Power Consumption and Final Thoughts
Galaxy GeForce GTX 275 OC 896MB Review - Graphics Cards 69

The power consumption on the Galaxy GTX 275 OC is actually more impressive than we expected – even though it runs at faster speeds than base GTX 275, it uses less power at load and only a few more watts of power under idle conditions.  Compared to the Radeon HD 4890, the GTX 275 OC from Galaxy benefits from the NVIDIA GPU’s ability to run at an extremely low power state at idle and saves nearly 30 watts on total system power draw.

Performance

The GeForce GTX 275 GPU is a terrific performing option for users looking at a high-end single-GPU gaming solution for their current or updated gaming rig.  NVIDIA’s GT200 architecture is proving to be quite versatile in terms of performance scaling and features and even though the AMD lineup of Radeon HD 4800 cards is impressive and competitive, you really are going to have a great gaming experience either way you decide to go.

The Galaxy overclocked GTX 275 offers a modest performance increase over the standard reference GTX 275 graphics cards on the market though I truly think that with just a bit more time tweaking the clock speeds of the core and shader clocks, the custom cooler on the card will allow you to get even more performance out of your purchase. 

Pricing and Availability

If there is one drawback to the Galaxy GTX 275 OC, it might be in the price of the unit.  Currently looking at Newegg, you can find the overclocked Galaxy offering selling for about $294.  That seems pretty good for a custom cooled, overclocked GTX 275 but unfortunately stock versions of the card have fallen tremendously in the last couple of months, to as low as $230

Galaxy GeForce GTX 275 OC 896MB Review - Graphics Cards 70

If you plan on taking your GPU to a slightly higher level with overclocked settings HIGHER than the out-of-the-box settings, then I think the added value of the custom cooler that Galaxy offers will probably offset the price difference between it and the other GTX 275 offerings. 

Final Thoughts

The Galaxy GTX 275 OC takes the very popular GPU offering and tweaks it slightly with overclocked core, shader and memory speeds and includes a higher performing custom cooler design that will allow you to push the GPU even higher if you want to.  In fact, if you are paying the premium price for this model, I would actually SUGGEST you take advantage of the new cooler to get some additional performance out of the card.  Galaxy is certainly trying to build a brand for themselves in the US market and custom offerings like this that stand out from the reference-only crowd will certainly go a long way to solidifying a spot with all levels of PC gamers.

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