XFX 7950 GX2 XXX

INTRODUCTION

All and all the past year has probably been one of the most technologically significant years in the history of the graphics industry. We realize this is a rather bold statement, but think about it! We've seen graphics cards go from a standard of 128 Mb up to 256 Mb and then to a whopping 512 Mb of on-board, super high speed GDDR3 memory. We've witnessed the GPU speeds almost double and the quality of their output rise exponentially. We have seen the introduction of both SLI™ and Crossfire™ technologies that support multiple video cards working in unison on the same motherboard. Geez we're already breathless just thinking about these advancements, but we aren't finished yet!

Can you believe it? Today again is the day! NVIDIA has had two major launches of totally new products within a two week span! On May 23 they launched their new and innovative NVIDIA 500 series of media and communications processors centered around the also new socket AM2 processors from AMD. Today, just 14 days later, NVIDIA is launching the new Flagship of their graphics processor line, the 7950 GX2. The 7950 GX2 in itself is one of, if not the most highly anticipated products of the year.

What makes this product such a ball buster in theory is plain and simple if you sketch it out on paper. All the 7950 GX2 has to do is combine two extremely high performance GPUs running in total harmony on two conjoined, multi-layered PCB cards with plenty of speed and memory to get the job done better than its predecessors. Oh, and do it without generating so much heat and noise that it melts Bubba's new aluminum case into a pool of molten metal while he's trying to listen to Metallica and at the same time blasting every renegade soldier F.E.A.R.™ has to offer. Simple eh? Making it happen may not be all that hard, but making it happen to the level of performance that completely satisfies the highly demanding computer enthusiast market, well that's another story entirely.

Today the speculation, supposition, and banter about what might be headed our way will be dissolved. In its place, if all predictions hold true, will arise lust and desire for a well engineered, highly expected product that will rock the entire graphics universe. There is of course the alternative scenario in which this product will be a total loser causing millions of loyal, unwavering NVIDIA fans move to the "dark side" quicker than alcohol turns urine on a Friday night. Given NVIDIA's stellar track record I would bet on the former scenario rather than the latter.

We invite you to join Scott and I as we explore in detail the inner workings of GeForce 7950 GX2. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have garnered XFX's top of the line "XXX" version of this card which comes from the factory with an default core clock of 570 MHz, and a combined memory clock of 1550 MHz for today's review.