Card appearance and thoughts
Like all GeForce 8800 GTS 320 SKUs, the ECS card is equipped with 96 stream (general-purpose) processors and a 320-bit memory bus. However, the core/shader/memory speeds operate at 513/1200/1600MHz, respectively - making it a little higher on the core than bone-stock 320MiB and 640MiB GTS' (500/1200/1600) - and, crucially, it's priced around £75 less than the cheapest 640MiB models.
For most users considering this sub-£200 model, a 1920x1200-capable screen - usually a widescreen 24in model - will be the maximum screen estate that's paired up with this card, so, really, it's a DX10 graphics card for folks on a relative budget, looking to play the latest games at medium-to-high resolutions and image quality.
Physically-speaking, it's impossible to differentiate the 320MiB and 640MiB GeForce 8800 GTS cards: both use identical PCBs and coolers. Without confirmation from a sticker on the back the only method of differentiating the pair is to remove the cooler and determine the density of the memory chips, which, in this case, will be 256MBit, with 10 DRAMs making up the framebuffer. Interestingly, the memory is run at an effective 1584MHz, so below what's officially quoted.
The dual-slot-taking cooler is almost inaudible in 2D mode and produces a quiet-ish hum when subjected to constant 3D load. The heat transferred from the GPU is ferried by the heatsink's heatpipes to the fins at the back of the card and then exhausted via the airflow generated by the radial fan. Efficient air-based cooling.
The 640MiB SKU is equipped with a single PCIe connector that's hooked up to your PSU and provides the extra juice required by the card. The 320MiB model consumes a touch less power, so ECS' design, reference in nature, doesn't need to be changed.
NVIDIA has given its partners free rein on the clockspeeds of their GeForce 8800 GTS 320 SKUs. Everyone, it seems, is clocking the core/shader/memory at different speeds and ECS is no different. As mentioned, the ECS N8800GTS-320MX ships with 513/1200/1600, so a slightly overclocked core, but reference speeds for shader and memory clocks.
Both DVI ports are dual-link-capable and both feature HDCP support as standard. The DIN port is for TV-Out only, though.
Note the enclosed cooling and vent for exhausting the aforementioned warm air transferred from the GPU?
You can add a second GeForce 8800 GTS 320 card to form an SLI combination, motherboard permitting.
