Clearly when it comes to performance, NVIDIA’s GeForce 7800 GTX is in a class of its own, establishing new levels of performance for the high-end sector. Performance varies from application to application, for instance the flight sims we tested with are clearly more CPU-bound than the other games, resulting in a slimmer performance advantage for the GeForce 7800 GTX cards.
The shader-heavy applications in our testing suite really took advantage of the GeForce 7800 GTX. You saw this in the case of Far Cry, particularly once HDR is enabled. A single GeForce 7800 GTX card running Far Cry with HDR was able to outperform two GeForce 6800 Ultra cards running in SLI mode! The other two applications where GeForce 7800 GTX put up a particularly strong showing were Battlefield 2, where the 7800 GTX outperformed the 6800 Ultra SLI configuration in all but one test (2048x1536 with 4xAA/16xAF), while the 7800 GTX was largely able to keep up with the SLI config in Half-Life 2, matching it in performance at 2048x1536.
With more shader heavy games right around the corner, it’s pretty clear which architecture is better built for the long haul, the improvements NVIDIA has implemented into CineFX 4.0 definitely played huge dividends for the 7800 GTX, despite the so-called “modest” boost in clocks. Even more incredible is that NVIDIA is able to deliver all this performance in a single-slot package with lower power draw and better thermals than their previous high-end product, GeForce 6800 Ultra.
Besides the performance and power story, NVIDIA also delivers superior image quality thanks to their new transparency adaptive supersampling mode. By taking additional texel samples and antialiasing passes NVIDIA is able to remove the jaggies often found on thin-lined objects such as chain link fences and foliage. Just take a look at the Half-Life 2 screenshots from page 7 for an example.
GeForce 7800 GTX would best be summed up as an evolutionary product with revolutionary performance, much like the GeForce 4 a few years ago. When you add on the enhanced image quality delivered by transparency AA, the package is even sweeter. With each card selling for $600, we probably wouldn’t recommend dropping the money on a 7800 GTX SLI setup though until faster processors arrive from AMD and Intel. Clearly we were CPU-bound in multiple cases with the SLI config at practically all resolutions. Those of you with high-end LCDs who do decide to go the SLI route, may want to start shopping for a nice CRT capable of 2048x1536.
As it stands now with today’s latest applications, the GeForce 7800 GTX is definitely up for the challenge. Even with 4xAA and 16xAF thrown on for good measure!
Phenom II Gets A New Revision: 125W AMD Phenom II X4 965 Performance Preview
Promising lower power consumption, lower temps, and most importantly for enthusiasts, more OC'ing, AMD is back with a new CPU revision for the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, which now boasts a 125W TDP. Is AMD able to deliver on their promises though? Find out in today's article!
Shattered Horizon Review
FutureMark, well known for their popular 3DMark benchmarks, is venturing into new territory with Shattered Horizon. This multiplayer shooter is perhaps best known for its system requirements -- the game supports DX10 only -- but there's more underneath the surface of this game than fancy visuals. Is it worth its $20 price tag though? Read Vandy's take inside!
Borderlands PC Review
Is it an RPG or is it an FPS? Borderlands blends the best elements of both in one entertaining package. Vandy has spent the past week playing the PC version of the game and came away rather impressed. Read his full thoughts on the game in today's review!
AMD Athlon II X3 435/Athlon II X2 240e Performance Preview
Today AMD is introducing 8 new Athlon II CPUs intended to service different segments of the budget CPU market. For HTPC users, new 45W dual, triple, and quad core offerings should deliver good performance along with low power, while performance junkies on a budget will want to look at AMD's new Athlon II X3 CPUs. See how the new chips stack up in terms of performance and OC'ing in this article!
EVGA P55 FTW Review
Looking for a good P55 motherboard to OC your CPU beyond 4GHz? If so, you may want to check out EVGA's P55 FTW. With its extra ATX12V connector, this motherboard can send up to 600W of juice to the CPU, and it's got more voltage settings in BIOS than 95% of the general public needs. But that's just barely scratching the surface of what this board can do. Check out today's review for the full details!
ATI Radeon HD 5770/5750 Performance Preview
With prices ranging from $109-$159, ATI's Radeon 5700 series of cards bring DX11 gaming to mainstream price points and usher in new levels of energy efficiency. But are they powerful enough to dethrone ATI's Radeon 4800 series cards? Yes and no. Read today's article for more info!
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Review
While it's not the true sequel to Operation Flashpoint, Dragon Rising is billed as a modern tactical sim just like its predecessor. Does it live up to these claims? Read Vandy's take in today's review!
Batman: Arkham Asylum PhysX Features and Performance
One eye candy feature PC users can enjoy over the console edition of Batman: AA is PhysX. Rocksteady's PhysX implementation is more than just tearing cloth and added objects too, although that's of course in there. Vandy goes over the features and performance of PhysX in Batman: AA in this article!
ATI Radeon 5850 Performance Preview
Not everyone's got $400 to spend on a shiny new Radeon 5870 card, which is why it can be argued that ATI's Radeon 5850 is the more relevant GPU for a lot of gamers and hardware enthusiasts. Based on the same DX11 RV870 architecture as the 5870, the 5850 delivers next-generation performance in a smaller, more efficient package, and most importantly it's priced for less than $300. ATI pitches it as their answer to the GeForce GTX 285...See how it compares in this article!
Overclocking the Radeon HD 5870
We weren't satisfied with the 900MHz core/1300MHz memory speeds we hit last week with our Radeon 5870 boards. We wanted to see how far ATI's latest flagship GPU could be pushed, and how well it could perform at those speeds. We also wanted to see which component delivered better performance results: OC'ing the memory, or OC'ing the GPU?
Fortunately thanks to AMD's GPU Clock Tool, we now have unlimited speeds on tap for OC'ing. Is 1GHz within reach? Find out in today's article!