Gainward's 256MB 7950 GT shows its teeth

IT IS time for the Gainward Bliss 7950 GT. Every Christmas has one, and this year this is probably the sexiest Nvidia card for Yule.

The Gainward is more attractive than some others we tested so far as it has 256MB of memory and should be even cheaper than most of its competition. But this will reflect on some of the scores.

This Gainward card is 130MHz faster than the reference 7900 GT and 180MHz faster in memory speed and overall, in games and tests it ends up faster. Just like the 7900GT, the 7950GT features 24 pipelines, eight vertex Shaders, and 16 ROPs (render output units).

What makes this card special is that it has a very efficient cooler and it endorses overclocking with the provided utility. The card is clocked at 580MHz core, 30MHz faster than the reference design and it has 256MB of 1500MHz 1.2 ns memory, memory that is simply made for overclocking. The card also supports HDCP, so they gave the half cent to Intel, or maybe Nvidia did it and buried the cost in the chip price.

The box includes a CD, containing drivers, BIOS, a digital manual and an overclocking utility known as Xpert tool, which is really easy to use.

The package also includes power DVD 6 and Gainward movie auto producer editing software, as well as two DVI's, a power cable, S-Video to RGB - HDTV cable.

We were shocked to learn that the card costs only €234 in Germany. In the UK it sells for £ 180.00 including VAT at komplett.co.uk.

Benchmarketing
We used :
Foxconn C51XE M2aa Nforce 590 SLI motherboard
Geforce 7900 GT 450/1320 MHz
Athlon FX 62 2800 MHz 90 nanometre Windsor core
2x1024 MB DDR2 Corsair CM2X1024-6400C3 memory
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 400GB SATA NCQ hard drive
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon Athlon 64/X2/FX cooler and Intel CPU's
Silverstone Strider ST60F, 600W ATX 2.0 SATA

Composite Figures 3Dmark 03	3DMark 03	Game2	Game3	Game3
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	17743	135.4	115.3	101.2
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	20435	161.9	135.1	117.7
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	20862	164.8	138.0	121.8
?	?	?	?	?
Composite Figures 3Dmark 03	Single Texturinng	Multi Textur.	Vertex Shader	Pixel Shader 2.0
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	4295.3	10445.7	46.9	366.9
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	4810.7	12694.9	55.4	259.2
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	5056.8	12853.4	57.5	444.5
?	?	?	?	?
Composite Figures 3Dmark 05	3DMark 05	Game1	Game2	Game2
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	8117	35.7	24.7	38.8
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	9669	42.1	29.5	46.5
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	9831	42.3	30.5	47.1
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	10975	47.0	33.9	53.1
?	?	?	?	?
Composite Figures 3Dmark 05	Single Texturinng	Multi Textur.	Pixel Shader	VS/VS complex
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	5174.8	10644.9	303.1	61.2/47.1
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	5571.2	12833.2	368.7	74.6/55.8
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	5957.7	13682.0	372.4	72.8/58.6
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	6943.9	15018.5	419.7	83.6/65.8
?	?	?	?	?
Composite Figures 3Dmark 06	3DMark 06	?	?
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	4604	?	?	?
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	5386	?	?	?
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	5598	?	?	?
?	?	?	?	?
SM2.0 Test	Score	GT1	GT2
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	1807	14.518	15.605
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	2181	17.517	18.836	?
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	2278	18.319	19.650	?
?	?	?	?	?
HDR/SM3.0 Test	Score	HDR1	HDR2
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	1798	16.086	19.880
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	2150	19.174	23.822	?
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	2241	20.092	24.734	?
?	?	?	?	?
CPU Test	Score	CPU1	CPU2
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	2098	0.673	1.047
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	2094	0.669	1.048	?
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	2130	0.679	1.068	?
?	?	?	?	?
Doom 3	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	128.4	116.5	97.7	68.1
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	129.0	124.2	110.0	80.8
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	128.2	124.1	111.5	82.9
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	128.1	126.4	117.8	92.5
?	?	?	?	?
Doom 3 High Quality FSAA 4X + Aniso 8X	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	106.5	76.7	56.4	34.7
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	115.4	88.1	65.7	42.4
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	116.2	89.6	66.7	40.2
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	122.1	100.1	76.3	46.3
?	?	?	?	?
Serious Sam 2	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	158.3	133.0	97.9	68.9
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	160.0	152.2	117.8	83.1
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	161.1	155.7	124.8	88.4
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	161.5	158.8	138.3	98.4
?	?	?	?	?
Serious Sam 2 High Quality FSAA 4X + Aniso 8X	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	123.0	91.4	65.8	44.4
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	142.9	109.4	79.0	56.6
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	131.9	97.4	70.2	48.6
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	145.4	109.6	79.7	55.6
?	?	?	?	?
FEAR	1024x768	1280x960	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	107	79	56	38
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	123	95	68	46
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	123	96	72	47
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	133	107	77	53
?	?	?	?	?
FEAR High Quality FSAA 4X + Aniso 16X	1024x768	1280x960	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	71	49	34	22
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	81	59	40	27
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	85	61	42	26
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 645/1740 MHz OC	95	68	48	30
?	?	?	?	?
Quake 4	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	168.9	157.3	137.6	98.8
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	171.5	163.6	152.0	117.7
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	173.9	165.9	155.6	121.6
?	?	?	?	?
Quake 4 High Quality FSAA 4X + Aniso 8X	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	152.3	126.0	97.5	65.2
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	155.5	138.8	111.4	76.8
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	160.4	141.5	115.9	78.8
?	?	?	?	?
Half Life 2 High Quality FSAA 4X + Aniso 8X	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	85.61	85.38	80.94	67.56
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	85.41	86.37	81.93	65.36
?	?	?	?	?
Far Cry	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	96.16	97.22	95.17	74.08
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	97.62	96.64	97.42	87.95
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	97.32	96.54	97.02	89.67
?	?	?	?	?
Far Cry High Quality FSAA 4X + Aniso 8X	1024x768	1280x1024	1600x1200	2048x1536
NVIDIA 7900GT 256MB 450/1320 MHz	97.48	86.28	62.19	38.93
NVIDIA 7950GT 512MB 550/1400 MHz	97.42	94.46	73.39	47.45
Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX 256MB 580/1500 MHz	96.98	94.49	74.28	46.66

