NVIDIA GeForce 7900 gtx 61 Overc1ocked Edition.

GPU: 7900 GT
Core clock: 520 MHz Memory size: 256 MB GDDR3
Memory bandwidth: 42.2 GBpS@256 bit
Memory clock: 1.44 GHz Vertex units: 8
Pixel pipelines: 24
API support: DirectX 9.Oc, Ooen GL 3.0+
Interface: PCI Express Price: 21.500 ruoees

One of the main issues that reviewers face during the testing of high-end graphics cards is to consider real world bottlenecks. In simple words, reviewing. a high-end graphics card requires more than just the latest copy of 3D Mark. One has to ensure that the central processing unit (CPU) running alongside the graphics card is fast enough to compute the backend workload of the benchmark, hence allowing the graphical processing unit (GPU) enough freedom to show its true muscle.

 Many times, a slow CPU forces two GPUs of unequal power to produce similar performance levels as the CPU becomes a virtual bottleneck. In the same way, it is crucial that the software being tested is up to date in terms of feature sets as this fully utilises the GPU's capabilities, putting up scores that are better representative of real-world results.

For example, many leading GPUs result in marginal increase in performance for older titles such as Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament 2004, as their main area of improvement is the specific feature set jump that comes along a generational leap in GPU design. As these older titles barely test the waters on these features, it does not make sense to use these titles to benchmark the newer, more powerful graphics cards. All of these considerations were taken into account as Hard Talk reviewed the spanking new NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT Overclocked Edition. Older or Younger Approximately one year ago, NVIDIA released its GeForce 7800 GTX card, which ruled the roost for high-end graphics cards that cost more than 40,000 rupees. Fast forward six months and consumers found the exact same card under the new name of GeForce 7900 GT retailing for less than 25,000 rupees. .

Unlike the CPU industry which goes through a major architecture revision approximately once every four years, the graphics card industry goes through a radical makeover every year or so. This forces the premium graphics card of yesteryear to become the mid-range graphics cards of the current year. The situation is. very similar for the GeForce 7900 GT .

Overclocker's Edition, which is actually only marginally faster than the vanilla flavoured GeForce 7800 GTX. With a cooler running GPU, alongside better manufacturing process, the 7900 GT theoretically manages to push its way ahead of the 7800 GTX in sheer raw force.
It should be noted that the GeForce 7900 GT OC edition card shipped to Hard Talk had two OVI ports, along with highdefinition multimedia interface (HOMI) converters for direct display on to
high definition televions (HOTVs).

Testing.
Using Hard Talk's standard test-bed system, the GeForce 7900 GT was plugged in to an ASUS A8N32 SLI motherboard, alongside the 939-pin Athlon 64x2 3800+ and two gigabytes of OOR RAM. For comparison, an ASUS Radeon X1900 XT, Connect 3D X1800 XT, and Leadtek GeForce 7800 GTX were also put through the same suite of tests.

Far Cry.
The first game put to test was the OirectX 9.0powered Far Cry. The latest version of Far Cry supports effects such as high dynamic ranging (HDR), which allow for far greater realism in games. The tests were run at 1280x1024 resolution with four times anti-aliasing and 16 times anisotropic filtering, in order to get a good idea of how these graphics cards measure up at higher resolutions.
Not surprisingly, the GeForce 7900 GT stands shoulder to shoulder with the 7800 GTX, while the X1900 XT has an advantage of nearly 1 0 frames per second (fps). The X1800 XT also lies in the same quadrant as the 7900 GT. These results bode well for the 7900 GT, a card that costs at least 15,000 rupees less than a similarly outfitted X1900 XT.

Doom 3.
Doom 3 is to date the best method of judging OpenGL 3.0+ performance. Critics might state that later titles such as Quake 4 could probably better represent a graphics card's ability to pull off OpenGL-heavy graphics. Before jumping on to any new graphics-heavy game as an indicator of performance, one must also consider the maturation of the title. Doom 3 has been heavily patched, fixed and retooled to balance out any bugs and biases built in to its core engine. The graphics cards being shipped are already specifically optimised for Doom 3 and hence, the industry support ends up dictating the relative accuracy a game title enjoys.

Doom 3 benchmarks proved to be a winner for the 7900 GT card, as it raced alongside the 7800 GTX, while leaving ATl's more expensive variants in the dust. The X19oo and X18oo cards were at least 10 fps behind NVIDIA's midrange card, proving that the 7900 GT has a lot more potential than its relatively inexpensive price indicates.

F.E.A.R.
Monolith's genre busting scary game was used as the final benchmark for the assessment of the 7900 GT.

The graphics settings were similar to those of Far Cry's and Doom 3s, with the ingame "Quality" setting notched at "Highesr. This meant that pixel-shaderheavy effects such as soft shadows were enabled, pushing the graphics cards to their limits.

It is here that ATl's more expensive variants push ahead, leaving the NVIDIA cards in the dust. The 8M 3.0 features employed by F.E.A.R. are extremely taxing on the graphics cards, which is indicated by the near double frame rate jump that happens once the features are turned off.

Conclusion.
The price of the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT Overclocker's edition is the biggest deal maker in the equation. With almost all game results running parallel to the best of what the market can offer at a price at least 10,000 rupees lower than the premium cards, makes the GeForce 7900 GT a must have for the enthusiast who can overlook the bragging rights a few extra fps might offer.

_{source Spider Mag.}