Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB
ASUS V9950SE 128MB
on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra/5900SE
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CONTENTS
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Video cards features
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Testbed, test tools, 2D quality
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Summary diagrams
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Conclusion
Today we are going to test two products of the FX5900 family - top GeForce
FX 5950 Ultra and low-end FX 5900 SE (or LX/CP). The 5950 GPU belongs to
the FX 5900 family as this is just an overclocked version of the FX 5900
Ultra.
Both 5950 Ultra and 5900 SE were already reviewed before (see the list
of reviews of the previous cards).
Theoretical materials and reviews of video cards which concern functional
properties of the GPU NVIDIA GeForce FX
The low-end FX 5900 can be called differently. For example, Albatron calls
it 5900CP, Leadtek - 5900LX. ASUSTeK calls it 5900SE, which is the closer
to crippled cards. In this case SE means that the card features slower
memory and simpler PCB.
The FX 5900XT which is to arrive soon will have the clock speed lower
by 10 MHz compared to the SE, i.e. 390/350 (700) MHz.
But there are not such cards yet, the market is currently filled up
with the FX 5900 clocked at 400/350 (700) MHz. I must say that prices for
such cards have dropped considerably, and the Leadtek FX 5900LX is available
at US$260 (for the end of November). It's well cheaper than the RADEON
9800, that is why the low-end FX 5900 are getting more and more popular
(such cards were carped in our first reviews as they lost to ATI's solution,
with the prices were equal).
GeForce FX 5950 Ultra based cards have just started arriving to the
retail market, and the prices are still too high. Note that the top RADEON
9800 XT costs some US$500. Taking into account its better performance,
the FX 5950 Ultra can be a success only at the lower price compared to
the RADEON 9800 XT. Also note that cards dearer than $400 are of interest
for less than 1% of consumers.
So, we have two cards to test: the upper-level and lower-level products
of the FX 59xx line.
Cards
| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
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| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
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| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
| The card has AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 128 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 8 chips
on top of PCB.
Samsung 2.8ns memory chips (corresponds to 350 (700) MHz), memory clocked
at 350 (700) MHz, GPU at 400 MHz. 256 bit memory bus. |
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| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
| The card has AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 256 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 16
chips on both PCB sides.
Hynix 2ns memory chips (corresponds to 500 (1000) MHz), memory clocked
at 475 (950) MHz, GPU at 475 MHz. 256 bit memory bus.
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| Comparison with the reference design, front view |
| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
Reference card NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra |
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| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
Reference card NVIDIA GeForceFX 5900 |
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| Comparison with the reference design, back view |
| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
Reference card NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra |
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| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
Reference card NVIDIA GeForceFX 5900 |
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The Leadtek card is based on the reference design. The PCB from ASUS
looks like that of the Albatron's card.
Such PCB doesn't allow mounting memory chips behind, that is why it
doesn't suit for the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. Probably, the PCB layout is
less complicated because of the slower 2.8ns memory in contrast to 2.2ns
on the original 5900/5900 Ultra.
The ASUS V9950SE has a standard cooler only for the GPU. The memory
chips are covered with two rows of sinks positioned at the angle of 90
degrees.
| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
| The cooler consists of two parts: a massive copper sink
fr the GPU and memory chips on top, and a big aluminium sink for the memory
chips on back.
The sinks are separated though it looks as if they are bridged. That
crosspiece is simply a decoration.
Inside the copper sink is a powerful fan under a protection grill that
blows air through the side fins. The speed of rotation is not that high
to make the cooler noisy, but I can't call it quiet either. |
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The Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB is equipped with an external
Philips 7114E TV codec which supports Video-In. The card does support
VIVO though the TV-out is realized in the GeForce FX5950. The ASUS
V9950SE 128MB has space provided for the Philips 7114H.
Here's how this powerful card looks when inserted into the mainboard:
The heatsink is pretty wide and the first PCI slot is actually locked (you
can use it only for a low-profile card with a very smooth backside).
Let's see what the boxes contain.
