XFX 7950GT 512mb 550M

[Calibur]

Reviewer: Mr. Clint "Calibur" Peitz

Date Published: June 21, 2007

Excerpt: Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to get any more performance out of my computer, XFX gives me one more reason not to build an entirely new rig just yet with the XFX 7950GT 512MB 550M. This card makes my PC feel like the young stallion it once was. Playing Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars or Quake 4 was alright before the card but now, it is like the difference between night and day. Seriously, this card is a diamond in the rough.

http://www.bjorn3d.com/Material/revimages/video/XFX%207950GT%20550M/fan%20side.jpg

Please feel free to post your comments and questions here!

Link to Review (http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1116)

[PP Mguire]

Ha! So the card is fine, which proves all these other peoples problems lie within their machine. And since you had a driver issue id be willing to bet that their problems lie in Vista. Nice review, glad to see XFX made a damn fine card.

[Calibur]

As soon as Nvidia and XFX get that driver going I think it will be pretty kick butt. It worked great for me.

[PP Mguire]

Yea, the 7800GS owned man, i was almost certain this would. Specialy since its from XFX.

[Lord of Shadows]

Whats the deal with the drivers? If I get one of these will I have problems with it and winxp x64?

I fried my fx5900u in like march or so (was putting a mcw50-t waterblock on it, alcohol shorted some traces) and am running a geforce2 mx right now. ;o)

Today I noticed that fileplanet is giving out free etqw beta keys this weekend, got me one, and am now in a hurry to get a new gpu. Should I go for this thing or the x1950pro? (I dual boot linux and dont think the x1950 will play well with compiz)

[Calibur]

Once Nvidia gets some drivers out for the 7950GT you should be fine. The ones off the XFX site are fine also, they are just old.

[AvatarKiller]

Whats the deal with the drivers? If I get one of these will I have problems with it and winxp x64?

I fried my fx5900u in like march or so (was putting a mcw50-t waterblock on it, alcohol shorted some traces) and am running a geforce2 mx right now. ;o)

Today I noticed that fileplanet is giving out free etqw beta keys this weekend, got me one, and am now in a hurry to get a new gpu. Should I go for this thing or the x1950pro? (I dual boot linux and dont think the x1950 will play well with compiz)

I think the problem with the XFX 7950 GT drivers is that nvidia doesn't support this card so you can't install the last forceware drivers released by nvidia. these means if there are some fixes or some perfomance optimizations in the new forceware drivers you can't benefit from them, this is offcourse until the guys from XFX will modify the driver to be compatible with their agp card...

Don't know how ati radeon 1950 pro performs on linux, but imo this is a great agp card :p

[Lord of Shadows]

Just noticed at the nvidia forum that this thing doesnt have the processor in the usual place. (To make room for bridge chip?) Would I have any problems sticking a waterblock on this thing?

[Calibur]

I am not sure. I would go to the XFX Support thread and ask.

[PP Mguire]

From the looks of things the board looks like its similar to the 7800GS. You might want to take a look at your etailers and see if they have one specificaly made for it.

[Lord of Shadows]

You're right, I'll see if I can find if anyone has a block on the 7800gs agp which should be a little easier to find. (I was scared for a moment that this was the only card out there with that layout)

[PP Mguire]

Be careful though, see if a friend or something has one. Im not exactly sure if they are the same or not, they only LOOK the same.

EDIT: Idk, i think you may be cutting it close becasue they look simlilar but the holes are actualy different. Maybe the water block will just go by the 4 hole pattern which obviously is the same.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?Image=14-143-046-10.jpg%2c14-143-046-02.jpg%2c14-143-046-04.jpg%2c14-143-046-05.jpg%2c14-143-046-06.jpg%2c14-143-046-07.jpg%2c14-143-046-08.jpg&CurImage=14-143-046-05.jpg&Depa=1&Description=BFG+Tech+BFGR78256GSOC+GeForce+7800GS+ 256MB+256-bit+GDDR3+AGP+4X%2f8X+Video+Card+-+Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?Image=14-150-223-09.jpg%2c14-150-223-02.jpg%2c14-150-223-03.jpg%2c14-150-223-04.jpg%2c14-150-223-05.jpg%2c14-150-223-06.jpg%2c14-150-223-07.jpg%2c14-150-223-08.jpg&CurImage=14-150-223-05.jpg&Depa=1&Description=XFX+PVT71AYDF3+GeForce+7950GT+512MB+25 6-bit+GDDR3+AGP+4X%2f8X+Video+Card+-+Retail

