NVIDIA has fit two GT200 graphics circuit on one and the same circuit board with the new GeForce GTX 295 graphics card, which is an achievement by itself. The original version of GTX 295 required dual PCBs for connecting the advanced, and large, circuit, which it has now managed to shrink with a new design. The new version of GeForce GTX 295 will be cheaper to make for NVIDIA partners but the price will remain the same in stores. As the first reviews appears it becomes clear that costs may even be higher, due to the power consumption.
Despite the diet design with a sole PCB it seems like the new GeForce GTX 295 consumes about 24-45W more than the precursor with dual circuit boards, according to TechPowerUp and its review of Inno3D’s new GeForce GTX 295. This is a considerable difference and with 45W higher consumption at full load the difference is actually surprisingly big.
Total power consumption of the system at full load – TechPowerUp
The reason seems to be the cheaper components NVIDIA has chosen for the power circuitry, which has been completely redesigned from the first model. With the new voltage regultor you not only lose the ability to change voltage through software, the power consumption takes a serious hit.
Luckily the performance is on par with the predecessor and despite the higher power consumption the card seem be quieter and better for overclocking.
