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vinay k.

vinay k.

Joined on 10/02/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 9
Most Favorable Review

AWESOME. Close to reality !!!!

EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card 640-P2-N821-AR
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card 640-P2-N821-AR

Pros: Setup exclusively for OBLIVION. Have 2 of these running in SLI since last two months. I use them in AFR1 mode, and have seen/felt reduction in temps. on both of them, compared to when they were when used individually. I guess each processes an Alternate Frame, so the load has reduced. BEFORE each gaming session, I use Riva*Tuner to set the FANs @80% and clocks @ 621/918,otherwise I leave them at defaults. No issues. Max temps each has ever touched is 71 deg C. Also, the nVIDIA driver i'm using 158.19 allows me to set Anistropic Filtering = 16x, Antialiasing Mode = Override application setting, AA Transparency =Multisampling AND THE CREAM setting Antialiasing = SLI16x or SLI32xQ (max). Monitor res is 1680 x 1050 and at SLI32xQ, its as close to reality as I can get !The framerate does drop down to around 20-24 fps (SLI32xQ) in the forests, but for the awesome quality I get, its acceptable. Hmmm..it does come down to around 15 fps in Eshme's Boutique due to the hi-res models and clothes

Cons: PROS continued here as I ran out of space in above box--- The Vid Memory max utilisation so far is 622.4 MB (again in Eshme's Boutique :-)) This happens at the SLI32xQ setting, at lower 8x settings it never crossed 520 MB. Am I glad I went for the 640MB versions :-)). All the above settings are in nVidia control panel, and they quietly override Oblivion's settings. Also, I can enable HDR in the game, and that works alongside the AF and AA set via the nVidia control panel. The CARDS need good SMPS. My COOLMAX 600 did not work with both. Had to invest in a Corsair HX620. Motherboard is ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus with 2GB Crucial (DDR2-1000)------------------------ CONS ?? NONE. I'm a happy camper. In fact, this is one card where the price has gone UP since I bought it !!!!

Overall Review: They replaced a 7900 GS. I uninstalled the 7900 drivers thru XP control panel and for the first one week the 8800s were clamped at 256 MB RAM limit. Then came across some blogs to clean out the 7900 drivers. Did a fresh 97.92 (now updated to 158.19) install and the 8800s now operate in 400 -620 MB range. I did remove one card's heatsink and replace the GPU thermal paste with ArcticSilver5, but saw only 2-3 deg C reduction in temps. Nothing to be excited about. Best to leave them alone and let the EVGA warranty handle it. I did contact EVGA once for a techincal question, and was surprised at their quick and to the point response. Really gives me a good sense of security over my investment. I'm no millionaire..this is just addiction !!

Most Critical Review

Don't tell me you were not warned

SimpleTech BonzaiXpress 1GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model STI-UFD/1GB
SimpleTech BonzaiXpress 1GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model STI-UFD/1GB

Pros: CHEAP.

Cons: I took this out from my electronic trash dump once more just to write this review. Here are the stats -- --Time to write: Number of files: Total size --- --3 mins: 1 : 294 MB-- --1 min: 1 : 50 MB-- --1min 25 sec : 1 : 104 MB-- -------------------- Time to DELETE above three files: 1 min 55 sec ------------------- ** And here is where I start cursing this product -- --Time to write: Number of files: Total size --- 12 mins(yes twelve): 107 : 440 KB ( yes 440 KILOBYTES )

Overall Review: Wasted my Sunday morning to get these stats. But I really, really do not want you to go thru. the frustration I've been thru. with this prod. Thanks to NEWEGG for carrying these reviews. Great site to checkout a product.

12/17/2006

THIS PSU ROCKS

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620 W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620 W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Pros: I repeat, this one ROCKS ! and heres why... 1. MODULAR cables. So I plug in only those I need. My system is all SATA, so I've avoided quite a few extra cables which I don't need. 2. MODULAR cables come in a cool bag which keeps extras in one place. 3. THE 3.3, 5.0 and 12 V lines STAY ROCK STEADY +- 0.01 volts, even at full load.. what more do I need !!! 4. The FAN is whisper quiet, even at full system load. 5. PSU stays WARM, not HOT at full load.--------- OK, by full load I mean a ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS with E6400 @2.88 MHz cooled by Zalman 9500, 2 GB Crucial @960 DDR, 2 X EVGA 8800 GTS 640MB @594/918 in SLI, seagate 250G SATA, Liteon DVD RW, Soundblaster Fatal1ty Extreme ALL PUSHING MY FAV. GAME OBLIVION at 1680x1050 res, 16x AF, 16x AA, Multisampling, HDR ... and do the 8800s get hot! But even then, the 620-HX just runs warm !! I guess this has to do with its 85% efficiency, so less power gets converted to heat.

Cons: None so far with this one.

Overall Review: I'm not a computer whiz. BUT, I'm an electronics whiz, and I can smell quality the moment I come across a good product, and this is one of them. There is no shortage of good heavy duty heatsinks inside this PSU. No fancy blue lights either. If you are planning on a 8800 GTS /GTX SLI based system, I highly recommend this one.------------------------- It replaced my COOLMAX "SLI" (sic!!) CXI-600B which chocked out on the 12V line the moment I added TWO 8800s. Worked fine with one 8800. Anyway, the COOLMAX is TRASH now.

SLI ?? Hmmmmm

COOLMAX CXI-600B 600W ATX12V ATX 12V v2.2 SLI Certified / CrossFire Ready and Compatible with Core i3/i5/i7 Power Supply
COOLMAX CXI-600B 600W ATX12V ATX 12V v2.2 SLI Certified / CrossFire Ready and Compatible with Core i3/i5/i7 Power Supply

Pros: Worked great as long as I had ONE EVGA 8800 GTS (640MB).

Cons: Now that I went SLI with two EVGA 8800 GTS, this PSU shuts down intermittently due to overload. A wee bit of OC on the 8800s and the PSU cannot take it at all.

Overall Review: C2D E6400, ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus (fantastic MB), 2 GB Crucial ballistix DDR2 1000, 2 x EVGA 8800 GTS (640MB), Soundblaster Extreme Gamer Fatal1ty, 250G Seagate SATA, Liteon DVD-RW SATA.

OBLIVION guys, pls. read

EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card 320-P2-N811-AR
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card 320-P2-N811-AR

Pros: No, I do not own this product. I have its bigger brother--the 640 MB. Am reviewing this one cause you just might come here, searching for a cheap solution. Just some numbers you should know. I play OBLIVION at 1680x1050, will all options maxed out, except 4x AA, and 8x Anistropic filtering set via the nVidia control panel. I also run Riva Tu*ner in background. I have hit max Video RAM usage of around 522MB quite a few times, in outdoor settings. And I still get less than 40 FPS outdoors!

Cons: None.

Overall Review: don't go cheap. Spend some $50 more and go for the 640MB version. The 320MB on this one WILL prove a bottleneck, for OBLIVION at least. Setup- E6300, 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1000, EVGA 8800 GTS 640

Abs. great addition to my PC

ZALMAN VF900 – CU 2 Ball VGA Cooler
ZALMAN VF900 – CU 2 Ball VGA Cooler

Pros: Goal was to OC the GeForce 7900 GS. Did exactly what it was brought in to do. Reduced the GPU normal/load temp. from 47/62 to 37/51. Have OCed the 7900 from 450 core/660 mem to 578 core/680 mem. Got artifacts at 580 core so rolled back to 578. Increasing mem clock did not push the 3Dmark score as much as the core clock. Plus I have no way of monitoring the RAM temperatures, so did not push it and my luck too much. Quiet performance even with the FANMATE2 set to max speed. The RAM heatsinks work great. The FAN moves a lot of air compared to the stock fan, and I guess keeps some chips on the motherboard happy too! The whole unit is a work of art and well thought of design, looks really cool. The contact surface is as flat and clear as a mirror.

Cons: Did not use the supplied Thermal Grease. Used some Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound leftover from previous project. Would help if the FAN states the current(Amps) rating.

Overall Review: The motherboard does not have a spare 3 pin connector for FAN, so the RED wire from the FANMATE 2 controller went to the +12V YELLOW line, the BLACK to the BLACK and the Yellow line, which I guess is the RPM feedback is hanging free. Many Thanks to the guys who made RT VGA OC utility! Can hold off the 8800 GTS/GTX purchase for some more time now !!