Gigabyte
7800GTX TurboForce
485/625 MHz
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GTX, 256 MB GDDR3Core Clock : 486 MHz
Memory Clock : 625 MHz (1250 MHz GDDR3)
Overall Score: 90 points
The Gigabyte 7800GTX TurboForce is also running at a slightly higher clock than the reference specification. The core is running at 486 MHz, but the memory is slightly lower than the EN7800GTX TOP (625 MHz). However, one plus that's a boon to SLI users is Gigabyte's decision to use a single slot reference cooling solution. The gap between the cards is just enough for air to move freely. In fact you can even mount an air duct to help air flow from the back of the case to the card in the first PCI Express x16 slot. The heatsink (on the front) is actually two separate parts, joined together at the mounting points. This is similar to the GeForce 7800GT's heatsinks. You can see this for yourself in the picture below (from top to bottom - ASUS EN7800GT, Gigabyte 7800GT, Gigabyte 7800GTX TurboForce, WinFast GeForce 7800GTX TDH).
Backplates is a necessity on these cards, since the heatsink can put quite a strain on the PCB, to the point of bending them. Users of socket 478 motherboard should be familiar with this problem. There's nothing different here, except for color. Looks like the only thing Gigabyte change is the core and memory clock. Everything else is still based on the reference design.
Gigabyte's VTuner2 and some other goodies such as Cyberlink PowerDVD are included in the CD. Again, there's no hardware monitoring functions you can see or control, which is a shame. VTuner's default clock is set to the desktop clock, so you might want to use a different utility to overclock the Gigabyte 7800GTX TurboForce. One such utility is RivaTuner, which offers monitoring functions for clock and temperature as long as the card supports it. You can definitely see the same 'variable clock' behavior on this card - a feature of all GeForce 7800GTX. Both idle and on load temperatures are pretty standard for a single slot solution - between 42 to 60° Celsius.
Gigabyte's GeForce 7800GTX TurboForce is equipped with TV / HDTV output and video input as well. The necessary cables and dongle accessories are included, so you can quickly set them up. There are two games bundled with this card (Joint Operations and Expand Rally), nice but not really our favorites. It's just your basic bundle, so naturally you expect the price of the card to be slightly lower than other cards - but your mileage may vary. One other thing to note, Gigabyte was nice enough to include not one, but two DVI to analog dongle, a plus for those still using analog monitors.
WinFast PX 7800GTX
TDH
430/600 MHz
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GTX, 256 MB GDDR3Core Clock : 432 MHz
Memory Clock : 598 MHz (1198 MHz GDDR3)
Overall Score: 87.5 points
The WinFast PX 7800GTX TDH is the only card that fully adheres to the reference specification in this round up. If you want a higher clocked GTX, they do have their 'Extreme' line of cards, unfortunately we couldn't get a review sample of one. The only difference this cards has from the reference design is the Leadtek WinFast logo on the fan. Everything else is the same.
One look at the back of the card confirms this, there's really no difference between the GeForce 7800GTX TDH and the reference design. The same backplate for both core and memory are present, right down to the color.
You can clearly see the heatsink is in full contact with the core and memory. There's a thermal padding between the heatsink and memory, but there should be enough contact for heat transfer. We still prefer a more direct contact with thermal paste instead of padding or tape, but it's okay. We're a little bit wary of the slightly bent PCB, quite strange since WinFast has taken precautions by using backplates on this card.
Just like their other cards, WinFast bundled their WinFox utility with the GeForce PX 7800GTX TDH. However, as you can see, there's really not much difference between this and other GeForce 7800GTXs. The only plus of this utility is the ability to set a lower alarm threshold (than what the Forceware drivers allow) and displaying a warning to the user or forcing a shutdown. It's still functional, but they should've provided more features, like fan control or even ambient temperature that's ironically, present in their 6800GT. Looks like WinFast engineers were not able to add some of their special touches on this card. Core temperatures is basically the same as the Gigabyte GeForce 7800GTX TurboForce - ranging from 40 to 60° Celsius.
WinFast was able to bundle two more popular games, different from the other manufacturers - Splinter Cell's Chaos Theory and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. There's also the needed accessories to make use of the card's TV / HDTV output and video input capabilities. WinFast was nice enough to include two DVI to analog dongles, so those of you with two analog monitor need not worry.
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