[Unregistered]

Clint,
Nice glowing review, but why sugar-coat the criticism about the cooling? XFX went the easy route by pairing a loud, single-speed fan with a wimpy aluminum heatsink. Cards of this caliber usually have temperature-controlled fans and beefier heatsinks. For example, the the good ol' 7800GS AGP had a variable-speed fan and a thick heatsink with copper conduction plate. Don't make an excuse for XFX by saying "you have to take into consideration how powerful this card really is" - call them to task for being stingy.

Also, you mentioned elsewhere in the forums that your first card failed in a day. Why not mention it in the review? At the very least it would be an opportunity to highlight your experience with the great warranty coverage.

[Frag Maniac]

Tis a sweet looking card, but for some reason the 7950GT 512MB AGP on the XFX site is blue, not their traditional black and green, which I prefer. Maybe the pic on the XFX site is old and they're going with all G&B now, which would be nice.

Anyways what concerns me more is the one speed fan and driver issues. Last I spoke to XFX on the phone they said you still have to get the drivers from them. Looks like Nvidia isn't so interested in writing them after all.

To XFX's defense though, at least they are trying to appease those wanting to wait for the gonzo tech and prices to drop by giving them something to do a temp upgrade with on their AGP rigs.

Sure it would be nice to have all the normal stuff you typically get like the larger heat sink and variable speed fan, but they do have to factor in their time to do the driver writing and AGP being the smaller niche market now.

I do use my PC for multipurpose though so I'm not sure I like the idea of a loud video card fan interupting the quiet scenes in the movies I watch. I don't suppose anyone could record the noise the fan makes at idle?

[PP Mguire]

Well obvisouly the card is their standard green and black form looking at his pictures ;)

As to the fan and heatsink. Ive heard that now most people who want to OC get the Zalman Fatal1ty cooler and use that. Idk for sure if they mod it on there or it just fits outa the box but i CAN tell you its one AWESOME cooler. Im getting one for my PCI-E 7950GT as well.

As for Nvidia writing drivers. I look at it this way. In a thread in the support forums i was saying how Vista probably dosent have great AGP drivers (for the chipset, not card) so Nvidia probably dosent want to keep writing drivers for older cards that wont really be supported greatly by the new OS. Not sure if that came out to clear but thats what i thikn.

[slugbug]

It probably cools better than my nieces BFG 6800GT AGP card. That thing has two tiny cooling fans which may as well not be there at all for all the good they do. The certainly don't push much air.

[PP Mguire]

AH man, you should have gotten the Leadtek 6800GT. Mine has a massive copper cooler on it.

[Frag Maniac]

BTW guys, don't know if you've read this info from someone's post on the 7950GT 512MB AGP Technical Questions thread:

"I've been going through reviews and I believe that there are different batches of cards. If you do decide on the 7950GT, when you get your card, check to see whether it has Green LED's that light up when the system is running (I posted a pic above). If so, I think you will have a problem with that card and should RMA it, but maybe it will be okay. This is all my speculation, but I believe it to be a faulty HSF with the batch with LED's. So far, I've had my card for 3 weeks with no problems at all, even though I would have loved to have green LED's, but what's the point if the card may pass out, lol. I did have heating issues, but I dropped some more fans in and now idling at 50."

As he says it's mere speculation, the jury is still out whether it really makes a difference or not as others whom bought theirs well before he did had no problems. None the less I'd still like to see the BIOS revision AND a running change on the HSF.

