XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB XXX Edition Review --- TheThirdMedia Hardware

NVIDIA's Quick Rebuttal

From the lightning fast response from NVIDIA to the Radeon X1800 XT, we suspect that NVIDIA had the GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB in reserve all this while and was only waiting for the right moment to pounce; the cooler for the GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB had been used previously by Leadtek quite some time back during the early days of the GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB. In which case, this strategy has worked perfectly, raining on ATI's parade just when the availability of Radeon X1800 XT cards seemed to be improving. The GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB not only grabs the headlines from ATI, its overall performance puts it in a higher class than ATI's best.

Rumors about a GeForce 7800 Ultra have been circulating for quite a while in the past. While the NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB may not have that designation, it certainly has the 'Ultra' aspect adequately covered.

The XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB emerged as the fastest for almost all the benchmarks that we put it through. This made it the fastest graphics card in retail now. Even an overclocked Radeon X1800 XT could not match the raw power of the XFX card, with Quake 4 its only blemish. As for the typical Radeon X1800 XT 512MB cards that you would find, they would be thoroughly outclassed. There was also a fair bit of overclocking headroom for the XFX, and we believe that you should easily reach an overclocked magnitude similar to XFX's own XXX Edition. Aside from its excellent performance, the XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB also scored favorably in the areas of heat and noise output. Compared to the din made by a typical Radeon X1800 XT, the XFX is definitely one to choose, especially since both cards end up using two PCI slots anyway.

The anecdotes and reports we have seen online confirm its success. What limited quantities made available by NVIDIA have been quickly snapped up and retailers are finding it hard to replenish supplies as NVIDIA and its board manufacturers probably faced difficulties sourcing the extremely high-end and expensive components for the card. Therefore, with the supply bottlenecked, you can expect to pay a lot for this card, if you can even find it. While the official launch price is US$649, all indications are that the retailers have increased the price due to its scarcity. Meanwhile, the XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB has been priced at S$1450, which makes for a substantial chunk of cash for a graphics card. In short, this is one card that is out of reach for most consumers.

What goes around comes around. If our sources are correct, the GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB and its fifteen seconds of fame may be ending soon. ATI seems prepared to volley back with a revised Radeon X1800 series in the form of the Radeon X1900 series and with performance to match NVIDIA. NVIDIA has already displayed an amazing Quad SLI GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB setup at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, and with its G71 expected to arrive in the earlier half of this year, it is already promising to be another highly competitive year between the two rivals. At the moment though, the most powerful, single graphics card belongs deservedly to NVIDIA and its GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB incarnation.



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