Gainward FX PowerPack! 960 Golden Sample | 6 mixed video cards

6 mixed video cards - Gainward FX PowerPack! 960 Golden Sample

Graphics - Published on Wednesday, 12 November 2003 18:20 Written by tokig

Gainward's 5700 Ultra just arrived from the manufacturer therefore we don’t have the final box. Fact is that they changed the name on the card just as we got it so this is some hot stuff.

Gainward FX PowerPack! 960 Golden Sample
Chip:	NV36
Manufacturing process:	0.13-micron
Transistors:	~80 mil.
GPU-speed:	500 MHz
Memory speed:	1000 MHz / 15.6 GB/s
Pixel Shader:	2.0
Vertex Shader:	2.0
Pixel Pipelines/Pixel Fillrate:	4 / 2000 MP/s
TMU's/Texel Fillrate:	1 / 2000 MT/s
RAMDAC:	(2) 400 MHz
Memory size:	128 MB
Memory type and interface:	128-bit, DDRII
I/O connections:	2x DVI-I, S-Video
Accessories:	DVI-VGA-adapter, ATX-Y-kabel, S-Video-composite adapter
Software:	Expert tool
Fullversion software:	WinDVD 4
Estimated price:	€200

Gainward delivered the first 5700-card to us at NordicHardware. In ordinary order they haven’t settled with nVidias reference clock frequency and increased the speed from 475/900 to 500/1000.
If we continue to look at the cards specifications we notice the return of DDR II. Further more we can tell you that this card is for 5600 Ultra that 5900 Ultra was for 5800 Ultra. In other words this isn’t just a “overclocked” 5600 Ultra we have here. nVidia have been working to improve the performance with Pixel Shader 2.0. However the card is still of the same type 4x1/2x2 “hybrid” as its forerunner.

Front

Rear

The flame from Gainward 5600 Ultra is back but with a different appearance. The new cooler is more genuine and reminds of the one we can see on Gainwards 5900SE. The DDR-II-memory is equipped with heatsinks which has to be considered as a must when the memory gets very warm. The cooling is relatively silent, more silent that 5600 Ultra for example.

One unusual thing this card can brag with is Dual DVI. In my opinion this is a much cleaver choice than dual VGA or one VGA and one DVI because you can convert DVI to VGA but not the other way around.

The card is longer than its forerunner and measures the same as a FX 5900. If this is unique for Gainward or if this applies to all 5700 Ultra we don’t know because this is the only 5700 Ultra we tested.

Accessories