FPSLabs : CES Coverage: EVGA

EVGA’s suite at the 2008 International CES featured some brand new and innovative products.

It is always interesting to take a cross section of a company’s market influence from several years ago and compare it to current figures. There are many companies in the hardware industry that have seen tremendous growth in the past couple of years thanks to this dynamic marketplace and an ever-evolving demographic. Of course one such company that comes to mind in the technology world would be Google, whose financial situation has changed dramatically in the recent years. Aside from the other obvious choices like Intel and AMD (other direction), a much smaller business seems to stand in a class of its own: EVGA.

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Coming out of relative obscurity just three years ago after being founded in 1999, the company today commands a full 60%+ of the discrete graphics card market. There are varying opinions as to why the Brea, California-based company has seen such success as of late, but it is most likely a combination of things that led to this once small fry growing into a true power player. We would speculate that perhaps the most significant factors to their growth has been their warranty policies, and the fact that the name “EVGA” leaves little question as to the company’s directive to any half-way savvy technology enthusiast. Furthermore, it would be a travesty were we not to mention the highly-regarded customer support the company offers to all who have purchased an EVGA product.

Although much of what was seen at the EVGA booth this year was supposed to be under NDA, pictures have emerged across the web already of the new products and innovations the company brought to the table at this year’s CES. Press releases made readily available at the EVGA website leave us scratching our heads even more regarding the supposed NDA. A final note before we start talking turkey is that it is wonderful to see companies like EVGA move into the innovation area after traditionally just selling motherboards and video cards manufactured for the most part by other companies.

The first of the four new products from EVGA is called the UVPlus+. The UVPlus+ is a self-contained USB 2.0 device that converts the USB signal from your monitor into DVI (or VGA using a standard adapter), allowing one monitor to be connected to each USB 2.0 port available on the host computer. The device promises to be tremendously useful in mobile situations where the limited display expandability of notebooks impairs the productivity of professionals in need of large screen real-estate. The UVPlus+ does not require an external power connector and best of all is very tiny, certainly no bigger than a standard deck of cards. Two models of the UVPlus+ are available, the UVPlus+ 12 (UV-1280) and the UVPlus+ 16 (UV-1680), which support maximum resolutions of 1280×1024 and 1680×1050, respectively. More information on the UVPlus+ can be found on EVGA’s press release.

EVGA had two UVPlus+ 16 units (prototype versions) hooked up to two of another new product, the Interview Dual-Monitor System. Essentially two connected 17” 1440×900 notebook screens, the Interview sports a USB2.0 hub, audio I/O connectivity, a 1.3 MP webcam, and a full-swivel design that will likely aid with presentations. Input is by way of a single DMS connector that feeds dual DVI-I or dual VGA cables. Users can then use the aforementioned UVPlus+ USB to DVI converter to connect one or both of the monitors two the host machine via USB2.0. EVGA’s display touted 5 screens, including the notebook’s own monitor and two Interview Dual-Monitor Systems.

However attractive such a setup might seem to gamers, for now it will be difficult to feed the massive resolution demanded thanks to the lack of multiple-monitor support in SLI and CrossFire configurations. When hooked up using the UVPlus+ (USB 2.0) interface, the displays will not be running under graphics card power, meaning the CPU is controlling them which will result in mediocre 3D performance. For now, buyers looking to run Interview setups on SLI or CrossFire enabled desktops or notebooks that lack multiple video outputs will only be able to viably use the Dual-Monitor System as a productivity enhancer and not a gaming platform. More information can be found in EVGA’s press release.
{mospagebreak heading=UVPlus+, Interview&title=inDtube, nForce 790i SLI FTW}

The next product EVGA had on display was a Digital TV tuner called “inDtube”. An ebonic juxtaposition of the words “in the tube”, the USB2.0 Digital TV tuner supports both ATSC (up to 1080i, SDTV) and NTSC (cable/antenna) and basically converts your system into a high-quality DVR-ready machine (provided other DVR necessities are available). While the TV tuner market has undergone scrutiny from the public due to sub-par image reproduction due to signal loss, the inDtube was playing with excellent clarity through antennas located behind a window at the top of the Wynn Las Vegas resort. Though other products like this already exist, inDtube’s aesthetic appeal, ease of use, and trusted brand image should turn EVGA’s first such product into a success. The inDtube Digital TV tuner can connect via S-Video or Composite (RCA) video to your desired display device. Of all the new products EVGA had on display at CES, inDtube is the most appealing to me personally, as it essentially allows me to have a DVR anywhere. The unit comes with a capable antenna and more information on the product can be found in the EVGA press release.

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But maybe the most interesting product on display comes in the form of the EVGA nForce 780i SLI FTW (for the win, of course) motherboard, a product which not only reigns in the arrival custom EVGA engineered motherboards, but will supposedly put them right near the top tier motherboard manufacturers in terms of overclocking performance. EVGA’s recent acquisition of engineering talent and facilities from now-deceased motherboard manufacturer EPoX is to produce its first result when the 780i FTW board becomes available in the coming days. Whereas EVGA’s previous high-end motherboard offerings were basically re-packaged NVIDIA reference boards (produced by either Foxconn or Flextronics), the 780i FTW is a reworked design in-line to what ASUS usually produces at the high-end.

Enhanced features from the reference design include 8-phase power regulation opposed to the normal 6-phase, 8 SATA ports against the referenced 6, and a re-engineered northbridge cooling solution that supports either water or air cooling. The 780i FTW motherboard, as does the reference board it is based off of, touts full compliance with NVIDIA’s 3-way SLI technology through 3 PCI-Express x16 expansion slots, and supports NVIDIA’s upcoming ESA (Enthusiast System Architecture), which brings hardware-based control and monitoring capabilities to compliant platforms. Again, for more information be sure to check out EVGA’s press release.

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