were able to point something out that most people missed. Every time you get these ribbons, you get a single (now it's doubled) eVGA buck. You can redeem the eVGA bucks for coupons or use them on eVGA products.
A company that not only buys back your potentially 3-month old card at the price you originally paid for an upgrade? A lifetime warrantee? A large helpful forum community where their techs also resides? Very few companies even care. eVGA makes sure they let people know that they do.
I am happy to see companies like eVGA exists. DFI is pretty up there as well (as I reviewed here).
Conclusion
I am not only happy with the performance, but with the company as well. I am now a DFI/eVGA fan. I was surprised that the 70 MHz factory overclock on the core still had more headroom. At my current clock rate, I am 91 MHz faster than nVidia's reference core clock! I am also 500 MHz (250 MHz actual clock) faster than nVidia's reference GDDR3 RAM! Of course, the performance on overclocking wasn't much, but it was definitely measurable, rock stable, and barely raised the temperature by much (only around 2 degrees C).
All in all, I am genuinely impressed. I am kind of playing around with the idea to step up to the 7800GTX512, as it will be as fast as (if not faster) than an SLI version of my current card. It will cost about the same to Step-Up as if I were to purchase another 7800GT CO. I am in the queue (#57 as I write) and may actually pull the trigger on it. eVGA even announced that if you are in the queue before the 90 days are up, you are still eligible for the Step-Up. Also, they cooled concerns about availability by allowing us the option to Step-Up to the 7900GT or GTX if the 7800GTX512 doesn't become highly available in mass.
Rarely do I have any complaints about a product. However, not only did eVGA made me happy with my video card's performance, but also made me happy with it's service and reputation. So not too surprisingly (though still a surprise), I can't find anything for the "con" text box. :)
Keep up the good work, eVGA!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 314
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