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NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB Preview

NVIDIA pulls out all the stops and shows us what the GeForce 7800 GTX GPU can really do. We take a look at the 512 MB GeForce 7800 GTX and compare it to the Radeon X1800 XT 512 MB video card in eight games. We even get to play F.E.A.R at 1600x1200 with 4X AA.

Introduction:

NVIDIA simply refuses to give ATI a chance. Right now, NVIDIA seems very focused on remaining on top by providing the best gaming experience to gamers. Only one week ago, NVIDIA released a new midrange GPU to compete directly with ATI’s midrange card (which isn’t even out yet). As our results showed from that evaluation, the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS outpaces the Radeon X1600 XT in every game, especially newer games like F.E.A.R. and Quake 4. Here we are only a week later, and we have another NVIDIA hard launch to evaluate.

Up until now, the GeForce 7800 GTX 256 MB GPU has been NVIDIA’s top of the line offering. This GPU has proven itself many times over by providing a great gaming experience in the latest games. Over a month and a half ago, ATI announced their new top of the line GPU, the Radeon X1800 XT 512 MB; this GPU is now finally available. The Radeon X1800 XT has all the latest features, Shader Model 3.0, HDR with Anti-aliasing and comes with 512 MB of GDDR3. Our gaming performance comparisons showed that it was very comparable to the GeForce 7800 GTX 256 MB GPU. In some games, the X1800 XT came out on top; in some games, the GeForce 7800 GTX outperformed the X1800 XT; in some games, both cards performed equally well. Neither one really stood apart from the other in terms of the game play experience. Just like the GeForce 6800 versus the Radeon X1600 XT, it didn’t seem like NVIDIA really needed to release anything new to compete well. However, the NVIDIA of late is not one to simply clutch and grab to maintain their late-round lead; instead, they have been very aggressive by continuing to take the fight to ATI.

GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB:

The NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX GPU natively supports more than 256 MB of RAM. However, instead of just slapping more RAM onto the GeForce 7800 GTX, NVIDIA decided to go all out and also provide faster GPU and RAM clock speeds. In order to do this, they had to redesign the video card and add a double slot cooling solution.

The GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB uses the Quadro heat sink fan unit. There is a copper heat sink core over the GPU itself and four heat pipes, which transfer heat from it to the aluminum heat sinks expanding out from the whole unit. A large fan in the center draws cool air in and pushes the hot air out of the back of the case. Because it is a large fan, it can run at a lower RPM so it is not too loud; this is no GeForce 5800 FX dust buster fan, and it is silent at idle speed.

So what’s the reason for this beefed up cooler? The clock speeds. Along with the addition of RAM, NVIDIA has set the reference GPU clock speed at 550MHz, which is 120MHz faster than the GPU clock on the standard 256 MB 7800 GTX! It doesn’t stop there, though. If you recall, the Radeon X1800 XT used to have the fastest memory clocks for a consumer 3D graphics card at 1.5GHz. Well, NVIDIA has raised the bar yet again by providing a reference memory clock of 1.7GHz! You heard that right, 1.7GHz on a 256-bit memory bus, which provides 54.4 GB/sec of memory bandwidth — the highest stock memory bandwidth on a consumer 3D graphics card to date! Here is how the Radeon X1800 XT and GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB compare in pure theoretical specifications:

Radeon X1800 XT: 10 GigaTexels/second Fillrate, 48 GB/second memory bandwidth.

GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB: 13.2 GigaTexels/second Fillrate; 54.4 GB/second memory bandwidth.

Can you imagine two of these 512 MB 7800 GTX cards in SLI? Well, we can, and we have game play results to show you in this preview.

You know there has to be a downside to all of this, right? This video card has an MSRP of $649. That is no short amount of your hard earned cash, and it is $100 more expensive than the Radeon X1800 XT. Therefore, is the extra $100 a worthwhile investment?

GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB Pictures:

We have two reference 512 MB GeForce 7800 GTX cards to look at today. In the second picture above, you can see how a GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB card compares to a BFGTech GeForce 7800 GTX OC 256 MB video card.

The length is the same as a GeForce 7800 GTX 256 MB video card, but the height is obviously greater. The GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB uses a dual slot cooling solution that exhausts hot air out of the rear of your case.

The heat pipes, as you can see in the first picture, connect to the copper heat sink atop of the GPU. In the second picture, you can see how the heat pipes come out and transfer heat to the aluminum heat sinks on both sides of the GPU. All RAM modules also make contact with the aluminum base of the heat sink.

Dual DVI and TV-Out with HDTV out support is standard. Heat is drawn in from inside the case and exhausted outside the back of your case much like the Radeon X1800 XT’s cooling system. The GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB is heavier than a 256 MB GeForce 7800 GTX and it seems to weigh about the same as the Radeon X1800 XT.