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The GeForce 7900GTX uses the same cooling solution found on the 7800GTX 512MB.
The new GPU will be manufactured on 90nm and set to operate at 655MHz. Although this number is still unconfirmed, our sources indicate that this is a final number.
Quick specifications for GeForce 7900 GTX:
[ul]
[li] *** PCIe native[/li][li] * 655MHz core frequency[/li][li] * 256-bit memory interface[/li][li] * 52GB/sec. memory bandwidth[/li][li] * 15B pixels/sec. fill rate[/li][li] * 1450M vertices/sec.[/li][li] * 24 pixels per cycle[/li][li] * Built in twin dual-link DVI support for twin 2560x1600 resolution displays**[/li][/ul]
G71 looks like a die shrink of G70 and won’t bring any miraculous features. It has 24 pipelines working at higher clock from 7800 GTX 512 speeds and that’s about it. Nvidia will be able to clock it to a 650MHz core and memory should work at 1600MHz.
It looks like X1900 with its 48 pixel pipelines looks like a performance leader, but it’s still too early to say.
7900 GTX Just 8 to 10 % Faster Than 7800 GTX 512 :
Asian partners are disappointed with the upcoming Geforce 7900 GTX cards. Most of the companies already have the samples and tested them but they are not happy with the performance.
First tests indicate that in the best case scenario, Geforce 7900 GTX cards are eight to ten per cent faster than the last and rarely available Geforce 7800 GTX 512 card.
This means that 7900 GTX might get close to ATI’s X1900 XTX card but it will lose in many of the benchmarks. We suspect that at 4X FSAA and eight or sixteen times Anisotropic filtering ATI X1900 XTX can still keep its crown, but we still have to see this. Asian partners placed limited quantities order for G71, 7900 GTX chips and they ordered less chips then they usually do, according to sources.
When Nvidia launched its flagship 7800 GTX 512 a true performance leader, the partners ordered thousands of chips and got a handful of them, while now even you can get thousands of chips, no one wants to risk buying a few thousands of them. However, we still think that Geforce 7900 GTX if priced aggressively have a chance to be a good seller as people like the Clan of McNvidia.
7900 GT The New Killer :
Geforce 7900 GT has 7800 GTX 256 performance for only $299.
Nvidia won’t take ATI’s performance crown but it will sure take away a huge chunk of ATI’s high end market. People will buy Nvidia no matter what. Nvidia is about to ship its cards and we clearly see 7900 GT as a trouble maker.
Nvidia will price those cards at around $299 or just a little bit higher in Europe. This means that Nvidia will sell a card clocked at minimally 450 MHz core or even higher, a 256 MB card with full 24 pipelines for a price of 7800 GT.
The performance of 7900 GT might be as high as 7800 GTX as the card is clocked 10 MHz higher and has the same number of pipelines. It will have 256 MB of memory but no one should care that much about RAM as 512 MB card is rarely faster than the same clocked 256 MB card. Still we know it sounds cool to say you have 512 MB card.
We expect that the cards will be very overclockable as they are 90 nanometre based and there is still enough space to set the clocks even higher. We know a few companies that plan to clock those cards a little bit higher from the launch date.
ATI will have to respond with a X1900 XL 256 MB card and will have to sell it for the same money that Nvidia wants for 7900 GT. It has to convince the people to stay off the 7900 GT.
**Prices for 7900 GTX and 7900 GT : **
The Geforce 7900 GTX 512 card is set to cost €549 in Europe. Some partners, however, plan to price them higher. The guys like EVGA and BFG and partially XFX always like to price their cards more than the others.
The Geforce 7900 GT is set to cost around $299 in the US but Europeans will be able to buy this card for a more realistic €329. It is close enough anyway, but I think that different partners will price them differently.
Launch Dates :
Both cards support SLI and will be showcased and launched at CeBIT. The cards should be available just after launch, we know that Nvidia is ready to ship some 7900 GTX at launch day - we heard that 7900 GT will be available a few weeks later. We could be wrong about.
Sample 7900 GTX at 650MHz core should be distributed now as the launch day the 9th of March is getting closer. We know that Nvidia won’t have any shortages of those chips as, for goodness sake, this chip will find its place in Sony Playstation 3 but at modest clocks. Sony literally wants millions of chips.
Update :
Nvidia to Showcase GeForce 7900 GTX Quad SLI at CeBIT :
We heard faintly that NVIDIA is going to demonstrate Quad SLI technology using GeForce 7900 GTX cards over at CeBIT.
Apparently, NVIDIA will be allowing manufacturers to make cards for Quad SLI too. Last but not least, GeForce 7900 GT scored almost the same 3DMark06 score as the 7800 GTX i.e. around 4000 points.
Update :
Nvidia Geforce 7900 cards are very overclockable :
Manufacturers will overclock their stock 650MHz Geforce 7900 GTX cards. The cards are at the various labs and Nvidia partners are working on their final clocks.
Everyone wants to clock those cards to 700MHz and some of the partners might actually be able to do it, ship it and to support the warranty at such a high clock speed.
The magical overclocking number is 710MHz and the guys who tested it could not go more than that. The cards are throttling at 720MHz and that’s as high as you will reach with air.
