Početak školske godine je bez sumnje odlično vrijeme za lansiranje proizvoda koji spadaju u skupinu "bang for buck", pa nije niti čudo da su GeForce 7900 GS i 7950 GT najavljeni baš sada. U oba slučaja se radi o karticama koje po prihvatljivoj cijeni nude prilično dobre performanse. Dok GeForce 7900 GS popunjava rupu između modela srednje i visoke klase, GeForce 7950 GT je tu da zamijeni model 7900 GT kojeg je, ako govorimo o izvornom referentnom dizajnu, pomalo pregazilo vrijeme.

Obje nove kartice bazirane su na jednakom fizičkom dizajnu kod kojeg najviše treba istaknuti implementaciju hladnjaka. Iako nije pretjerano bučan, držimo da je s implementacijom hlađenja mogao biti napravljen bolji posao. Zahtjevnijim korisnicima svakako preporučamo odabir kartice s posebnim hladnjakom ili pak zamijenu tvorničkog hladnjaka s nekim zasebnim rješenjem.

Performanse kartica su onakve kakve smo očekivali s obzirom da se radi o arhitekturi koja nam je poznata od prije s modificiranim taktovima, a u slučaju GF 7900 GS i nešto oslabljenim GPU-om u pogledu broja pixel-shaderskih jedinica. Nažalost, u testiranje nismo uključili Radeon X1900 XT 256 MB i X1900 GT, tako da ne možemo komentirati performanse novih GeForceova u odnosu na njihovu direktnu konkurenciju. X1900 GT bi trebao biti brži od 7900 GS, ali i skuplji, barem ako je suditi prema preporučenim cijenama. Radeon X1900 XT 256 MB i GeForce 7950 GT bi trebali imati vrlo sličnu cijenu i performanse, tako da će se izbor između ove dvije kartice u praksi svesti na njihovu dostupnost i cijenu u maloprodaji.

Osim performansi na tvorničkim taktovima nama je posebno zanimljiv overclock. Premda hladnjaci na novim GeForceovima nisu nešto posebno, oba modela su se ponijela jako dobro. Overclockani GF 7900 GS je svojim performansama bio vrlo blizu modela 7950 GT na referentnim taktovima, a overclockanjem GF 7950 GT skoro smo dostigli performanse skuplje GF 7900 GTX.

Na kraju, pri kupovini grafičke kartice u ovom trenutku svakako treba imati na umu da je sve bliže datum lansiranja modela sljedeće generacije koji su kompatibilni s DirectX 10. Kao i obično, ona će proizvođača prvo lansirati svoje najsnažnije modele dok će se kasnije s novom generacijom kartica popuniti i ostale tržišne niše. S obzirom na to, kupovina GeForcea 7950 GT i 7900 GS je dobar izbor ako sljedeću nadogradnju planirate početkom ili sredinom 2007. Ako pak ciljate na dugoročniju investiciju, predlažemo da s kupovinom pričekate dok se na tržištu ne pojave grafičke kartice kompatibilne s DirectX-om 10.

Conclusion in english

Back to school season is without a doubt a great time for launching new products in "bang for buck" segment, so its no suprise that NVIDIA decided to introduce GeForce 7900 GS and 7950 GT. Both cards offer exceptional value for money and quite good performance. While GeForce 7900 GS fills the gap between mainstream and high-end products, GeForce 7950 GT is here to replace aging 7900 GT model.

Both new cards are based on the same reference design, which is pretty regular. Only things that is worth commenting is implemention of cooling. Reference cooler is average sized single-slot design which covers only GPU but not memory. Its not particulary loud nor effective in terms of keeping GPU at low temperature. While it will be sufficient for regular users, enthusiast should search for a card that has different cooling solution or replace reference cooler with a third party solution on their own.

In terms of performance, new cards are behaving like we expected. They are both based on same architecture like older NVIDIA cards with the exception of GPU and memory clock, and in case of 7900 GS, weakened GPU in terms of pixel-processing units. Sadly, we haven’t managed to include Radeon X1900 XT 256 MB and X1900 GT in our test, so we can’t comment on performance of new GeForce cards in regards to mentioned competing products. X1900 GT should be faster but more expensive (according to MSRP) then GF 7900 GS. Radeon X1900 XT 256 MB and GeForce 7950 GT should have very similar price and performance so in practice decision between these two card should be made according to their real market price and availability.

Except performance on reference clocks, we investigated overclocking potential of new GeForce cards. Altough refence coolers on these cards are not anything special, overclocking results are pretty nice. Overclocked GF 7900 GS in tests managed to stay very close to 7950 GT on reference clock and overclocked GF 7950 GT managed to stay neck to neck with reference GeForce 7900 GTX.

In the end, if you are planning to buy a new graphics card at this time, you should keep in mind that launch of cards based on new architecture compatible with DirectX 10 is very near. As always, both ATI and NVIDIA will first launch high-end models, while offering in other market segments will be refreshed later. In regards to that, investing in GeForce 7900 GS or 7950 GT at present is a good choice if you are next upgrade is planned in the beginning or in the middle of 2007. On the other hand, if you are upgradeing you system less frequently and you want a more durable investment, we suggest waiting for cards that are compatible with DirectX 10.