XFX GeForce 7900 GS 480M Extreme And 7950 GT

Upon initial inspection of the XFX GeForce 7900 GS, the first thing one notices is the presence of a single-slot heatsink assembly. SFF users and HTPC builders can rejoice as they have an exceptional option for a cool-running GPU which can offer excellent gaming performance while still being able to fit into a tight application. The card itself is surprisingly short and compact and features a black PCB to compliment the black heatsink assembly. As we can see in the subsequent image, a neon green theme accompanies the black coloring throughout the card and is found on the DVI connectors as well as through accents on the heatsink assembly. The back of the card is doesn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, though we can see there are provisions for mounting a more robust heatsink assembly which would cover the otherwise exposed memory modules. 

As previously noted, a key feature of the XFX GeForce 7900 GS is the presence of a single-slot heatsink assembly. It should be noted here that NVIDIA and XFX have made great efforts to utilize a heatsink assembly which would not only meet size and thermal requirements, but would also meet certain acoustic criteria as well. Here, the active copper heatsink assembly is accompanied by a variable fan control which will limit the audible noise from the card while maintaining necessary temperatures.

The XFX GeForce 7900 GS is equipped with 256MB of GDDR3 memory. The specific modules used on this model are Hynix HY5RS573225A modules and do not feature any active or passive cooling. Moving our attention to the far end of the board we find the card uses the standard PCI-Express power connector. At the opposite end, we find the backplate is populated with two Dual-Link DVI ports as well as an S-Video/HD Video out port. Directing our eyes to the top end of the card, we find a black aluminum cover shielding the standard SLI connector which will allow users to run two cards for higher overall performance.

After removing the heatsink assembly, we confirm that the GeForce 7900 GS is using the same 90u G71 die found on NVIDIA's higher end GeForce 7 GPU's. With the new GeForce 7900 GS essentially being identical to the GeForce 7900 GT minus 4 pixel shaders and 1 vertex shader, it seems logical to assume that NVIDIA's new budget weapon is an efficient use of GPU's which did not yield as well at the fab to be classified as a flagship GPU. Further details of this core as well as NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 7950 GT GPU are illustrated below.

Unfortunately, we are bound by an NDA from sharing any benchmark results for NVIDIA's new GeForce 7950 GT at this time. However, what we can tell you is that the card will be a single-slot solution which will feature a 512MB frame buffer and retail from anywhere between $299 and $349. Taking a look at the specifications above, this card will surely offer some impressive performance. Rest assured, we will have the complete performance breakdown of this card for you as soon as we are permitted.