For starters, we’ll address the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra versus RADEON 9800 PRO debate. Is the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra faster than RADEON 9800 PRO? In some cases yes, and in some cases no. GeForce FX 5900 Ultra certainly improves NVIDIA’s position against ATI, as they’re finally offering a product to compete, but it isn’t the slam dunk it was hyped up to be. NVIDIA’s anti-aliasing, while improved, still doesn’t match the quality of RADEON 9800 PRO, but this may be an issue that will be addressed with an upcoming driver.
Ultimately we feel many NVIDIA supporters will continue to buy NVIDIA-based products, just as ATI users will continue to favor ATI. Think of it as the 3D graphics version of Ford versus Chevy. We do see an increasing number of enthusiasts in the middle that are swinging towards ATI however. So what do we think of eVGA’s GeForce FX 5900 Ultra offering?
eVGA has really impressed us with the e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. True, the card is physically nothing more than an NVIDIA reference card in retail packaging, but how often do you see a graphics card manufacturer overclock their card from the factory? Tyan said they were going to do it, and spread some hype about it actually, but in practice, this never became a reality.
With the flamboyant nature of graphics card marketing today, it’s actually quite surprising to see how understated eVGA is with its e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. There’s literally no mention of the higher clock speeds it boasts on eVGA’s website. As a result, the first wave of enthusiasts didn’t know what to do with their cards: did eVGA make some kind of mistake, or were the enhanced clock speeds for real? Fortunately, the higher clock speeds are authentic; eVGA has every intention of standing behind the e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. We’re quite sure that this feature alone will sell lots of GeForce FX 5900 Ultra cards for eVGA.
This is the primary reason why we’ve awarded the e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra our Bull’s Eye Award. Yes, at $500+ it’s by no means a price/performance winner, but at the same time, being based on a reference design, it’s also not innovative enough for Editor’s Choice.
However, when you combine the fact that you’re getting a card that’s clocked 50MHz higher on the core and memory, plus video input (and corresponding video editing software), for a price that’s $20-$50 over invoice, you can’t help but feel that the e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra is a value among GeForce FX 5900 Ultra cards. We’d gladly pony up the extra dollars for these features in a heartbeat. At $500+ however, we must deduct points from the overall score, as ATI’s RADEON 9800 PRO and to a lesser extent, NVIDIA’s own GeForce FX 5900 128MB are better values. If eVGA would offer a GeForce FX 5900 128MB card clocked at Ultra levels, they could have a real killer product on their hands.
It’s great to see eVGA really tackle the enthusiast market by boosting the speeds on their GeForce FX 5900 Ultra card. And with the prices these cards are currently selling for, we see no reason why the e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra shouldn’t be at the very top of your list of GeForce FX 5900 Ultra cards to consider.
Batman: Arkham City PC Review Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to 2009’s smash-hit action game Batman: Arkham Asylum. As the name suggests, you will be reprising your role as the Caped Crusader and going against an even larger 'prison' filled with Gotham's criminals and villains. A textbook example on how to do a proper sequel, Arkham City takes what worked in the original, excised or improved upon what didn’t, and elevated everything to an even greater scope. The PC version suffered from a few months of delay, but in that time, Rocksteady worked closely to NVIDIA to implement some familiar technologies from the last game, such as PhysX and 3D Vision, along with new DirectX 11 optimizations. But how well was the whole package executed? Read on to find out!
Saints Row: The Third PC Review Saints Row is one of most unique series of games to build upon the open-world action template forged by Grand Theft Auto, and has met with plenty of critical and commercial success since it began on consoles back in 2006. This latest iteration, titled Saints Row: The Third promises the most outlandish fun and freedom of customization of them all, and in a much more PC-friendly package than its predecessor. Does it live up to those expectations and, more importantly, is it worth the price of admission? Find out in Will's latest review!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda Softworks’ latest offering in their series of epic fantasy RPGs, as well as one of the most highly-anticipated PC titles of 2011. As the Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn, prepare to take the fight to the mythical beasts that have returned to the realm after centuries of slumber, all the while exploring a huge and highly-detailed open world.
