3 - EVGA GeForce GTX 280 HC16 (Hydro Copper)
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 HC16 (Hydro Copper)
So then, the water-cooled EVGA GTX 280 HC definitely is not your run of the mill GeForce GTX 280. You'll notice that the first time when you pick up the packaging box, that's easily 2 kilo's in your hand and a very weird experience for sure.
H20 my bro! Water .. why .. well it's a very efficient method to keep your graphics card cooled, and next to that when done right, can be extremely silent. And sure, it just looks downright grand.
In the EVGA box we'll find a 100% reference based NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1024MB, yet with two distinct differences: this one has a water-cooling block the size of a whale on it, and it's a pre-tested and qualified vanilla GTX 280 sample. That means pre-qualified to run faster while remaining stable, and that is sexy. Speaking of faster, EVGA already overclocked this monster for you. The core is overclocked by 89MHz (602MHz to 691MHz), memory by 108MHz (reference 1107MHz to 1215MHz) and the shaders are up from 1296MHz to 1458MHz.
So on their Hydro Copper 16 card, EVGA guarantees stability up to 691MHz, but I guarantee you with some decent water-cooling loop, you'll get it much higher.
| GeForce GTX 260 | GeForce GTX 280 | EVGA GTX 280 HC16 | |
| Stream (Shader) Processors | 192 | 240 | 240 |
| Core Clock (MHz) | 576 | 602 | 691 |
| Shader Clock (MHz) | 1242 | 1296 | 1458 |
| Memory Clock (MHz) x2 | 999 | 1053 | 1215 |
| Memory amount | 896 MB | 1024 MB | 1024 MB |
| Memory Interface | 448-bit | 512-bit | 512-bit |
| HDCP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Two Dual link DVI | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Obviously what you'll notice immediately is that the water-cooling block that covers all the memory chips and GPU core, it's looking pretty cool for sure. A nice single slot design and each card will be hand-built by a EVGA technician with thermal compound and includes the fittings of your choice (3/8, 1/2) custom tailoring it to your water cooling needs. Tough, I'm missing 1/4 fittings in the package.
Let's have a peek at the entire lot inside that package.
- GeForce GTX 280 HC16 (Hydro Copper)
- Driver CD
- 6-pin to Molex power cable
- fittings (3/8, 1/2)
- clamps
- VGA->DVI dongles x2
- HDTC 3-way RCA cable
What you need to remember about the water cooled edition it that you only buy the GeForce GTX 280 HC16 with water-block. So you need to connect the card to your existing water-cooling setup, or actually invest in a new water-cooling kit.
I already stated it, this card comes pre-overclocked at 691MHz MHz on the core, 1458MHz on the shader processors and 1215MHz (x2) on it's memory. Pretty snazzy.
This standard overclock is going to make a big difference, it will get the performance a good notch up, that's a guarantee.
Bare in mind though, this graphics card requires a PC water cooling system or kit that features tubing with a 3/8, or 1/2 inner diameter.
When ordering this product, be sure to select the correct part number based on your tubing size.
- 3/8" fittings for 3/8" inner diameter tubing
- 1/2" fittings for 1/2" inner diameter tubing
What is pretty darn cool is that EVGA is offering you a Lifetime Warranty if you reside in the USA and 10 years in Europe (EU legislation) with this graphics card. And at this price-level that's a mighty nice investment.
