EVGA GTX 980 Classified Nvidia GeForce

The EVGA GTX 980 Classified is positioned as a high performance variant of the reference GTX 980, with EVGA enhancing the effective memory clock while adopting a flexible power budgeting approach. The card uses auto balancing power rails which allows the available power to be allocated to either the core or memory as needed, rather than forcing a fixed split. EVGA focuses its tuning on the core clock, aiming for larger performance gains from core overclocking than from memory overclocking. For reference, the card shifts its base clock from 1126 MHz to 1291 MHz and boosts the boost clock to a remarkable 1393 MHz, suggesting substantial headroom for overclocking headroom. In addition to clock tuning, the card's output configuration is adjusted slightly from the reference, moving to two DisplayPorts along with HDMI and DVI, a choice that could impact multi-monitor setups and compatibility with features like G-Sync. The visual design emphasizes a large cooler and bold styling, hinting at a focus on thermal performance as a key selling point. EVGA also outlines a triple BIOS scheme that changes power, bias, and fan curves to accommodate different performance goals while preserving a practical balance for daily use and more aggressive tuning.

Topics · technology · hardware · computer graphics · gaming hardware · overclocking