Detailed Impressions, Golden Edition...

When looking at the Gainward BLISS 7950 GT Golden Sample, and keeping in mind the reference design by NVIDIA then we can clearly state already that this doesn't apply to the Gainward version. It is a good looking card with outstanding performance, if we just rely on the default version but it comes in a dual slot design. And as we are used to see from Gainward, again no reference cooler. The main difference relates to the dual slot design versus the single slot reference cooler. But in the end, this could have some serious benefits...

The Gainward version looks sturdy, though light and on top of all it's quite impressive. The actual PCB is almost completely hidden away behind the dual slot cooling solution. Peeking out at the bottom we see the PCI Express interface connection. On top of the cooler, or better the black cooling plate displays the Gainward brand making sure that we all know it is a Gainward product. It is rather interesting to see a dual slot cooling on the GeForce 7950 GT, as the reference design by NVIDIA comes with a single slot cooling solution and most of the other manufacturers are following those guidelines.

The Golden Sample version is fully covered by a black cover plate with holes which are favorable on the air circulation. The ventilator used by Gainward grabs the air around it and pushes it through the heatsink and the circular metal slats. Doing so air gets a decent circulation and takes up the heat generated by the Gainward accelerator. By having holes in the top cover plate; the air can easily find its way and can be refreshed faster. Does it mean a more silent then the reference cooling solution? Well, we can already state that it is more effective and does produce a bit less noise in the end.

	GeForce 7900 GT	GeForce 7950 GT	GeForce 7900 GTX
Core	450MHz	550MHz	650MHz
Memory	1320MHz	1400MHz	1600MHz
Pipelines	24	24	24

The table shows where you can situate the GeForce 7950 GT, which is in fact the middle way between the GeForce 7900 GT and the GTX. All of these are built around the same graphics processor, the G71 which features 24 pipelines. The only difference between these versions, are the clock speed settings and the actual memory used. It's important to note that Gainward does clock their BLISS 7950 GT Golden Sample slightly higher than the reference GeForce 7950 GT card by NVIDIA. But the PCB itself follows the reference to a big extend.

This proves once again that Gainward is thinking out of the box, by re-thinking at each product launch the design set by NVIDIA. Doing so, they improve the product itself and provide an excellent unique solution. Gainward has been innovative and in combination with the high-end G71 core have defined an outstanding alternative to the reference design. Although, the only drawback might be the dual slot solution, whereas NVIDIA initially set out a single slot design. But does it really matter much; well if you want some extra performance then this is the way to go. Just like NVIDIA did with the GeForce 7900 GTX accelerator.

The rear view is quite sober and resembles to the GeForce 7900 series; except that the grey iron square is mostly just an X shaped holding plate. It does show almost all the details off the PCB. The only part that is covered is the back side of where the GPU core is located and is used to keep the dual slot cooling in place. Some stickers are placed on the back to provide the model, raw specifications and the serial number. And that's it for the back of the PCB of the Gainward Golden Sample graphics card. Let's dig a bit deeper...