NVIDIA GeForce 7 Phase 2 Review :: Conclusion

The late launch of ATI's X1K series left open a window of opportunity that NVIDIA took advantage of with their 7800GTX launch last year. NVIDIA and ATI launched roughly equivalent parts in the fall of 2005 with the X1800XT and the GeForce 7800GTX 512 in October of last year. Unfortunately for NVIDIA, they didn't envision the demand that that card would have and didn't sell as many cards as they could have. The same is true of ATI, to a lesser degree. The spring of 2006 has already seen the launch of the ATI refresh to their x1800 card, the X1900, and the 7900 series is competing against that standard. Video cards are available today from online stores like Newegg and Tiger Direct.

Newegg

Tiger Direct

From a pure performance point of view, the GeForce 7900GTX performs on par or higher than its ATI counterpart in every situation. Keeping in mind that the only X1900XTX card I have is a overclocked ASUS one, that is a good thing. The transition from the 110 nanometer process to the 90 nanometer process was a smooth one for the most part. NVIDIA probably would have liked to release the 7900GTX in the Fall of last year, but the same is likely true of the X1900XTX from ATI. XFX's 7900GTX is clocked at 700/1.6GHz, and should provide the performance you want for $539 MSRP. This should compete well with the ATI card that is rumored to drop in price to $549 but currently retailing for $649. Where the card doesn't compete is the image quality associated with angle-independent Anisotropic Filtering and HDR+FSAA at the same time, but the performance with both enabled is not exactly playable.

The EVGA 7900GT is in a class by itself. At a clock speed of 550MHz/1.58GHz it falls in between the 7900GTX 512MB and the 7900GT reference clocks. To put that kind of performance on a single-slot card with the Lifetime Warranty and Step-Up program, make this card an excellent buy at $339 MSRP. This is a $40 premium from the MSRP NVIDIA is pitching this chip at for their partners. This is the kind of card that I enjoy, cool, small cooler, small length so it's easy to fit into a Shuttle XPC or other mini PC with a PCI Express slot, and I can recommend the card for the enthusiast if you're looking for a 7900GT price class. The performance comes close to that of last year's 7800GTX 512MB; with a price of nearly ½ what that card was retailing for just 2 months ago.

The XFX 7600GT is the replacement for the 6600GT and 6800GS cards of last year. The performance of this card for this price point is stellar, easily outshining the competition in the form of the X1600XT. ATI is said to be launching the X1800 GTO but I have no information on the clock speed or pricing of that card. In any event, it's much like a game of cat and mouse. For every action from NVIDIA there is a reaction from ATI and vice versa. If the competition brings lowered prices for the high-end, performance and mainstream markets that's better for the consumer. As I stated in the introduction, video card prices have gone through the roof. Hopefully both NVIDIA and ATI can compete well with each other for years to come, giving us better products for better prices. The spring lineup for NVIDIA cards is a strong one in many respects. The decreased die size of the chips compared to the last generation and the move to the 90 nanometer process, will likely combine to increase yields and lower manufacturing costs. This is evident in the price of the new cards. NVIDIA is committing to excellent availability of the entire line. One might ask why NVIDIA didn't increase pixel pipelines, add more features, etc. The 7900GTX is the refresh for the 7800GTX and new features will have to wait for the release of Microsoft's Vista Operating System and Direct3D 10. With performance either equal to or more than the competition, the 7xxx series is a compelling product line.

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