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Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
Hardware Zone has published a review on the Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme graphics card. With the new Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme, there are probably quite a few who can remember Leadtek's Extreme version of its GeForce 6600 GT , which was an overclocking speed demon that wowed us with its performance and quiet operation. Therefore, our expectations of this new GeForce 7600 GT version were extremely high to begin with. Featuring rather excessive clock speeds for both the core and the memory chips rated at 1.2ns, the Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme stands poised to succeed its sterling GeForce 6600 GT predecessor.
 Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme Review
Feeling slightly weightier than the reference design in our hands, the Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme sports a solid cooler that takes up much more PCB real estate than the standard issue. As if to show that it means business, the minimal decal blends with the metal shroud, coming off as industrial and functional rather than the usual pretty decal stickers that you would find. Certainly, with many vendors adding fancy extras like LED's on fans and whatnots, the Leadtek Extreme seems a throwback with its mean and lean look. Anyone should be intreged by this Extreme video card.
Of course, knowing that the core of the Leadtek Extreme runs at a blazingly fast 590MHz out of the box went some way into conjuring that image. The memory chips are no slouch either, as they are clocked at 1600MHz DDR. Featuring a redesigned bright red PCB, Leadtek stuck to the green PCB but the layout differs slightly from the reference cards in terms of component placement like capacitors. Its noise level was also favorably lower than the standard GeForce 7600 GT and to our untutored ears. Leadtek has spared no efforts in its bundle, which is one of the better ones we have seen.
With all the major vendors releasing quite a few permutations of this chipset differing in clock speeds and features, the GeForce 7600 GT is turning out to be exactly like what the GeForce 6600 GT was in practically every aspect. Users can also witness for themselves the progress made by NVIDIA moving from the previous generation to the present as the similarly mid-range GeForce 7600 GT leaves the GeForce 6600 GT in the dust in both performance and features. More importantly, the excellent price/performance ratio of the GeForce 7600 GT is probably the main reason why there is a deluge of these cards.
Leadtek has joined the party with a bang with its overclocked Extreme and going by the benchmark results, it will be a crowd pleaser with gamers and enthusiasts alike. Showing why clock speeds are the main obsession of the graphics card business, the overclocked Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme toppled our previous GeForce 7600 GT performance king. It is a rather simple equation as invariably, the higher clocked card emerges as the winner of these graphics cards duels, unlike other products like mobile phones where the criteria can be more varied and fuzzy.
The larger heatsink and cooler for the Leadtek allows the card to be overclocked higher while at the same time, maintains a decent noise level that would not infringe on your ears' comfort. The temperatures for the Leadtek were also quite reasonable for the most part, with the memory chips taking the brunt of it due to the design of the cooler. Coupled with the two years warranty on the card, that should assure most users that the Leadtek Extreme can handle the heat. Besides the attraction of its default, speedy self, Leadtek ensures that it has a stellar supporting cast to match its star.
The bundle fits that description aptly, with two games, including a relatively well-known title like Serious Sam II and the latest version of CyberLink's popular DVD playback application. As you can expect from such a premium product aimed at the enthusiasts, the Leadtek Extreme cost more than your average GeForce 7600 GT. Fortunately, at $235, it is only a little more, considering that most of its other major competitors were going for about $220. This extra cost should cover its slightly more comprehensive bundle and its higher clock speeds more than adequately.
That's just our opinion of course as some may prefer the bare card by itself at a lower price. However if you are looking for a complete, premium GeForce 7600 GT, the Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme fits this bill perfectly. Overclocked, yet fairly cool and quiet, a nice bundle and a reasonable price to boot. What more can you ask for?
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