EVGA 8800GT 512MB Superclocked Edition Review

A closer look at the EVGA 8800GT Superclocked


And here it is: the 8800GT in all its glory. The first thing that will probably strike you is the compact size of the heatsink; Nvidia has decided to go with a single slot copper and aluminum cooler instead of one of the dual slot monsters we have seen in the past. EVGA has decided to stick with the reference heatsink design and has added its own graphics for a bit of flair. The entire heatsink is used to disperse the heat generated by the GPU and memory so be cautious when removing it from your case right after intense usage.

The length of the card is exactly the same as the 8800GTS which is a fairly long 9” but you should add another inch to that because the PCI-E power connector is located on the back of the card.


The fan is a smallish 60mm affair that we are used to seeing on the 8600-series and it is used to push air over the GPU area and out through the end of the card. There are grilles located all over the heatsink in order to allow cool air to flow over the components on the PCB which are not actively cooled by the airflow generated by the fan.


Like we have already mentioned, the PCI-E power connector is located on the back of the card and it is lovingly surrounded by the extremely long heatsink. I am not too much of a fan of this placement since it means the card will have a hard time fitting in come cases due to the 1” projection of a PSU PCI-E connector. I would have much preferred to have seen a side mounting like we see on the 8800GTX / Ultra cards. But as the famous Rolling Stones song goes: you can't always get what you want.


There are numerous exhaust vents for the hot air to be expelled from the case but this provides a bit of a problem for me. While the use of a single slot cooler should be applauded, this design exhausts heat into your case which will raise interior temperatures quite a bit. As you will see later, the card does get quite hot even though it is based around a 65nm GPU.


The rear of the card holds a pair of DVI connectors as well as the HDTV-out connector. Since this card has a single slot cooler, there is really not much more to see here.


From what we see, this is a completely different card and PCB from the other 8800-series and even the 8600-series. The length of the PCB is akin to that of an 8800GTS but the offset of the screws around the core matches that of the 8600GTS. That is pretty much where the similarities stop since the traces and resistors we see here are completely different from anything we have seen previously. Indeed, if my (sometime foggy) memory serves me correct this looks more like an extended 7950GT PCB than one from an 8800-series.

One of the side of the heatsink carries a nice little touch with a small GeForce logo.


Under the heatsink

Before we go any further I would like to mention that with many manufacturers, by removing the heatsink you will void your warranty. Before attempting this, consult your manufacturer’s warranty terms and conditions.


By removing the heatsink we see that the copper contact plate for the GPU core as well as the thermal pads used for conducting the heat away from the ram modules. Speaking of the ram, it is set up in an 8X64MB pattern for a grand total of 512MB of DDR3 ram. The ram modules themselves are Qimonda HYB18H512321BF-10 modules which are rated at 1Ghz (2Ghz DDR) operation. This should give them quite a bit of overclocking headroom above and beyond what they are rated for.

The core is surrounded by a metal shim in order to prevent it from moving when the heatsink is removed and installed. We can also see that there are plenty of thermal pads for the VRM modules since they tend to heat up quite a bit during operation.


Here is the star of the show: the 65nm G92 core. You have probably already seen this but it bears mentioning that it is larger in surface area than the G86 but lacks the massive IHS of the G80 cards. The direct placement of the core right against the heatsink base does have the advantage of lowering temperatures over an IHS design but it does not afford the same amount of protection.