MSI GeForce FX 5900 VTD128

Surely you've seen plenty of reviews of NVIDIA's GeForce FX 5900 Ultra, and you've seen how NVIDIA is back on the top of the video card hill (or at least they are sharing it). But how does the regular FX 5900 compare to its big brother? Both cards are expensive of course, but the 5900 is a little more in reach for a lot more people, which means plenty of you are interested in seeing how these non-Ultra versions perform.

Well, we finally got our hands on a 5900 board thanks to MSI. They sent us one of their GeForce FX 5900 cards -- the FX5900-VTD128 (MSI Part No. MS-8929). MSI also offers an FX5900-TD128, which is the same card minus the video-in functionality found on the VTD128.

One of the most interesting things about MSI's version of 5900s is the Twin Flow cooling system, which consists of two fans mounted on the card, one on each side. Sounds strange, doesn't it? MSI continues to use the nice shiny copper we're used to seeing from them though, and it actually looks quite cool. Additionally, it's supposed to be more efficient and quieter than NVIDIA's reference design. So read on and take a look at the pictures of this interesting design. I'll put the card through some of the typical benchmarks and also comment on how well it actually plays in games with high quality settings cranked up.

Here is a very basic feature list of the MSI FX5900-VTD128.

• MSI Part No. MS-8929
• Powered by NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 GPU
• 128MB / 256-bit DDR Support
• MSI Twin Flow Cooling System Support
• New Generation NVIDIA CineFX Engine 2.0
• New NVIDIA Intellisample HCT Technology
• Cutting-edge NVIDIA UltraShadow Support
• Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Support
• TV-out (S-video connector)
• DVI connector
• Video-in (Composite video)
• MSI Live VGA BIOS
• MSI Live VGA Driver
• Click here for more specs and features of the GeForce FX 5900 GPU

Basic Performance Technical Specs

• Graphics Core: 256-bit
• Memory Interface: 256-bit
• CPU Core clock: 400MHz
• Memory Bandwidth: 27.2GB/sec.
• Fill Rate: 3.6 billion texels/sec.
• Vertices per Second: 338 million
• Memory Data Rate: 850MHz
• Pixels per Clock (peak): 8
• Textures per Pixel: 16
• RAMDACs: 400MHz

I figured most of you skip over this part any way so I kept it short and simple. If you'd like to know more of the technical details, please click the link above. Here's a quick comparison between the 5900 and the 5900 Ultra so you have an idea of what type of performance to expect.

Minimum System Requirements

• IBM PC compatible CPU 600MHz or faster
• Requires an AGP compliant mainboard (AGP 8X Port Recommended)
• 64MB system memory
• 6X or faster CD-ROM drive
• Minimum 350W system power supply required
• Requires a vacant AGP Slot for VGA installation
• Microsoft Windows XP / 2000 / Me / 98 system

The main reason I listed the minimum system requirements here was for you to note the 350W power supply. The newest generation of high-end cards draw more power and actually require a connection directly to the power supply via a molex connector (just like the connector you use for your CD-ROM drives). Most enthusiasts are probably at least at 350W, so it's not a concern for them, but newbies just getting into PCs or just getting serious about high-end performance, take note. Also, don't buy any cheapy 350W power supply that you find at your local tech shop or an online store. Stick with good, reliable brands, like Antec and Enermax for example. (Click here to see our power supply reviews)