X-bit Labs' review of the GeForce 7900 GT

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Wreckage
My point was that if it was truly more powerful it would have won all of the benchmarks.

You're not seriously saying to be granted top dog status a card has to win EVERY benchmark??? I'm pretty sure review sites DO declare a winner even if said card doesn't win every benchmark. Of course there are other factors besides benchmark wins.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
It depends. For OCing i would choose the 7900GT and if not i would buy the X1800XT. Its as simple as this.
Unless your bias toward one company.

For OC'ing the 7900 GT has nothing on the X1800XT. Or do you think the X1800XT is incapable of OC'ing? It uses software voltage control where with a 7900 GT you're stuck using a conductive pen and a pencil just to raise its voltages. You don't have to go far to look for real world examples, just look at The Chase's signature:

X1800XT 729/873 - 1.475 V

Dude, you have remember this. IF you OC that high on X1800XT, it would create alot of heat (and we all know most X1800XTs hit high 70~80 on load already). Like alot. Not only that but the power it will consume will be great as well.

Compare that to a 48W consuming 7900GT at load (that is lesser than the X1800GTO at load). Its a cool card as well thanks to its small die size as well.

I would prefer OCing on the 7900GT without having to consistenly think about how hot the card will be or if my power supply can handle the beast or even stability be put in this factor. Some X1800XTs dont even OC pass 700mhz 9could be using earlier cores though).

Simply put, a voltmod plus a better cooling solution will give you a 7900GTX for around $350~360 (7900GT $299, Conductive Pen $14, Zalman vf900 $45 or a NV5 silencer rev3 $30) which is faster than the X1800XT.

And yes many people have done this, and have their small GT OCed to 600~/1600~ or even higher. Another plus is that this card wont consumer anymore than the 7900GTX which is at 80~90W. How sweet is that? plus temps wont be too high.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster

Originally posted by: 5150Joker

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
It depends. For OCing i would choose the 7900GT and if not i would buy the X1800XT. Its as simple as this.
Unless your bias toward one company.

For OC'ing the 7900 GT has nothing on the X1800XT. Or do you think the X1800XT is incapable of OC'ing? It uses software voltage control where with a 7900 GT you're stuck using a conductive pen and a pencil just to raise its voltages. You don't have to go far to look for real world examples, just look at The Chase's signature:

X1800XT 729/873 - 1.475 V

Dude, you have remember this. IF you OC that high on X1800XT, it would create alot of heat (and we all know most X1800XTs hit high 70~80 on load already). Like alot. Not only that but the power it will consume will be great as well.

Compare that to a 48W consuming 7900GT at load (that is lesser than the X1800GTO at load). Its a cool card as well thanks to its small die size as well.

I would prefer OCing on the 7900GT without having to consistenly think about how hot the card will be or if my power supply can handle the beast or even stability be put in this factor. Some X1800XTs dont even OC pass 700mhz 9could be using earlier cores though).

Simply put, a voltmod plus a better cooling solution will give you a 7900GTX for around $350~360 (7900GT $299, Conductive Pen $14, Zalman vf900 $45 or a NV5 silencer rev3 $30) which is faster than the X1800XT.

And yes many people have done this, and have their small GT OCed to 600~/1600~ or even higher. Another plus is that this card wont consumer anymore than the 7900GTX which is at 80~90W. How sweet is that? plus temps wont be too high.

This argument is flawed because you can buy the same aftermarket cooler and overclock the X1800XT (without the hardmods required by the 7900GT) and it'll beat the oveclocked 7900GT for even cheaper. Yes temps. will be higher than the 7900GT but it is possible. And I agree about the power issue but I don't think most people buying those cards would completely skimp out on a decent PSU.

