Advantages: high performance at low price Disadvantages: Instructions not clear
Not being too sure on the quality of Gainward I was hesitant in buying this card but was swayed by the price and performance ratings.
This time I won't go into the basics and history and go straight in to the review of the card.
~ The Package ~
Mine came in the exact box next to the title, it's a large box and the card is then encased within another box so I would say is well protected.
In the box came the card and all the cables you need for standard monitor or digital and power.
~ The Card ~
At first sight I was quite impressed, it has a red PCB and black heat sink and fan with a large mesh type casing around it. Normally I would rip off the stock heatsink and fan and replace it with a high performance one, no need to here as it cools the card very well.
I noticed straight away that it has dual DVI but it ...
Advantages: Silent, Excellent performance, Great Ram Disadvantages: none
This is one great card, a bargain at the price, and you just cant go past a GT with a passive heatsink and GDDR3 Ram.
I bought this 256Mb Card, after previously owning the budget 7600GS, thinking it would be a small improvement, well let me set the record straight by saying that for the small price difference (approx 30%) over the budget card, you get a bunch more bang for your buck.
First and foremost the Ram on the card is DDR3, giving better timings, faster speeds, and lower temperatures. Which is ideal because this card is passively cooled by an oversized heatsink (the heatsink is the size of the whole card) and the card takes up two slots for heat ventilation so make sure you have a spare PCI slot next to your PCI-Express slot.
Performance wise the card is very impressive, the core is clocked at GT Speeds, and even allows ...
Advantages: Runs very smooth, easy to set up, will play anything, easy to change settings Disadvantages: None really
I've always been a fan of ATi graphics cards to be honest, I had an ATi X850 Pro AGP card in my old computer, however this was not compatible when I got my new system as it needed PCI-E graphics card. After exploring the internet for comparisons of graphics card, on quite a tight budget, I plumped for the 7900GS from Gainward and boy am I impressed.
It will play, at very decent frame rates, anything I throw at it! Half-Life 2, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and the Sims 2 all ran rather choppily on my old X850 card, but this is very quick and has very high performance.
The installation was very easy, just open up your PC, slot it in, connect the power and away you go! The software provided by Gainward overrides the NVidia provided forceware, and to be honest, it's easier to use and does allow you to fiddle around with the clock ...
S-Video, composite video, component video, S-Video, composite video
Digital Video Standard
Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
Expansion / connectivity
Interfaces
1 x DVI-I (dual link) - 29 pin combined DVI
1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x HDTV output
Compatible Slots
1 x PCI Express x16
Miscellaneous
Cables Included
1 x HDTV cable, 1 x video cable
Compatible with Windows 7
"Compatible with Windows 7" software and devices carry Microsoft’s assurance that these products have passed tests for compatibility and reliability with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7.
Compliant Standards
Plug and Play
Software / system requirements
Software Included
Drivers & Utilities, Gainward EXPERTool
OS Required
Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP, Microsoft Windows Vista
Recommended Power Supply
300 W
Peripheral / Interface Devices
CD-ROM, adjacent PCI slot, CD-ROM
System Requirements Details
Pentium 4 - RAM 256 MB, Pentium 4 - RAM 512 MB
Manufacturer's product description
The Gainward BLISS 8500GT PCX TV DVI SilentFX features superior hardware design, high-performance passive cooling, VGA and DVI (with Dual-link DVI, support up to 2560x1600) and Video out connector with S-Video/Composite/HDTV support. It supports two monitors simultaneously, enabled by the NVIDIA nView Multi-Display Technology for office applications, 3D gaming and professional applications such as CAD, DTP, animation or video editing. NVIDIA nView allows end-users to select any combination of multiple displays, including a digital flat panel (DVI), analog CRTs, and TV. The Gainward BLISS 8500GT PCX TV DVI SilentFX provides world-class HDTV-out functionality up to 1080i resolution. It includes Gainward's award winning EXPERTool tuning utility for customized performance enhancements and efficient desktop management.
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