Introduction
For gamers, there is absolutely no replacement for a great graphics card. Not every card in the market can deliver the necessary performance levels that will meet the expectation of this most demanding group. Therefore, it's no surprise that high-end cards are often the prefered solution for gamers.
Unfortunately, top-of-the-range cards usually cost a fortune (think selling an arm and/or leg). So, the next best thing is a step below the highest-end. While it may force you to skip lunches and subsist on instant noodles, you probably will not need to sell your arm or leg.
Today we will be looking at one such card - the XFX GeForce 7900GT Extreme Edition!
XFX
XFX is a division of PINE Technology, which is a manufacturer of computer peripherals as well as communications products.
Based in Hong Kong, PINE Technology has offices around the world with R&D facilities in the Asia Pacific region, and factories in China.
The GeForce 7900 GT
For the purpose of this review, we will not be touching on the GeForce 7900 GT itself, as we already have a tech report as well as a review of the reference NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT card.
This will solely be a review of the XFX GeForce 7900 GT Extreme Edition card. For more information on the GeForce 7900 GT GPU, please take a look at our tech report and reference card review.
Packaging
The XFX GeForce 7900 GT Extreme Edition came in a unique X-shaped box. X for eXtreme edition. So, even if you miss the tiny sticker stating that this is the Extreme Edition card, you can't miss the packaging.
The back of the box has a nice clear window that allows you to take a look at the card. Arrayed around the window are various marketing blurbs like the feature list and as well as a list of the contents.
Those opening the X-shaped box would be surprised to find that there's another box inside! Apparently, the "X-shaped box" is really just a sleeve for the real box inside.
Taking off the sleeve, we found ourselves with an X-shaped green box with an XFX logo in the center. But is that the end? No.... Within this green X-shaped box is yet another box! Just how many boxes are in this package???