EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series

For some hardware enthusiasts, a very fast graphics card just isn’t good enough. Think of it like the Porsche 911 Turbo versus the Porsche Carrera GT. Sure, they’re both more than fast enough to get you to work in the morning, but the Carrera GT will get you there at over 200 mph, compared to the 911 Turbo’s 193 mph. To many that 10 mph difference may not sound like a lot, but as any Porsche enthusiast will tell you, it’s a pretty dramatic difference. With their new Signature Series line of graphics cards, EVGA’s now catering to the extreme hardware enthusiast/gamer crowd. Not only is stock not good enough for this select group of people, but faster than stock isn’t good enough either. This card is for the gamer who wants the very best performance, and best service. This is the Carrera GT or Enzo Ferrari of the GeForce 7900 GT market.

So what goes into an e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series? Let’s take a look…

Life for the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series starts out very much like life did for the e-GeForce 7900 GT KO Superclocked. Both cards feature the exact same board design and cooling, right down to the card’s fan. EVGA merely slaps a Signature Series sticker on the fan to denote the difference between the two cards. Underneath the hood though the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series is a slightly different animal.

The most significant difference between the two boards is that the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series runs at higher clock speeds than the KO Superclocked. EVGA clocks the Signature Series graphics core at 600MHz, just 50MHz shy of the GeForce 7900 GTX and over 150MHz higher than your typical GeForce 7900 GT card. Meanwhile, the board’s memory operates at 800MHz, that’s the same speed as the GeForce 7900 GTX. These speeds are actually higher than any other GeForce 7900 GT board on the market.

In order to hit such high speeds, EVGA bumps up the voltage on the graphics core to 1.45V, typically GeForce 7900 GT cards run at 1.2V. Meanwhile, the memory on the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series continues to run at the stock GeForce 7900 GT level of 2.0V. EVGA then tests the card in games like Oblivion and F.E.A.R., runs a looped 3DMark 06 test, and performs a diagnostics test before the quality control department finally signs off on the card. All Signature Series cards are individually serialized and come with a certification of authenticity with its own certificate number, on the certificate of authenticity you’ll also see the names of the techs that actually signed off on your card. In fact, the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series comes with its own custom packaging. The box itself is massive, it’s easily the largest box we’ve ever seen for a graphics card. Inside EVGA uses extra foam to ensure that your Signature Series graphics card arrives safely, not only is the graphics card surrounded by foam on all sides, but so are the other components that ship with the card, such as the DVI adapters and power cable.

Besides the added performance, Signature Series owners also get better service. According to EVGA, Signature Series owners get prioritized technical support and customer service, including a private email address for support and 24-hour next business day replacement if something happens to your original Signature Series card. You’ll also be placed at the front of the line for EVGA’s unique Step-Up upgrade program.

Software and accessories

EVGA ships the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series and their e-GeForce 7900 GT KO Superclock with the same basic bundle of software and hardware accessories. Inside the box you’ll find two DVI adapters, a 6-pin PCI-E power adapter, S-Video cable, and component video cable, along with the manual and driver CD. For a limited time, EVGA also offers both cards with a free copy of the latest Hitman game, Blood Money.

While the e-GeForce 7900 GT Signature Series doesn’t ship with a game bundle out-of-the-box, EVGA does offer one additional unique feature for Signature Series owners. Instead of shipping the card with a fixed game bundle, instead EVGA offers Signature Series owners the option of choosing one game from a selection of games that are released in 2006. EVGA hasn’t come up with the final list of games just yet, but with games like Battlefield 2142, Prey, and Unreal Tournament 2007 set for release later this year, it could turn out to be a pretty sweet bundle.

If both the e-GeForce 7900 GT KO Superclocked and Signature Series are both a little too pricey for your budget, EVGA offers four other GeForce 7900 GT cards ranging from mild to wild. At the upper end of EVGA’s GeForce 7900 GT spectrum is the e-GeForce 7900 GT KO. This board has the same custom cooler as the KO Superclocked, only it runs at 500MHz core/750MHz memory. If you want a little more performance but don’t mind stepping down to NVIDIA’s stock cooler, EVGA offers the e-GeForce 7900 GT CO Superclocked. The CO Superclocked runs at 550MHz core/790MHz memory. Finally EVGA offers their e-GeForce 7900 GT CO and the e-GeForce 7900 GT, the latter runs at NVIDIA’s stock speeds while the former operates at 500MHz core/750MHz. Both cards stick with NVIDIA’s stock cooling.