ASUS EN7800GT TOP Silent - GeForce 7800GT

Silent computing and overclocking are two topics that tend to be mutually exclusive.  Typically, when you overclock something, like a graphics card for example, it needs more cooling, which in turn means higher fan speeds and more noise. Luckily though, there are some companies that disregard these notions and give us both lower noise and increased performance.

The company in the spotlight today for doing just that is ASUS.  The product getting the attention is the EN7800GT TOP Silent, which is based on the NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT GPU.  As you can guess by the name, this is a totally silent card thanks to innovative passive cooling.  And contrary to what you may think, it's also factory overclocked. Even though the 7800 GT has been out for quite some time now, we were still excited about checking out this unique variant of the popular card. The potential for greatness is there; read on to find out if this card delivers.

EN7800GT TOP Silent Specifications Silent But Deadly?!

GPU Clock: 420MHz Memory Clock: 1.24GHz (effective; 1.6ns DDR3) NVIDIA CineFX 4.0 Shading Architecture •_Vertex Shaders ·_Support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Vertex Shader 3.0 ·_Displacement mapping ·_Geometry instancing ·_Infinite length vertex programs •_Pixel Shaders ·_Support for DirectX 9.0 Pixel Shader 3.0 ·_Full pixel branching support ·_Support for Multiple Render Targets (MRTs) ·_Infinite length pixel programs •_Next-Generation Texture Engine ·_Accelerated texture access ·_Up to 16 textures per rendering pass ·_Support for 16-bit floating point format and 32-bit floating point format ·_Support for non-power of two textures ·_Support for sRGB texture format for gamma textures ·_DirectX and S3TC texture compression •_Full 128-bit studio-quality floating point precision through the entire rendering pipeline with native hardware support for 32bpp, 64bpp, and 128bpp rendering modes API Support • Complete DirectX support, including the latest version of Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 •_Full OpenGL support, including OpenGL 2.0 64-Bit Texture Filtering and Blending •_Full floating point support throughout entire pipeline •_Floating point filtering improves the quality of images in motion •_Floating point texturing drives new levels of clarity and image detail •_Floating point frame buffer blending gives detail to special effects like motion blur and explosions NVIDIA Intellisample 4.0 Technology •_Advanced 16x anisotropic filtering (with up to 128 Taps) •_Blistering- fast antialiasing and compression performance •_Gamma-adjusted rotated-grid antialiasing removes jagged edges for incredible image quality •_Transparent multisampling and transparent supersampling modes boost antialiasing quality to new levels •_Support for normal map compression •_Support for advanced lossless compression algorithms for color, texture, and z-data at even higher resolutions and frame rates •_Fast z-clear NVIDIA UltraShadow II Technology •_Designed to enhance the performance of shadow-intensive games NVIDIA Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0 Technology •_DVC color controls •_DVC image sharpening controls NVIDIA SLI Technology •_Patented hardware and software technology allows two GPUs to run in parallel to scale performance •_Scales performance on over 60 top PC games and applications

NVIDIA PureVideo Technology •_Adaptable programmable video processor •_High-definition MPEG-2 and WMV9 hardware acceleration •_Spatial-temporal de-interlacing •_Inverse 2:2 and 3:2 pull-down (Inverse Telecine) •_4-tap horizontal, 5-tap vertical scaling •_Overlay color temperature correction •_Microsoft Video Mixing Renderer (VMR) supports multiple video windows with full video quality and features in each window •_Integrated HDTV output Composited Desktop Hardware Engine •_Video post-processing •_Real-time desktop compositing •_Accelerated antialiased text rendering •_Pixel shader-driven special effects and animation Advanced Display Functionality •_Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz •_Dual DVO ports for interfacing to external TMDS transmitters and external TV encoders •_Full NVIDIA nView multi-display technology capability Advanced Engineering •_Designed for PCI Express x16 •_Designed for high-speed GDDR3 memory Operating Systems •_Windows XP/XP 64/ME/2000 •_Linux •_Macintosh OS X ASUS Unique Features •_ASUS Splendid Video Enhancing Technology •_ASUS GameFace Messenger •_ASUS GameLiveShow •_ASUS GameReplay •_ASUS Video Security™ Online •_ASUS OnScreenDisplay (OSD) Software/Game Bundle •_ASUS DVD •_CyberLink MediaShow SE •_CyberLink PowerDirector •_Driver CD •_King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie •_Savage •_BillyBlade •_Second Sight •_Mashed •_Chaos League •_PowerDrome Accessories Bundle •_Multi-language manual / install guide •_Speed Setup install guide •_DVI-to-VGA adapter •_VIVO cable •_PCI Express power cable •_CD wallet

ASUS has been really generous with its high-end card bundles lately, and this one is no exception. When we opened the box, we were happily surprised by the amount of goodies inside. The EN7800GT TOP Silent comes with a user manual, quick install guide, VIVO cable, PCI Express power cable and DVI-to-VGA adapter. An S-video cable and second DVI-to-VGA adapter, however, are unfortunately absent.

The exciting aspect of this bundle is the software. In addition to ASUS DVD, CyberLink MediaShow and CyberLink PowerDirector, the package also includes seven games, including the relatively popular and successful Peter Jackson's King Kong. The two bundled "Bonus GAMEPACKs" include the following games: Savage, BillyBlade, Second Sight, Mashed, Chaos League and PowerDrome. Some of those aren't very well known, but ASUS has definitely included something for everyone.