I really don't understand why people say get the 7900GT if you're gonna overclock saying it as if the X1800XT's can't be OCed. Hell I even got my X1800XL to 675MHz granted on watercooling but I could have done the same with air cooling, just with higher temps. And it's not as if the voltmod on the 7900GT is EASY for the average person. Playing with conductive ink on a crowded PCB for a $300 vid card is not something I would recommend. I personally chose the X1800XL (over the 7800GT) because I didn't want to do any hardmods.

In my opinion, you actually NEED to overclock the 7900GT to beat the performance of the X1800XT so why not just get an X1800XT, OC slightly (even with stock cooling) and match the performance of an overclocked 7900GT for about $50-60 cheaper than the cost of the overclocked 7900GT??

 

[Shamrock]

default clocks is 430Mhz/1320Mhz for 7900GT...just with coolbits, I get a recommended clock of 542/839 (1678), on STOCK cooling. I know it can go farther, but I havent tried, it's still a new card with only 64c AT LOAD!

Oh yeah, did I mention this card is cherry picked from an eVGA engineer? When it's properly broken in (I usually go a month) I will see what it can do.

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: thilan29

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster

Dude, you have remember this. IF you OC that high on X1800XT, it would create alot of heat (and we all know most X1800XTs hit high 70~80 on load already). Like alot. Not only that but the power it will consume will be great as well.

Compare that to a 48W consuming 7900GT at load (that is lesser than the X1800GTO at load). Its a cool card as well thanks to its small die size as well.

I would prefer OCing on the 7900GT without having to consistenly think about how hot the card will be or if my power supply can handle the beast or even stability be put in this factor. Some X1800XTs dont even OC pass 700mhz 9could be using earlier cores though).

Simply put, a voltmod plus a better cooling solution will give you a 7900GTX for around $350~360 (7900GT $299, Conductive Pen $14, Zalman vf900 $45 or a NV5 silencer rev3 $30) which is faster than the X1800XT.

This argument is flawed because you can buy the same aftermarket cooler and overclock the X1800XT (without the hardmods required by the 7900GT) and it'll beat the oveclocked 7900GT for even cheaper. Yes temps. will be higher than the 7900GT but it is possible. And I agree about the power issue but I don't think most people buying those cards would completely skimp out on a decent PSU.

I really don't understand why people say get the 7900GT if you're gonna overclock saying it as if the X1800XT's can't be OCed. Hell I even got my X1800XL to 675MHz granted on watercooling but I could have done the same with air cooling, just with higher temps. And it's not as if the voltmod on the 7900GT is EASY for the average person. Playing with conductive ink on a crowded PCB for a $300 vid card is not something I would recommend. I personally chose the X1800XL (over the 7800GT) because I didn't want to do any hardmods.

In my opinion, you actually NEED to overclock the 7900GT to beat the performance of the X1800XT so why not just get an X1800XT, OC slightly (even with stock cooling) and match the performance of an overclocked 7900GT for about $50-60 cheaper than the cost of the overclocked 7900GT??

I agree with thilan29 on this. Your basic logic is flawed when you say the 7900GT is a great card IF you voltmod it and slap an aftermarket cooler on it, yet the X1800XT is limited because of it's stock heatsink.

And yes many people have done this, and have their small GT OCed to 600~/1600~ or even higher. Another plus is that this card wont consumer anymore than the 7900GTX which is at 80~90W. How sweet is that? plus temps wont be too high.

Not sure I'm getting the point you're trying to get across here?? Either you're saying that the extra $1.75 you'd save each month because of the lower power draw of the 7900GT@GTX speeds is a huge boon or you're saying that it's common for people to say to themselves "Sweet! I can keep using my 350W Fox PSU for awhile longer with this 7900GT". Neither argument makes much sense.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Shamrock
default clocks is 430Mhz/1320Mhz for 7900GT...just with coolbits, I get a recommended clock of 542/839 (1678), on STOCK cooling. I know it can go farther, but I havent tried, it's still a new card with only 64c AT LOAD!

