Among one of the formerly unavailable brands, graphics specialist EVGA has recently found a local distributor and is already appearing on retail shelves. A popular and leading brand in the US, it has made waves in the industry for its service and support policies. A lifetime warranty for its graphics cards, a trade-in program to upgrade older EVGA products and a customer support hotline are just some of the pro-consumer policies honored by EVGA. Needless to say, these programs are much welcomed by consumers and could be a strong pull factor in the competitive retail graphics market. Whether all these programs will be brought over along with the hardware remains to be seen. - Hardware Zone

EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO 256MB Edition Review

Like almost everything nowadays, the EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO is manufactured in China. The green PCB is rather typical while the design looks to follow the reference board. The cooler is slightly larger than the default and it is similar to the one found on the MSI, cooling the memory modules along with the core. The fan itself, like most GeForce 7900 GS cards, was suitably quiet, as it didn't need to spin too fast. With its orientation towards enthusiasts, it was not surprising that the EVGA comes overclocked by default. The core itself is at 500MHz, which is in line with other overclocked editions in the market.

At 1380MHz, the memory modules are also quite modestly overclocked so while one should get a significant leap in performance compared to the reference board. However, with the prices of the overclocked GeForce 7900 GS just a tad more expensive than the normal versions, getting that extra performance seems like the wiser choice. The EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO also comes with HDCP support. Although this feature has not been mandated by NVIDIA on this GPU SKU, quite a few vendors have opted to include this for their GeForce 7900 GS cards, more so when they are special editions.

We have heard much about EVGA for a long time now through different ways and means. However, this is the first time we had the hardware to judge for ourselves at firsthand. The consensus, not surprisingly, is that all the good is for real. The quality of the hardware is undoubted and the performance reflects that, as the EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO manages to edge out its similarly clocked rival from XpertVision. Overclocking was decent and it matched the other GeForce 7900 GS cards in our comparison. We also observed noise and temperatures to be on par with the competition.

In short, the EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS is a different class from the generic and more affordable variants out there and thoroughly deserves the elite image it has acquired. However, what has become a hallmark of an EVGA product has been lost in translation as it made its way from USA to our shores. While there are still some uncertainties regarding how EVGA's policies will translate into the local context, it is very unfortunate that EVGA's excellent pro-consumer programs likely won't be implemented. It only serves to show the obstacles faced by local consumers when it comes to getting their hardware as it was meant to be.

Considering that the EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO can be found at online hardware retailers for around $225, may seem reasonable and competitive with other major brands. But that's only if a major oversight like the exclusion of the bundled game be rectified as soon as possible. For now, the lack of EVGA's pro-consumer service in this region is the only downside, which doesn't embody the true EVGA spirit. Apart from that note, if a solid GeForce 7900 GS is what you're looking for, the EVGA KO edition is definitely one to look out for.