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| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
| As usual, Leadtek provides a lot of various stuff: apart
from software shown on the photo there's a user guide, TV extenders, VIVO
adapter/splitter, DVI-to-d-Sub adapter. |
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| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
| ASUSTeK also bundles a rich accessory pack with the card
- beside the software suite shown on the photo there's a user guide, S-Video-to-RCA
and DVI-to-d-Sub adapters and TV extension cord. |
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| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
| The company redesigned the packages for the new series of October 23.
Instead of geometrical figures and monsters the boxes picture more pleasant
fairy-tale heroes. |
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| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
| This is a traditional box with a glossy cover with something that represents
modern technologies. |
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| Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB |
1600x1200x85Hz, 1280x1024x120Hz, 1024x768x120Hz |
| ASUS V9950SE 128MB |
1600x1200x85Hz, 1280x1024x120Hz, 1024x768x120Hz |
Test results: performance
Test applications:
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (MultiPlayer) (id Software/Activision)
- OpenGL, multitexturing, ixbt0703-demo, test settings - maximum, S3TC
OFF, the configurations can be downloaded from here
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter v.1.05 (Croteam/GodGames) - OpenGL,
multitexturing, ixbt0703 demo, test settings: quality, S3TC OFF
Unreal Tournament 2003 v.2225 (Digital Extreme/Epic Games) - Direct3D,
Vertex Shaders, Hardware T&L, Dot3, cube texturing, default quality
Code Creatures Benchmark Pro (CodeCult) - the game that demonstrates
card's operation in DirectX 8.1, Shaders, HW T&L.
Unreal II: The Awakening (Legend Ent./Epic Games) - Direct3D, Vertex
Shaders, Hardware T&L, Dot3, cube texturing, default quality
RightMark 3D v.0.4 (one of the gaming scenes) - DirectX 8.1, Dot3, cube
texturing, shadow buffers, vertex and pixel shaders (1.1, 1.4).
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell v.1.2b (UbiSoft) - Direct3D, Vertex/Pixel
Shaders 1.1/2.0, Hardware T&L, Very High quality; demo 1_1_2_Tbilisi
If you need the demo benchmarks please email me.
Performance
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1. Return to Castle Wolfenstein
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2. Unreal Tournament 2003
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3. Codecreatures Benchmark Pro
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4. Unreal 2: The Awakening
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5. Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
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6. RightMark 3D
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7. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Conclusion
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Leadtek WinFast A380 Ultra MyVIVO 256MB is a high-quality product with
an excellent accessory pack. The developers do not pack cards into jackets
anymore, and the cooler now looks very effective and not that bulky. However,
the first PCI slot can hardly be used. It's for you decide whether to buy
such an expensive card or not - if it's cheaper than the RADEON 9800 XT,
the choice isn't going to be difficult. But taking into account that the
9800 XT is already selling while it's still a problem to find the FX 5950
Ultra (early in December), the first 5950 Ultra cards will be even dearer
than the 9800 XT (it's stupid to take a dearer card weaker in modern applications
).
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ASUS V9950SE 128MB follows the Albatron GeForce FX 5900CP, i.e. it will
drop in the niche between the FX 5700 Ultra and FX 5900. But the card can
stand against the RADEON 9800 of approximately the same cost only if the
vendors keep down their appetite. The current downclocked FX 5900 SE perform
worse, that is why it's only the price that can help them. The similar
card from Leadtek has a very attractive price, while the ASUS V9950SE 128MB
does not. It can attract users only because of its excellent quality and
accessory pack.
I really like the Leadtek card: it looks nice and has a pack of various
services and settings. Price? Well, the statistics shows that very few
can afford a card at $500. The ASUS can be a success right now if it had
the price not $300 but $250-260 (for the beginning of December 2003). But
if the RADEON 9800 will disappear from the shelves, the market will have
only the expensive 9800 PRO and slow but dear RADEON 9800 SE; in this case
the GeForce FX 5900SE will have no problems in conquering the market.
In our 3Digest you can find full comparison
characteristics for video cards of this and other classes.
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