Gigabyte GV-3D1-7950-RH (GeForce 7950 GX2)

Conclusion

Conclusion

If you manage to get your hands on some of the unofficial ForceWare drivers like version 91.27 and another GeForce 7950 GX2, you can try Quad SLI just like what we did here . Besides the high power requirements of such a system (550W PSU should be the minimum), the noise and heat output are also considerable. Of course, so did the benchmark numbers, though the actual impact of Quad SLI is probably not as impressive as it sounds (not yet at least for most end-users). You definitely won't get four times or even three times the performance of a single GeForce 7900 GT but having 4 GPUs allow you to fully exploit giant displays and high resolutions. A top class CPU is also necessary in order to keep up with the powerful graphics subsystem.

Gigabyte has done pretty much what every other vendor did with a new graphics product - slapped on its own logo and packaging and sent it to the stores. The emphasis, especially with NVIDIA's hard product launches in mind, was to get the goods out on the launch date and from what we have seen, NVIDIA and its board partners have succeeded admirably on this count. The clock speeds on the Gigabyte GV-3D1-7950-RH stayed true to the ones specified by NVIDIA and the board design and layout too remained the same as the reference board. Naturally, the performance of the Gigabyte was so close to the MSI and NVIDIA reference card that in a blind gaming test ala the Pepsi Challenge, no one should be able to differentiate between the three. Other aspects like heat and noise output were also comparable going from one GeForce 7950 GX2 to another.

Gigabyte's major contribution to the product lies in the bundled accessories and software and we were quite satisfied with the inclusion of a relatively new game like Serious Sam II and Power DVD 6.0. While the quantity of the software may not be as overwhelming as some other vendors, Gigabyte provided quality applications that are worth trying out instead of being thrown aside. The competitive pricing of the Gigabyte GV-3D1-7950-RH of between US$570 - US$580 should place it among the more 'reasonably priced' alternatives available, if that could be used to describe a component more expensive than a modern console like the Xbox 360. In the end, the price, service and support and even the contents of the bundle should decide which vendor is the one for you. So how does a game of Serious Sam II sound?