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MSI NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD (GeForce 7900 GS)

By Vincent Chang - 2 Oct 2006

The MSI NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD

The MSI NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD

It is hard to distinguish the MSI NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD from the vendor's previous GeForce 7900 GT (HD edition) from afar for these two cards are very similar. The same attractive red PCB is used for both and outwardly, they look identical, from the type of cooler to the layout of the board components. After all, there is no reason to change anything as the crucial difference is beneath the surface. There is only a slight revision from 'GT' to 'GS' on the cooler decal.

We liked the bright color scheme used by MSI for its GeForce 7900 GS.

The new GeForce 7900 GS from MSI is the weaker of the two as it has a full quad disabled from its pixel processors and not only that, whereas the more recent batches of MSI's GeForce 7900 GT were slightly overclocked, the newcomer has kept to the standard clocks of 450MHz for the core and 1320MHz DDR for its 256MB memory. So in terms of performance, the MSI GeForce 7900 GS is a faithful step down from the original GeForce 7900 GT, just like NVIDIA intended. With a slightly larger cooler than the reference and covering the memory modules, the MSI NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD should be quiet and cool enough.

From the layout to the PCB and the cooler, the MSI NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD is almost exactly the same as its older GeForce 7900 GT, HD edition.

What NVIDIA left to the discretion of its partners for the GeForce 7900 GS are the clock speeds and HDCP support. MSI has decided to include the HDCP encryption keys on board the NX7900GS-T2D256-HD, making it more 'future proof'. Hence this graphics card is ready for viewing HD content on your computer, provided the rest of your system fulfills the HDCP requirements. In any case, both the DVI outputs on this MSI GeForce 7900 GS are dual-link versions that can support extra large displays.

HDCP support is a must if you intend your graphics card to last a few years for HD content viewing and this MSI card has it. Additionally, both DVI-I connectors are dual-link capable outputs and are denoted by their yellow connectors. For the moment, this color-coding scheme seems to be true to MSI only.

MSI has always provided decent bundles with its graphics cards and this is again the case for the NX7900GS-T2D256E-HD. A DVD application suite, courtesy of CyberLink was included, along with the first person shooter Serious Sam II, which seems to be appearing in quite a few graphics bundle. Together with a rather comprehension selection of cables and accessories, the bundle may not wow consumers but it has its place. Here is the complete list of items:

  • 2 x DVI-to-VGA adaptors
  • 9-pin mini-DIN to Component/S-Video dongle
  • S-Video extension cable
  • 6-pin PCIe to 4-pin Molex power plug converter
  • Driver CD
  • Quick Installation Guide
  • User Manual
  • MSI Star DVD Family
  • Serious Sam II (full game)
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