|
 After
facing some fierce competition from ATi's R3x0 GPUs and
fielding a mountain of criticism regarding questionable
driver "optimizations", NVIDIA has had to deal with quite
a bit of adversity as of late. They have also had to
contend with the fact that multiple, long-time partners
like Asus and Abit, for example, broke with tradition and
released new video cards powered by rival GPUs.
However, one of their largest and most respected partners,
Micro-Star International or MSI, is still on-board. Tonight on HotHardware.Com,
we're going to take a look at MSI's current flagship video
card, the FX5950 Ultra-VTD256. As the name implies,
this card is based on NVIDIA's GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.
As such, it offers all of the same core features of other
5950s, like 256MB of high-speed RAM, dual independent
RAMDACs for multi-monitor support, and a .13 micron GPU
that supports Microsoft's DirectX 9.0 pixel and vertex
shader 2.0 specifications. MSI spruces up the
package even further with a very efficient custom cooling
solution, Video-In and Video-Out (ViVo) functionality and
a comprehensive software and accessory bundle. On
paper, the MSI FX5950 Ultra-VTD256 is a winner, but that
means nothing if the card can't hold it's own in the real
world. What do you say we tear into the box, and she
what this baby is made of...
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Specifications & Features of The MSI FX5950
Ultra-VTD256 |
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NVIDIA's Flagship GPU Architecture |
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CLICK ANY IMAGE FOR AN
ENLARGED VIEW
256-Bit Advanced Memory Interface
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Wider memory data path with next generation
controller technology for superior throughput
Advanced Technology
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AGP 8X including Fast Writes and sideband addressing
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0.13-micron process technology for higher levels of
integration and higher operating clock speeds
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Advanced thermal management and thermal monitoring
- 40
mmx40 mm, BGA 1309 flip-chip package
NVIDIA CINEFX 2.0 Engine
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Advanced pixel shaders deliver 2x the floating-point
pixel shader performance of previous generations
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Support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 (DX9) pixel
shader 2.0+
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Support for DX9 vertex shader 2.0+
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Long pixel programs up to 1,024 instructions
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Long vertex programs up to 256 static instructions
with up to 65,536 instructions executed
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Dynamic, conditional execution and flow control
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Architected for Cg and Microsoft HLSL for maximum
compatibility with next generation content
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128-bit, studio-quality, floating-point precision
computation through the entire rendering pipeline
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Native hardware support for 32-bpp, 64-bpp and
128-bpp rendering modes
- Up
to 16 textures per rendering pass
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Support for sRGB texture format for gamma textures
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DirectX and S3TC texture compression
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Optimized for 32-bpp, 24-bpp, 16-bpp, 15-bpp, and
8-bpp modes
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True-color, 64x64 hardware cursor alpha
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Multibuffering (double, triple, or quad) for smooth
animation and video playback
Intellisample HCT
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Increased visual quality at higher resolutions
through advances in compression, anisotropic
filtering, and anti-aliasing technology
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Blistering-fast anti-aliasing and compression
performance
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Support for advanced lossless compression algorithms
for both color, texture, and z-data at even higher
resolutions and frame rates
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Fast z-clear
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Advanced Display Pipeline With Full NVIDIA NVIEW
Capabilities
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Integrated NTSC/PAL TV encoder supporting
resolutions up to 1024x768 without the need for
panning with built-in Macrovision copy protection
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DVD and HDTV-ready MPEG-2 decoding up to 1920x1080i
resolutions
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Dual, integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for display
resolutions up to and including 2048x1536@85Hz
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Dual DVO ports for interfacing to external TMDS
transmitters
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Internal TV support
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VIP 1.1 interface support for video-in function
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Microsoft Video Mixing Renderer (VMR) support for
multiple video windows with full video quality and
features in each window
UltraShadow Technology
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Accelerates shadow volumes for next generation games
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Accurately maintains shadows while discarding
non-useful information
Digital Vibrance control (DVC) 3.0
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DVC image sharpening controls
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DVC color controls
Operation Systems and API support
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Windows XP / 2000 / Me / 98SE
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Complete DirectX support, including DirectX 9.0 and
lower
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Full OpenGL 1.4 and lower
Compatibility
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NVIDIA Unified Driver Architecture (UDA)
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Fully compliant professional OpenGL 1.4 API with
NVIDIA extensions, on all Windows operating systems
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WHQL-certified for Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows
2000
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MSI bundled a slew of software
and accessories with the FX5950 Ultra-VTD256.
Included with the card, we found an S-Video cable, a Molex
power cable splitter, a DVI-to-DB15 adapter for those of
you looking to take advantage of the card's dual-monitor
capabilities with 2 analog CRTs, and a break-out box that
houses the S-Video and Composite video-in and video-out
connectors that compliment the FX5950 Ultra-VTD256's ViVo
functionality. On the software front, we found the
obligatory driver / utility CD, along with a ton of games
and other utilities. MSI included 10 different games
or game demos with the card, including full versions of
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project,
and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. A "7 in 1
Games Collection" CD consisting of The Sum of All Fears,
IL-2 Sturmovik, Serious Sam 2 lite, Rally Trophy, Beam
Breakers, Zax: The Alien Hunter and Oni was also bundled
with the card.
We also found a myriad of other
utilities and applications like WinDVD Creator Plus,
Photoshop Album SE, and 3D Album SE in the box.
Rounding out the bundle was an MSI case badge and an "MSI
FX Series" calendar / notebook. All things
considered, the FX5950 Ultra-VTD256's bundle is extremely
capacious. There were so many goodies included,
we could fill a page listing them. However, MSI
already took the liberty. For a full list of what's
included, with some details about each application,
take a look at this page on MSI's site.
The Card & Some
Screenshots
|
After
facing some fierce competition from ATi's R3x0 GPUs and
fielding a mountain of criticism regarding questionable
driver "optimizations", NVIDIA has had to deal with quite
a bit of adversity as of late. They have also had to
contend with the fact that multiple, long-time partners
like Asus and Abit, for example, broke with tradition and
released new video cards powered by rival GPUs.
However, one of their largest and most respected partners,
Micro-Star International or MSI, is still on-board. Tonight on HotHardware.Com,
we're going to take a look at MSI's current flagship video
card, the FX5950 Ultra-VTD256. As the name implies,
this card is based on NVIDIA's GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.
As such, it offers all of the same core features of other
5950s, like 256MB of high-speed RAM, dual independent
RAMDACs for multi-monitor support, and a .13 micron GPU
that supports Microsoft's DirectX 9.0 pixel and vertex
shader 2.0 specifications. MSI spruces up the
package even further with a very efficient custom cooling
solution, Video-In and Video-Out (ViVo) functionality and
a comprehensive software and accessory bundle. On
paper, the MSI FX5950 Ultra-VTD256 is a winner, but that
means nothing if the card can't hold it's own in the real
world. What do you say we tear into the box, and she
what this baby is made of...
