Product Reviews

The Good, The Bad, And The Bottom Line

 THE STAT

Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX2

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC

THE GOOD

Compact design; comparatively affordable; fast; simple Quad SLI design; reasonable power-supply demands.

THE BAD

Impending DirectX 10 cards will make this card obsolete in short order; ATI is still the current leader with 3D image quality.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Nvidia's GeForce 7950 GX2 should have been an Editors' Choice contender. It brings two graphics processors to a single slot, costs half as much as similarly fast setups, and lays the groundwork for do-it-yourself Quad SLI. But the gap between this chip generation and the next is too close, so we recommend you pass on the 7950 GX2.

REVIEWED: 05-Jun-2006 06:03 AM PDT

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Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT (256MB)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, Mac, Linux, RAMDAC 400 MHz, 2560 x 1600:, 256 MB (256 MB max)

THE GOOD

Brings playable 3D gaming to the masses; easy and cost effective to double up to an SLI configuration.

THE BAD

ATI's Radeon cards offer more robust support for modern 3D features.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The GeForce 7600 GT is a powerful, affordable 3D card. If you're looking for a stopgap graphics card to hold you over until Vista and Direct X 10, you won't be disappointed.

REVIEWED: 05-May-2006 12:26 PM PDT

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PNY Verto GeForce 7800 GT (256MB)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, 2, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT, 2560 x 1600:85 Hz, 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM

THE GOOD

Fast 3D-graphics performance; SLI capable; video-adapter cables; two DVI-to-VGA adapters; Call of Duty 2 comes free.

THE BAD

No overclocking utility included; out-of-date and incomplete Web support.

THE BOTTOM LINE

With a couple of exceptions, PNY's Verto GeForce 7800 GT card provides everything we like to see from a 3D-card package, including fast performance.

REVIEWED: 26-Oct-2005 04:17 PM PDT

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Nvidia GeForce 7900 GT (256MB)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, Mac, 2560 x 1600:, 256 MB (256 MB max)

THE GOOD

Category-leading single- and dual-card 3D performance; great price.

THE BAD

Can't do antialiasing and HDR lighting simultaneously.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Nvidia's GeForce 7900 GT is the current 3D graphics price-performance leader, but a lack of image-quality features hurts its outlook for some current high-end games, as does the forthcoming glut of upcoming titles.

REVIEWED: 03-May-2006 12:47 PM PDT

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Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX (512MB)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, Mac, 2560 x 1600:, 512 MB (512 MB max)

THE GOOD

Blazingly fast 3D performance in dual-card mode; SLI capable; two dual-link DVI connectors; component output.

THE BAD

Outpaced by ATI's competitor in single-card mode; pricey; no standard HDCP support.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The GeForce 7900 GTX offers excellent visual quality and lets you crank the settings on just about any game. Though it's expensive, it costs significantly less than the previous generation of top-end 3D cards.

REVIEWED: 26-Apr-2006 12:20 PM PDT

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ATI Radeon X1900 XTX (512MB)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, 2, ATI Radeon X1900 XTX, 512 MB (512 MB max) GDDR3 SDRAM

THE GOOD

Single-card performance leader; more-capable image quality tweaking than the competition.

THE BAD

Between $50 and $75 more than its Nvidia competition; dual-card mode inordinately expensive, inconvenient, and not as fast as Nvidia's SLI mode; few games take advantage of its advanced capabilities.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If you're looking for a single high-end 3D card, the Radeon X1900 XTX shows a lot of promise. If you have dreams of upgrading to a dual-card configuration, stay far, far away.

REVIEWED: 28-Apr-2006 02:43 PM PDT

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ATI All-In-Wonder X800 XL (256MB, PCI)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, 2, ATI Radeon X800 XL, 2048 x 1536:85 Hz, 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM

THE GOOD

3D graphics plus TV/FM tuner on one card; loads of connectivity ports.

THE BAD

Merely average picture quality; compatibility issues with Windows Media Center Edition.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The ATI All-In-Wonder X800 XL will have you gaming, watching TV, and listening to FM radio, but it doesn't stand out in any one area.

REVIEWED: 10-Nov-2005 09:31 AM PST

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PNY Verto GeForce 7900 GTX Limited Edition (512MB)

EDITORS RATING

SPECS

PC, 2, NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX, 2560 x 1600:, 512 MB GDDR3 SDRAM

THE GOOD

Factory overclocked; SLI capable; two dual-link DVI connectors; includes tool kit and USB drive.

THE BAD

No bundled games; lackluster online support.

THE BOTTOM LINE

PNY's highest-end 3D card is overclocked and comes with a few helpful accessories. We just wish that it included a game or two, as a $500 graphics card isn't very useful if you don't have anything to play with it.

REVIEWED: 16-May-2006 09:31 AM PDT

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