REVIEW: Gainward 5900 Ultra Golden Sample @ Driverheaven

***Veridian3*** · Sep 7, 2003, 07:45 PM

Gainward state on their site: “World Class Performance, Quality and Support”, Driverheaven recently received a Gainward FX Powerpack Ultra/1600XP Golden Sample to review (that’s a 5900 Ultra to most of us). How did the card and Gainward themselves live up to their website statement, read more to find out.

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~~craig588~~ · Sep 7, 2003, 08:02 PM

Hmm, thats kinda weird. Gainward has accepted 3 of my RMAs and they have sent the card out before I even sent mine back.

This was from the US division, it might be that the euro division has some problems.

(Thats why I voulentarally put the gainward compliment in my sig)

Dom · Sep 7, 2003, 08:03 PM

All things put a side with what happened to the card, for the money Gainward really should of put a nicer cooler on the card instead of nVidia's reference design...not much of a 'Golden Sample', IMO.

ToshiroOC · Sep 7, 2003, 08:24 PM

Very nice review Veridian

***Veridian3*** · Sep 7, 2003, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by craig588
Gainward has accepted 3 of my RMAs

You've had 3 broken cards...and your still complimenting them????

Stu

~~craig588~~ · Sep 7, 2003, 08:52 PM

well it was not their fault on one of them. 2 were from the defective caps, and one was from my mobo shorting out and taking almost the whole system with it.

One of them didn't even have defective caps untill it was shipped internationally so it might have been the shipping that damaged it.

tek · Sep 7, 2003, 09:56 PM

Yes, Gainward blows... I remember when I bought my Gainward GeForce4 TI4600 128MB 8XAGP, I had constant problems, errors, random reboots, blue screen and crap, and one of my friend also had similar problems with his Gainward MX440, this company is trash.

I will never buy one of their products again, and if I would ever to get one of their cards for free, I would sell it on eBay.

toddsmack2k · Sep 7, 2003, 10:15 PM

Very well done Stu! Done in a professional manner and unfortunately an opportunity missed to say the least by Gainward. I know the work and time that was put in all of this I do appreciate it and wished it would have not been the way it was bud! What bit of reviewing you could do however was top notch as always!

Mac Daddy · Sep 7, 2003, 11:22 PM

First off I would like to mention I am running at current time a Celeron 1.5G with 256M Ram.
Also running a 9800nonpro 128DDR (a gift from ATI

)
core: 411.75
ram: 317.25

All settings are very stable .. as a matter of fact I had my case open and the heatsink is luke warm even after running multiple benchmarks.. Had both settings 2 higher .. started to affect IQ .. backed them off 2 settings.

Now your expecting a 3dmark3 score .. saw the score of the Gainward 5900 ... so I'm making you wait til the end of this post

Now lets get down to business ... First off:

The explaination and solution for the mouse wheel problem was unacceptable.
In lamens terms this means my RMA might have the same issue.
And Craig588 this means your 3 RMA's were shipped with the same level of confidence.
I have little confidence in that ...

At this point I wish to mention this should not have the makings of an Nvidia bashing thread .. Zardon is getting sick of closing threads with Nvidia in the name because of immaturity
Post the facts as I am ... If you think Nvidia blows .. take it too the warzone

Secondly .......

I find the card size very odd and uncommon in todays standards...
Noted the possible probs with installation Stu ..
1)The weight of the card
2)The length of the card
3)The proximity to other vital components such as RAM..

If your confused .. read the entire artiicle

Oh you still interested in my 3DMARK3 score ????????
Remember benched on a 1.5G Celeron 256M ram .. no O/Cing on system
9800nonpro 128ddr .. core=411.75 ... Ram=317.25

3dmark3 score: 4787

Chaos · Sep 8, 2003, 02:04 AM

Man that's too bad about the flakey card dude.....I had high hopes for Gainwards Nvidia cards that they have comming up....they are gonna use the Zalman Heatpipe silent cooling system....the pics were sweet I hope they have better luck with the new ones than you had with this one

By the way my poor ol' Sapphire 9500 topped both of the 3DMark scores posted in the review

Can I say I love my 9500 Non Pro

Davidgt · Sep 8, 2003, 04:28 AM

heh good and streight to the point! Though I would like to see more test done, to bad the card was buggered

Zardon · Sep 8, 2003, 01:42 PM

We have been in talks with Gainward and they are sending us a new 5900 ultra so we can retest this card. Once we have a new review done it will be posted.

Mac Daddy · Sep 9, 2003, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zardon
We have been in talks with Gainward and they are sending us a new 5900 ultra so we can retest this card. Once we have a new review done it will be posted.

Well lets hope they follow through ........ I expected much better performance from this package

And there suppport as well

(lets see what happens) .........