I don't think I'd want to have to bother with an aftermarket cooler though. The whole point of a temporary upgrade is spending much less than a complete build to wait for prices to drop and new tech to release. Just out of curiosity though, the best reviews I've seen on Zalman coolers is on the V9 (latest) model. Does it void XFX's warranty? I would assume it does.

(EDITED)
I just got off the phone with Zalman and they said they have no cooler that fits the AGP version of the 7950GT. According to them it's a matter of the mounting holes and GPU location being quite different from the PCi Ex version so customization may not be possible, at least not very easily.

I DID, however, find this site indicating some of the Zalmans might work. Do click on the link to the pic in it. It contains the only view of this card sans stock HSF I have yet to see. It's a good way of seeing just what Zalman means by an atypical layout, so beware of what you buy if you want an aftermarket cooler:
http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion/index.php?t36322.html (http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion/index.php?t36322.html)

Also, for those of you whom haven't read it yet, the XFX rep stopped by the Tech Questions page for this card again and said it's now WHQL certified, Nvidia drivers will now be made for it, and BIOS revision on idle clock speed reduction has started!:smile:

[PP Mguire]

Well like i said, most have modded the Zalman Fatal1ty cooler onto it. And, its alot better than the V9. Also, XFX usualy has double lifetime modder friendly warranty on their high end cards. Taking the stock HSF off wont ruin your warranty. And lie ive already been saying, the ones dieing are probably a bad batch.

[Frag Maniac]

Well like i said, most have modded the Zalman Fatal1ty cooler onto it. And, its alot better than the V9. Also, XFX usualy has double lifetime modder friendly warranty on their high end cards. Taking the stock HSF off wont ruin your warranty. And lie ive already been saying, the ones dieing are probably a bad batch.Man, most manufaturers wouldn't dream of offering such a warranty. One problem seems to be the fixed narture of the cooler bracket pins needing to fit a designated hole pattern. I doubt if that warranty includes drilling new holes in the card, which I would never consider anyway.

I guess I'll have to scour the net more and look at the screw pattern on that card again to get an idea of just how they're doing the modding. I have looked at all the Zalman coolers that some have mentioned will work including the Fatal1ty and it looks like it would be hard to fit the screw holes even with modding.

One thing that I'm concerned about besides the screw hole alignment is the fairly large chip near the capacitors that would be hard to cool. I don't know if it's the voltage regulator or what but I know the base of the Zalman won't contact it and I'm not sure the included RAM sinks would be enough either.

The RAM sinks look as if some of the bracket legs for the cooler could cause a clearance issue too. If you happen to find a forum where they're talking about how to make the Fatal1ty fit, please let me know.

[PP Mguire]

Well modding dosent always mean using the stock stuff ;)

[Frag Maniac]

After looking at both the card without HSF and the Zalman GPU coolers, I've been pondering some more how it could be done. For one thing there is more than one Zalman Fatal1ty but I take it they're using the FS-V7 model on this card as the FC-ZV9, also a Fatal1ty version, has threaded screw holes in the cooler bracket which would make adapting to the screw pattern hard if not impossible.

The only practical way I can see of doing it is to use the FS-V7 model and elongate the inner screw holes on the bracket so the standoffs (nipples) align with the card's holes. I certainly wouldn't want to add arm extensions to the bracket in an attempt to use the farther holes though, as you have to consider vertical spacing, tension, etc, to avoid damaging the GPU.

The semi large chip I referred to that's near the capacitors may be adequately cooled with 4 RAM sinks or an appropriate sink sized larger if one could be found, especially with the cooler fan blowing down on it.

[jll544]

Now, I respect your willingness to do your own research and figure things out (most people wouldn't bother), but did you actually read the thread you linked to? Many of your questions are answered there. Go back and look: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=36322

As for something that would fit easily, the SilenX IXG-80C (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226018) probably would fit the bill. It's a VF700 lookalike that appears to have elongated inner holes.

