The GeForce 7900 GS boards

Like the GeForce 7950 GT, the reference board design for the GeForce 7900 GS mimics NVIDIA’s reference board design for the GeForce 7900 GT. The key addition is support for variable fan speed control based on temperature (the fan itself is the same).

Therefore any board partner that’s built a 7900 GT card should have no problem transitioning to the 7900 GS, all a prospective board partner would have to do is drop the 7900 GS GPU onto the PCB and memory used for their older 7900 GT cards. In fact it appears that’s precisely what most board partners are doing with their first-generation 7900 GS cards. Thankfully the 7900 GS boards we’ve received so far aren’t direct replicas of the 7900 GT reference design…

BFG’s 7900 GS OC

BFG’s GeForce 7900 GS OC is one such card that isn’t an exact copy and paste rendition of the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT reference board. It’s heritage actually dates back to the design of BFG’s GeForce 7900 GT 512MB board, as the card shares the exact same blue PCB and copper cooling as BFG’s 7900 GT OC 512MB.

BFG GeForce 7900 GS OC

We should note that BFG’s cooling is the same as NVIDIA’s reference board. A copper heatsink rests above the 7900 GS GPU, with a small fan supplying the heatsink with fresh air. The heatsink/fan combo is single-slot, so those of you with small or cramped cases shouldn’t have a problem fitting the BFG 7900 GS OC into your system. The cooler NVIDIA uses isn’t exactly silent, but we wouldn’t call it loud either. It would be nice if the pitch on the fan’s motor wasn’t so loud though.

As a part of the “OC” line, BFG’s GeForce 7900 GS OC is of course overclocked from the factory by BFG. BFG clocks the board at 525MHz on the graphics core – an improvement of 75MHz over the stock GeForce 7900 GS – while the board’s memory runs at the 7900 GS’ stock speed of 660MHz (1.32GHz effective). HDCP support is not included with the GeForce 7900 GS OC, but BFG’s well known lifetime warranty policy is supported.

Our BFG boards just arrived yesterday, so we didn’t have time to test them, but expect a full article on the OC cards shortly.

EVGA’s GeForce 7900 GS KO

EVGA hopes to knockout the competition with their e-GeForce 7900 GS KO board. Like other 7900 GS board manufacturers, EVGA borrows heavily on their previous GeForce 7900 GT cards for inspiration for their e-GeForce 7900 GS KO card. In the case of the 7900 GS KO, EVGA used their high-end GeForce 7900 GT KO/Signature Series as the foundation for the 7900 GS KO, as the e-GeForce 7900 GS KO features the same copper cooling present on those high-end GT cards.

EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO

Copper cooling

HDCP enabled

Taking a closer look at the cooler you’ll see that it’s made entirely from copper. A large copper heatsink not only cools the 7900 GS GPU, but also the board’s memory modules as well. As a result, EVGA’s larger copper cooling does a better job of cooling the graphics core and its memory, all while running a little quieter than NVIDIA’s stock reference design.

If the tweaked cooler weren’t enough, EVGA’s also offering a KO SKU with full out-of-the-box HDCP support (Part Number 256-P2-N625-AR), making it one of the few first-gen GeForce 7900 GS cards to support this feature. (This is the card we evaluated for this article.)

On top of all this, EVGA runs their e-GeForce 7900 GS KO board at speeds that are higher than stock, opting to clock the graphics core at 500MHz (50MHz higher than stock), while the board’s memory runs at 690MHz (1.38GHz effective), that’s 30MHz higher than the stock memory speed for the GeForce 7900 GS.

To spice the package a little further, EVGA also includes a copy of the game Hitman: Blood Money with their e-GeForce 7900 GS KO. EVGA also continues to provide their lifetime warranty support as well as their Step-Up trade-in program.

Besides the HDCP-enabled GeForce 7900 GS KO, EVGA offers four other GeForce 7900 GS cards, a regular KO board without HDCP (Part Number 256-P2-N624-AR) and three GeForce 7900 GS SKUs without the factory overclocked speeds. Two of those three cards have the KO cooling while the third card relies on NVIDIA’s stock cooling unit.