Sep 7, 2003, 07:45 PM	#1
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 181	REVIEW: Gainward 5900 Ultra Golden Sample @ Driverheaven Gainward state on their site: “World Class Performance, Quality and Support”, Driverheaven recently received a Gainward FX Powerpack Ultra/1600XP Golden Sample to review (that’s a 5900 Ultra to most of us). How did the card and Gainward themselves live up to their website statement, read more to find out. Read More

Sep 7, 2003, 08:24 PM	#4
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	Very nice review Veridian __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Sep 7, 2003, 09:56 PM	#7
tek DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, US Posts: 2,103 Rep Power: 0	Yes, Gainward blows... I remember when I bought my Gainward GeForce4 TI4600 128MB 8XAGP, I had constant problems, errors, random reboots, blue screen and crap, and one of my friend also had similar problems with his Gainward MX440, this company is trash. I will never buy one of their products again, and if I would ever to get one of their cards for free, I would sell it on eBay. __________________ [COLOR=White][/COLOR]

Sep 7, 2003, 10:15 PM	#8
toddsmack2k It Never..... Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,173 Rep Power: 0	Very well done Stu! Done in a professional manner and unfortunately an opportunity missed to say the least by Gainward. I know the work and time that was put in all of this I do appreciate it and wished it would have not been the way it was bud! What bit of reviewing you could do however was top notch as always! __________________ [color=blue]*Bleeding From the Inside Pouring Out, The* *DriverHeaven* Spiral, We Shall Never Let Go Of.[/color]

Sep 7, 2003, 11:22 PM	#9
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	OK .. here we go !!!! First off I would like to mention I am running at current time a Celeron 1.5G with 256M Ram. Also running a 9800nonpro 128DDR (a gift from ATI ) core: 411.75 ram: 317.25 All settings are very stable .. as a matter of fact I had my case open and the heatsink is luke warm even after running multiple benchmarks.. Had both settings 2 higher .. started to affect IQ .. backed them off 2 settings. Now your expecting a 3dmark3 score .. saw the score of the Gainward 5900 ... so I'm making you wait til the end of this post Now lets get down to business ... First off: The explaination and solution for the mouse wheel problem was unacceptable. In lamens terms this means my RMA might have the same issue. And Craig588 this means your 3 RMA's were shipped with the same level of confidence. I have little confidence in that ... At this point I wish to mention this should not have the makings of an Nvidia bashing thread .. Zardon is getting sick of closing threads with Nvidia in the name because of immaturity Post the facts as I am ... If you think Nvidia blows .. take it too the warzone Secondly ....... I find the card size very odd and uncommon in todays standards... Noted the possible probs with installation Stu .. 1)The weight of the card 2)The length of the card 3)The proximity to other vital components such as RAM.. If your confused .. read the entire artiicle Oh you still interested in my 3DMARK3 score ???????? Remember benched on a 1.5G Celeron 256M ram .. no O/Cing on system 9800nonpro 128ddr .. core=411.75 ... Ram=317.25 3dmark3 score: 4787 __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Sep 7, 2003, 08:02 PM	#2
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	Hmm, thats kinda weird. Gainward has accepted 3 of my RMAs and they have sent the card out before I even sent mine back. This was from the US division, it might be that the euro division has some problems. (Thats why I voulentarally put the gainward compliment in my sig)

Sep 7, 2003, 08:03 PM	#3
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	All things put a side with what happened to the card, for the money Gainward really should of put a nicer cooler on the card instead of nVidia's reference design...not much of a 'Golden Sample', IMO.

Sep 7, 2003, 08:52 PM	#6
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	well it was not their fault on one of them. 2 were from the defective caps, and one was from my mobo shorting out and taking almost the whole system with it. One of them didn't even have defective caps untill it was shipped internationally so it might have been the shipping that damaged it.

Sep 8, 2003, 02:04 AM	#10
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Man that's too bad about the flakey card dude.....I had high hopes for Gainwards Nvidia cards that they have comming up....they are gonna use the Zalman Heatpipe silent cooling system....the pics were sweet I hope they have better luck with the new ones than you had with this one By the way my poor ol' Sapphire 9500 topped both of the 3DMark scores posted in the review Can I say I love my 9500 Non Pro __________________

Sep 8, 2003, 04:28 AM	#11
Davidgt Car Audio Guy Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Atlanta, Ga Posts: 499 Rep Power: 0	heh good and streight to the point! Though I would like to see more test done, to bad the card was buggered __________________ Sales/Support Manager Taraautosound.com wonderful sig by tastyweat

Sep 8, 2003, 01:42 PM	#12
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	We have been in talks with Gainward and they are sending us a new 5900 ultra so we can retest this card. Once we have a new review done it will be posted.