[FUD] EVGA GTX295 HC Blows Competition Away

[Spart]

And yet I look at it and shake my head........




Today, our lab plays host to what will soon reveal to be the fastest graphics card around. It’s made by EVGA, a company well famous for overclocked models of Nvidia Geforce card and quite respected for its contributions to the OC business. The card is named Geforce GTX 295 HydroCopper, and uses water cooling. Clocks are nothing short of impressive – 720MHz GPU, 1548MHz shaders and 1080MHz (2160MHz effectively) memory. If you compare this to reference clocks you’ll realize this kind of overclock is something only EVGA will dare to do, as reference clocks are 576MHz GPU, 1240MHz shader and 999MHz (1998MHz effectively) memory. This means that the core has been overclocked by as much as 25% or 144MHz.

http://www.itx.ba/images/stories/Recenzije/Grafika/295/EVGA%20Hydro/kartica-poged-1.jpg

The photo above shows the GTX 295 HydroCopper’s from the back. The card also comes with EVGA’s backplate, a special plate that can be mounted on standard air-cooled GTX 295 cards, and EVGA currently sells it for $20. This plate helps with heat dissipation on the back of the card, and it’ll lower GPU temperatures by a couple of degrees Celsius in best case scenarios. Mounting the backplate however, isn’t mandatory of course but we must admit that the card looks much better with it on. The photo below shows the card without the backplate.

http://www.itx.ba/images/stories/Recenzije/Grafika/295/EVGA%20Hydro/kartica-pogled-bez-ploce.jpg

The waterblock is sandwiched between the two PCBs, on the spot where the reference card’s cooler was located. We expected the card to be heavier due to the large EVGA HydroCopper block, but it weighs about the same as the reference card. The block is made of aluminum and copper, and copper is used where the cooler and the GPUs meet.

http://www.itx.ba/images/stories/Recenzije/Grafika/295/EVGA%20Hydro/kartica-poged-2.jpg

Mounting is nothing out of the ordinary; all you need to do is connect the pipes to the fittings, which in our case were 3/8 inch. We finally fired this beast up and here are the results.


Wanna know why I'm shaking my head? Look for the bold text in the quote. Also check out this pic:

http://www.itx.ba/images/stories/Recenzije/Grafika/295/EVGA%20Hydro/blok-otvoren-skroz.jpg


Someone made a boo boo on this design and no one at eVGA seems to worry about it. For the ill informed see this Wiki article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion


Copper and Aluminum do not mix.

[Cobalt]

How could they miss that?!

[Spart]

They don't care. Koolance did it for years! At least Koolance actually tried to do something about it and anodized their aluminum. The aluminum in this block looks bare.

[Cobalt]

So basically, these cards will melt from the inside out over time?

[Spart]

nah but the metal will become pitted and can damage other parts in the loop. here's a nice comparison picture:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h43/duckieho/DSCN1314.jpg

DuckieHo bought these waterblocks a while ago now and keeps the thread linked in his sig. The qoute from the thread is this:

"Both blocks have been thoroughly cleaned. They have been soaked in vineager, toothpasted brushed, and acetone cleaned multiple times. One waterblock was used for a few years in a copper only loop. The other block was used with aluminum for a few years. Can you guess which is which?"

[jewishmafia]

nah but the metal will become pitted and can damage other parts in the loop. here's a nice comparison picture:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h43/duckieho/DSCN1314.jpg

DuckieHo bought these waterblocks a while ago now and keeps the thread linked in his sig. The qoute from the thread is this:

"Both blocks have been thoroughly cleaned. They have been soaked in vineager, toothpasted brushed, and acetone cleaned multiple times. One waterblock was used for a few years in a copper only loop. The other block was used with aluminum for a few years. Can you guess which is which?"

I know DuckieHo... lol :4chan:i work with him.

I didnt even know EVGA came out with the HydroCopper blocks. And i didnt like the idea of a copper/alum block either. But you can use certain fluids that dont allow this to occur. You have to change it every few months, but still... it can work safely if you know what you're doing.

[Spart]

I know DuckieHo... lol :4chan:i work with him.

I didnt even know EVGA came out with the HydroCopper blocks. And i didnt like the idea of a copper/alum block either. But you can use certain fluids that dont allow this to occur. You have to change it every few months, but still... it can work safely if you know what you're doing.

That fluid you speak of is pretty damn expensive and cools worse than a .99 gallon jug of distilled water. eVGA should know better than this especially after the reaming they got by the enthusiasts when they released their Black Pearl line.

[Djzzero]

Wow thats pretty cool, yeah both dont mix very well.

[Spart]

LOL this issue is stirring up ALL KINDS of crap. One of eVGA's mods had this to say:


OP: Brad_Hawthorne (EVGA Moderator)

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7929/blokrastavljendopola.jpg



This picture in the review clearly shows galvanic reaction occurring where it's discoloring the aluminum already. Discoloration isn't the issue, it's merely the by-product of the issue. The contamination of the loop is the problem. You'll begin to get a silt in the closed loop and it'll make for a total mess. I'm pretty sure EVGA won't like one of it's mods knocking the product, but I definitely don't like it.

[jewishmafia]

LOL this issue is stirring up ALL KINDS of crap. One of eVGA's mods had this to say:


OP: Brad_Hawthorne (EVGA Moderator)

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7929/blokrastavljendopola.jpg



This picture in the review clearly shows galvanic reaction occurring where it's discoloring the aluminum already. Discoloration isn't the issue, it's merely the by-product of the issue. The contamination of the loop is the problem. You'll begin to get a silt in the closed loop and it'll make for a total mess. I'm pretty sure EVGA won't like one of it's mods knocking the product, but I definitely don't like it.

Yeah i know Brad, he speaks his mind. :biggrin:

Also, these blocks are ONLY for europe and will NEVER reach the US. :emot-keke:

Link to thread?

[O2zi3]

Well the proof is in the pudding, but i though this process could only occur in a electrolyte, therefore the cooling fluid is key. Also Aluminium oxidises which should also stop this happening, anyway nice article to post, welldone

[Spart]

Well the proof is in the pudding, but i though this process could only occur in a electrolyte, therefore the cooling fluid is key. Also Aluminium oxidises which should also stop this happening, anyway nice article to post, welldone

Even distilled water becomes conductive over time. There are corrosion inhibiting liquids for loops like this but they are expensive and require changing every few weeks. Basically they delay the inevitable.

Jewish here's a link.

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=100551273

First page about half way down.