Gigabyte GV-NX79G256DP-RH

The design of Gigabyte’s GeForce 7900 GS card, the GV-NX79G256DP-RH, also draws heavily on an older high-end GeForce 7900 GT offering, in this case Gigabyte’s Zalman-cooled GV-NX79T256DP-RH and GV-NX79T256DP-RH-ED.

Gigabyte GV-NX79G256DP-RH

Rather than relying on the stock NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS reference board design, Gigabyte plans to tweak the board for higher clock speeds. To accomplish this, Gigabyte’s employing higher quality electrolytic capacitors, as well as solid capacitors for their GV-NX79G256DP-RH board. To further enhance the board’s overclockability, Gigabyte plans on outfitting the board with a Zalman VF700-AlCu VGA cooler (minus the RAMsinks).

The VF700-AlCu is no longer Zalman’s highest-end VGA cooler, but it’s still more than ready to take on cooling an already cool-running GPU like the G71. It’s a dual-slot cooler, so it may be a tight fit for those of you who are space-constrained, but with its nearly silent fan and good cooling performance, the VF700-AlCu was pretty popular among enthusiasts looking for a good aftermarket cooler. When paired with the rest of Gigabyte’s GV-NX79G256DP-RH, it should make the board one of the quietest, if not the quietest GeForce 7900 GS cards on the market once it’s released (Gigabyte’s still tweaking the board’s final design).

With the more robust cooling and board design, Gigabyte plans to clock their GV-NX79G256DP-RH board at speeds higher than anyone else. The board’s graphics core will be clocked at 525MHz, matching the speed of BFG’s 7900 GS OC, while the board’s memory runs at a whopping 720MHz (1.44GHz effective). Gigabyte plans on using 1.4ns modules for their GV-NX79G256DP-RH – which are also used by stock GeForce 7900 GS cards and good for up to 700MHz – so officially they’re going to be overclocking the board’s memory modules a little to achieve those clocks.

For the software bundle, Gigabyte plans to include a copy of Serious Sam 2 inside the GV-NX79G256DP-RH’s packaging.

XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme

Last but certainly not least is XFX. Like the other card manufacturers featured in this article, XFX draws from their 7900 GT board design for their GeForce 7900 GS card. In the case of XFX, their XTREME line of 7900 GT-based cards is the foundation XFX starts with.

XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme

Black PCB

The XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme (Part Number PVT71PUDE3) sports a black PCB and back plate, while the board’s DVI connectors are fluorescent green. It gives the board a distinctive look that looks really sharp in our opinion. Sitting atop the board’s PCB is an additional black metal plate. XFX’s company logo adorns the top of the plate for added flair. But this plate isn’t just there for looks, it also serves an added purpose: to perform as a heatsink of sorts. You see, heat from the board’s PCB is transferred from the PCB to this plate, helping to keep board temperature down. XFX then finishes the package off with the stock NVIDIA copper heatsink/fan unit, with the top of the fan adorned with an XFX sticker.

For added performance, XFX clocks their GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme at 480MHz core/700MHz memory (1.4GHz effective), and of course, the card is backed up by XFX’s double lifetime warranty.

Bottom of the XFX card

XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme box

In addition to the 480M Extreme, XFX also provides a tamer GeForce 7900 GS card that retains the same board design as this card, right down to the black PCB and metal plate, only it ships at the 7900 GS’s stock clock speeds of 450MHz core/660MHz memory. If you’re interested in this card, its Part Number is PVT71PUDF3.

Both boards are available now with the XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme carrying a $219.99 price tag which can be combined with a $20 mail-in rebate for a price of $199.99 after rebate, while the regular XFX GeForce 7900 GS sells for $199.99 and can also be combined with a $20 mail-in rebate for a price of $179.99 after rebate. Mwave.com, NCIX.com, Newegg, TigerDirect, and Zipzoomfly are the retailers that will be offering the XFX cards with mail-in rebate starting today, so if you’re interested in the card, you’ll want to check out one of those five retailers. Our tests today reflect the performance of the GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme board.