EVGA’s reference GTX 780 meets the R9 290X OC

The EVGA GTX 780 3 GB

The EVGA GTX 780 3GB is an interesting card but there is nothing fancy to see from the box. The card arrives in a large EVGA box that advertises the card without its specifications on its outside. It emphasizes 3GB of GDDR5 memory and mentions GPU Boost 2.0 and 3-way SLI. EVGA is proud to remind everyone that they are Nvidia’s number one partner in the USA.The back of the EVGA box goes into more detail about support for 4 concurrent displays with the card’s connectors, and we see the key features of the card as well as EVGA’s premium 3 year warranty are highlighted:Great utilities are included, including EVGA’s PrecisionX overclocking utility which includes an improved GPU voltage tuner.  The video card comes well-protected in anti-static plastic shell. We prefer to reuse, recycle and store static bags although we understand EVGA decision for the dual-purpose packing which keeps the card both safe and static free.Inside the box with the new GTX, we find a driver CD, manual, plastic EVGA decal, DVI to VGA connector and a dual Molex to 6-Pin PCI-E power connector. There is a really nice full-sized poster included which is beyond our ability to photograph and display properly here.The EVGA GTX 780 3GB uses the same PCB as the reference version.  We see Nvidia’s reference GTX 780 pictured above alongside the EVGA 780.  There are far more details on EVGA’s website.

The EVGA GTX 780’s SLI connectors and the ports arrive covered with plastic protectors. EVGA’s GTX 780 3GB is set up for 3-way SLI with one or two other GTX 780s. You can mix cards from different vendors with different clock speeds but you cannot mix cards with different amounts of cores or different framebuffers as you can with AMD’s competing multi-GPU solution, CrossFire.

Here are the connectors: 2 dual-link DVI, 1 HDMI 1.4a and 1 DisplayPort 1.1aLet’s turn it over.Below is the card from another angle which shows SLI connectors as well as the 6-pin plus 8-pin PCIe connectors.

The only visible difference from our reference GTX 780 is EVGA lettered on the PCB above the PCIe slot.

The EVGA GTX 780 3GB is a handsome card using the “industrial design” of the Titan/GTX 690.  The reference cooler is extraordinary for its ability to keep the GK110 GPU cool yet it runs very quiet.  The gamer using a GTX 780 or Titan gets treated to less-perceptible noise than a GTX 680, for example. When you listen to the fan alone – even running over 60 percent, it’s clean and smooth – and this is especially contrasted with the R9 290X, a very noisy card in Uber mode, and to a lesser extent even in Quiet mode.

Specifications & Features

 Here are the GTX 780 3GB’s features as found on EVGA’s site:

Here are Nvidia’s specifications for the reference GTX 780:

The EVGA GTX 780 3GB uses Nvidia’s reference design and it is perfect for SLI in cramped quarters.  Nvidia has a new lighted bridge for Tri-SLI which complements the lighted GeForce logo.  EVGA even includes a utility to synchronize the lights for a customized light show experience.

Why EVGA?

Let’s look at what EVGA offers us over other reference versions with their 3GB GTX 780:

• EVGA PrecisionX – This utility allows overclocking, monitoring and fanspeed adjustments as well as voltage adjustments with the latest version. It is located on the DVD that ships with the card. For more information, please visit http://www.evga.com/precision
• EVGA OC Scanner – EVGA OC Scanner is fully supported by the EVGA GTX 770 SC. This utility allows you to benchmark, monitor and stress test your EVGA card. For more information, please visit www.evga.com/ocscanner
• EVGA Customer Support – EVGA’s acclaimed customer support can be contacted by support ticket, email, and phone. For more information, please visit http://www.evga.com/support/warranty/
• EVGA Community – Active game servers, thriving forums, integrated chat and social networks allow users to ask questions or get help wherever they feel the most comfortable. For more information, please visit www.evga.com/community/
• EVGA Warranty – EVGA offers a variety of warranties to fit their customer’s needs. This card comes with a basic 3 year warranty which may be extended. For more information, please visit www.evga.com/warranty/
• EVGA Advanced RMA Program – EVGA offers this service to help reduce the downtime of a customer’s system by shipping a replacement product first and lets their customer deal with EVGA directly for quick and efficient service. For more information, please visit www.evga.com/ear/

The EVGA GTX 780 3GB is warrantied for at least 3 years and it is transferable.  EVGA has included their PrecisionX overclocking software on the driver DVD or as a download from their site, and you can even raise the voltage. This is a tool that we use with great results which including overclocking our GTX 780 well beyond the reference clocks. With a great warranty and advanced RMA options, EVGA offers great service!  Because of consumer demand EVGA recently made the following changes:

• Most EVGA products now carry a 3 Year Warranty (also upgradable to 5 or 10 years upon registration).
• Product warranty covers the product, not the user.
• Registration is no longer required for RMAs with the EVGA Guest RMA process.
• Step-Up and Extended Warranties will be available for all original owners registered with the new global RMA system within 30 days of the purchase.
• If you move, you can send your product back to your local warranty center no matter what region you purchased it in.
• A new Standard Cross-Shipping RMA service is available.

We can’t wait to test out our new card, but before we begin the testing, head over to our testing configuration.