This is roughly as much as you can overclock ATI X1900 XTX cards with an air cooler, but as you know those cards can reach a gigahertz if you cool them with dry ice or some other crazy technique. 700MHz or just a little bit higher could be a limitation of the 90 nanometre cards.
We reckon that 700MHz Geforce 7900 GTX can give X1900 XTX a run for its money, but it is only a week before Nvidia officially announces it.
Gigabyte 7900 GTX emerges in Poland & Belgium :
The Gigabyte chaps in Poland jumped the gun and informed its big etailer about its cards -
[ul]
[li]GeForce 7900 GTX Gigabyte 512MB ViVO & DVI (PCI-E) with a product number, GRGF79GTXGANX79X512VB for 3100 Polish Zloty, approx €821. [/li][li]GeForce 7900 GT Gigabyte 256MB ViVO & DVI (PCI-E) product number GRGF79GTGANX79T256DB for 1449 Zloty including VAT, approximately €384. [/li][li]GeForce 7600 GT Gigabyte NX76T256DB-RH 256MB TV & DVI (PCI-E) product number GRGF76GTGANX76T256DB for 869 Zloty, some €230.[/li][/ul]
The site claims that the cards will be available on the 8th of March, just a day before Cebit but we think it maybe be a day or a few later than that.
In Belgium Point of View cards are listed at a distributor -
[ul]
[li]Listed Pe16 GeForce 7900GTX 512DDR3 TV/Out 2DVI 2VGA Video SLI No Games POV card for €492.72 including VAT.[/li][li]Pe16 GeForce 7900GT 256DDR3 TV/Out 2DVI 2VGA Video SLI for €293.00 including VAT.[/li][li]Pe16 GeForce 7600GT 256DDR3 TV/Out 2DVI 2VGA Video SLI POV for €197.70 including VAT.[/li][/ul]
This confirms that we got the prices right and that 7900 GTX won’t cost more than €499, will be priced around 7900 GT €299 while 7600GT will be priced at sub €199. A very few mysteries remain but we do need some numbers before these cards are out next week.
Update :
Geforce 7900 GTX Duo cards emerge :
NVIDIA has one more surprise up its sleeves for CeBIT. You all know that it will really announce its ghost Quad SLI systems. It won’t be a Dell feature only; Nvidia will offer this monster to its other customers.
Nvidia plans to introduce 7900 GTX cards with two chips per card. Those cards should fit and work with normal Nforce 4 SLI motherboards. This is Nvidia’s well kept secret - at least it was.
Normal Quad SLIs have four different graphic cards, especially designed by Nvidia. This new SLI will let you plug two new cards, each with two GPUs in your Nforce 4 SLI motherboard and it should work.
Those cards will need a lot of power but it will be cool to read a review of such a powerful system. This is definitely going to be a price and performance Bugatti but if you have a million dollar house you can get Quad SLI as well.
Update :
Nvidia launch pushes X1900XTX to $499
On 9th, Nvidia will reveal two new chip families, the GeForce 7900 GTX and 7900 GT, along with the GeForce 7600 GT and GS.
The move already has rival ATI chopping its prices. The decrease of the prices will help ATI to more efficiently compete against Nvidia Corp.’s new products which release will spur lowering the prices across-the-board.
After the price-drop,
[ul]
[li]Radeon X1900 XTX – the current flagship of ATI – will cost $549, companies such as Newegg will sell OEM bulk cards for $499.[/li][li]Radeon X1900 XT will drop to $479[/li][li]Radeon X1800 XT products 256MB should cost around $299 for OEM cards and $329 for the boxed version.[/li][li]Radeon X1800 XL 512MB for $299 and drop the price of the Radeon X1800 XL 256MB.[/li][/ul]
Sources also confirmed the release of the Radeon X1800 GTO for the price-range of $199 - $249 and said that the Radeon X1600 XT as well as the X1600 Pro will have recommended pricing of $149 and $109 respectively this spring.
Radeon X1800 XT has a full sixteen pipelines and will definitely give Nvidia’s new offering a run for its money. ATI is positioning this card against the upcoming Geforce 7900 GT, which will roughly cost the same.
We expect the X1900XTX to outperform Nvidia’s new 7900 GTX, so this price cut piles on the pressure. Maybe Nvidia has horses for the race after all. We will find out by the end of the week.
Update :
Nvidia 7900GT and 7900GTX 3DMarks
Earlier today some preliminary benchmarks of GeForce 7900GT and GeForce 7900GTX were leaked onto the internet pending the March 9, 2006 launch.
Testbed :
Athlon 64 FX-55, 1GB DDR400 (2x512MB), nForce4 motherboard.
All tests were performed with a 1280x1024 resolution. The cards tested claimed 1.2ns DDR3 for both cards. ForceWare 84.12 was used for testing.
GeForce 7900GTX 512MB
[ul]
[li]650mhz core clock, 1600MHz memory clock[/li][li]3dmark 03: 17800[/li][li]3dmark 05: 7600[/li][li]3dmark 06: 5200[/li][/ul]
GeForce 7900GT 256MB
[ul]
[li]450mhz core clock, 1300MHz memory clock[/li][li]3dmark 03: 13800[/li][li]3dmark 05: 7000[/li][li]3dmark 06: 4550[/li][/ul]
For reference, 3dmark06 on a similar system scores approximately 4700 for a GeForce 7800GTX 512MB running at stock speeds.
