Introduction
The NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series has been around for a while now and there's no denying that these are among the most powerful cards available right now. Only recently has ATI released a graphics card that could compete with the mighty 7800 GTX, and though the X1800 XT does compete, current prices still favor NVIDIA over ATI parts in terms of value. This is especially significant given the time of year, as sales, obviously, will be high for both companies, but it's value that will ultimately determine which parts the average consumer will buy.
We've seen some good quality mid-range parts from ATI and NVIDIA lately, like the X800 GTO and the 6800 GS, both of which offer good performance for around or under $200. The X800 GTO in particular at about $170 is an excellent graphics solution from ATI, especially given its overclocking potential. As Christmas gets closer, we will no doubt be seeing deals on other graphics cards as well, and we know many will be hoping for an upgrade under the tree this year.
NVIDIA's 7800 GT is a graphics card that stands out above the majority as being a top performer with competitive prices as well. Today, we'll be looking at three variations of this card: the ASUS Extreme N7800 GT, the XFX GeForce 7800 GT Overclocked, and the EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GT CO. Each of these companies have a reputation for quality, and we'll be comparing them to see how they rate to each other in different areas, such as performance and price. We will also be testing power loads and user-overclocking for each of these cards. The first of these 7800 GTs that we'll be looking at is the ASUS Extreme N7800 GT.
The NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series has been around for a while now and there's no denying that these are among the most powerful cards available right now. Only recently has ATI released a graphics card that could compete with the mighty 7800 GTX, and though the X1800 XT does compete, current prices still favor NVIDIA over ATI parts in terms of value. This is especially significant given the time of year, as sales, obviously, will be high for both companies, but it's value that will ultimately determine which parts the average consumer will buy.
We've seen some good quality mid-range parts from ATI and NVIDIA lately, like the X800 GTO and the 6800 GS, both of which offer good performance for around or under $200. The X800 GTO in particular at about $170 is an excellent graphics solution from ATI, especially given its overclocking potential. As Christmas gets closer, we will no doubt be seeing deals on other graphics cards as well, and we know many will be hoping for an upgrade under the tree this year.
NVIDIA's 7800 GT is a graphics card that stands out above the majority as being a top performer with competitive prices as well. Today, we'll be looking at three variations of this card: the ASUS Extreme N7800 GT, the XFX GeForce 7800 GT Overclocked, and the EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GT CO. Each of these companies have a reputation for quality, and we'll be comparing them to see how they rate to each other in different areas, such as performance and price. We will also be testing power loads and user-overclocking for each of these cards. The first of these 7800 GTs that we'll be looking at is the ASUS Extreme N7800 GT.
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ElFenix - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
i would like to know the volume and character of the fan noise as well please.Night201 - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
I have the XFX 7800 GT. I took this one over the other because it came with an additional game - Call of Duty 2 (free after you submit a rebate form - took only about 2 weeks!)It's the full DVD version and that right there saved me $50 - so the total cost of the card to me (since I was planning on getting COD2 anyway) was about $275!
Can't beat that (at this time at least)!
Visual - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
a roundup of cards that are virtually identical... oh how interesting.well. they aren't really identical. but i'd appreciate an article that shows me the differences more clearly, focuses on the differences. like which cards are using the stock cooler and which use custom ones, what are the memory ratings for the various brands etc... even what games/extras are included in each brand's package. a single good comparison table can speak much more than your numerous benchmarks. after all, benchmark results are just proportionate to the clock/mem speeds... the way you structured this roundup, i have to hunt around it for the real differences among these cards.
bob661 - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
I think this would be a good idea.ashegam - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
why isn't newegg showing on the Anandtech price finder? the e-vga can be had for $309 and that's before a $20.00 rebate which drops it to $289. So add newegg to your price engine thingy :)KristopherKubicki - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
You mean this one right?http://labs.anandtech.com/search.php?q=evga%207800...">http://labs.anandtech.com/search.php?q=evga%207800...
Kristopher
deathwalker - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
It is fully understandable that the EVGA and XFX cards get the nod in this test. I would be willing to bet that some owners of these cards will be frequent visitors to the AT forums complaining about "graphics" problems(artifacts/ripping tearing). Both of these cards come from the factory apparently OC so close to the max line the it is inconcievable that they are all going to behave themselves in the real world environment once volume numbers of these cards are in the hands of the buying public. You can bet that not every card that goes out the door at these clock speeds has been thoughly burned in to confirm they can actually run at these speeds for an "extended" duration of time. There are bound to be chipsets and memory modules in finished products that will not perform well at those clock speeds for extended periods. Perhaps the saving grace here though is that you can always lower the clock speeds back towards the referance points and probably fix the issues that "may" occur.deathwalker - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
Interesting that Newegg sells a version of this card that is clocked at 445/1070.Leper Messiah - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
Perhaps but stastically, the portion of cards sold vs. cards that have problems will be small (hopefully) and with their lifetime warranties, you can always send it back, ableit at the cost of your own shipping. C'est la vie I suppose. But I think christmas time is going to be bringing me a XFX 7800GT and some kind of NF4 mobo. :)deathwalker - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
Santa is going to be kind to you...have you been a "good" boy?