Oh yeah, did I mention this card is cherry picked from an eVGA engineer? When it's properly broken in (I usually go a month) I will see what it can do.

this is what i don't get... at 542 your GT is putting out almost as much heat as my x1800xt @ 700mhz (71c @ load)

so all you guys raving about GT overclocks don't think raising the voltage and the clockspeeds doesn't increase the heat or the power consumption?

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
For OC'ing the 7900 GT has nothing on the X1800XT. Or do you think the X1800XT is incapable of OC'ing? It uses software voltage control where with a 7900 GT you're stuck using a conductive pen and a pencil just to raise its voltages. You don't have to go far to look for real world examples, just look at The Chase's signature:

X1800XT 729/873 - 1.475 V

729 core on the X1800XT = 16.6% overclock with a .2v increase in vcore (1.475v)
873 mem on the X1800XT = 16.4% overclock
690 core on the 7900GT = 54% overclock with a 0.2v increase in vcore (1.4v)
940 mem on the 7900GT = 42% overclock

That's not a good comparison I know but it's gives some idea as to the O/C potential of both cards with a slight bump in voltage.

Even without the volt mod, I could get 580-590 core and 900 mem on my 7900GT which is still a 30% increase in core speed and 36% increase in mem speed.

It still seems to me that the 7900GT overclocks better. Don't get me wrong, I'm still tempted to sell my 7900GT and get an X1900XT because the IQ on the 7900GT is starting to get to me . . .

 

[Shamrock]

Originally posted by: CaiNaM

Originally posted by: Shamrock
default clocks is 430Mhz/1320Mhz for 7900GT...just with coolbits, I get a recommended clock of 542/839 (1678), on STOCK cooling. I know it can go farther, but I havent tried, it's still a new card with only 64c AT LOAD!

Oh yeah, did I mention this card is cherry picked from an eVGA engineer? When it's properly broken in (I usually go a month) I will see what it can do.

this is what i don't get... at 542 your GT is putting out almost as much heat as my x1800xt @ 700mhz (71c @ load)

so all you guys raving about GT overclocks don't think raising the voltage and the clockspeeds doesn't increase the heat or the power consumption?

you only raise the power consumption if you do a volt mod....I have not. I didnt say it didnt raise the heat, it will always raise the heat. But here's the difference:

you are making the same performance @700mhz, as I am @ 542. With less heat, no voltage mod. What is your idle temps? mine is 52c (stock cooler). This is all with only Coolbits" recommended" OC, it can go further.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1
Even without the volt mod, I could get 580-590 core and 900 mem on my 7900GT which is still a 30% increase in core speed and 36% increase in mem speed.

but the evga 7900GT CO has 500mhz core clock... so 580 would be a 16% increase, not 33%

not that the GT doesn't overclock well as they do..

what would be interesting tho is to see how a 600mhz GT compares to a 700mhz XT, as a recent review shows a 550mhz GT is about equal with a 625mhz XT.

still, newegg shows the XT with 512mb is $20 less than the GT CO w/ 256mb, and of course the XT still has more features. the GT power consumption/thermal advantage starts to disappear as well.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: CaiNaM

but the evga 7900GT CO has 500mhz core clock... so 580 would be a 16% increase, not 33%

The eVGA comes with a stock overclock, but that is still an overclock (just that the speeds are set in BIOS instead of in windows). I was comparing it to a GT at stock just as I calculated the X1800XT overclock based on the stock clocks.

Originally posted by: CaiNaM
not that the GT doesn't overclock well as they do..

True, but luck always plays a big part in overclocking so the same would apply to the X1800XT.

Originally posted by: CaiNaM
and of course the XT still has more features. the GT power consumption/thermal advantage starts to disappear as well.

Yeah, that's probably the main reason why someone would get the X1800XT over the 7900GT. Even I have to admit that the IQ increase is probably worth it, even at the cost of a little performance.

