BFG GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE (216SP) 896MB Video Card Review

Conclusion

With consumers’ pockets being pinched day in and day out by the steadily rising prices of darn-near everything, manufacturers far and wide are desperately looking for ways to distinguish their products from the competition. BFG seems to have done just that with their GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE. This card was able to surge ahead of the competition due to its overclocked core, shaders and memory resulting in some truly impressive framerates in every single game we tested. Even against the mighty HD 4870 512MB, this card is able to run the show from start to finish time and time again. If the fun would just stop there, the OCX MAXCORE would still be a resounding success but BFG adds in a Lifetime Warranty and Trade Up program for good measure. Unlike many other GTX 260 cards, BFG also equips all of their higher-clocked models with a complete package of all the accessories needed to use the OCX for HDMI audio and video. This can potentially turn this gaming card into a true multimedia powerhouse.

We should also mention straight away that Nvidia has mentioned to us in passing that the current non-216 shader GTX 260 GPUs are no longer in production so expect to see their stock at retailers gradually diminish. This is a byproduct of the pressure ATI has been putting on the entire Nvidia lineup and in the end it is the consumers like you and I that benefit. Prices have been driven down to the point where overclocked, 216SP cards like the MAXCORE are presently retailing for close to the price of stock GTX 260s and we expect prices to fall further as the holiday season approaches.

The only real issues we see with this card come up every time we review a GTX 200-series card: heat production and power consumption. While having a nice little block heater in the corner of your room might feel great during those cold Canadian winter nights, you may regret your purchase when the mercury hits insane levels in the summer. Naturally, the heat produced by this card goes hand in hand with some pretty high power consumption numbers which will have your electricity bill begging for mercy. All is not lost though since there are plenty of you who are more than willing to make these relatively small sacrifices to ensure your favorite games play like greased lightning.

We were talking about penny pinching at the beginning of this conclusion so it is time to mention the price of the OCX MAXCORE since all in all, it isn’t that bad. Considering the Canadian Dollar has been taking us all on a rollercoaster ride lately, the asking price of between $350 and $380 makes BFG’s card quite affordable for the performance it delivers. When you factor into this equation the fact that GTX 280 cards are suddenly selling in the $500 range once again yet perform quite close to the OCX MAXCORE, there really isn’t a reason to NOT consider this product.

All in all, the BFG GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE left us with an extremely positive impression during the short time it spent in the test system. While some of you may be complaining about rising prices here in Canada, this card represents the perfect solution for those of you who are looking for a higher-end card at a more than reasonable price. With that in mind, it receives our Dam Good Award.


Pros:

- Incredible performance
- Quiet operation
- Lifetime Warranty
- Good bundle
- Great idle power consumption
- Price for performance


Cons:

- High load power consumption
- High exhaust temperatures