[PP Mguire]

Dude. ZIPTIES!!!! lol. Think like a modder man. Ive ziptied 2 80mm fans to my Voodoo5 to make it OC higher. (It dosent like OpenGL games for some reason like Descent 3). I noticed the back gets hotter than the heatsinks in the front so BAM 2 80s spanning across the back of the board to make it cooler. I would totaly ziptie a Zalman Fatal1ty (obviously the video cooler) to my card if i had to. THat cooler just pwns.

[Frag Maniac]

Now, I respect your willingness to do your own research and figure things out (most people wouldn't bother), but did you actually read the thread you linked to? Many of your questions are answered there. Go back and look: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=36322

As for something that would fit easily, the SilenX IXG-80C (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226018) probably would fit the bill. It's a VF700 lookalike that appears to have elongated inner holes.You're right jll, I was in a hurry when I sourced that link and did't even notice your post in it, thanks for the heads up. I like your solution on the translator chip and the support rail, though I'm not sure I'd want to mount the cooler that much off center. Seems those lower fins on most of these GPU coolers have a hard time clearing unless the RAM sinks are farther away though. I really don't get why they make some of the fins bowl shaped but the low ones even on the half circle coolers sit very low.

Thanks a lot for the link to the SilenX, I wasn't aware of that one and it's a lot cheaper. It still has low fins from what I can tell but at least the arms look more adaptable with the elongated holes. BTW, can you tell us exactly what holes on that model of Zalman you used and what the measurement was between them? I was thinking of using the two holes near the GPU, looks like you used one near and one far.

PP, I have used zip ties a lot, I'm a bit of a home mechanic and mt biker. I even carry them on the trail in my repair kit. I wouldn't consider a GPU cooler a good application for them though as heat can stretch and weaken them. You dfinitely wouldn't want one to break when your card is running hot.;-)

[PP Mguire]

Haha im using zipties to hold an 80mm fan to my 7950s heatsink right now. Things still as tight as whenn i put it on months ago ;)

[Frag Maniac]

Suit yourself, but I wouldn't trust them for that, especially not the small ones. Even worse using one to mount an aftermarket GPU HS would invlove even more heat.

[PP Mguire]

Lol they arent really that small dude and they are industrial. Idk where my dad gets them but even with a REALLY sharp knife its hard to cut them. Im sure i can trust them ;) all in being a modder. Oh yea, i modded my sisters old PSU into her Antec case with zipties. Been holding for over a year.

[jll544]

I'm not sure I'd want to mount the cooler that much off center.
BTW, can you tell us exactly what holes on that model of Zalman you used and what the measurement was between them?
I'm with you about the bridge heatsink being off-center - there's a much greater risk of chip damage - it's unfortunate XFX put the mounting holes where they did. I don't think you'd be able to get anything centered unless you use adhesive instead of the mounting holes (red line in picture).

I used hole set #3 on the ZV9, which centers the HSF on the GPU. Those are the next-to-innermost holes on the HSF and measure 60mm. The holes on the card measure about 61mm (blue line in picture), so it's a tight fit.

[PP Mguire]

Do you have to cool that bridge chip? BEcasue it seems to me you can easily put a Zalman cooler on it.

[Frag Maniac]

I'm with you about the bridge heatsink being off-center - there's a much greater risk of chip damage - it's unfortunate XFX put the mounting holes where they did. I don't think you'd be able to get anything centered unless you use adhesive instead of the mounting holes (red line in picture).

I used hole set #3 on the ZV9, which centers the HSF on the GPU. Those are the next-to-innermost holes on the HSF and measure 60mm. The holes on the card measure about 61mm (blue line in picture), so it's a tight fit.Actually I was talking about the GPU HS, it's the one that looks off center in the other pic. Maybe it's just the angle you shot it at though. The blue line you drew are the holes I was thinking of using if I do such a mod. Thanks for the measurement, that's the main thing I wanted to know.

I haven't been able to find any direct side profile pics of the SilenX. I was wondering it the fins on it would clear the RAM sinks. It looks like one of the best coolers I've seen for the money and the fan speeds are perfect with very low noise (1200 - 2400 RPM/11 - 18 dBA). It doesn't come with thermal paste though and none is preapplied, it's the only minor nit pick I have about it.