ECS GeForce 9800 GTX+ Hydra, Liquid Cooled SLI
Introduction
When we think about ECS and their product lines, we typically expect a budget-minded approach. Solid products at reasonable prices that don't exactly wow the consumer, but don't hit them hard in the wallet either. The ECS X48T-A motherboard that we looked at a few weeks ago was one of the first steps by ECS to change that image, although a few missteps with the construction as well as some overclocking issues didn't overly sway us to their new way of thinking.
Thus, we were a bit surprised when we first heard about the ECS GeForce 9800 GTX+ Hydra - a twin pack of high-end graphics cards consisting of two GeForce 9800 GTX+ cards combined with liquid-cooling. The 9800 GTX+ is the upper level of the 9xxx series, with the plus denoting an extra bump in the clock speeds to get better peformance in the most demanding applications. Two of these used in an SLI configuration would be a gamer's dream, although the noise and heat output could be an issue. ECS has solved these problems by providing the customized liquid cooling unit from ThermalTake using the BigWater 760is. ECS hopes to make a big splash here with the Hydra pack, possibly the first of its kind to include all three components in one box. First, we'll take a look at the specs of the GeForce 9800 GTX+ and then move onto a closer look at ECS' take on it and finally the BigWater 760is.
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| Processor Cores | 128 |
| Graphics Clock (MHz) | 738 MHz |
| Processor Clock (MHz) | 1836 MHz |
| Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec) | 47.2 |
Memory Specs:
| Memory Clock (MHz) | 1100 MHz |
| Standard Memory Config | 512 MB |
| Memory Interface Width | 256-bit GDDR3 |
| Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) | 70.4 |
| NVIDIA SLI®-ready* | 2-Way / 3-Way |
| NVIDIA PureVideo® Technology* | HD |
| NVIDIA PhysX™-ready* |  |
| NVIDIA CUDA™ Technology | |
| HybridPower™ Technology* | |
| GeForce Boost | |
| Microsoft DirectX | 10 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 |
| Bus Support | PCI-E 2.0 x16 |
| Certified for Windows Vista | |
| Maximum Digital Resolution | 2560x1600 |
| Maximum VGA Resolution | 2048x1536 |
| Standard Display Connectors | Dual Link DVI HDTV |
| Multi Monitor | |
| HDCP* | |
| HDMI* | Via adapter |
| Audio Input for HDMI | S/PDIF |
| Height | 4.376 inches |
| Length | 10.5 inches |
| Width | Dual-slot |
| Maximum GPU Tempurature (in C) | 105 C |
| Maximum Graphics Card Power (W) | 141 W |
| Minimum System Power Requirement (W) | 450 W |
| Supplementary Power Connectors | 6-pin x2 |
Note that we included the basic specifications of the GeForce 9800 GTX+ above because ECS hasn't changed anything here. In our eyes, we see that as a bit of a let-down. With the availability of more advanced cooling methods, ECS could have really put out a killer product spec with the Hydra. Combining the power of running two of these cards in SLI and having a faster clocked product that's running along significantly cooler and quieter than the rest, would have put ECS and the Hydra more prominently on the map. Of course, we can always set out on our own to overclock these cards, and we do later on in this review. However, we'd like to see ECS as well as other manufacturers put their own engineering skills to the test as well.
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