Gainward 5950 Ultra / 1800 XP Golden Sample Review - PAGE 1

Introduction

Gainward is a company that has been synonymous with high-performing graphics cards. With the release of the original Golden Sample line, Gainward quickly established themselves as a company that would only use the highest quality components to produce their cards (even though only components in the Golden Sample line were actually any better than the competition).

Following in the Gainward tradition of releasing a higher clocked versions of top nVidia cards, Gainward outdid themselves and released three versions of nVidia's flagship card, the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra. On one hand, you have the Ultra 1800/XP GeForce FX 5950 Ultra (the 'regular'). On the other hand, you have the Ultra 1800/XP GeForce FX 5950 Ultra Golden Sample and if that wasn't enough, there is also the CoolFX PowerPack! Ultra/1800XP Golden Sample, a watercooled version clocked at even higher clock speeds.

Today we will be reviewing the aircooled Golden Sample card. We will be comparing this to a regular GeForce FX 5950 Ultra and see how this stacks up against the reference card.

For the interested parties, here are the specifications of Gainward's new line: