EVGA 256-P2-N612-TX e-GeForce 7600 GTS Video Card Review :: Drivers and Overclocking

• EVGA 256-P2-N612-TX e-GeForce 7600 GTS
• Driver CD
• TV-Out cable
• HDTV Out cable
• DVI-I to D-sub adapter

EVGA decided to take a minimalist software bundle approach with their 7600GTS. The drivers CD contains the 91.31 Forceware drivers and resChanger, a utility that allows the user to change resolutions with the click of a button, and a few trial demos of Ulead software good for 30 days. I would prefer that the video card came with a game, but the margins on an inexpensive 7600 card would be paper-thin and not worth it for EVGA to do so.

The hardware bundle, on the other hand, is excellent, giving full value for the card. The 7600GTS can drive a HDTV, and EVGA includes a HDTV cable with the card. There is also a TV-out cable for conventional TVs. The DVI-I to D-Sub adapter allows the targeted mainstream purchaser to use two CRT monitors if need be. The User's Guide is the manual for the card, detailing installation hints.

EVGA support is second to none in the industry. The 7600GTS carries a TX modifier, meaning that it is eligible for a two year Warranty. They also offer 24/7 Toll-Free Technical Support for their cards. The best part of EVGA support is the Step-Up program. If you trade your card back to EVGA within 90 days of purchase, you can get full credit for the traded card that you paid for towards a better card.

One thing about this card is that it is an already overclocked 7600GS. I don't expect it to overclock much beyond the 560MHz/1400MHz core/memory clocks and I was correct. The highest overclock on this card I was able to reach was 579MHz/1492MHz, hardly worth writing home about. The card was not stable above this clock speed, but ran all the tests at the slight overclock setting without crashes.

Drive Screenshots

NVIDIA drivers have been updated with their 7xxx series to the Forceware 9x.xx series. The new drivers include a new GUI (similar in appearance to Windows Vista's Aero Glass), a preview function (Similar to ATI's Catalyst Control Center's car) that shows the effects of changing a setting in the driver, and is cleaner than the old interface. One nice thing about NVs Control Panel is that if you want to use the old one you can.