Conclusion
Performance was solid and as expected, it overclocked nicely and the factory approved settings worked flawlessly. The bundle is sparse but functional, but not being bogged down with copies of games you might already have will appeal to many.2D display quality on the analogue connector was excellent, the red PCB will appeal to some of you and the fan wasn't especially loud.
There's not much the Gainward FX PowerPack! Ultra/1100 XT does wrong. It's fast for its target market and at £135 including dreaded VAT in the U.K., it's a few pounds cheaper than some other 5900XTs on the market and slap bang in the middle of the price range you'll pay for anything else mid-range at the time of writing.
GeForce FX 5900XT is a solid gamers GPU, with some architectural shortcomings that may affect image quality and speed in the games you play, but on the whole it's fine.
It's a good card at a great price and well worth a place near the top of any mid-range short list you might have.
Recommended if your budget allows.
Score
Pros
Cheap for 5900XT at £135 inc VATPerformance is strong
Factory approved overclocking
Quiet cooler
Sparse bundle with no extra software
Excellent 2D display quality from the analogue VGA connector
Cons
Sparse bundle with no extra softwareRadeon 9600XT is faster with better image quality in some scenarios
Thanks
Gainward for the review samplePete for help with the pictures
