The NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS: A Closer Look
by Josh Venning on September 19, 2006 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
XFX
Finally, we also have a 7900 GS from XFX, the XFX GeForce 7900 GS RoHS Extreme.
This is the same XFX 7900 GS we looked at in the 7900 GS launch article, but we'll be delving a little deeper for this review.
This 7900 GS has a sleek black look that is a little different than the colorful light-colored XFX cards we've seen in the past. The design is the same as the reference card, aside from the noticeable bar along the top with the XFX logo on it. We aren't sure why they designed the card this way, but it gives the card a unique look that sets it apart from our other 7900 GS cards. The XFX 7900 GS RoHS Extreme comes with a somewhat modest factory overclock (in spite of the "Extreme" label) of 480MHz on the core and 700MHz on the memory.
There are also no games included in the bundle for this card and it lists for about $211 right now, which is slightly higher than the factory overclocked BFG 7900 GS. Out of the box, the BFG looks to be a better deal, but as we will see in the overclocking section, this card could come out ahead with user overclocking.
Finally, we also have a 7900 GS from XFX, the XFX GeForce 7900 GS RoHS Extreme.
This is the same XFX 7900 GS we looked at in the 7900 GS launch article, but we'll be delving a little deeper for this review.
This 7900 GS has a sleek black look that is a little different than the colorful light-colored XFX cards we've seen in the past. The design is the same as the reference card, aside from the noticeable bar along the top with the XFX logo on it. We aren't sure why they designed the card this way, but it gives the card a unique look that sets it apart from our other 7900 GS cards. The XFX 7900 GS RoHS Extreme comes with a somewhat modest factory overclock (in spite of the "Extreme" label) of 480MHz on the core and 700MHz on the memory.
There are also no games included in the bundle for this card and it lists for about $211 right now, which is slightly higher than the factory overclocked BFG 7900 GS. Out of the box, the BFG looks to be a better deal, but as we will see in the overclocking section, this card could come out ahead with user overclocking.
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yyrkoon - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
I'd like to see how these cards compare to a 7600GT, as I currently own a eVGA 7600GT KO, and will be upgrading my current system to a conroe, and MAY consider another GFX card, especialy one this in-expencive, or maybe I'll just go the 7600GT SLI route . . .Spacecomber - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Josh probably would have done well to provide some more specific reference to the previous two Anandtech articles on the the 7900GS that Derek did, including some links to those articles, since that is where you'll find more information on how these cards compare to a wider array of video cards, including the 7600GT. However, while they tested the new 7900GS in a SLI configuration in one of those prior articles, I don't think they inclduded results from a 7600GT SLI for comparison.I'm not sure what article might have that in it for reference.
Sc4freak - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
In the Oblivion test, why are do the X1800GTO and 7800GT both score 0 in the bar graph, despite their non-zero results in the line graph directly above it?Josh Venning - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Thanks for pointing this out. It's been fixed.Woodchuck2000 - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
...of one of these working in SLI with a 7800GT?I'm assuming that the answer is roughly 0, but with such similar specifications, is there any hope? I've got a single 7800GT in an SLI board and can't find a second at the moment.
Re fan power consumption, you're unlikely to be looking at more than 1 watt difference across the board.
VooDooAddict - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Find someone with a 7800GT and offer them one of the 7900GS Overclocked versions in exchange.DerekWilson - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
At this point, NVIDIA will not support SLI between prodcuts with different names -- even if they have the same pipeline configuration.We have mentioned that this would be quite a good incentive for people to get behind SLI, but it seems like they are worried about implying that it could work in cases where it can't.
Our suggestion is to make sli between parts that could work together an unsupported option. We haven't been able to figure out how to hack the driver to allow it, and we don't think NVIDIA will allow it.
Martrox - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Don't you think that testing these cards without any FSAA is being kind of lazy? Anyone knowledgable enough to actually read this review most likely will be using FSAA, so that kind of makes this a waste....Also, did you at least turn the drivers up to high quality?
imaheadcase - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Mmm, most people don't use FSAA. Majority of users can't tell a diffrence with it on or off.VooDooAddict - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
I'd have to agree. Most people with 1280x1024 LCDs that I've met prefer to leave FSAA off (if they even mess with the setting) to get the best possible frame rates. While the max framerate might not dip below 60 ... it's the minimum framerate spike that will effect competition.I used to enjoy turning on FSAA for Everquest, but for anything more FPS competition oriented I don't know anyone who uses FSAA unless they have SLI. (Which would be why they got SLI ... to run FSAA without noticable impact to framerates.)