EVGA Announces Waterblock-Sporting GTX 680 Hydro Copper
by Ivan

Now that the Nvidia GTX 680 has (finally) hit the streets, manufacturers are tripping over themselves to release cards that somehow stand out from the pack. A lot of the time, that means a custom cooling system; last week alone we saw new GTX 680s from Palit and Gainward covered in fans and heatsinks, respectively. Now, EVGA is getting in on the fun with the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Hydro Copper, a card that comes equipped with a preinstalled waterblock and a big ole factory overclock.

The GTX 680 Hydro Copper includes 1150MHz (base) and 1215MHz (boost) clock speeds and an effective memory frequency of 6,300MHz. The EVGA card rocks a 5-phase PWM design, 8+6-pin PCI-E connectors, and DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort ports.

Sound familiar? That’s because those specs pretty much match the ones on the Gainward GTX 680 Phantom. The difference lies in its cooling solution; EVGA claims that the card’s operating temperatures can be reduced by up to 50 percent thanks the Hydro Copper waterblock, depending, of course, on your cooling setup. The full-cover waterblock features a chrome plated electrolytic C110 copper plate complete with an illuminated EVGA logo spiffying up the side.

The EVGA GTX 680 Hydro Copper card will set you back $700, while EVGA also offers the Hydro Copper waterblock alone for $160. Check out more information about both the graphics card and the stand-alone waterblock over at the EVGA website.