XFX’s card is similar in most respects to the NVIDIA reference card. The cooler is a 2-slot cooler with XFX’s logo and the GTX logo prominent on the front of the card. XFX has a green edition of their Bulldog mascot in vector mode on the heatsink as well. The fan is a 53-fin fan that covers the rear of the front of the PCB.

The rear of the PCB has a vent that allows airflow from the rear of the card to cool the chip on the front. This is the first time an NVIDIA video chip has cooling on the rear of the PCB as well as the front. It’s interesting to note that the XFX card follows the NVIDIA reference design exactly with only the paint job being different.

There are two bridges for SLI connectivity on the top left hand portion of the PCB. This means that the GTX280 will be able to run in Tri-SLI mode as well as regular two card SLI mode. Tri-SLI requires three GTX280 cards and two bridges or a Tri-SLI bridge connector. It also requires a hefty power supply, as a single GTX280 requires a maximum of 236W of power and three would require 678W of power by themselves. NVIDIA will list compatible tested motherboards after launch.

The GTX280 is a PCI Express Generation 2.0 card. This means that the data transfer rate between the GTX280 and the motherboard is up to 8GB/second, twice that of PCI Express Generation 1.0. Note that the GTX280 is a long card 10.5” long and weighs a goodly amount. If you have a case that has trouble fitting long cards, you may need to upgrade the case. One issue I have with people is that they are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a video card but balk on a new PSU or case.

The GTX280 has two Dual Link DVI connectors on the IO and a HDTV Output port. Dual monitors can be accomplished by using the two ports or using adapters such as DVI-to D-sub adapters or HDMI to DVI adapters. The GTX280 is capable of running HD-DVD content or Blue Ray Disc content with HDCP protection and the HDTV out can be used in conjunction with HDTV monitors.