Desktop PC Hardware

This ECS graphics card combines 32 stream processors within the NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT GPU with 512 MB DDR3 memory. Ecs uses the Qimonda chip for these memories. This kind of chip is known for their overclocking capabilities.

HSF for this graphics card is very standard. It’s small and doesn’t look like other heavy-duty HSF. The SPD/IF connector for this graphic card is located at the left side of the SLI slot. Around the GPU you could see 4 pieces of DDR3 memories on each side of the card.

Eventough the package comes with standard contents, the documentary is quite informative. Presented in four different languages the documentary also includes the way to install the card properly, how to install the SPD/IF, and the driver instalation.

The testing with games and 3DMark Vantage concluded that this graphic card is able to deliver a very good performance in its class. The HSF even though quite small does a very good job in cooling it down, even at its maksimum payload.

In the overcloking test, the score is quite satisfiying. The core clock could be raised up to 600 MHz from the original 550 MHz. The memory clock could also be raised from 1600 MHz to 1650 MHz. The result is the performance increases by 10 percents.

Conclusion:
The product is an example of a graphic card suitable for HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer), especially because it provides an HDMI output. The performance itself is very good, and can play older games with quite high details.

Spesifications:
Chip: NVIDIA Geforce 9500GT™
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 512 MB
Core Clock: 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 1600 MHz
Shader: 1375 Mhz
HDTV output: Available
DVI output: Available
HDMI output: Available
Jenis Memory: GDDR3
Memory interface: 128-bit
Package: Quick Guide, CD Driver, HDMI Converter, DVI Converter, SPD/IF

Benchmark:
3DMark Vantage : P1991
Company of Heroes DX9: 53.3
Company of Heroes DX10: 28.2
F.E.A.R.: 78
Quake 4: 89.1

The product is tested with the following testbed system:
Mainstream Mobo: MSI P35-NEO2 FIR
Extreme Mobo: ASUS Maximus
ATI Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD3870
NVIDIA Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT
Memory: Corsair DDR2-PC6400, DDR2-PC8500, DDR3
Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200RPM, Raptor
Power Supply: Tagan 700W, 800W, 1100W
Flash Memory: Kingston UFD, SDHC, SD, MicroSD, CF
Keyboard & Mouse: Genius USB, optical
Optical Drive: AOpen DVD-RW 2012S
Cooling System: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7Pro/64Pro dan Accelero X1/X2

source CHIP Magazine