The PC version of the game promises enhanced graphical fidelity, standard RPG trimmings such as hotkeys and quick-save, as well as unbridled mod support, something we’ll all be thankful for once they release that SDK. Skyrim has already sold millions of copies and set records for play-time on Steam... Find out why in today's review, which happens to be one of the biggest and most in-depth articles on the subject out there!
L.A. Noire Complete Edition PC Review L.A. Noire, as the name clearly states, is a video game built on the tropes of one of the greatest periods of American cinema: film noir. Developed by the now defunct Australian developer Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, this title has been out on consoles for a full six months before finally making its way to the PC. This “Complete Edition” of the game features improved graphics, keyboard/mouse controls, and every bit of previously-released DLC for free. But was it truly worth the wait? Read on and find out!
Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E Performance Review
Today marks the launch date for Intel’s Sandy Bridge-E line of processors, a new family of high-end Core i7 products based on the LGA 2011 platform. This new socket is poised to replace the existing LGA 1366 specification used by the more powerful Nehalem and Westmere parts from the past couple years, specifically Bloomfield and Gulftown, the Core i7-9xx+ line of CPUs.
With 6 cores, 15MB of cache, and support for quad-channel DDR3-1600 memory, the Core i7-3960X sounds like quite a catch. Want to know more about it and how it performs? Read on!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Xbox 360 Review
The self-appointed "most anticipated game in history" launched worldwide this past Tuesday. Why, it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, of course (of course), what else? Unsurprisingly, the military FPS debate between this and Battlefield 3 rages on, but now that both have been released, surely we can take a look and objectively evaluate them both? Luke's taken the Xbox version of MW3 for a spin this week, so to find out what he thinks of it in today's review!
Stronghold 3 Review
The latest sequel in the long-running real-time strategy franchise from FireFly Studios, Stronghold 3 is all about building your dream castle and defending it against sieging enemies. Almost exactly one decade after the first game was released, this new title promises a return to the classic and well-received gameplay that has been strayed so far from in more recent iterations. Does it live up to those expectations? Will (AKA Synchronous Failure) tells us all about it in his first official FiringSquad review, so read on!
Battlefield 3 PC Review - Single-player Impressions
One of the most highly-anticipated PC games of the year is upon us; Battlefield 3 is now available in North America! EA/DICE have finally delivered a sequel to the core Battlefield franchise, a proper follow-up to BF2. Having played through the game's single-player campaign already, ahead of the multiplayer festivities kicking off around midnight, I figured I'd share my impressions ASAP. Is it really a worthy addition to the core Battlefield series, or just another bullet point on the back of the box? Read on and find out!
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited Supersonic Software Interview
Following up on our hands-on preview from earlier this month, here's an interview with Supersonic Software, creators of Wrecked: Revenge Revisited. The game's coming out on XBLA and PSN in a matter of weeks, but for now, Luke chats with the developer about its predecessors Mashed and Micro Machines, how difficult it can be to get an indie game published, the closure of Codemasters' Guildford branch, and more!
Orcs Must Die! PC Review Orcs Must Die! is the first release from an independent developer named Robot Entertainment. Fans of classic real-time strategy games may have heard that name before, as the outfit is comprised of many veterans from Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires series.
Equal parts action and strategy, this is a tower defense game that not only puts you in command, but on the front lines of combat, as well. Slaughter thousands of orcs, ogres and other vile creatures of fantasy that invade your fortresses through 24 levels of the story-based campaign. With high levels of replayability thanks to its scoring and leaderboard functionality, multiple difficulty levels, and various styles of play, it sounds a steal at only $15. Does it deliver on all that’s promised, though? Read on and find out!
Are you surprised to see a card manufacturer offer higher clock speeds than reference in their first generation product as well? Voice your thoughts about the e-GeForce FX 5900 Ultra and 3D cards in general in the news comments!
Ballistics Report
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
SU
furl
