XFX 6800GS SLI Video Card Review :: The Card

XFX 6800GS SLI
Brand	XFX
Model	6800GS
Graphics Chip	NV42
Graphics Memory Type	DDR3
Memory (MB)	256
Graphics Core Clock (MHz)	485
Memory Clock (MHz)	1100
Memory Speed (ns)	2.0
RAMDAC Frequency (MHz)	Dual 400
Active Cooling on Graphics Chip	Yes
Heatsink on Memory	Yes
Video Capture	Yes
Ports
Dual Monitor Support	Yes
VGA Out	DVI-I, DVI-I
Video In and Out	TV Out, S-Video Out
Package and Support
Printed Manual	Yes
Driver CD	Yes
Performance Tool Software	Coolbits
Major Games	Far Cry
Major Software	No
VR Glasses	No
DVD Player Software	None
Video Recording Software	None

XFX decided to base their 6800GS PCB on the same design as their 6800GT series card. As the 6800GS is a 6800 overclocked that is a good thing. The cooling fan on the card is a 29-fin radial fan covering the front part of the video card. The heatsink covers the graphics chip. This solution works well with the 6800 series, as I've used the 6800GT and Ultra, without heat problems for over a year.

Front of the card

Cooling fan

PCI Express x16 connector

XFX Mascot

The 6800GS is a PCI Express native video chip based upon NVIDIA's NV42 chip. PCI Express was introduced in the middle of last year. Early NVIDIA cards required a bridge chip (HSI or High Speed Interconnect) to operate on a PCI Express chipset. Today all video cards with NVIDIA based chips don't require the HSI chip. One thing about the HSI chip is the ability to reverse-bridge, allowing PCI Express native cards to be later bridged back to AGP.

PCI Power connector

Rear of card

Side view of card

Rear PCI Express key

XFX outfitted the card with 8 32MB 2ns DDR memory chips. These are rated for 500MHz, which XFX decided to clock the memory at. 1.1GHZ, a 100MHz overclock over the standard NVIDIA reference clock. One thing about the 6800GS is the 256-bit memory bus. This gives the card a memory bandwidth of 35.2GB/second, not bad for a $199 video card.

I/O ports

Input and Output ports on the side bracket of the 6800GS are standard for 6800 class cards today. The 6800GS has two DVI-I ports which support two LCD monitors with digital inputs, one LCD monitor and a CRT monitor, or two CRT monitors with the included DVI-I to VGA adapters. NVIDIA has an application called nView to control the multiple monitors.

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