XFX furnished nVNews with their top of the line card, the NVIDIA GeForce
FX5950 Ultra. Our evaluation of this card will attempt to reveal what it has to
offer gamers who seek the latest in high performance video cards. While numerous
reviews have been published on the NVIDIA GeForce FX5950 Ultras from the various
manufacturers, this is XFX's first FX59xx series card. In this review we will
use NVIDIA's newest Forceware driver release, version 56.56. What new
developments and enhancements do these drivers offer? We will get to that in a
moment, but first let's cover the specifications of XFX's new high end video
card.
Features & Benefits
CineFX Engine
Powers cinematic effects beyond imagination. With advanced vertex and pixel
shader capabilities, stunning and complex special effects are possible. In
addition, increased horsepower delivers faster and smoother gameplay. The
2nd-generation CineFX 2.0 engine powers more advanced pixel shaders.
Intellisample Technology
The industry's fastest andhighest quality antialiasing delivers ultra-realistic
visuals, with no jagged edges, at lightning-fast speeds. The 2nd-generation
Intellisample HCT, supported in GeForce FX 5950 GPUs, extends performance and
quality gains to higher resolutions and antialiasing levels.
High-Precision Graphics
By combining the incredible dynamic range of today's state-of-the-art 3D motion
pictures with 128-bit studio-precision color, the GeForce FX GPUs bring you the
industry's best image quality for the most demanding applications.
UltraShadow Technology
Advanced technology designed to enhance the performance of bleeding-edge games
that use complex shadows.
nView Multi-display Technology
The nView hardware and software technology combination delivers maximum
flexibility for multi-display options, and provides unprecedented end-user
control of the desktop experience. NVIDIA GPUs are enabled to support
multi-displays, but graphics cards vary. Please verify multi-display support in
the graphics card before purchasing.
AGP 8X
Provides double the bandwidth of AGP 4X—2.1GB/sec. vs. 1.1GB/sec. AGP 8X enables
more complex models and detailed textures, creating richer and more lifelike
environments. Uninterrupted data flow allows for smoother video streaming and
faster, more seamless gameplay.
Front of Box
Unified Driver Architecture (UDA)
Guarantees forward and backward compatibility with software drivers. Simplifies
upgrading to a new NVIDIA product because all NVIDIA products work with the same
driver software.
Digital Vibrance Control (DVC)
Allows the user to adjust color controls digitally to compensate for the
lighting conditions of their workspace, in order to achieve accurate, bright
colors in all conditions. Currently this feature is not available on Mac
systems.
256-bit Memory Interface with
Advanced Memory Control
Delivers more memory bandwidth and efficiency to power the latest games and
applications at blazing speeds.
Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Optimizations and
Support
Ensures the best performance and application compatibility for all DirectX 9
applications.
OpenGL 1.4 Optimizations and Support
Ensures the best performance and application compatibility for all OpenGL
applications.
400MHz RAMDACs
Industry's fastest RAMDACs support QXGA displays with ultra-high, ergonomic
refresh rates.
DVI Support
Able to drive the industry's largest and highest resolution flat-panel displays
with up to 1600x1200 resolution.
Back of Box
Integrated TV Encoder
Provides best-of-class TV-out functionality for resolutions up to 1024x768.
Integrated Full Hardware MPEG-2 Decoder
Delivers full-frame, full-screen MPEG-2 video on your desktop.
New 64-phase Video Scaler
Highest quality for scaling DVD and other video to full-screen HDTV resolutions.
0.13 Micron Process Technology
Delivers full-frame, full-screen MPEG-2 video on your desktop.
Architected for Cg
Ensures that the newest, cutting-edge special effects in applications will run
flawlessly. Speeds up content creation so game developers can get their new
games out to PC users faster than ever before.
Software Bundle
Card / Package Contents:
VGA & DVI outputs
S-Video ViVo (Video-in, Video-out)
Four Full Games:
Battle Engine Aquila (Full DirectX 9 supported!)
Ghost Recon, Comanche 4, Racing Simulation 3
Ten Trial Games:
Ballistics, Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, IL-2 Sturmovik, Serious
Sam, Vietcong, Armoured Fist 3, Delta Force: Land Warrior, F-16
Multirole Fighter, F-22 Lightning 3 & Tachyon: Beyond The Fringe.
Graphics controller
NVIDIA Geforce FX 5950 Ultra
256 bit graphics accelerator
Memory Configuration
256MB DDR (256-bit)
Performance
GPU Frequency (MHz): 475
Graphics Core: 256-bit
Memory Interface: 256MB DDR (256-bit)
Effective Memory Clock Rate (MHz): 950
RAMDACs (MHz) (each have 2 RAMDAC): 400
Monitor support
D-shell (15-pin) VGA connector
Display support
Register compatible with VGA
DVI-Out for sharp LCD monitor output
Video in module provides connectivity to VCR/Camcorder to allow for
video input and capture
Video out Module enabling big-screen gaming, digital timeshifting VCR,
and video-editing applications
Warranty
Product warranty varies depending on geographical region. For details
warranty information for this product please contact the Pine branch in your
area.
