XFX GeForce 7900 GT 550M Xtreme VIVO

Performance Summary: We found the XFX 7900 GT 550M Xtreme's performance to be quite impressive, especially when stacked up against the Radeon X1900 XTX, a card that typically costs $200 more (~$280 vs. ~$480). We are pleased with both the single card and SLI performance of XFX's overclocked 7900 GT. The SLI performance in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and F.E.A.R. is especially worth noting.

XFX's 7900 GT 550M Xtreme offers a nice combination of performance and features. Although it is not NVIDIA's current flagship card, it performs quite respectably against ATI's current flagship (Radeon X1900 XTX). Not only does the card offer a warrantied factory overclock, but it also features VIVO capability, making a very capable card even better.

The bundle is a little understated, but the inclusion of the latest Tomb Raider game is appreciated. We also like the fact that XFX includes not one but two S-video cables. It's always nice to have extra cables around. What we really find attractive about XFX's cards is the Double Lifetime warranty offered with GeForce 6 and 7 Series cards. This warranty allows you to have a lifetime warranty that carries on to the next person you sell the card to, which means two people can benefit from the lifetime warranty.

While the 7900 GT 550M Xtreme is a great card, it is not perfect. The biggest complaint we have about the card is its fan noise. We could easily hear the card over all the other fans in our test system (four 80mm fans, a CPU cooler and PSU fan). Unfortunately, this could be a deal breaker for many people since quiet/silent computing's popularity continues to grow.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, we did not experience any problems with these factory overclocked XFX cards. They proved to be stable and solid pixel-pushing powerhouses. We are awarding the XFX 7900 GT 550M Xtreme VIVO a 9 on the Heat Meter.

.  Excellent Performance .  Double Lifetime warranty .  VIVO .  Full version game included .  Factory overclock	.  Loud cooler .  Bundle could be better

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