eVGA GeForce 7800GT PCI-E 256MB

(5 star rating)

eVGA GeForce 7800GT Video Card - high-end graphics performance with a fairly hefty price tag, with no aftermarket cooler needed

Introduction

The 7800GT line of video cards is the successor to the largely popular, but aging, 6800GT line of NVIDIA cards. It comes in at approximately the same price point as the 6800GT was when it was first launched. The 7800GT is targeted not only at high-end gamers, but also the video and image editing users who want plenty of horsepower and a wide variety of input / output connections. Among the highlights of the improvements and advanced features of the e-GeForce 7800GT:

- 20 pixel pipelines

- 7 vertex shaders

- 445 MHz core GPU clock speed, 535 MHz GDDR3 RAM speed (1.07 GHz effective)

- Integrated TV encoder (HDTV support through the DVI connector, with the option of S-Video or composite OUTPUT)

- Integrated VIVO (S-Video or composite INPUT)

This video card is only offered in PCI-E interface, so if you are stuck with a motherboard that only has an AGP video slot, you are out of luck. PCI-E is the newer interface type that has a higher maximum bandwidth speed than AGP. It is important to note, though, that there is no current advantage PCI-E has over AGP since video cards have not yet saturated the maximum level of bandwidth available over the AGP interface. Testing done by various websites and magazines shows that the same video card chipset will perform almost identically on an AGP 8X interface vs. PCI-E interface. However, since video cards are becoming more and more powerful, PCI-E is clearly the future in terms of where the video card interface standard is moving.

The card has three connections  two DVI-I and one S-Video. The DVI connectors can be used to connect your CRT or LCD monitor, and the S-Video can be used to connect to your TV. If you have an older CRT monitor (like me), you will need to use the included DVI-to-VGA adapter in order to connect your monitor to the card. Some newer televisions include a DVI connection, which can be connected directly to the card using a DVI cable. The card also includes a fairly large heatsink over the GPU, which does a good job of keeping the card cool but makes the card thicker than most regular video cards. (See the pictures section to get a better idea of the size of the GPU cooler).

eVGA includes a limited lifetime warranty standard, and you can register online at www.evga.com, which makes registration easy. A lifetime warranty is a step up from the warranty offered by most manufacturers, which is a plus for the eVGA line of cards.

Installation

Installation of the card was a fairly simple process that only takes 5-10 minutes. It was installed into an Antec Lanboy case. The only extra step needed, outside of inserting it into the PCI-E slot, is connecting the 6 pin PCI-E power connector to your power supply. Of course, your power supply must also be able to supply adequate power to the card in addition to all of the other components in your PC. NVIDIA recommends a 450 watt or higher power supply unit. Another step I would recommend, after getting the card installed and the drivers from the CD installed, is to download the latest drivers from NVIDIA s website. The most up-to-date drivers will almost always provide better performance and stability, so this is an important installation step that you should not overlook.

Included in the Box

1) eVGA 7800GT card with 256MB GDDR3 memory

2) S-Video cable

3) Two DVI-to-VGA adapters

4) Video capture adapter for converting S-Video-to-RCA

5) CD with drivers and software

6) Call of Duty 2 (part of a promotional bundle)

7) Quick installation guide

8) Hard copy of the user manual

Next: Performance and Conclusion