The benchmark results are truly impressive for this mid range DX10 card. In a number of benchmarks, we see that the scores comes close to the current ATi high end DX9 cards. If synthetic benchmarks are not be a good gauge, game benchmarks show that the performance level of this card is between a ATi X1900XT and X1950Pro or between a NVIDIA DX9 cards 7900GS and 7900GT.

In terms of GPU O/C, the card is already pre-o/c by default to 720/1125. NVIDIA's original suggested setting should be 675/1000. We can overclock the card up to 780/1125 without any issues. From 675 to 780, that is a 20% increase in core clk for air cool using stock heatsink.

GPU temperatures are in good range too. A high of 73 deg is registered in our tests of 3Dmark06. The only regret is that the graphics drivers are not not for prime time. It does not run SLI as yet and HQV test shows very bad image quality during DVD Playback.

For the range ~ 199 USD, we should see prices of both NV and ATI DX9 cards dipping over time. Will this be the ultimate card that gets the most buyers ? I suppose so, for the price/performance factor!

Price ~ 199 onwards

Pros

• Purevideo HD
• DX10 support
• SM4.0
• Low GPU temperature

Cons

• Drivers are not ready

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10 stars.

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