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- Date:
- Friday , December 01, 2006
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
GeForce 7900 GT Roundup
Looking for an affordable high-performance video card but having trouble figuring out what would be best? We evaluate 7900 GTs from XFX, BFGTech and ASUS then compare them with a newer GeForce 7950 GT to see if it really is worth the extra money.
ASUS EN7900GT TOP
ASUS offers two distinct GeForce 7900 GT GPU based video card models in their lineup, the EN7900GT/2DHT/256M and the EN7900GT TOP/2DHT/256M. The titles may sound confusing, but they are actually quite revealing. The “2DHT” indicates that there is support for Dual-DVI, Dual-VGA, TV-Out and HDTV-Out. The “256M” indicates that both video cards have 256 MB of RAM on board. “EN7900GT” indicates both video cards are based on the GeForce 7900 GT GPU. Where they differ is the “TOP” moniker. The “TOP” model indicates the factory overclocked core and memory frequency video card. The EN7900GT/2DHT/256M runs at the stock NVIDIA clock speeds for a 7900 GT, 450 MHz GPU and 1.32 GHz memory.
The “TOP” model is the one we are evaluating today and this is where it gets very interesting. The clock speeds for the “TOP” version are 520 MHz GPU core frequency and 1.44 GHz for the memory frequency. Now, recall that the GeForce 7950 GT’s stock clock speeds are 550 MHz core and 1.4 GHz memory. That means that this ASUS EN7900GT TOP is 30 MHz away from the 7950 GT’s core clock speed and actually has a slightly faster memory clock speed than a 7950 GT. The largest difference then between the 7950 GT and the ASUS EN7900 GT TOP then becomes one of memory size, the ASUS EN7900GT TOP has 256MB and a 7950 GT has 512 MB. It will be very interesting to see how these two compare in games.
ASUS packs the EN7900GT TOP in a rather large box, but do provide a handle for easy carrying. On the front of the box is a very ominous gorilla; this actually has a purpose because it denotes the inclusion of the full version game King Kong based off of the movie. There is an easy to understand table that indicates specifications of this video card, 256MB DDR3, Dual-DVI, HDTV-out, Dual-VGA, TV-Out. Clock settings are also indicated on the front of the box.
The EN7900GT TOP also features the same King Kong graphic as the pattern on the heatsink. The video card uses a standard green PCB design. The heatsink/fan design however is custom made from ASUS. It features a larger base surface compared to the reference design which allows it to cover all eight memory modules to keep them cool. The entire heatsink is also larger than the reference design with more fins for dissipating heat. External power is required through the 6-pin PCI-Express connector. The heatsink is all aluminum and the video card itself is very light in weight.
Included with the video card are two dual-link DVI ports. This means the video card can drive large digital LCDs.
In the included bundle we have two DVI to VGA adapters so you can run dual-VGA if you need. There is a PCI-Express power adapter included and an HDTV-out splitter output cable but no actual cables to connect to your TV. The CD bundle is quite extensive including the full version game King Kong along with XR Xpand Rally, Virtual Drive 9, PowerDirector, Media@Show, and drivers. ASUS includes bar none the best graphics card setup and installation guide. Both manuals are illustrated in full color with full color screenshots of utilities in an easy to read format.