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Nvidia Cards

GeForce GTX 295 H2OC LE review

Product: GeForce GTX 295 H2OC Limited Edition
Manufacturer: BFG
Information: website
Street price: 400 USD

Aah yes, the pimp daddy of graphics BFG is at it again. Controversy at its best! What we often lament in the industry is the lack of companies doing something special with their mid-range and high-end products, but BFG always kicks back in with a little surprise. They have very nice OC products and then there's that ThermoIntelligence line of products that always brings a little `love´ to the product release.

This time around BFG did their magic again and teamed up with the guys and gals from CoolIT systems, a company designing sometimes awkward yet always interesting cooling products. As such BFG released two products based on CoolIT's cooling; the BFG GeForce GTX 295 H2OC (limited edition) and BFG GeForce GTX 285 H2O+.

Both cards feature (and here we go for the longest marketing phrase in history) `ThermoIntelligence Advanced Cooling Solutions´ which for this series simply boils down to this: a self-contained liquid-cooling loop. Hey, do you guys remember the CoolIT Domino ALC unit we tested? That was a self-contained liquid cooling solution for processors. When we tested it, we definitely liked it. Reasonable performance, great looks and it was easy to install.

What BFG and CoolIT have designed here is very much the same, they applied the very same basic technology behind that Domino ALC to the majestic GeForce GTX 295 we are testing today. So to be clear here... that's a self-contained easy to install liquid cooling solution preinstalled onto the GeForce GTX 295, filled with coolant and everything; this kit has a 120mm fan, radiator, pump, graphics card cooling block, tubing and reservoir all ready to be inserted into the PC for some tender love and care in your gaming experience.

But hey now (!) BFG upped the ante a little more. They clocked this GeForce GTX 295 MUCH faster than the reference model you can purchase in the stores. So this GTX 295 sports 1,792MB of GDDR3 memory - features core, shader and memory clock speeds of 675MHz (up from 576MHz), 1,458MHz (up from 1,242MHz) and 2,214MHz (up from 1,998MHz), respectively, making the BFG GeForce GTX 295 H2OC the fastest graphics card we have ever had in our lab...

Definitely cybernetic e-peen substance! And as such we just had to test a unit out. Ladies and gents let me show you the product, after which we'll dive into the review. We'll obviously cover all the basics of the GTX 295, look at its architecture, we'll do a nice photo-shoot and obviously some steamy performance tests that will get your groove on.

Gents, let me introduce you to... the BFG GeForce GTX 295 H2OC LE, it's full name really is GTX 295 H2OC ThermoIntelligence Advanced Cooling Solutions Limited Editon, but we'll cut that name down a little if you do not mind. It's the stuff that makes you smile, it's the stuff that belongs in the x-factor high-end market, yeah it's Guru3D style gear. Have a peek and then head on over to the next page please.


Inno3D GeForce GTX295 iChill liquid cooled review


Ah yes .. customized graphics cards, altered cooling solutions  .. you know, I'm such a sucker for nice looking liquid cooled gear.

So every now and then, from that baseline of enthusiast hardware and gaming, we see a product that is just cool. And often, such products make no sense when we talk about the matters of money -- no Sir. It's the dark side of the hardware industry, the extravagant... the excessive 'top' gear.

Now if you want something beastly in your PC -- here's a thought, Inno3D has released GeForce GTX 295 iChill. This card has a single GTX 295 PCB with a shiny cute single-slot waterblock. The product name will be Inno3D GeForce GTX 295 iChill Black Series and it's going to be one exclusive product to find in the stores I'm afraid, but we managed to get a sample into our lab.

And sure, though we know everything there already is to know about the GeForce GTX 295, this one is all about the x-factor, a product that is extraordinary and just looks downright cool. The Inno3D GeForce GTX295 iChill graphics card comes with a liquid cooling block pre-equipped on the board PCB, and that cooling block we'll try an show you in-depth .. it's shiny, it's reflective and just downright cool to look at.

We almost skipped over the fact that the GeForce GTX295 iChill edition comes pre-overclocked and is stuffed with a sweet game-bundle that will make your ears wiggle a little bit, it's a product that in most scenario's is faster than a Radeon HD 5870 because the GTX 295 packs 480 Processing Cores has 1792MB of GDDR3 memory and has its clock frequencies set on 600 MHz on the graphics core, 1242 MHz on the shader domain and 2160 MHz on the memory.

Go have a first peek at the product, after which we'll happily add this card to a liquid cooling loop and check her out in-depth. Next page please.



 GeForce GTX 295 single PCB


GeForce GTX 295 single PCB version. Man, NVIDIA sometimes works in mysterious ways. We've all been hearing about this product for a long time now yet at the threshold of its actual release... everything remains quiet on the side of team green.

There are of course reasons behind that choice (to remain silent) and allow me to explain. The new 'updated' version of the GeForce GTX 295 based on a single PCB is exactly that... an update. Nothing new is to be found on the product when it comes to clocks, thermals, power consumption and so on

So why is this product replacing the dual-PCB version of the GTX 295 series then you ask? Well the answer is simple; cost control. The dual-PCB versions are being sold with little to no profit at all. And that's just not healthy business for any company.

The demand of the GeForce GTX 295 product is higher than originally anticipated as well. I mean face it, the GTX 295 series graphics cards just offer astounding performance for the money you need to lay down on that counter. So NVIDIA had to come up with a different approach, cut some costs on board design and re-launch it. In a nutshell this is what the GeForce GTX 295 single PCB is all about, a revised version of that 'old' product. And the rest is just all the same. Same power consumption, same thermals, same performance... same price. The inside of the product however, is completely overhauled. Chip Foose couldn't have done it any better.

Of course here at Guru3D we test everything and anything with a GPU slapped on it, and I know you guys have been wondering about this single PCB product for a while now. As such I decided to make a priority out of it. After talking with NVIDIA earlier this week, we got a green light to post a review. We teamed up with the fellas & bro's at Point of View who submitted a board and therefore today you'll be able to read all about this beast of a graphics card.

Have a look at the photo below and let me introduce to you... the GeForce GTX 295 single PCB version.

We'll take it through the complete paces of our review test suite and policy. We'll show you all the ins and outs and we'll be sure to satisfy your hunger, curiosity and intellectual needs. Next page please, where we'll start up the review.


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