This is a mid-level gaming card from Gigabyte, based on the Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 GPU, which supports an AGP 8X interface. It comes with 128 MB DDR; a DVI-I connector for connecting digital LCD monitors; and supports TV-Out for hooking it to your TV. The card has a huge fan to dissipate heat and for this an external power supply is required.
We got some astonishing results, while testing FX5700 on a P4 3.0 GHz with 512 MB DDR RAM and Win XP. We used the latest version 53.3 driver for the card, and tested it on a display resolution of 1024X768 and 1600X1200 with 32-bit color depth.
Radeon9600 Pro falls in the same segment as the FX5700, but the latter was much better in terms of performance of games such as Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament 2003, primarily because it has a higher memory clock rate of 900 MHz as compared to 600 MHz of the former. The FX5700 also proved its mettle in 3DMark 2001 by giving 17% better performance than the Radeon9600.
Priced at Rs 15,800, it's a pretty good card as compared to the Radeon9600. Further it comes with free CDs of the games - Tomb Raider, Rainbow Six3: Raven Shield and a utility - Power DVD5. Add to that the warranty, and you have a great
gaming card.
|
Ankit Kawatra