Thoughts
We normally pose ourselves two main questions when finally evaluating a product?. The questions being, 'how well has the manufacturer/partner implemented implemented the underlying technology' and 'how competitive is the pricing?'.MSI has taken the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB reference design and turned it on its head. The cooling has been well-thought out, with due attention paid to size and noise profile. MSI's card is a single-slot affair, meaning that it won't hamper the first PCI slot needlessly. Just this feature makes it a more attractive proposition than most. Secondly, the dual-sided cooling is remarkably quiet, far more so than it initially suggests. We'd have no qualms with installing the card into an OEM PC. Philips' SAA 7108AE VIVO ASIC further adds to the features count.
The bundle is atypical of MSI. Huge buying power and a long-term contract with InterVideo means more that the card doesn't skimp on the software features. Whether you will really use every utility is questionable, but the very fact that it's there to tinker with is a plus point. Buying a £300 card and then discovering a total lack of software is a deflating experience. MSI hasn't gone down that path. MSI's done a good job as anyone in packaging up a FX 5950 Ultra 256MB card. That answers our first question.
The sticking point isn't one that MSI's contributed to. The £320 asking price forces one to choose between it and a series of ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256MB cards. The latter is generally acknowledged to have better all-around performance and is currently e-tailing for <£300. Then there's the remarkable value of the GeForce FX 5900 XT to consider, which is less than half the MSI's price. The conclusion actually simplifies well. If you absolutely, positively want a GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB card and don't mind shelling out, MSI's is as good as any we've seen. We, however, would probably look elsewhere for our graphical thrills and spills, especially with the imminent arrival of the next iteration of video cards.
Bottom line - about as good as the FX 5950 Ultra gets. Is that good enough for you?.
