LAST ISSUE WE REVIEWED A MIGHTY GTX 980 Ti POWERED GRAPHICS CARD. YOU
MAY READ THAT REVIEW OVER HERE. THIS TIME AROUND, WE HAVE A SUPERIOR
CARD IN A DIFFERENT LEAGUE. A PURPOSE BUILT EXTREME OVERCLOCKING
CARD THAT IS UNQUESIONTABLY - THE BEST THE HAS EVER BEEN!
T
here’s simply no two ways about
it, this is the best extreme
overclocking graphics card on
the market and for that sole purpose
it deserves a separate, editorial
from the regular one. Before I get
into the details of the KPE card, it is
imperative that we look at what such
graphics cards mean to the
overclocking community and
enthusiast in general. As I am partial
to automobile analogies, I will once
again use one and suggest that the
980 Ti KPE is for all intents and
purposes the McLaren P1 of the
DIY\enthusiast space. Much like
that car represents more than just
it’s 0-100km/h(0-62mph) time and
top end, the 980 Ti KPE is more
than just it’s shipping clocks and
how far it will go with the retail
cooler.
The graphics card is massively
expensive and by any measure
$1,000, is a lot of money for what is
NVIDIA’s second most powerful
single GPU solution. It is similar to
that LaFerrari which costs more
than not costs more than a Tour
Bus. The prices may be similar, but
the purposes are different and the
value for each is not derived solely
from the purchase price. There are
many other factors that influence
just how valuable this graphics
card is to those who
are suited and ready to use is for its
intended purpose. Sure you can use
it for your gaming and have amazing
performance. However, that rings
true for all GTX 980 Ti offerings,
from the reference to the most
elaborate models. What makes any
one model different cannot be found
in games unfortunately. In much the
same way that the brilliance that is
the McLaren P1 (unlike the Formula
1 team) is to be found on track days
and track meets. It’s not to say
however, that owners spend all
their time doing laps and that is the
only way they derive value from their
purchase. It’s also in the regular
commute to where ever they may go
on weekends. It’s in the admiration
from those who are conscious of how
rare the specimen they gaze upon is.
All this is analogous in many ways
to owning such a graphics card. If
you’re an extreme overclocker which
is sponsored by EVGA in any capacity
that avails this card to you. Then
you’re in luck as it’s about as earnest
an investment into an overclocking
product as you’re ever likely to find.
For the individual that is far removed
from the easily recognizable
faces of overclocking. This $1,000
investment is their McLaren P1 and
“...ONLY WHEN YOU
LOOK BENEATH THE
HOOD, PEELING AWAY
THE LAYERS CAN YOU
TRULY APPRECIATE
THE ENGINEERING
THAT UNDERPINS
THIS PROJECT.”
the appreciation is truly more than
skin deep.
It is not the fantastic all copper
cooler that it ships with, it isn’t the
LED support and customization it
allows, nor the ability to operate
in single slot fashion with a water
block. Even though one is capable
of appreciating it all. These aspects
of the 980 Ti KPE are what double
stitched fine leather and full HD
HUDs are to hyper-cars. They
complete and refine an already
brilliant package, adding that little
extra by making those commutes to
the store that much more pleasant.
It is only when you look beneath the
hood, peeling away the layers can
you truly appreciate the engineering
that underpins this project. This
graphics card was designed
to be the best. Be that you believe it
perfect or not is not the point. Of
course in any engineering exercise
designing a product for volume
production imposes practical and
material limitations. It is unlike when
one or a team design a project that
will exist only in the lab and never
see the light of day. Within the many
confines and restrictions that dictate
what can and cannot be produced
in volume. The EVGA GTX 980 Ti
K|NGP|N Edition goes farther than
all others and for this reason alone, it
warrants praise unlike any other. All
the additional circuitry,
the trace layout, the component
selection and so much more all
comes down to speed. How far and
how fast can it go in the right space?
That is key here, the right space
and that means outside the realm
of air or water cooling. That may not
be something you may like to read
and maybe even someth ing EVGA
would not want to publicise for any
number of reasons, but the fact is this is a track machine and there’s
no hiding it. If you do not appreciate
its competitive edge, then you will
sadly come away underwhelmed.
There is no promise that any vendor,
including EVGA can make that
guarantees a GPU that will reach
1600MHz right out the box. This is
regardless of the silicon quality and
sure enough a hand full of samples
may be able to do that, but that may
not hold true in your environment
and to that end, the air overclocking
potential can’t be in any meaningful
way higher than what other
customized 980 Ti’s will deliver. The
fact is most GM200 GPUs will have
an air/water limit of around 1480 ~
1550MHz. Not many will fall below
the low end of that, but a select few
may be able to reach 1567/1580MHz,
but these are far and few between.
With that said, we must still do the
air cooled testing before the real fun
begins with the real LN2 experience.
AIR COOLED OVERCLOCKING
Before we go anywhere, let’s be
clear about one thing and that is GPU
voltage/VDDC/NVVDD or whatever
Issue 36 | 2015 The OverClocker 19