To see what we could squeeze out of the system in 3DMark05, we overclocked the CPU to 2.6 GHz. The card was benchmarked in 3DMark05 at stock speeds and then at the maximum possible overclock. Its stock score was just above 7000, but the previously out-of-its-league score of 9000 was surpassed with the core running at 725 MHz, thanks to the VF1 Plus. That's a 2000 point 3DMark05 increase - almost 30%.
We cannot emphasize enough just how impressed we were with the efficiency of the cooling solution - these results are similar to those of some low-end water-cooling setups. The only caveat is that we are comparing these results to a stock X1800 XL cooler, which is a single slot solution and not nearly as efficient as the dual-slot cooler in the X1800 XT cards.
Having said that, we should note that aftermarket coolers are targeted towards people who are trying to get the most from both their hardware and their dollar, and that certainly includes X1800 XL buyers. Also, even the more powerful X1800 XT cooler doesn't compare to the VF1 Plus when it comes to raw performance, despite being much louder.
Don Woligroski was a former senior hardware editor for Tom's Hardware. He has covered a wide range of PC hardware topics, including CPUs, GPUs, system building, and emerging technologies.
