NVIDIA Single Card, Multi-GPU: GeForce 7950 GX2
by Derek Wilson on June 5, 2006 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
Price and flexibility are really the key factors in the success of the 7950 GX2. NVIDIA has set their MSRP at a range of $600 - $650 USD. This is actually right on par for the cost of two overclocked 7900 GT boards (which generally run between $300 and $330). For those who prefer a stock 7900 GT SLI solution like the one we tested for this comparison, the setup can be put together for between $550 and $600. However, it is important to remember that 7900 GT SLI requires an SLI motherboard while the 7950 GX2 will work just fine in a board with only a single X16 PCIe slot (with proper BIOS support). Those who will be running at 2048x1536 and higher with AA enabled will benefit more from the 7950 GX2 for its scaling capabilities and the fact that Quad SLI will likely be a future option.
We haven't been able to test Quad SLI for this review, but those who want the potential to scale their system up to extremely high resolutions will certainly be attracted to the 7950 GX2. There is added incentive when noting that a pair of Radeon X1900XT in CrossFire will draw more power than Quad SLI with a pair of 7950 GX2 cards. Those who want the ultra high end in graphics won't be fazed by the price, but those without monitors that support 4 or 5 megapixel resolutions might want to consider the CPU limitations apparent at resolutions below 2048x1536.
At lower resolutions, it will still be possible to enable the advanced AA features and achieve performance more or less at the 7900 GT level with twice the antialiasing. Certainly, lower resolutions gain more from increasing AA levels, but in our experience some of these incredibly high AA modes are a bit overrated. Smaller pixels, provided there aren't any performance or monitor restrictions, generally produce better image quality than increasing levels of antialiasing.
With such a hefty price tag and the extreme settings required to see a significant benefit, it is difficult to recommend the 7950 GX2 to the average enthusiast or gamer. For those who really want 7900 GT SLI, the 7950 GX2 is a better solution for the money with Gigabyte's flavor up for preorder on Zipzoomfly the day before launch at $599. This part is faster in most cases than the 7900 GTX, and in cases where performance can't compete, image quality can be improved. For those who live on the bleeding edge, this lower power, higher performing, alternative to ATI's X1900XT is a solid way to go.
Price and flexibility are really the key factors in the success of the 7950 GX2. NVIDIA has set their MSRP at a range of $600 - $650 USD. This is actually right on par for the cost of two overclocked 7900 GT boards (which generally run between $300 and $330). For those who prefer a stock 7900 GT SLI solution like the one we tested for this comparison, the setup can be put together for between $550 and $600. However, it is important to remember that 7900 GT SLI requires an SLI motherboard while the 7950 GX2 will work just fine in a board with only a single X16 PCIe slot (with proper BIOS support). Those who will be running at 2048x1536 and higher with AA enabled will benefit more from the 7950 GX2 for its scaling capabilities and the fact that Quad SLI will likely be a future option.
We haven't been able to test Quad SLI for this review, but those who want the potential to scale their system up to extremely high resolutions will certainly be attracted to the 7950 GX2. There is added incentive when noting that a pair of Radeon X1900XT in CrossFire will draw more power than Quad SLI with a pair of 7950 GX2 cards. Those who want the ultra high end in graphics won't be fazed by the price, but those without monitors that support 4 or 5 megapixel resolutions might want to consider the CPU limitations apparent at resolutions below 2048x1536.
At lower resolutions, it will still be possible to enable the advanced AA features and achieve performance more or less at the 7900 GT level with twice the antialiasing. Certainly, lower resolutions gain more from increasing AA levels, but in our experience some of these incredibly high AA modes are a bit overrated. Smaller pixels, provided there aren't any performance or monitor restrictions, generally produce better image quality than increasing levels of antialiasing.
With such a hefty price tag and the extreme settings required to see a significant benefit, it is difficult to recommend the 7950 GX2 to the average enthusiast or gamer. For those who really want 7900 GT SLI, the 7950 GX2 is a better solution for the money with Gigabyte's flavor up for preorder on Zipzoomfly the day before launch at $599. This part is faster in most cases than the 7900 GTX, and in cases where performance can't compete, image quality can be improved. For those who live on the bleeding edge, this lower power, higher performing, alternative to ATI's X1900XT is a solid way to go.
