Now that the dual-GPU GeForce 7950 GX2 has hit the streets, the GeForce 7900 GTX is no longer NVIDIA's flagship desktop graphics adapter. But that doesn't mean it should all of a sudden be disregarded and brushed aside as an afterthought for a high-end gaming rig. In fact, the 7900 GTX may even become a more attractive option for some as its price inevitably drops over the coming the weeks and months. It's not like the 7900 GTX has suddenly become a bad performer, just because a more powerful and more expensive option has come along.
We've got a new GeForce 7900 GTX on the test-bench today, courtesy of Gigabyte. The GV-NX79X512DB-RH we'll be looking at here doesn't stray much from NVIDIA's reference design, but it does offer some things that its competition doesn't, and the GV-NX79X512DB-RH is also one of the least expensive 7900 GTX board currently available.
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Gigabyte's GeForce 7900 GTX Features and Specifications
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Powered by NVIDIA's Flagship GPU
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NVIDIA CineFX 4.0 Shading Architecture
Vertex Shaders
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Support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Vertex Shader 3.0
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Displacement mapping
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Geometry instancing
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Infinite length vertex programs
Pixel Shaders
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Support for DirectX 9.0 Pixel Shader 3.0
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Full pixel branching support
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Support for Multiple Render Targets (MRTs)
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Infinite length pixel programs
Next-Generation Texture Engine
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Accelerated texture access
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Up to 16 textures per rendering pass
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Support for 16-bit floating point format and 32-bit floating point format
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Support for non-power of two textures
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Support for sRGB texture format for gamma textures
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DirectX and S3TC texture compression
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Full 128-bit studio-quality floating point precision through the entire rendering pipeline with native hardware support for 32bpp, 64bpp, and 128bpp rendering modes
64-Bit Texture Filtering and Blending
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Full floating point support throughout entire pipeline
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Floating point filtering improves the quality of images in motion
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Floating point texturing drives new levels of clarity and image detail
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Floating point frame buffer blending gives detail to special effects like motion blur and explosions
NVIDIA Intellisample 4.0 Technology
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Advanced 16x anisotropic filtering (with up to 128 Taps)
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Blistering- fast antialiasing and compression performance
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Gamma-adjusted rotated-grid antialiasing removes jagged edges for incredible image quality
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Transparent multisampling and transparent supersampling modes boost antialiasing quality to new levels
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Support for normal map compression
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Support for advanced lossless compression algorithms for color, texture, and z-data at even higher resolutions and frame rates
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Fast z-clear
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API Support
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Complete DirectX support, including the latest version of Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0
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Full OpenGL support, including OpenGL 2.0
NVIDIA Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0 Technology
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DVC color controls
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DVC image sharpening controls
NVIDIA SLI Technology
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Patented hardware and software technology allows two GPUs to run in parallel to scale performance
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Scales performance on over 60 top PC games and applications
NVIDIA UltraShadow II Technology
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Designed to enhance the performance of shadow-intensive games
NVIDIA PureVideo Technology
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Adaptable programmable video processor
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High-definition MPEG-2 and WMV9 hardware acceleration
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Spatial-temporal de- interlacing
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Inverse 2:2 and 3:2 pull-down (Inverse Telecine)
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4-tap horizontal, 5-tap vertical scaling
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Overlay color temperature correction
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Microsoft Video Mixing Renderer (VMR) supports multiple video windows with full video quality and features in each window
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Integrated HDTV output
Composited Desktop Hardware Engine
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Video post-processing
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Real-time desktop compositing
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Accelerated antialiased text rendering
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Pixel shader-driven special effects and animation
Advanced Display Functionality
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Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
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Dual DVO ports for interfacing to external TMDS transmitters and external TV encoders
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Full NVIDIA nView multi-display technology capability
Advanced Engineering
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Designed for PCI Express x16
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Designed for high-speed GDDR3 memory
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Gigabyte includes a very good assortment of software and accessories with the GV-NX79X512DB-RH. Along with the card itself, we found a complete user's manual, two CDs, a DVD, and a variety of cables and adapters. One the software front, Gigabyte throws in an obligatory driver CD, another CD with a full version of Cyberlink's excellent PowerDVD 6, and a full version of Serious Sam II on DVD. Bundled hardware included an S-Video / HD Component output adapter, a pair of DVI to DB15 adapters, and a dual-Molex to 6-Pin PCI Express power adapter. Overall, we'd consider this a well balanced bundle. You've got games, utilities, and adapters to appease a large portion of Gigabyte's target audience.
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