EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW2 review - Introduction

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW2 GAMING
That $589.99 Special Edition GTX 1080 haz got sensors

In today's review, we check out the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW2 (ICX)  8G, and heck yeah this is not your regular one. Meet the all custom, cooled and tweaked EVGA For The Win revision 2 edition. This SKU is a more premium version that comes with some new features like temperature sensors. We'll heck out the 8 GB product fitted with that two slot cooler, some extra LED functionality and a product that comes with some sexy out of the box clock frequencies.

Last year the full range of Pascal based processors was released. Among them the GeForce GTX 1070 and 1080. Both models honestly are equally impressive in its product positioning, though I do feel the 1070 will be the more attractive product due to its price level, a 1080 card is really what everybody want (but perhaps can't afford). The good news though is that the board partner cards offer SKUs for less opposed to the Nvidia reference / Founder edition cards. Obviously the higher-end all customized SKUs will likely level with that founders edition card price level again, but I am pretty certain you'd rather spend your money on a fully customized AIB card that is already factory tweaked a bit opposed to the reference one. 

So here is where EVGA kicks in, they launched GTX 1080 cards under the new ICX branding. Pretty much you can look at the ICX editions as a more premium product that advances over the first generation FTW and SC editions. A product that has been revamped and designed all custom with a dual-fan cooler, higher clock speeds and a backplate. New on this product are additional temperature sensors. Pretty much last year EVGA ran into the fact that some end-users had a bit of a problem with overheating cards. As it turned out their voltage regulation area was not properly cooled, something half a dollar of thermal padding would have prevented. The backlash from the community was quite explosive really, and yeah I'll just call it what it is, EVGA goofed up a little there. They addressed the issue properly though it surely was not their proudest moment of the year. I'll just leave that story for what it is and was as anyone in the market for a 1080 is familiar with it already. However I mention so specifically as with that history in mind it is not a surprise to see a company over-compensate a bit with a next generation product. And here is where we land at ICX technology. With the new revision 2 products Like the FTW2 EVGA started embedding more thermal sensors on their PCBs at critical areas that can run hot. Obviously they made sure the VRM segments have proper padding and cooling and then they applied the cooling solution with two independently manageable fans. Basically if one segment (VRM) would get to hot, the fan in that area can spin a bit harder to compensate. The idea is nice, but the idea is also a bit flawed as all heat is transferred through the heatpipes and follows the path of least resistance. Hence heat can now build up in certain segments of the cooler. None the less, the sensor idea I like quite a lot (hey I love sensors), and VRM heat wise we have no worries that EVGA will make the same mistake again.

This card tested today comes with three DP, one HDMI connectors and then one DVI connector. The board is fed by two 8-pin power connectors. The GPU is clocked at 1.721 MHz with a 1.860 MHz boost at default clocks. The GDDR5X memory has been clocked at a reference 10 Gbps (effective data-rate). The card has a dual-slot design with two-fan cooling solution. Embedded as well is some funky RGB LED lighting system really. And yeah, we have enough to talk about and to show. Have a peek at the product first.