ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2

Comparative analysis of ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT and NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 videocards for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Technical info, Video outputs and ports, Compatibility, dimensions and requirements, API support, Memory. Benchmark videocards performance analysis: PassMark - G3D Mark, PassMark - G2D Mark.

ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT

NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2

Differences

Reasons to consider the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT

Videocard is newer: launch date 11 month(s) later
Around 49% higher core clock speed: 743 MHz vs 500 MHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running videocard: 80 nm vs 90 nm
Around 38% higher memory clock speed: 1656 MHz vs 1200 MHz
3.3x better performance in PassMark - G3D Mark: 660 vs 202

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	14 May 2007 vs 5 June 2006
Core clock speed	743 MHz vs 500 MHz
Manufacturing process technology	80 nm vs 90 nm
Memory clock speed	1656 MHz vs 1200 MHz
Benchmarks
PassMark - G3D Mark	660 vs 202

Reasons to consider the NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2

17.8x more texture fill rate: 2x 12 GTexel / s billion / sec vs 11.89 GTexel / s
Around 95% lower typical power consumption: 110 Watt vs 215 Watt
2x more maximum memory size: 2x 512 MB vs 512 MB
Around 4% better performance in PassMark - G2D Mark: 413 vs 397

Specifications (specs)
Texture fill rate	2x 12 GTexel / s billion / sec vs 11.89 GTexel / s
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	110 Watt vs 215 Watt
Maximum memory size	2x 512 MB vs 512 MB
Benchmarks
PassMark - G2D Mark	413 vs 397

Compare benchmarks

GPU 1: ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
GPU 2: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2

PassMark - G3D Mark

GPU 1

GPU 2

660

202

PassMark - G2D Mark

GPU 1

GPU 2

397

413

Name	ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT	NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2
PassMark - G3D Mark	660	202
PassMark - G2D Mark	397	413

Compare specifications (specs)

	ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT	NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2
Essentials
Architecture	TeraScale	Curie
Code name	R600	G71
Launch date	14 May 2007	5 June 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$399	$599
Place in performance rating	375	376
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Price now		$54.99
Value for money (0-100)		4.54
Technical info
Core clock speed	743 MHz	500 MHz
Floating-point performance	475.5 gflops
Manufacturing process technology	80 nm	90 nm
Pipelines	320
Texture fill rate	11.89 GTexel / s	2x 12 GTexel / s billion / sec
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	215 Watt	110 Watt
Transistor count	720 million	278 million
Video outputs and ports
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x S-Video	2x DVI, 1x S-Video
Compatibility, dimensions and requirements
Interface	PCIe 1.0 x16	PCIe 1.0 x16
Length	241 mm	270 mm
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin	1x 6-pin
API support
DirectX	10.0	9.0c
OpenGL	3.3	2.1
Memory
Maximum RAM amount	512 MB	2x 512 MB
Memory bandwidth	106.0 GB / s	2x 38.4 GB / s
Memory bus width	512 Bit	2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1656 MHz	1200 MHz
Memory type	GDDR3	GDDR3