Seven of NVIDIA's Latest and Greatest Cards Tested

Conclusion

In the sub $200 market segment, the Gigabyte GeForce 6600 GT Silentpipe-II is a good solution. The MSI 6600 GT is a good pick for those who don't always need to run their cards at full speed and use many 2D applications in Windows; its Core Cell 3D Center tool enables users to adjust the card's clock speeds and fan speeds.

In the $350 bracket, Gigabyte's 7800 GT, with its Zalman cooler, is a better pick than the Asus model. A dual 6600 GT configuration does not seem very attractive considering it is outperformed by a single 7800 GT.

Moving to the $550 segment, Gigabyte's 7800 GTX Turbo Force is the fastest solution; its high stock frequencies are guaranteed by the manufacturer. Adventurous buyers could try to raise the clock speeds of the Asus card to similar levels, but would void their warranty in the attempt.

If price is not an issue, the SLI situation is as follows. Gigabyte guarantees high clock speeds with its Turbo Force cards, while Asus cards can only be overclocked at your own risk. eVGA's water cooled 7800 GTX is the quieter alternative, with the added benefit of a real 512 MB of video memory.

Card Feature Table