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The last game in our benchmark, Brothers in Arms displays the same picture as the others - all the GeForce 7 series can only offer high enough frame rates for truly fluid gameplay at 1280 x 960 or 1280 x 1024 with AA and AF. Thankfully, average frame rates are still very high in this game, so definitely won't hit that minimum fps that often. So, it looks like if you have the money, you should really consider buying the GeForce 7800GTX - if you want a single card solution. The higher clocked 7800GTX does provide some extra 'omph', particularly when you need it, so it's definitely a better buy than the standard GeForce 7800GTX and 7800GT.

Conclusion:

The GeForce 7800GTX is the fastest offering from NVIDIA right now and arguably the fastest card available to gamers. Like any other graphics card from NVIDIA, a higher clocked 7800GTX does provide performance improvements, some even quite significant (like in F.E.A.R for instance). If you really need the performance, get the higher clocked GeForce 7800GTX. The GeForce 7800GT provide some solid numbers, but the performance in some games are not that much different from a GeForce 6800GT. The GeForce 6800GT is a better choice of the two (particularly if you're a budget-conscious gamer), or you could wait for the 7800GS which should be available in the next few weeks..

One thing that worries us is the tendency of these cards (even the GeForce 7800GTX) to have quite a significant performance penalty with AA and AF, particularly with newer games. While the GeForce 7800GTX (and of course the 7800GTX 512 MB) may be enough for now, actually they have barely enough power to push newer games with AA and AF. Look at games like F.E.A.R, Call of Duty 2 or Need for Speed: Most Wanted. These games are made with next generation graphics in mind, it's no wonder they can be too much for even the fastest GeForce 7800GTX. Our advice: wait for the next generation of graphics cards, if you really want high enough frame rates both in games of today and tomorrow. For the time being, even the GeForce 6800GT is enough.

That said, we can only recommend two cards from this round up: the ASUS EN7800GTX TOP and Gigabyte 7800GTX TurboForce. These higher clocked GeForce 7800GTX provides the best performance you can buy at the moment. We recommend the Gigabyte 7800GTX TurboForce for gamers who wants a good card with less gimmicky bundle. It should also be priced lower than the ASUS EN7800GTX TOP. Not to mention, it's more 'friendly' to work with in an SLI setup. To those who want more, we recommend the ASUS EN7800GTX TOP. There are at least three things this card has over the competition: it runs cooler (due to the dual slot cooling), undoubtedly faster (due to slightly faster memory clock) and has more in terms of bundle. Two nitpicks we have is the absence of a second DVI to analog dongle and the price: at the price they're asking, ASUS should've included the dongle.

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