14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the fact that almost everybody in the IT business is talking about AMD's latest high-performance, dual-chip HD 4870 X2 graphics card, MSI has decided to unveil two new models based on NVIDIA's latest mainstream GPUs, the 9500GT and 9800GT, and also a new HD 4870-based one. Unlike the reference cards, these new NVIDIA-based models are equipped with a custom cooler provided by Zalman.
Simply dubbed N9800GT Zilent, the GeForce 9800GT-based graphics card has been designed to provide an optimum performance for mainstream desktop computer users. Equipped with a G92 GPU manufactured at 65nm, the card's core speed has been overclocked at 660MHz, with the help of a Zalman VGA cooler. The memory and shaders have also been overclocked at 1900MHz and 1625MHz, respectively. Other than that, the card is basically a reference 9800GT NVIDIA GeForce model, with 1GB of GDDR3 memory and 112 Stream processors.
The entry-level 9500GT-based N9500GT-MD512Z/D2 comes with 32 Stream processors and a clock rate of 550MHz. The card is equipped with 512MB of GDDR2 memory which has been clocked at 1000MHz, while the shader clocks are set at 1400MHz. As with the N9800GT Zilent, this card is also equipped with a custom cooler that is installed on both sides of the card. The passive cooling solution features two heatpipes that are connected to a large heatsink located on the back of the card.
Both NVIDIA-based cards will hit the stores in the next few weeks and will be priced for mainstream users.
The new RV770-based card appears to be equipped with a standard dual-slot cooling system, but unlike the reference card, it provides a total of 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Other than that, the new model is basically a standard RV770-based graphics card and, although the manufacturer hasn't released any pricing details, it is expected to be available soon.
