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Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT 256MB PCI-E Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Wednesday, 09 August 2006 |
By now, there is hardly any need for introductions when it comes to the newest NVIDIA kid on the block, the GeForce 7300 GT. We have raved about its standout performance against supposedly faster graphics cards like the ATI Radeon X1600 XT and NVIDIA's own midrange GeForce 7600 GS. Before one gets carried away, we have to stress that the scores were set by the higher end versions of this rather liberal chip. NVIDIA's decree for the GeForce 7300 GT is flexibility. The faster versions usually garner most of the attention and rightly so for it all boils down to performance and frame rates in the end. Hence, we have prepared another potential GeForce 7300 GT speed demon. - Hardware Zone
 Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT 256MB PCI-E Review
Like we said, there seems to be no rules set in stone regarding the design of the GeForce 7300 GT besides the obvious one of having the right G73 core. Inno3D's vision comes with a small and rather inexpensive looking cooler instead of the chunky heatsink on the Gainward or the more refined heatpipe assisted version on the Gigabyte. But don't worry, as this cooler is quiet enough that we didn't feel the lack of a passive heatsink. As for its specifications, Inno3D has armed its GeForce 7300 GT with very capable hardware that's almost the equal of the Gainward BLISS 7300 GT version.
Crucially, this includes 256MB of GDDR3 memory, which have been clocked at 1400MHz DDR. That is actually 100MHz DDR faster than the Gainward. These memory chips are rated at 1.4ns and are more likely to be found on a GeForce 7600 GT card. The core too is clocked at the higher end of the spectrum for a GeForce 7300 GT at 500MHz. Although that is slightly slower than the 550MHz on the Gainward, it is safe to say that it's mighty fast compared to the majority of GeForce 7300 GT cards. It should be quite interesting to see how the Inno3D stacks up against the Gainward given their similarly aggressive specifications.
Inno3D has never struck us as anything more than a competitively priced NVIDIA vendor offering minimal frill products. Its product lineup, while comprehensive, resembles a host of reference card clones and the unimaginative product names will not leave any lasting impression. Inno3D has provided decent enough products in the past that perform on par with more expensive brands, but the vibes we get scream budget with a capital letters, which however, may just be what some consumers want. But of course that remains to be seen in the end what the sales will bring in for Inno3D.
Following the astonishing performance of the first GeForce 7300 GT we saw from Gainward, we have yet another GDDR3 bolstered candidate from Inno3D. The core and memory clocks for the Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT 256MB have been ratcheted up to comparable levels as the Gainward and our benchmarks scores reflect the tight contest between the two. The gap between the Inno3D and the lesser endowed Gigabyte version shows the diversity and range available in the GeForce 7300 GT GPU so end users should really do their homework before getting one of these video cards.
Obviously, looking at the clock speeds will give a decent gauge of where a cards stands and the Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT ranks as one of the better ones. As some of our regulars may have noticed, there is no overclocking for this GeForce 7300 GT card. The reason is simple, the Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT failed even a minor 10MHz increment in the core and memory frequencies. While the Gainward BLISS 7300 GT was also quite limited in terms of overclocking, at least it still managed a 15MHz increment. Although we understand that only a minority of users will plan to overclock such cards even further.
Lastly, the suggested retail price that we were quoted at $130 definitely places the Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT in the stratosphere for its class. Effectively, that's roughly the cost of a GeForce 7600 GS, which isn't too unreasonable, considering that its performance was easily the equal and even superior to the GeForce 7600 GS. Its main rival at the moment seems to be the limited edition Gainward BLISS 7300 GT, which while being almost indistinguishable from the Inno3D, does carry a lower price tag of around $114. For once, an Inno3D product seems to be priced higher than the branded competition, though one can argue for the dual DVI ports.
As a standalone product, the Inno3D GeForce 7300 GT makes a case with its performance but its price compared to its closest peers may not fare well under scrutiny, especially when consumers normally see Inno3D as a low budget alternative. Still, it's the buyer's call and here's one more to add on to your consideration list if its specifications pike your interest.
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