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bluebob950 - Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - link
thinking about getting a 7950 but i cant find monitor any monitors that do 2048 my boss says the dell 21" at work do but i have yet to see it what do you use? and where can i find them online?bluebob950 - Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - link
thinking about getting a 7950gt but i cant find monitor any monitors that do 2048 my boss says the dell 21" at work do but i have yet to see it what do you use? and where can i find them online?JNo - Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - link
I think the review at Hexus.net bares a very interesting negative conclusion, somewhat in contrast to anandtech (not that I'm dissing anandtech), and provides food for sobering thought...http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5...">http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5...
Think seriously about what's been presented to you in this article thus far, concerning GeForce 7950 GX2, and you should (if I can do my job properly) come to a conclusion like this: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 is probably the most caveat-laden graphics purchase yet released.
The conditions that have to be satisfied before it makes sense to get one are pretty much as follows:
* Are you willing to live with less-than-absolute best image quality from the high-end generation right now?
* Are you sure the games you play all have SLI support, or you're at least happy to wait for support to come in a future driver?
* Do you have a PC platform that supports it properly, which is realistically just nForce SLI of some flavour?
* Do you have a very well ventilated PC chassis, able to assist in the significant cooling challenges it presents?
* Do you own a high resolution PC display, since it's built for at least 1600x1200 in current supported games?
* If you run dual displays, are you happy for one to go blank when in multi-GPU mode?
Be sure and really consider the first two questions, and ponder the fact that ATI Crossfire is arguably even worse at satisfying the second, given its lack of a user-adjustable game profiling system. Done so? Good.
Now given yes to all of the above, are you then willing to spend £450 on a single graphics board? You are? Brilliant, they're available today, you'll enjoy the framerates and overall IQ, happy shopping!
Tephlon - Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - link
I just wanted to point out... that list isn't just particular to this card. That's all SLI setups.All have to watch the heat. Drivers don't allow any SLI setup to dual-view+multi-GPU. SLI does dominate primarily in Hi-Res configs. and so on and so on.
Its still a great list to consider... but please remember that it isn't limited to just the 7950GX2.
DerekWilson - Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - link
except the 3rd point doesn't apply at all to 7950 GX2 -- It seems there has been a lot of confusion around the support requied for this card. It will run on Intel, ATI, VIA, SiS, an NVIDIA chipsets as long as the BIOS supports non-video devices in x16 PCIe slots along with supporting add-in PCIe switches. Suprisingly many boards support these features as of this week.the 7950 has a bunch of advantages over a 7900 GT SLI setup, not the least of which is performance. The lenient platform requirements, power draw less than an x1900xt, potential for expansion to quad sli, and it's really very transparently plug and play (just plug it in, install drivers, and no more tweaking is required for it to work as expected).
Jeff7181 - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
On page three in the chart it says the 7900GTX core clock is 700 MHz (650 for vertex core). Is that accurate? So what I'm seeing and adjusting in the driver settings with coolbits is actually the speed of the vertex core?DerekWilson - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
you know, I borrowed that chard from NVIDIA's reviewers guide on the 7950 GX2 ...I am under the impression that the vertex core of the 7900 GTX is 700MHz. As this is NVIDIA's chart, I'm not sure if vertex clock is listed first or second ...
Jeff7181 - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
Based on the other values in the chart, and the row/column titles, I assumed the number given was supposed to be the core clock, and the one in parenthasis was supposed to be the vertex clock. I guess it could be a type-o... otherwise I want a new 7900GTX since the core speed of mine is only 650 MHz and it should be 700 according to that chart. :Dv12 - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
Could you post comparative scores of the X1900XTX as well? does it beat the 7950 or not? I cant tell from this review.V12
AnnonymousCoward - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
Thanks for the sweet article. 2 GPUs on a non-SLI board is the way to go...until dual-core GPUs. When are those coming out, anyway?