We compared this card with its younger brother, the NVIDIA 7900GT, clocked 100MHz slower at 450/1320MHz and the reference 7950 GT 512MB card. We were interested to see how it would overclock. In the end we managed to overclock the card to 645/1740MHz and will include some of these scores as well.

3Dmark03 runs 400 points faster on the Gainward card than on the standard-clocked 7950 GT card and it is almost three thousand marks faster than the 7900 GT card. Gainward wins at 3Dmark05 by less than 200 points against the reference clock card but it is almost 1700 marks faster than the older 7900 GT. The Bliss card, overclocked at 645/1740MHz, gains an impressive 1100 marks more than running at stock speeds. Even the single-texturing score improves by as much as 1000 marks and multi-texturing comes up some 1400 marks higer.

3Dmark06 runs some 200 marks faster on Gainward than on the reference card, it is 1000 marks faster than 7900 GT card. It gets 100 marks in the Shader model 2.0 test, less than 100 in the HDR/SM3.0 Test and runs slightly faster in the CPU test when overclocked.

Doom 3 without effects doesn't show a big difference and you can only see the significant difference at 20x15 resolution where the overclocked card runs 10 frames faster than the others, the rest of the scores are tight. Then you turn on the FSAA and the difference is there, the overclocked Gainward shows up to 12 frames difference, some fourteen percent faster in the best case.

You need to get to top resolutions to see any significant difference in Serious Sam 2, at a resolution of 16x12 the overclocked card is 14 frames faster, around a ten percent difference. We find a difference in Serious Sam 2 with FSAA and Anisotropic Filtering on where the reference 7900 GT is faster than non overclocked bliss as it has 512 MB memory while Bliss has 256MB. The overclocked card matches the performance of the reference card but you do need more than 256MB memory to get the top scores at last in Serious Sam 2.

FEAR runs up to four frames faster on our Gainward card and overlooked it runs 12 frames faster. The Gainward Bliss is some six per cent faster than the reference design while the overclocked card is actually eleven per cent faster. The same difference remains in the same game with the effects on.

Bliss is faster than the reference card in Quake 4 by two to four frames and it also wins by two to five frames in the same game with the FSAA and Anisotropic Filtering on. In Half Life 2 FSAA and Anisotropic Filtering scores are literally the same, with up to one frame difference and at resolutions of 20x15 the reference card wins by two frames, in the rest of the scores the Gainward BLISS 7950GT PCX wins.

Far Cry also scores almost identical on both cards with a less than a two frame difference at 20x15 in Gainward's advantage. At that resolution the Gainward BLISS 7950GT shows a difference and runs 15 frames faster than 7900 GT card.

Both cards are scoring the same at Far Cry 4X FSAA and 8X Anisotropic Filtering and Gainward is usually slightly faster by a super small margin in three smaller resolutions and finally it loses at 20x15 to a reference 512MB card by less than a frame. We will have to wait for Crysis to see the real difference in the next generation Crytek game, as there is not much difference in this test anymore.

In Short
Even though it has 256MB of memory it doesn't fall back against the 512MB 7950 GT reference card. We noticed that Serious Sam 2 with 4X FSAA and Anisotropic Filtering will suffer from lack of 512MB memory and at 20x15 it might lose in FEAR FSAA with Anisotropic Filtering and Half Life 2. Not too many people play at this resolution anyway and even if you do we are talking about marginal performance difference.

We like the fact that the card is cheap, only €234 in German retail, available and will probably give you the best performance per buck. It overclocks to a massive 645/1740MHz and will get you up to a fifteen per cent performance boost. If you are after an Nvidia card, the Gainward Bliss 7950 GT should be on your list, as it overclocks like mad, works well and it's cheap. What more can you ask? ?

Reviewed and tested by Sanjin Rados and Fuad Abazovic