BFGTech & XFX GeForce 7800 GT

The array of cables is as comprehensive as what is included in the BFGTech package - they've just included the same outputs and inputs in a different form. There are YPbPr connections along with Composite In/Out and S-Video In/Out and two S-Video extension cables. XFX have also included a pair of XFX-branded DVI to VGA converters and a 6-pin PCI-Express power adapter.

The driver CD contains a whole bunch of utilities and five game demos. The best thing on the CD is a program called 3DEdit - the name is very suggestive, but it's actually a little more than the name suggests. It's a real-time 3D editing program that renders your work using Shader Model 3.0 shader instructions on the GPU rather than on the CPU. There are three games included: MotoGP 2, Far Cry and X2: The Threat. A good range of titles that should suit a wide range of gamers - Far Cry has to be the pick of the bunch, though.

The box design is the familiar X shaped box that really stands out on the shelf. There's also a little velcro flap that lifts up advertising the features of the video card. It'd be good if they mentioned the clock speeds on the box too, but that's a minor issue, realistically speaking. The XFX GeForce 7800 GT appears to be a very solid product from the presentation point of view.

How We Tested:

Please be aware that the way we test our video cards is not a like-for-like comparison, and it is not meant to be. We decided to concentrate on finding the "Best Playable" settings - this means that we're finding the best possible gaming experience delivered on each different configuration. There are no time demos used in our evaluations - we're focusing on the real-world gaming experience, which is, ultimately what should determine your next graphics card's purchase.

In the light of some recent feedback from our forum members, we have decided to change the way that we display our results. Rather than focusing on reporting the minimum and average frame rates for every configuration, we have decided to move the focus to resolution and settings. Thus, we are displaying our "Best Playable" resolutions and settings in a table that should be easier to understand than our previous implementation. If you take the logic that the higher the resolution and in game details, the faster the video card, you will not go far wrong.

In situations where we find that two competing video cards run at the same settings, we will bring the frame rates in to the discussion of our game play experiences with each particular video card.

System Setup

AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 (operating at 2800MHz - 14x200); DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR (NVIDIA NForce4 SLI); 2 x 512MB OCZ PC5000 Platinum Series (operating in dual channel with 2.0-2-2-10 timings); Western Digital 200GB Caviar SATA 150 Hard disk drive; OCZ PowerStream 520W Power Supply; Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2; DirectX 9.0c; NVIDIA NForce4 Standalone chipset drivers, version 6.53.

Video Cards:

• 2 x BFGTech GeForce 7800 GT OC - operating at their default clock speeds of 425/1050MHz in both single card and SLI mode using Forceware version 77.77.
  
• 2 x XFX GeForce 7800 GT - operating at their default clocks speeds of 450/1050MHz in both single card and SLI mode using Forceware version 77.77.
  
• 1 x Gainward PowerPack! Ultra/3500PCX Golden Sample - GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB - operating at its default clock speeds of 470/1300MHz using Forceware 77.76, available on NZone.
  
• 1 x NVIDIA Reference GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB - operating at its default clock speeds of 430/1200MHz using Forceware 77.76.
  
• 1 x HIS Radeon X850 XT PE 256MB - operating at its default clock speeds of 540/1180MHz using Catalyst 5.7 WHQL with Catalyst Control Center.
  
• 2 x XFX GeForce 6800 GT - operating at clock speeds of 350/1000MHz in SLI mode using Forceware version 77.76.

The video card drivers were left at their default settings with the exception of Vsync, which was disabled in all cases. On both GeForce 7800 GTX's and the GeForce 7800 GT's, we have enabled gamma adjusted Anti-Aliasing and in some instances, we have enabled Transparency Anti-Aliasing. You can read more about that in our original GeForce 7800 GTX technology preview.