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The Card

The GeForce FX5700 Ultra is a single-slot design, much like its predecessor, the FX5600 Ultra. The card has a 4-pin molex connector (the same ones that you use to plug into hard and optical drives), which is much more secure than the 3 pin floppy connector. Take a look at some pictures:

In terms of size, the 5700 Ultra sticks out as much as a Ti 4600, which also means it's about the same size as the 5600 Ultra. However, this card is still at least an inch longer than any Radeon available. In terms of length, it is the same as the reference 5950 Ultra card that we reviewed over the weekend. Take a look at the comparison picture.

The card itself comes with the standard VGA, DVI-I and S-video out ports.

Fan noise

Looking at the size of the fan, you would expect a fairly loud low-pitched drone. Surprisingly (in a good way), the FX5700's fan was not audible over the P4's heatsink fan, even when the card was in 3D mode. Similar to what MSI has achieved with their T.O.P. Tech cooling, nVidia has made a conscious effort to remove the vacuum cleaner moniker that has stuck with them since the original dustbusting FX5800 Ultra.

Compared to the Radeon 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro heatsink fans, the FX5700 is not as audible, probably due to its slower (but larger) fan.