XFX 7950 GT XT Review - PAGE 2

The Board

Rather than simply overclocking their boards by 20 MHz and slapping on the NVIDIA-standard cooler, XFX, as has been their style as of late, has put alot of effort into the physical card in terms of performance as well as aesthetics. This version of the XFX 7950 GT (dubbed the 7950 GT XT by XFX) uses a passively cooled heatsink made out of aluminum of both regular silver and exotic sprayed-black fare. A green aluminum XFX logo is attached to the main bank of fins which employ two heatpipes to draw heat from the GPU to the outer sink. The bracket that XFX are known for applying to most of their cards is featured here as well but has been heightened to ensure rigidity with all of the extra aluminum that has been attached. Overall, XFX have managed a supremely bang up job with the card in terms of fit, finish and appearance. The gun-metal and green DVI ports which we observed on the 7900 GS make an appearance here, as does the matte black coating. It should be noted that all XFX 7950 GT boards, overclocked or not come with the silent cooler, which should serve to sway at least a number of buyers due to the $300 MSRP of the standard clocked model - a competitive package to be sure.

Due to timing, these shots were taken from XFX's product page, we will be replacing these with our own shots soon however.

In terms of the bundle that XFX pack with their 7950 GT cards, there are in fact more suprises - suprisingly. It would seem that the game bundle of days past has gone by the wayside mostly, for better or for worse. Some appreciate the barebones packaging and software inclusions that some manufacturers have taken to, while there are definitely those who wouldn't mind the extra games that occasionally come with a new video card. XFX have packaged a copy of the latest Ghost Recon into their 7950 GT retail package which coupled with the silent cooling, needn't convince anyone of the outstanding value involved. If this doesn't serve to stir up the other manufacturers out of their poor habits of simply rebranding NVIDIA product, there isn't much that will. XFX have outdone themselves with this release, and we're betting that it will have good returns at retail.

XFX have pared down their 7950 GT offerings from the plethora of different 7900 GT cards that have been sold in different clock speed and aesthetic configurations under the XFX name before. This time around, XFX are only shipping two 7950 GT variants, one clocked at the standard 550/1400 Mhz, and an XT variant (our review sample), clocked at 570/1460 MHz. Both of these should be available today for $299 and $319 respectively.