 

[imported_ST]

Originally posted by: thilan29
This argument is flawed because you can buy the same aftermarket cooler and overclock the X1800XT (without the hardmods required by the 7900GT) and it'll beat the oveclocked 7900GT for even cheaper.

so you really think you x1800xt will beat a similarly volt moded 7900gt eh?

i'll bite and play this game...name some benchmark scores that YOUR system can achieve...

 

[Barkotron]

Originally posted by: Shamrock
you only raise the power consumption if you do a volt mod....I have not. I didnt say it didnt raise the heat, it will always raise the heat.

Hang on a second. You're saying you didn't put any more energy into the chip, but it still outputs more energy as waste heat, and does more work at the same time?

I think someone needs to impound your graphics card for the sake of future generations - NVidia's engineers have obviously discovered some way to defy the generally-accepted laws of physics, heralding a future of limitless cheap energy for all, but selfishly decided to sell their momentous breakthrough as an enthusiast PC component! Boycott NVidia now until they make this technology available!

 

[Shamrock]

no matter how you put it, it's still outputting 1.3v isnt it? I said nothing about wattage, which is what you're pertaining to

an outlet puts out 120v, if you put one plug in it, it's ouputting 120v. if you put 6 plugs via an extension cord, it's STILL outputting 120v!

hehe, in all seriousness, I was thinking of voltage, and had a brain fart. carry on

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker

Originally posted by: Wreckage

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
Despite Xbit showing the X1800XT kicking the 7900 GT's ass in this review, I think their results tend to be inconsistent lately. Personally I think hardware.fr does a better job at testing than xbit does even if it's not as extensive and so does bit-tech.

So you have to go to France to find someone who will support your biased opinion. :roll:

Unfortunately Trollage, Xbit labs is a Russian site. Their test labs are all based in Moscow and only their servers are here.

Xbit has reinforced what we have all been saying....

award GeForce 7900 GT with a title of the best $299 graphics card in the today?s market.

This may hurt your ad campaign.

That's because they apparently aren't aware of the X1800XT being a sub $299 card you dolt. They were comparing it against the X1800XL at that price point.

wonder why, at least in this country (UK) the XT is the same, if not cheaper than the 7900GT, and has 2x the ram

 

[imported_Finny]

Well, I find all of this really funny. It seems that the entire "aggressive pricing" shtick that nVidia tried to pull with the 7900 series has really backfired, seeing as to how nicely ATi has brought down prices... I might actually be able to afford a high-end card someday if things keep going like this! :shocked:

At this point, the high-end is pretty much in ATi's court, IMO. Since the 7900GT would need an aftermarket cooler to stay stable after a volt mod anyway (Much like how the X1800XT would probably need one to eliminate the noise & heat issue even before OCing), it pretty much takes any "cheaper" statement outta the arguement altogether. It's time to give credit where it's due; ATi has pretty much won the battle here.

IMO, anyway.

 

[Barkotron]

Originally posted by: Shamrock
no matter how you put it, it's still outputting 1.3v isnt it? I said nothing about wattage, which is what you're pertaining to

an outlet puts out 120v, if you put one plug in it, it's ouputting 120v. if you put 6 plugs via an extension cord, it's STILL outputting 120v!

hehe, in all seriousness, I was thinking of voltage, and had a brain fart. carry on

Wow! Not only free energy, but a "power consumption" that doesn't have anything to do with "wattage" too! Wiz zese massive fundamental breakthroughs in science you are really spoiling uz, ambassador!



Sorry, I'll stop being a pedantic git now.

 

[crazylegs]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

wonder why, at least in this country (UK) the XT is the same, if not cheaper than the 7900GT, and has 2x the ram

umm i just ordered an XFX 7900GT for £199 incl P&P in the UK...

could not find an XT that even got close to that value... plus i plan on OCing A LOT!

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: ST

Originally posted by: thilan29
This argument is flawed because you can buy the same aftermarket cooler and overclock the X1800XT (without the hardmods required by the 7900GT) and it'll beat the oveclocked 7900GT for even cheaper.

so you really think you x1800xt will beat a similarly volt moded 7900gt eh?

i'll bite and play this game...name some benchmark scores that YOUR system can achieve...

BTW, that 7900gt in your sig is not in stock. Time to hunt for a new one...

 

[DeathReborn]

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: ST

Originally posted by: thilan29
This argument is flawed because you can buy the same aftermarket cooler and overclock the X1800XT (without the hardmods required by the 7900GT) and it'll beat the oveclocked 7900GT for even cheaper.

so you really think you x1800xt will beat a similarly volt moded 7900gt eh?

i'll bite and play this game...name some benchmark scores that YOUR system can achieve...

BTW, that 7900gt in your sig is not in stock. Time to hunt for a new one...

Yea, it is oos but not to worry, here's a few to keep you happy:
XFX 7900GT Extreme 520/1500 - $315

EVGA 256-P2-N563-AX 7900 GT CO 500/1500 - $319


From the egg:
XFX 7900GT 470/1370 - $299

BIOSTAR 7900GT 450/1320 - $299


As for UK pricing, I found a X1800XT 256MB for £170, 512MB for £235 (both this week only offers) & 2 7900GT's for £199.

 

[crazylegs]

Originally posted by: DeathReborn

As for UK pricing, I found a X1800XT 256MB for £170, 512MB for £235 (both this week only offers) & 2 7900GT's for £199.

out of interest where?

because the cheapest i could find was still £220+ p&p

 

[DeathReborn]

Originally posted by: crazylegs

Originally posted by: DeathReborn

As for UK pricing, I found a X1800XT 256MB for £170, 512MB for £235 (both this week only offers) & 2 7900GT's for £199.

out of interest where?

because the cheapest i could find was still £220+ p&p

http://www.overclockers.co.uk

You should also check http://www.lowestontheweb.com occasionally.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Finny
Well, I find all of this really funny. It seems that the entire "aggressive pricing" shtick that nVidia tried to pull with the 7900 series has really backfired, seeing as to how nicely ATi has brought down prices... I might actually be able to afford a high-end card someday if things keep going like this! :shocked:

At this point, the high-end is pretty much in ATi's court, IMO. Since the 7900GT would need an aftermarket cooler to stay stable after a volt mod anyway (Much like how the X1800XT would probably need one to eliminate the noise & heat issue even before OCing), it pretty much takes any "cheaper" statement outta the arguement altogether. It's time to give credit where it's due; ATi has pretty much won the battle here.

IMO, anyway.

i dont know its pretty even, the x1900 while the fastest, is well matched by nvidia's offering

7900GT is a good card, and even better if you have some know how.

while ati may of won the performance crown, Nvidia certainly aint doing bad. the GT is out selling its ATi counterparts by over 4 to 1.

like i said before, having a good product is nothing if your marketers arent much cop. and IMO nvidia > Ati at marketing. as a business they are the winners....they must be raking it in.

its much like AMD and intel, whos got the best desktop CPU's? well most around here would say AMD, since we're in the know. but Mr average family guy isnt, all he see's is intel Ads, so thats what he goes shopping for. (coupled with dirty lies by sales men like AMD over heat more, or AMD chips burn out quicker etc...complete crap, that people believe)

so performance wise, ATI is winning on the high end

but theyre not winning where it matters (ie low to mid range) and nvidia are definately getting more business from more people

 

[crazylegs]

kool thanks

lowestonweb is where i got 7900GT from !

 

[imported_ST]

Originally posted by: munky
BTW, that 7900gt in your sig is not in stock. Time to hunt for a new one...

honestly i could care less...i dont get paid for advertising nor for post counts!

 

[Dman877]

Did anyone pay much attention to the crossfire vs sli benchmarks? The X1800Xt's in crossfire mopped the floor with sli'd 7900GT's... did ati release a new driver to fix xfire issues?

EDIT: Maybe its just the super high aa/af they used for benching xfire/sli setups that killed the nvidia performance?