The 7900GS

nVidia’s offering is not as intimidating at first sight. It’s slightly shorter, making it a better choice for small computer cases. The GPU is set at 450Mhz with the memory clocks set at 660Mhz. Seeing how this card is the cheapest of the 7900 series it is only natural that it is also the slowest one – it has only 20 pixel pipelines (opposed to the 24 the 7900gt sports) and only 7 vertex pipelines. The 7800 GT we are also testing has the same amount of both, so it will be interesting to see how the new architecture helps with games.

The cooler installed on the board is the same as the reference one, with one notable exception: it looks like something you would see on the Cartoon Network. Those with a dislike for noise will be pleased to know that the cooler is virtually inaudible even under load. Always a bonus.

Just like the X1900GT the card has 3 connectors – 2 dual DVI out and TV-Out. The board can output HD content, but it is not HDCP compliant unlike the X1900GT.

The artwork on the box just screams for attention. The bright colors and cheerful shapes are the same as on the cooler. The inside of the box contains standard cables, 2 CDs (driver and System restore application) and a joypad. We didn’t spend much time with the controller, but the early impressions show that it is well built and thus a nice addition to the package.