Conclusion

So, here’s a summary of our experience with the e-GeForce 7800 GTX graphics card from EVGA. First we investigated such an important feature of the NVIDIA G70 processor as independent clocking of different GPU subunits. Our experiments suggest that the vertex processors of the G70 chip do work at a higher frequency than the pixel pipelines and the ROPs. We also found out that the frequency of the vertex processors is always 40MHz higher, irrespective of the frequency growth at overclocking.

This fact has one unfortunate consequence. Some manufacturers may and do declare the frequency of the vertex processors as the main one, thus misleading the user into thinking that 470MHz refer to the pixel pipelines. It’s not a serious problem, but you should be aware of that. You can check the real frequencies of the GPU with the help of the RivaTuner utility even though its 15.6 version can only monitor the frequency of the vertex processors: if you see the same number in RivaTuner’s frequency monitoring module and in the ForceWare control panel, then this is the frequency of the vertex processors of your GeForce 7800 GTX. You can subtract 40MHz from this number to get the frequency of the pixel pipeline and ROPs. It is going to be 430MHz, like on the reference sample of the GeForce 7800 GTX.

We can also disprove the information that the new GPU from NVIDIA can only change its frequency discretely, with 27MHz and 13MHz steps for pixel and vertex processors, respectively. Every time we overclocked the card by some value which was certainly smaller than the discrete step, we got an appropriate performance gain. By adding 9MHz to the GPU frequency we enjoyed a small but stable speed gain in almost all games and benchmarks excepting those where the speed gain was smaller than the measurement error range. The next version of RivaTuner may show these things more clearly, but so far we can say that the GeForce 7800 GTX seems to overclock in exactly the same way as the GeForce 6800 Ultra does, except that the frequency of the vertex processors of the G70 chip is always 40MHz above the main one.

Another thing we want to mention in this summary is SLI technology. We have been including SLI configurations into our tests for some time now. NVIDIA’s multi-GPU technology has grown mature, but is still not free from problems. At least, some games still run slower on SLI platforms than on a single card. It means NVIDIA’s programmers have much to do yet, and we have to wait for ForceWare Release 80.

As for the subject matter of this review, the EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GTX graphics card really has higher default frequencies than the reference GeForce 7800 GTX: 450/490/1200MHz against 430/470/1200MHz. This is of course a small increase, barely noticeable in real applications, but we just want to set this case apart from those situations when the vertex processors frequency is declared as the main one.

It is hard to say anything special about the e-GeForce 7800 GTX just because it doesn’t differ from the reference GeForce 7800 GTX other than in the GPU clock rates and in the design of the cooler’s cover. Our tests revealed no defects; the card remained stable throughout the test session. It also boasted excellent overclockability (we were especially pleased with the memory frequency gain – 180MHz (90MHz DDR) for 1.6ns memory was a highly satisfying result).

Thus, the EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GTX is one of the fastest versions of the GeForce 7800 GTX available. It is overclocker-friendly, but comes with a rather limited set of accessories. Buying this card today you get the fastest performance in games, good overclocking opportunities, support of the multi-GPU SLI technology, HDTV and VIVO. Again, even if you are not into overclocking, the EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GTX is no worse or better than any other GeForce 7800 GTX. But remember that you need a high-quality 400W or better power supply for your GeForce 7800 GTX card to work well.

Highs:

• The highest performance in 3D applications
• High performance in HDR mode
• Shader Model 3.0
• Transparency anti-aliasing
• Supports HDTV
• Supports the multi-GPU SLI technology
• VIVO functionality
• Compact and quiet cooling system
• Increased frequencies by default
• Excellent overclockability

Lows:

• More accessories would be great