The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 is based on two GT200b cores that are produced with the 55nm process. With the old 65nm based GT200 it was not possible to create such a dual card because of the higher power requirements and heat output. The basic thermal design of the card follows the one introduced with the GeForce 9800 GX2 which uses a heatsink sandwiched in between two PCB's which each having their own GPU and frame buffer. And in order to achieve the performance target, the GeForce GTX 295 uses SLI to make both GPU's work together. However, as end user you will not notice anything about that. You just install the GeForce GTX 295, install the driver and it just works. - techPowerUp

Zotac GeForce GTX 295 Dual Graphics Design Review

The Zotac package comes in the well known orange theme, yet it looks a bit dull. On the front most of the product information is displayed, so it will be easy for a potential buyer to find out if this card is right for him. Further details can be found on the back, even in multiple languages. Unlike the GeForce 9800 GX2, NVIDIA has chosen not to cover the back PCB with a metal cover. This is certainly to help reduce cost. As expected the video card occupies two cooling slots in your system, so there should be enough space left for another one in case you plan to go SLI all the way, and as such you will end up with a full quad SLI system.

The cover of the GeForce GTX 295 is just a simple hole metal cover which serves no purpose other than to direct the airflow and protect the board. The central cooling assembly is mostly metal and seems to be just a complex piece of engineering. It cools both GPU's and memory chips on both sides at the same time. Also cooled are minor components like voltage regulators. Two GeForce GTX 295 cards may be combined for quad SLI operation to give you even more performance. The board has a 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector and both are required. And NVIDIA is using their own nF200 bridge chip to link both GPU's.

Just like all other GeForce GTX 295 cards, the Zotac GeForce GTX 295 retails for around $499 online. When the GT200 chipset was first released, people said it would be impossible to ever build a dual GPU card based on these chips. NVIDIA got around this dogma by releasing a new version called GT200b, which is made in a 55nm process reducing power and heat output. The GeForce GTX 295 has clearly been designed to take the performance crown and hold it for a while, probably for the better part of this year. Now ATI's Radeon HD 4870 X2 is close in performance, but behind by a few percent in most of the current games.

However, with the economic crisis hitting people left and right, it is questionable if a $499 product can succeed in today's market. We looked at Newegg and saw only two GeForce GTX 295 cards listed, while there are dozens of cards in the cheaper segments. Nevertheless, if you have the cash, this is the card to get. It delivers amazing performance and will let you use that big screen of yours with all the eye candy turned on. Also don't forget to pair this monster with a proper central processor. This is first time we used our new Core i7 based setup, the older Core 2 Duo was just too slow to show the GeForce GTX 295's full potential.

Should you still not be satisfied with the performance of the GeForce GTX 295 you can overclock it considerably. Another option is to get a second GeForce GTX 295 for some quad SLI action. We really like what Zotac has been doing with their package. The included HDMI cable, full game and 3DMark Vantage full version definitely add to its value, without increasing the price beyond $499.