If you are a hardcore gamer and want to have the best VGA card available, well, the XFX 7800 GTX is a candidate. On the one hand, the 7800 GTX can play all the games currently out there, at the maximum resolution and of course, with all the latest effects turned on. On the other, the stock cooling system that XFX 7800 GTX has used is not the coolest out there, and certainly does not provide the performance that XFX claims. But it isn't a problem, since the card can handle high temperatures.

The package was complete. We received the version which offered FarCry, The Threat and Moto GP2, though the latest package also includes the well known Call of Duty 2.

The performance that we saw from the XFX 7800 GTX depended on the game, though in most cases it was better than the X1800XT, so you should have no problems playing at high resolutions with AA and AF enabled. The exception here was F.E.A.R., which at 1600x1200 resolution and with maximum graphics effects, the card reported quite low fps, but we believe that this is something that could be fixed in the future, either with a patch for F.E.A.R or with a new forceware driver from nVidia.

The card comes already overclocked with, 450MHz for the Core and 1.25GHz for the Memory Clock, instead of the default 420MHz and 1.2GHz. While you can push the card even further, don't expect a great improvement. We overclocked the card to 480/1320, and we got higher 3DMark scores (+322 marks in 3D Mark05 and +751 in 3D Mark03). In real games however, the best you can get is between 2 to 5 fps with AA and AF disabled. But we believe that any overclocking will reduce the longevity of the card and therefore isn't recommended.

At the time of this review, the XFX 7800 GTX was priced at $463 at newegg.com, which is quite reasonable for such a high performing card.

Pros:
- Good performance in almost all tests
- Low noise levels
- Great nVidia features for unique image quality
- Very good retail package (Call of Duty 2)

Cons:
- Average cooling system

Performance:
Overclocking:
Bundle:
Value for money: