PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

+70 MORE Beginner GUIDES....
MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 Videocard Review
MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 Videocard Review - PCSTATS
With 128MB of memory on board, and nice little bundle of software in the box, this should prove to be a pretty good deal for about $280CDN.
 83% Rating:   
Filed under: Video Cards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: MSI Feb 05 2004   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Video Cards > MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128

MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 Videocard Review

If you're looking for a new videocard, you're in luck because it's a buyers market in the mainstream sector! A fierce competition between ATi and nVIDIA has resulted in lower than average prices for some pretty decent cards. nVIDIA has taken an aggressive two pronged stance against ATi's Radeon 9600XT; first there's the very capable GeForceFX 5700 Ultra, and then came the quietly released the GeForceFX 5900XT to mop things up.

In this review we'll be examining the GeForceFX 5700 Ultra powered MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 videocard. With 128MB of memory on board, and nice little bundle of software in the box, this should prove to be a pretty good deal for about $280CDN.

Surprise, surprise, the MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 is based on nVidia's reference board layout, with a few extra additions in terms of cooling. For starters, MSI have added in a set of BGA memory heatsinks on the front and rear of the card to keep the 2.2ns Samsung DDR-II BGA memory running within thermal spec. Or, at least that's the idea. I always suggest you check to see if the manufacturer has used thermal compound between the heatsink and memory DRAM, and if not, put a dab here and there.

MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128

Includes:

Users Manual, Driver CD, Morrowind, Ghost Recon, Duke Nukem MP, Seven Game Demo CD, VirtualDrive/RestoreIT! CD, WinDVD, WinDVD Creator, MSI Utilities CDs, DVI to analog converter, S-Video Cable Molex Power Cable, MSI Sticker.

Next, instead of using the reference cooler on the NV36 core, MSI have used their own engineered cooling solution called "Top Tech." The large sun-shapped heatsink is made from copper-plated cast aluminum, and manages to cool the core without much noise. In 2D situations you'd be hard pressed to hear anything. MSI's specs put the sound output from this card at about 28dB, and they figure the heatsink keeps the core as much as eight degrees Celsius cooler than the reference heatsink would otherwise.

In typical MSI fashion, after digging around inside the box we find a pretty good software bundle which consists of full versions of Morrowind, Ghost Recon, and Duke Nukem MP. To get the most out of the videocard, MSI have also thrown in WinDVD, WinDVD Creator, Virtual Drive Pro and RestoreIT! Pro software as well as several MSI utilities.

If you plan on taking advantage of the S-Video output on the FX5700 Ultra-TD128, you'll find the included S-Video cable handy. If dual monitors are on the horizon, the DVI-to-analog converter is also there.

© 2023 PCSTATS.com Next Page >

 

Contents of Article: MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128
 Pg 1.  — MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 Videocard Review
 Pg 2.  Overclocking the FX5700 Ultra
 Pg 3.  Benchmarks: 3DMark2001, CodeCreatures
 Pg 4.  Benchmark: AquaMark2.3
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks AquaMark3, Gun Metal 2
 Pg 6.  Benchmarks: X2 The Threat, UT2003
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: 3DMark2001, X2 The Threat, UT2003 w/AA
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: 3DMark2001, X2 The Threat, UT2003 w/AF
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: 3DMark2001, X2 The Threat, UT2003 w/AA+AF

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.