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- Date:
- Wednesday, September 06, 2006
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme
NVIDIA is announcing two GPUs at popular price points today continuing their current GeForce 7 family. The GeForce 7900 GS is today's hard-launch and we’ve got a full retail package XFX brand GeForce 7900 GS that we evaluate in seven games.
XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M
For our evaluation today we have a full retail XFX model GeForce 7900 GS. XFX is producing two GeForce 7900 GS models. The one which we have for evaluation today is the PV-T71P-UDE3 model and as you will see on the box below carries the “480M Extreme” moniker. The other model is the PV-T71P-UDF3. The difference is core and memory clock speeds.
The 480M Extreme (UDE3) model runs at 480 MHz core frequency (up from the default 450 MHz of a 7900 GS). The memory runs at 700 MHz (1.4 GHz) up from 1.32 GHz of the default clock speeds for a 7900 GS. The UDF3 model runs at the default clock speeds of a 7900 GS, 450 MHz / 1.32 GHz.
The 480M Extreme (UDE3) model chimes in at $219.99 MSRP. There is also a $20 mail-in-rebate at authorized XFX dealers that would bring this video card down to $199.99. The UDF3 model chimes in at $199.99 and also has a $20 main-in-rebate.
Uniquely XFX offers a “Double Lifetime Warranty” on this video card. This “double warranty” means that not only do you receive a lifetime warranty, great in of itself, but the next person who owns this video card also receives the same lifetime warranty.
The box is very slim and just big enough for the video card and contents. We like having small boxes like this, no need to waste space and it means everything is packed tight so it doesn’t move around during shipping. On the front of the box it is clearly marked what model is inside, the RAM amount, and what bus system it works with. Flip the box over and you get to see exactly what you are getting in the box thanks to the window. Open the box up and the video card is held nice and tight in a plastic container.
The XFX GeForce 7900 GS is the epitome of video card sexiness. Yes, I feel very confident calling a video card sexy thank you. I mean how can you not when you look at this card? The PCB is all matte black. All the metal that makes up the expansion slot piece is black. There is a black bar running along the top giving the card rigidity and the fan and DVI ports are neon green. This card definitely has style, it certainly looks like an enthusiast gaming video card, no question about that.
This video card features HDTV output and dual dual-link DVI ports for 2560x1600 digital operation. Memory used is Hynix 1.4ns modules which give them a rated speed of 714 MHz so there seems to be room for overclocking further since the default speed is 700 MHz. External power is required through the 6-pin PCI-Express power port.
Inside the box you receive a driver CD and manuals. There is a PCI-Express plug that converts to Molex if you do not have a PCI-Express cable. There is one DVI to VGA adapter included and a video cable. With the video card in your system the XFX logo is visible on the black metal bar on the top of the video card; this way if you have a case with a window everyone can see the brand. The video card itself is slim and light and will easily fit any motherboard.