vnf4ultra
Posts: 1,360 +2
[CENTER]After winning Techspot's "4 7800gt givaway contest", I have decided to write a short review, and post some pics of it.
XFX 256mb 7800gt Review[/CENTER]
Card Bundle
-7800gt
-2 vga to dvi adapters
-1 hdtv/vivo adapter
-1 farcry dvd
-1 moto gp2 cd
-2 x2 the threat cds
-Manual
-Quickstart guide
-Driver/software install cd
-Molex to pci-e power adapter
[CENTER]
The packaging of the card was nicely done, everything seemed secured well in the box. The bundle is one of the better bundles I've seen, and farcry on dvd is a nice bonus.
click for larger view
Impressions[/CENTER]
My first impression of the card was that the card was large and heavy. It makes my 6600gt look like a child's toy in both weight and size. I really like that it has a "anti warp bar" on the top of the card, this keeps the card from warping under it's own weight while installed. It really does a good job as the card is solid. I also like that the heatsink is screwed onto the card, instead of fastened with plastic pins. After installing the card, I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet it is. It has a built in fan speed control, in 2d it runs only about 25% fan speed, and on 3d mode it's still only about 45% speed.
It's almost silent in 2d mode, and in 3d mode it's audible, but I wouldn't call it loud(probably still less than 30db). Also note in the newest version of Rivatuner, you can adjust your graphics card fan speed, which is a very nice feature, this is how I know what % the fan is running at. (special thanks to truflip for telling me about this new feature).
I then fired up a quick game of bf1942 just to make sure it was working properly, and immediately noticed how smooth the game ran compared to my 6600gt. One possible con would be that since the card is so large, it makes reaching the pci-e slot card lock very difficult, and also it blocks access to my "clear cmos" jumper, but that likely wouldn't happen on every motherboard. I did like the double lifetime warranty, which gives both the first and second owner of the card a lifetime warranty.
[CENTER]Test Setup[/CENTER]
-Chaintech Vnf4/Ultra Nforce 4 Ultra Motherboard
-2x512mb Corsair ValueSelect cas 2.5 ram (2-3-3-5 @ddr340)
-Amd Athlon64 3000+ Winchester @ ~2.4ghz
-XFX 7800gt 256mb gddr3 Extreme Edition(450/1050)
-Tagan 480w psu
-Antec 1650b case
-16x dl dvd burner
-160gb ide hd
[CENTER]Benchmarks[/CENTER]
[CENTER](using 81.98 whql driver)[/CENTER]
-Aquamark 3 (1024x768x32, No AA, 4x AF, Max details)
-3dmark05 build 1.2.0 (1024x768, No AA, Filtering Optimal, default benchmark)
-Hardware OC farcry benchmark (1024x768, maximum detail, No AA, 1x AF)
In Aquamark 3 the xfx 7800gt got 76,000pts, which seems to be about a normal score for a card like this. My 6600gt can get about 60,000 in the same test.
[CENTER]
[/CENTER]
In 3dmark05 the 7800gt gets 7227 3dmarks in my system, not bad. My 6600gt gets 3600, so that's twice as high of a score.
[CENTER]
I also tested my 6200 at both 6200 and 6600 speeds. Here's a chart comparing all four cards. Note the 6200 and 6600 were on a p4 @2.8 w/ 512mb ram, so it isn't quite a direct comparison.
[/CENTER]
In the farcry benchmark, on the hardwareOC volcano demo, the 7800gt gets 102.6fps. My 6600gt gets about 87fps in the same test.
[CENTER]
Conclusion[/CENTER]
In conclusion, the xfx 7800gt is a very nice card, with many pluses, and few cons. I wholeheartedly recommend it to any hardcore gamer, who is still budget conscious.
My rating 10/10 superior
[CENTER]Special thanks to Techspot for the card.[/CENTER]
XFX 256mb 7800gt Review[/CENTER]
Card Bundle
-7800gt
-2 vga to dvi adapters
-1 hdtv/vivo adapter
-1 farcry dvd
-1 moto gp2 cd
-2 x2 the threat cds
-Manual
-Quickstart guide
-Driver/software install cd
-Molex to pci-e power adapter
[CENTER]
The packaging of the card was nicely done, everything seemed secured well in the box. The bundle is one of the better bundles I've seen, and farcry on dvd is a nice bonus.
click for larger view
Impressions[/CENTER]
My first impression of the card was that the card was large and heavy. It makes my 6600gt look like a child's toy in both weight and size. I really like that it has a "anti warp bar" on the top of the card, this keeps the card from warping under it's own weight while installed. It really does a good job as the card is solid. I also like that the heatsink is screwed onto the card, instead of fastened with plastic pins. After installing the card, I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet it is. It has a built in fan speed control, in 2d it runs only about 25% fan speed, and on 3d mode it's still only about 45% speed.
It's almost silent in 2d mode, and in 3d mode it's audible, but I wouldn't call it loud(probably still less than 30db). Also note in the newest version of Rivatuner, you can adjust your graphics card fan speed, which is a very nice feature, this is how I know what % the fan is running at. (special thanks to truflip for telling me about this new feature).
I then fired up a quick game of bf1942 just to make sure it was working properly, and immediately noticed how smooth the game ran compared to my 6600gt. One possible con would be that since the card is so large, it makes reaching the pci-e slot card lock very difficult, and also it blocks access to my "clear cmos" jumper, but that likely wouldn't happen on every motherboard. I did like the double lifetime warranty, which gives both the first and second owner of the card a lifetime warranty.
[CENTER]Test Setup[/CENTER]
-Chaintech Vnf4/Ultra Nforce 4 Ultra Motherboard
-2x512mb Corsair ValueSelect cas 2.5 ram (2-3-3-5 @ddr340)
-Amd Athlon64 3000+ Winchester @ ~2.4ghz
-XFX 7800gt 256mb gddr3 Extreme Edition(450/1050)
-Tagan 480w psu
-Antec 1650b case
-16x dl dvd burner
-160gb ide hd
[CENTER]Benchmarks[/CENTER]
[CENTER](using 81.98 whql driver)[/CENTER]
-Aquamark 3 (1024x768x32, No AA, 4x AF, Max details)
-3dmark05 build 1.2.0 (1024x768, No AA, Filtering Optimal, default benchmark)
-Hardware OC farcry benchmark (1024x768, maximum detail, No AA, 1x AF)
In Aquamark 3 the xfx 7800gt got 76,000pts, which seems to be about a normal score for a card like this. My 6600gt can get about 60,000 in the same test.
[CENTER]
[/CENTER]In 3dmark05 the 7800gt gets 7227 3dmarks in my system, not bad. My 6600gt gets 3600, so that's twice as high of a score.
[CENTER]
I also tested my 6200 at both 6200 and 6600 speeds. Here's a chart comparing all four cards. Note the 6200 and 6600 were on a p4 @2.8 w/ 512mb ram, so it isn't quite a direct comparison.
[/CENTER]In the farcry benchmark, on the hardwareOC volcano demo, the 7800gt gets 102.6fps. My 6600gt gets about 87fps in the same test.
[CENTER]
Conclusion[/CENTER]
In conclusion, the xfx 7800gt is a very nice card, with many pluses, and few cons. I wholeheartedly recommend it to any hardcore gamer, who is still budget conscious.
My rating 10/10 superior
[CENTER]Special thanks to Techspot for the card.[/CENTER]
