"BFG knows that gamers like to push their hardware to the max. That’s why we’ve taken a powerful graphics processor from NVIDIA, built a killer card around it that features top of the line components and runs faster than a standard card. Safely, and at no extra cost to you. What that means is a competitively priced product that performs better than similar cards costing the same. Oh, and the lifetime warranty stays in full effect, too."
For the following test results, I downclocked a Creative Labs GeForce 5900SE to 390MHz/700MHz, which is the speed BFG refers to as "standard." I also included results from ATI’s Radeon 9700 Pro, which made its debut almost two years ago. Note that the maximum level of AF offered by the Radeon 9700 Pro is 16X while the 5900XT OC's maximum is 8X.
Performance Comparison
BFG's "factory overclocking" certainly increase performance and is especially noticeable in Splinter Cell and the AMP II Engine demo. The higher clock speeds also allowed the 5900XT OC to edge out the capable Radeon 9700 Pro in a number of tests. One anomaly, however, is the disparity in performance between ATI and NVIDIA hardware in Battlefield: Vietnam with shadows turned off. It's also obvious that the AMP II Engine was not developed on ATI hardware, as the usually powerful Radeon 9700 Pro chugged along at 10fps with no AA and no AF.
CONCLUSION
Is the BFG GeForce FX 5900XT OC worth the money? Absolutely. The warranty alone makes the product a serious alternative to other brands and knowing that you will be getting an overclocked graphics card makes the BFG GeForce FX 5900XT OC one heck of a deal. AA and AF performance is superb for a mainstream graphics card and the core and memory speed is set to match the more expensive GeForce FX 5950 quite well.
BFG Technologies is a company dedicated to the hardware enthusiast community with its top-notch warranty, friendly and helpful technical support, fair pricing, and high quality components. The BFG GeForce FX 5900XT OC is another example of great execution of the hidden motto in the company name "Built For Gamers."
It sure would be great if we knew the GeForce FX 5900XT would provide solid performance in Doom 3. I love to speculate that it will, but so far the information surrounding the final build of this game has been kept a secret. On the positive side, it is well known that NVIDIA’s OpenGL performance is excellent. And with Doom 3 being the latest and greatest game to showcase OpenGL technology, well, I am hoping the performance will end up being quite nice!
