ECS N8800GT-512MX DT

While ECS is best known for their inexpensive AMD and Intel-based motherboards, they also make other products such as notebooks and graphics cards.

We’ve got to be honest here – while we’ve reviewed ECS motherboards in the past, we’ve never taken a look at one of their graphics cards before. But after one glance at the ECS N8800GT-512MX DT it’s hard not to be impressed, and we immediately wanted to check it out.

As you may or may not know, some enthusiasts have complained about the thermal performance of the stock NVIDIA cooling unit. While it gets the job done decently enough of keeping the GeForce 8800 GT’s G92 graphics core cool, it does so while doing a less effective job than some enthusiasts would like. GPU temps in the 90 degree range aren’t unheard of.


While we haven’t run into any stability issues with any of the GeForce 8800 GT cards we’ve tested, nor have we seen any artifacts in our testing (including overclocking), these operating temps are higher than some enthusiasts would like and thus they’ve turned to aftermarket VGA cooling solutions made by companies like Arctic Cooling, Thermaltake, and Zalman to help keep the GPU cool. While these coolers are more effective than the stock NVIDIA cooler, the downside is you’ll usually void your card’s warranty (only EVGA and XFX warranties allow you to swap coolers), and of course, there’s the added cost of having to buy the aftermarket fan, which can range in price from $15 to as high as $50 depending on which fan you buy.



Recognizing this problem, ECS has partnered with Artic Cooling to deliver aftermarket cooling to their GeForce 8800 GT board. The N8800GT-512MX DT comes standard with an Artic Cooling Accelero S1 cooler and the optional Arctic Cooling Turbo Module you can attach to the Accelero’s heatsink for even greater cooling performance. If you were to buy this cooler at an online retailer such as Newegg, the Accelero and Turbo Module would set you back about $25.


At the heart of the Accelero S1 are four copper heatpipes. The heatpipes rest directly on top of the GPU and then run across the top of the entire graphics card. In fact, the heat pipes are so long, they extend beyond the graphics card.

The heatpipes draw heat off the GPU, this heat is then transferred to the air via a massive aluminum heatsink which consists of 32 fins. The beauty of this system is it does an excellent job of keeping the GPU cool while generating no noise: the cooler is 100% silent in stock form. This makes the ECS card perfect if you plan on building a silent or near silent PC.


For even better cooling performance, the stock Accelero S1 cooler can be enhanced with Artic Cooling’s Turbo Module, which consists of two 80x80x15mm fans. According to Arctic Cooling, the fans spin at just 1500 RPMs, so they don’t generate a lot of noise, but combined they supply up to 42 CFM of airflow to the S1 cooler. This helps to keep temperatures down even further. Installation of the Turbo Module is simple, all you have to do is snap the fans into place on the S1 heatsink, then you’ll need to supply the fans with power via a fan header on your motherboard, or you can use the included Molex adapter to draw power from your system power supply.

Keep in mind that the Turbo Module is completely optional: you don’t have to install the fans in order for the card to operate. The Accelero S1 cooler is more than capable of keeping the GPU cool on its own. But if you’re the type who wants maximum cooling, you’ll appreciate the fact that ECS includes the Turbo Module inside the box with their N8800GT-512MX DT board.

To finish the system off, the S1 cooler even includes RAMsinks for the board’s memory modules as well as additional aluminum heatsinks for the VRM circuitry.


Like the other board manufacturers in this roundup, ECS overclocks their N8800GT-512MX DT board for greater performance. The graphics core runs at 650MHz, while the board’s memory is clocked at 950MHz.

Besides the Turbo cooling module, other hardware accessories bundled with the card include one DVI adapter, a component video cable, and power cable. No software bundle is included other than the driver CD.