eVGA 7950GX2 - Power And Then Some - 7950GX2 - First Look

The Card - First Look:

eVGA isn't known for a bunch of fanfare or fancy packaging, unless you are looking at their Signature Series.  The rest of their products ship in almost the same box and don't offer a lot of eyecandy or curb appeal.  Enthusiasts know that eVGA gives you a no-nonsense card at a good price.  They don't include a lot of crap with their products, but the give you what you need to get up and running in a hurry.

eVGA includes a pair of DVI-D to D-Sub adapters a "Y" Molex to PCIe Power adapter, Component Video and S-Video cables as well as a brief manual and a driver CD.  Nothing spectacular here, but they didn't waste a bunch of money including software and games that you don't need.  This equates to a lower priced product that is built to be used.

The GeForce 7950GX2 is about 1cm longer than a 7800GT - and is one of the longest and largest video cards that I've ever seen.  This thing is a monster, and if you haven't seen one up close and personal yet, you are missing out on one of life's little adventures.  Of course the thrill factor rates right along with double sugar in a coffee - so you're not missing out on a huge thing - unless you're a hardware junkie like myself.  I actually took this card to town and showed it off to a few people before I started testing.  Man, that sounds really sad when you stop and think back . . .

non-Standard Graphics Card

This card obviously takes up two slots because of its dual PCB design.  I find it remarkable that the small coolers can keep this card cool enough to be stable after hours of gameplay.  We'll see how that plays out in a few minutes.  First, some more pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Click any of the thumbnails below for larger images.

The PCI bracket appears to be vented to air in exhausting hot air from the case, but the fan design negates this possibility.  The vent will allow passive or even perhaps a small amount of active air to pass through, but there is not real design feature on the cooler to take advantage of this vent.  It's a shame really.

We'll take a closer look at this card on the next page.