Product Reviews

Leadtek's 7800GTX TDH looks exactly the way a powerful graphics card should: big and heavy. The long, double-slot card has a huge heat sink covering its underside with a single fan placed in the middle. It's not particularly loud, but you'll need a fairly large case to accommodate it.

The reason this card needs more cooling than other nVidia GeForce 7800GTX-based cards we've seen is that the TDH runs a lot faster. It has 256MB of GDDR3 memory running at 600MHz (1.2GHz effective)

ADVERTISEMENT

and a core speed of 430MHz; the standard specification for a 7800GTX is 500MHz (1GHz effective) memory and a core speed of 400MHz.

Performance was awe-inspiring: the 7800GTX TDH managed an amazing 17,110 in our 3DMark03 benchmark. This card is most impressive at higher resolutions, though, scoring 7,242 at 1,600x1,200 with 4x FSAA turned on. Its performance in Doom 3 was just as good, with a score of 57.1fps at 1,600x1,200. This card is almost 10 per cent faster than a standard 7800GTX.

There's little the TDH can't handle, but you can use SLI if you want - and can afford - a second graphics card. Dual DVI-I and TV out (component, composite and S-video) outputs are provided. Leadtek throws in a good software bundle, which includes Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

Surprisingly, the card is around the same price as standard 7800GTXs from other manufacturers, but this is still expensive. If you're after the fastest card, look no further, but those who are looking for speed and value should stick with the 7800GT.