The new iCX system consists of nine thermal sensors embedded across the graphics card’s printed circuit board: one dedicated to the graphics chip, five dedicated to power-related components, and three dedicated to the onboard memory. The system also adds multiple memory controller units to display the load the onboard memory is handling.
As for the asynchronous fan control aspect, customers will have the ability to control the card’s two fans separately. The left fan cools the graphics chip, and its speed and use are determined by the GPU’s temperature. The right fan cools the power-related components and memory, and its speed and use are determined by their temperatures. All of this information is displayed in diagrams through the company’s Precision XOC software.
However, users who purchase graphics cards with the iCX system installed can quickly determine the cooling levels without having to load up the software. On the side of the card are three LEDs representing the temperature levels of the graphics chip, the power components, and the memory components. Blue stands for cool, green for warm, and red for hot. Of course, this LED system isn’t useful if there is no clear siding on the desktop PC.
The new iCX cooling system also includes fin holes that direct airflow through the cooling fins. These fins are half-open and L-shaped to maximize the airflow and increase the surface contact, promising better cooling that the standard graphics card cooling solution. Other iCX ingredients include a die cast form-fitted baseplate and backplate, an interlaced pin fin on the backplate, double ball bearing fans, and an added fuse provided by EVGA.
“With PC gaming growing, it is important to provide ‘Peace of Mind Gaming’ to the user. With EVGA’s new iCX technology, users can have a better understanding of their cards operation,” the company said. “EVGA’s iCX is the very definition of Interactive Cooling.”
Eventually EVGA’s iCX cooling system will interact with the company’s other cooling solutions. For now, customers can purchase 10 graphics cards based on the new iCX cooling system:
# of Cores |
Base Speed |
Boost Speed |
Texture Fill Rate |
Price | |
GTX 1060 3GB SSC2 Gaming iCX |
1,152 | 1,607MHz | 1,835MHz | 115.7GT/s | TBD |
GTX 1060 3GB FTW2+ Gaming iCX |
1,152 | 1,632MHz | 1,860MHz | 117.5GT/s | TBD |
GTX 1060 6GB SSC2 Gaming iCX |
1,280 | 1,607MHz | 1,835MHz | 128.5GT/s | TBD |
GTX 1060 6GB FTW2+ Gaming iCX |
1,280 | 1,632MHz | 1,860MHz | 130.6GT/s | TBD |
GTX 1070 Gaming iCX | 1,920 | 1,506MHz | 1,683MHz | 180.7GT/s | $440 |
GTX 1070 SC2 Gaming iCX | 1,920 | 1,594MHz | 1,784MHz | 191.2GT/s | $450 |
GTX 1070 FTW2 Gaming iCX | 1,920 | 1,607MHz | 1,797MHz | 192.8GT/s | $470 |
GTX 1080 Gaming iCX | 2,560 | 1,607MHz | 1,733MHz | 257.1GT/s | $640 |
GTX 1080 SC2 Gaming iCX | 2,560 | 1,708MHz | 1,847MHz | 273.2GT/s | $650 |
GTX 1080 FTW2 Gaming iCX | 2,560 | 1,721MHz | 1,860MHz | 275.3GT/s | $680 |