X-bit labs

ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition Graphics Card Review (page 20)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin

[ 10/19/2004 | 12:41 PM ]

Conclusion

ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition graphics card left a wholly positive impression – we just couldn’t find any defect in it, however negligible. It seems like the manufacturer gave thought to every small detail, forgetting nothing, which is a rare thing. Highest performance, six operational vertex processors, efficient cooling system with a copper heatsink, beautiful appearance and generous accessories all contribute to making the V9999 Gamer Edition into a wanted product. The device is free from the main disadvantage of the original GeForce 6800 design – slow memory. Having a higher-clocked memory, the ASUS card scored well in our tests, quite comparably to the most dangerous rival, the RADEON X800 PRO. Look at the following diagrams:

The graphics card from ASUS has truly excellent results in some games, like in the super-popular Doom 3 shooter. The simpler and sometimes more efficient RADEON X800 architecture was, however, better in applications filled with complex pixel shaders: Far Cry, Halo: Combat Evolved and Colin McRae Rally 04, as well as in Half-Life 2 Stress Test and in the famous Mother Nature test from the Futuremark 3DMark03 suite.

In the eye candy mode (with enabled 4x full-screen anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering of the maximum quality) the ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition had good results, too, although mostly not as high as those of the RADEON X800 PRO which is better suited to such operational modes. However, we can’t call this an utter defeat like it was with the ordinary GeForce 6800, which was hamstringed by its slow 350 (700DDR) MHz memory.

Thus, the single but fundamental disadvantage of the ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition is its price. According to Pricewatch.com, this gorgeous graphics card will cost you something like $410-420. The ordinary GeForce 6800 GT – with all sixteen pixel pipelines in operation – is priced at the same level. For comparison: the ordinary GeForce 6800 costs from $269 to $355. That’s cheaper, of course, but ASUS’ product is kind of unique, and you always have to pay more for things exclusive.

Thus, people who are targeting the $270-350 price range won’t afford the V9999 Gamer Edition, while those who are considering top-end NV40-based products will probably look at the GeForce 6800 GT. As for the RADEON X800 PRO, it costs $380 and more, according to Pricewatch.com.

The V9999 Gamer Edition graphics card might be the choice of people who need a high-performance new-generation device with a compact, efficient and low-noise cooling system and a set of gorgeous accessories. Modders might also want to pay attention to this product – it looks really cool. On the other hand, if you prefer efficiency to effective looks, you may want to consider the humbler-looking GeForce 6800 GT first.

Highs:

• High performance;
• All six vertex processors are active;
• Fast memory;
• High 2D quality;
• Good overclockability;
• Effective exterior;
• Efficient cooling system with speed control and highlighting;
• A few exclusive ASUS’ technologies;
• Rich accessories set.

Lows:

• High price.