Nvidia 5600 Ultra Review - PAGE 1

Introduction:

The heated battle between graphic giants Nvidia and ATI Technologies is constantly reaching all-time highs. Both companies wish to out duel and outwit each other for market share in the cutthroat graphics industry. It has been reported that ATI delayed its RV350 (Radeon 9600) architecture just to outscore Nvidia and this time it seems that Nvidia is doing the same. Originally released with a 350MHz engine clock and a 350MHz memory clock (700MHz DDR), the Nvidia 5600 Ultra reference card did not have the specs to match its competitor in the mainstream enthusiast card segment. This segment is the most important because the majority of revenues come from here and most of the population cannot justify or afford the purchase of the fastest current cards in the market. As a result, Nvidia just could not afford to lose this market segment to the Radeon 9600 PRO advantage so this is why a new chip comes into play.

NVIDIA has replaced the packaging on its original design to flip chip on the Ultra for its improved signal quality at higher clock frequencies. This allows NVidia to hit higher clock speeds than they were able to achieve previously, core clock frequency has been increased from 350MHz to 400MHz on the revised Ultra core. This is the same clock speed as ATI's RADEON 9600 Pro. NVidia has also bumped the memory clock up to 800MHz which exceeds the 9600 Pro by 100MHz.

Flip Chip Design

- crystal clear signals

- ultra high frequency

- better power/ground distribution

The graphics battle has never been as aggressive as now, almost every month something significant is occurring. ATI has the RV360 around the corner so it will be interesting to follow this battle closely.

The following chart summarizes the differences between the FX 5600 non/Ultra versions along with the other cards in the performance testing: