Joined on 04/05/08
Very nice card
Pros: Nicely priced, lifetime warranty with registration, custom-board design does seem to make it a bit cooler and quieter than most GTX 470 cards. No problems with it at all (and in fact it fixed a number of problems that my old card was apparently starting to develop). Runs everything I've thrown at it like a champ. Highest observed temperature was 78C after running the Unigine DX11 benchmark on extreme for about an hour.
Cons: None.
Overall Review: As another reviewer mentioned the card you're seeing on Newegg (generic 470 reference design) isn't what the card actually looks like. The actual card has half a dozen heat pipes (like most 480s sport) and a rather larger fan. Check the Sparkle web page or google for the madshrimps review to see it.
Strong reservations
Pros: Decent tool-less design, case includes a number of fans, nice ventilation with air capable of coming through the front and sides.
Cons: Weak latches on the case sides, I've seen the motherboard end come down freely when the case was simply bumped slightly and the opposite end simply decided that it would be much happier seperating itself from the rest of the case. The front panel seems a bit poorly thought out too, the power button's hidden behind it too so it's not like you can just leave it alone and it can cause issues if something tries to open a dvd/cd drive while it's closed. If you use a large cpu cooler most of the side fans won't be able to fit, also required some creativity to get the motherboard side panel back up into place with it there. Front panel connectors had a hard time reaching the Asus P6T motherboard, the hard drive led was unable to reach its connector at all.
Overall Review: Really lousy documentation.
It works
Overall Review: Works without any drama, seems about as fast in practice as my nvme drive while offering a lot more space. 3 year warranty sealed the deal.
Great card
Pros: Demolishes everything I've thrown at it. Crysis? Crysis 2 with the dx 11 and high-res texture packs? Nothing phases it. Stays relatively cool under load (Highest I've seen it get is 81 C). EVGA's lifetime warranty which is really desirable if you're spending this much on a card.
Cons: First unit I got had a defective fan and burnt itself out in under a day. EVGA's replacement policy was easy to work with and reasonably fast but still... It happens. Absolutely huge card. A bit of noise under load, not loud or distracting but definitely noticeable.
Very nice
Pros: Tons of internal room, a side cubby to help with managing cables, very functional toolless design, excellent construction.
Cons: Oddly, they didn't include a pc-speaker. I had one from an older build I was able to toss in but honestly, how much can these things really cost?
Overall Review: Whoever thought up the little side panel that lets you access heatsink backplates without having to unscrew the motherboard deserves some kind of an award - even if it just barely reachable with a 1366 board.
Works great but...
Pros: A definite improvement in thermals, idle temps have dropped by 10c, load temps by 15c versus the no-name stuff I using before hand.
Cons: A real, gigantic pain in the rear to work with. Acts more like silly putty than paste. Twice I tried applying it the way you're supposed to, spread out a bit and then use a plastic card to even it out over the cpu, but the stuff is not at all inclined to spread and far more inclined to stick to the object you're trying to spread it out with - it's not a stretch to say that the cpu is the object it's least inclined to stick to.
Overall Review: I finally gave up on doing it the right way and resorted to the old stand by of the squashed pea - I don't know if it'd work better if I had managed to do it the way you're supposed to but the results have been quite acceptable.