XFX GeForce 7800 GT

.../> Breaking the mould entirely, XFX has gone the whole nine yards in trying to make this card appealing, successfully too. The HSF is a considerably aesthetic aspect of the card, shimmering a spectrum of colour depending on the position of the light source and the eye of the beholder, which causes a different effect each time these change. However, in most systems and as usual, the HSF is on the underside when slotted into the motherboard, meaning ...
...need to sort out. Why XFX made it look so good only to be hidden away is beyond me, I can only hazard the guess that they didn't put it on top of the card in case customers got their heads wedged in their cases staring at it in amazement, only to unceasingly drool on it. This wouldn't surprise me; those who have done it, you know who you are.

Due to the vast improvements over the 6000 series cards in clock speed, pixel pipelines and ... more

The 'G' in 'GPU' may not stand for gorgeous, but in the case of this 7800 GT, it should do. 'Graphical' simply does not do this card justice. Not only that but this card is currently faster than most other versions of the GT, handling the 'processing' portion of the acronym with great speed and stability, making this 'unit' subject to envy greener than its neon, UV reactive cooler fan.

Breaking the mould entirely, XFX has gone the whole nine yards in trying to make this card appealing, successfully too. The HSF is a considerably aesthetic aspect of the card, shimmering a spectrum of colour depending on the position of the light source and the eye of the beholder, which causes a different effect each time these change. However, in most systems and as usual, the HSF is on the underside when slotted into the motherboard, meaning even if you had a transparent side panel and a case the size of a bunk bed, you would still have difficulty looking at it, and perhaps practical/mental issues you need to sort out. Why XFX made it look so good only to be hidden away is beyond me, I can only hazard the guess that they didn't put it on top of the card in case customers got their heads wedged in their cases staring at it in amazement, only to unceasingly drool on it. This wouldn't surprise me; those who have done it, you know who you are.

Due to the vast improvements over the 6000 series cards in clock speed, pixel pipelines and bandwidth, the recommended PSU for this card is about 350 W, 500 W if you're planning to go SLI, which gives an idea as to how much power is being unleashed by this beast. Besides this, if you do need to upgrade, a better PSU is likely to benefit your existing hardware as well as future installations, although if you do zap yourself while playing with it, you're also more likely to emerge with hair wackier than that of the lead singer of Coheed and Cambria. Picture included for reference (or comparison.)

Much of this power is consumed by the card's processor, so if you are unsure whether to choose between the GTX and GT, having covered most bases it would be wise to consider processor speed. Even some high-end CPUs have a hard time keeping up with the X-endowed 7800, so the latter GT may be wise if you want assurance that you are harnessing the better potential of your card. Whether your CPU is the racing pacemaker (or if it would need one if it was human) the GT would be the safer bet, as well as the most bang for your buck, with the GT clocking in at least £100 cheaper. It would also be interesting to see how both GPUs performs alongside Ageia's new PhysX chip, which is rumoured to debut in February, courtesy of Asus. The chip creates additional processing power to relieve some of the load off the processor, and because it is designed with gaming at it's core life-like physics enhanced environment interaction can be achieved in games. An exciting prospect; who knows, we could all soon be seeing Matrix rip-off-like reality become accessible with this sort of technology popping up like long-lost relatives after you win the lottery.

Also, like children in bygone era, graphics cards should be seen and not heard. Unfortunately, modern times (and usually the laws of physics) tend to disagree, in both cases. Family matters aside, this card won't give you something to cry about, but it is fairly audible under stress. On the other RSI-affected hand, if you're putting it to good use, I doubt you'd notice anyway. Compared to my old Duron set-up I bought in 2000, this card is church mouse material, and that did not even have a graphics card. The GPU even seems to be quieter than previous models of the GT, which used to compete with foghorns, lawnmowers and even jackhammers in the quest for ultimately annoying background noises.

The newfound mercy on the ears is a pleasant surprise, and we might have the new ForceWare drivers released by Nvidia to thank for that, handling the hardware more efficiently and with less frantic behaviour. Another improvement to be noted is the addition of a copper heat sink installed instead of the aluminium standard that comes with the majority of boards. This allows for a more effective dissipation of heat, ensuring lower operating temperatures that in turn aid in more conserved use of the fan, prevention of overheating and enhancing overclocking potential. Just don't put your finger on it if you want to live to be fingerprinted - not that you will of course.

=-*Performance*=-

The GPU comes pre-overclocked by XFX to 450 MHz as opposed to the stock speed of 400 MHz, and the 256 MB memory has been upped to 525 MHz (1.05 GHz effective) from the reference speed of 500 MHz. The mild turbo charge gives it a good advantage over cards from most other manufacturers, as you get a good overclock and still get to keep your warranty, fallback that would be sacrificed if you were to overclock it yourself. Particularly useful if you have no intention of overclocking or are new to it. Despite this however, this GT is a surprisingly flexible overclocker. The card stayed stable in my system to the impressive core speed of just over 500 MHz and a remarkable memory speed of 575 MHz, double the increase given by the pre-overclock.

Without these adjustments the card plays less recent games such as Half Life 2 and Chronicles of Riddick comfortably at 1280x1024 with 4x AA (Anti-Aliasing) and anisotropic filtering at the highest. If your ownage is for the pwnage you won't be disappointed either, games such as Counter Strike play flawlessly with everything turned on and turned on high. More recent games such as F.E.A.R. are fluid and playable with frame rates above 50 fps at 1600x1200 while anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering are on. This creates some intense visuals as a vivid addition to the frightful and jumpy game, allowing even the most experienced of gamers across the globe the pleasure of, to put it lightly, soiling their undergarments in fear. Not surprisingly however, Quake 4 was better suited to the GT, rendering the same settings substantially above 50fps thanks to its Nvidia-friendly OpenGL encoding. All in all, it'll probably be a long while before this card can't hack a game on medium settings. A strong contender and consistent performer, it outdoes it's closest price range rival (the X1800XL) with gusto and regularity, making it a solid and steadfast graphical vessel to broaden escapist horizons with.

=-*Conclusion*=-

For price versus performance, you really can't get much better than this card, and the tweaked aesthetics is a great bonus. It even kept more or less on par with its superior, the GTX, with some frame rates lower by as little as 8fps, especially in the more recent games. The bundle you get with it is also a worthy package, containing X2: The Threat, Moto GP, the driver disk and the acclaimed Far Cry, which can really show off the visuals of the card. Whether you are an SMG (Stress Management Gamer) or an RPG (Recreational Purposes Gamer) this card will fulfil almost every gaming need you can throw at it (not recommended.)
 

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